Jan 7, 2010

The Bum Magnet by K.L. Brady


K.L. Brady's The Bum Magnet is local chicklit for Washington, D.C., residents and stars the bum magnet herself, Charisse.  She's a real estate agent with a serial dating problem, always seeming to attract the wrong kind of man and hanging onto them.  Dwayne, Lamar, Sean, and Marcus are just some of the bums in this book, but are they all bums?  That's what Charisse has to figure out, if she can get past her own hangups.

"'Charisse, a good man is like Santa Claus, believing in him feels real good until you find out he doesn't really exist.'"  (Page 1)

Brady's debut novel uses a lot of colloquial language and delves into the wrong relationships of her characters through journal entries and flashbacks, but readers may not feel a connection to Charisse right off.  She's a bristly, independent woman on the one hand, but a dependent, lonely woman on the other.  Like all of us, Charisse has her strengths and her weaknesses, but she seems to have a hard time recognizing the obvious and in many ways she goes off the deep end.

"No, to me, spying on a boyfriend was not only justified, it was a requirement.  Hey, I keep it real.  To ask me not to spy on a scheming boyfriend would be like asking a lion not to hunt, a dog not to bark, or babies not to throw up.  'Verification' was an instinctive to me (and all womankind), as giving birth."  (Page 61)

As she makes the decision to focus on herself and analyze her past relationship failures to improve her relationship capabilities, she stumbles upon the man of her "dreams," Dwayne, shortly after breaking it off with Marcus.  Things are soon spiraling out of control for Charisse when past flames reappear and past mistakes rear their ugly heads.   

"I hoped she wasn't crazy.  For some reason, I'd always attracted crazy people.  Not eccentric crazy, but wear aluminum foil as a fashion accessory crazy.  They always shared their life stories with me.  Did I have an inviting demeanor or a friendly face? Perhaps.  Although I had a deep-rooted fear that crazy people might just be naturally drawn to other crazy people, which would make me one of them."  (Page 122)

The Bum Magnet has a lot of drama, and Charisse attracts it like wildfire.  Readers will either enjoy the roller coaster ride or wonder when they can get off.  Brady has an active imagination and the dialogue will have readers giggling.  Brady's writing is entertaining and has great potential.

FTC Disclosure:  Thanks to K.L. Brady for providing me with a free copy of The Bum Magnet for review.  Clicking on title and image links will lead you to my Amazon Affiliate page; No purchase necessary, though appreciated.


K. L. Brady is a D.C. native but spent a number of her formative years in the Ohio Valley. She’s an alumnus of the University of the District of Columbia and University of Maryland University College, earning a B.A. in Economics and M.B.A., respectively. She works as an analyst for a major government contracting firm and is an active real estate agent with Exit Realty by day—and writes by night (often into the wee hours of the morning). She lives just outside of D.C. in Cheltenham, Maryland, with her son, William, and two pet Betta fish, Spongebob and Jerry, and lives to eat chocolate, shop, read, and write.

***International Giveaway Details*** 

1.  Leave a comment on this post about what new author you've found in the new year.
2.  Blog, Tweet, Facebook, or otherwise spread the word about the giveaway and leave a link on this post.

Deadline Jan. 14, 2010, 11:59PM EST




This is my 1st book for the 2010 New Authors Challenge.


Also, this another stop on the Literary Road Trip.

15 comments:

Sandy Nawrot said...

I recently read a book that sounds a little similar for my book club. Just outlandish drama, and frankly, by the end, my head hurt. Still, I think there is a place and time for fun books like this. Nice review!

Anna said...

Sounds kind of funny; I know what it's like to attract crazy people. On D.C. public transit, no less. LOL

No need to enter me. I added the giveaway to my sidebar, though.

--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric

bermudaonion said...

I can relate - I seem to attract crazy people too! Great review.

K.L. Brady said...

Thank you so much for taking time to review The Bum Magnet and host a giveaway.

Sorry, you didn't enjoy it as well as I would've like, but when I took some time to look through the breadth of your reviews, I thought this might not be your cup of tea. And that's the great thing about books, they're not all one-size fits all. What one person loves, another person loathes. C'est la vie! Folks can always check out the "Look Inside" feature on Amazon to see if it may be more suited to their tastes.

I find the people who really love the character and the story are people who can identify with her experiences, either personally or through their friends. I think we all know that girl who always picks the wrong guys--even when common sense says they should know better. When I told my family and friends I was writing a book called The Bum Magnet, they ALL responded, "Is it an autobiography???" lol Sadly, that is a TRUE story.

Anyway, I hope the winner enjoys it!

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure it's my kind of book but great review. Love the title of the book :)

(Not entering the giveaway)

Spav said...

This New Year I've found Seanan McGuire who wrote the first book of her series. I'm waiting for the mailman to arrive with the book!

spav05(at)gmail(dot)com

Marie Cloutier said...

I love your review :-) I don'thtink it's my cup of tea either, LOL.

K.L. Brady said...

I just got word that The Bum Magnet was listed as a "Reviewer's Choice" by the Midwest Book Review and I thought I'd share the news so that people who did choose to enter the contest wouldn't think they were getting a total klunker. :)

http://www.midwestbookreview.com/sbw/jan_10.htm#rc

Again, I'm always appreciative of anyone who takes time out of their lives to read and review my work. I thank Serena for her time and effort. It means a lot to new authors like myself. She provides a great service with her blog.

mariska said...

thanks for the review. i can say that she's a new author for me now :)


the book sounds fun to read. since i don't know anything about DC coz i'm an international reader.

count me in.

uniquas at ymail dot com

Serena said...

K.L.Brady: Great news! I did enjoy the book, but not as much as I would have thought. I'm glad that things are going well with it, and I wish you luck with future books. I hope you received my email about a possible interview.

Mystica said...

Minal Hajratwala - Leaving India was a great book and a new author to me - she wrote about life from an immigrants perspective and looked at life from Fiji, India and the United States.

Please enter me for this giveaway. I like the title!

mystica123athotmaildotcom

avalonne83 said...

Please enter me in the contest. Thanks.

avalonne83 [at] yahoo [dot] it

Heidi V said...

This sounds like a fun read...The new author I found on New Years Eve was Kelley Armstrong I read her short story in The Twilight Zone 50th Anniversary Book and now I'm looking for her other novels.

Thanks
heidivargas [at] live dot com

Nancye said...

I discovered Melody Carlson, a Contemporary Christian Fiction author. Her books are awesome!!

nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net

Nancye said...

Tweet! Tweet!

http://twitter.com/NancyeDavis/status/7773184769

nancyecdavis AT bellsouth DOT net