FEVER

In this sexually frank sequel to Groove (2005), Holliday (the alter-ego nom de plume of novelist Bernice L. McFadden) details the misadventures of friends Geneva, Crystal, Chevy and Noah.

Geneva and Crystal have taken a vow of celibacy after too many bad relationships. Slippery opportunist Chevy, meanwhile, is broke and unemployed, and dependent on the grudging generosity of Noah, who lent her his New York digs when he moved to London to be with his British lover Zahn. Their lives soon take a turn for the steamy, starting with good girl Crystal, when Neville, a childhood pal visiting from Antigua, comes to stay with her. She is pleased to discover that the once awkward boy has grown into a stunning man with dreadlocks. She happily falls into Neville’s muscular arms, but is livid when she finds out not only that her island hunk works as a gigolo, but that her mother and Noah conspired to have him visit her. Single mom Geneva has a reversal of fortune when Deeka, the manager of her teenaged son Eric’s band, starts to pursue her romantically. But as taken as she is with Deeka, Geneva, a plus-sized waitress, finds it hard to believe that he would actually be interested, and she worries about how their relationship will affect Eric. When Eric does discover Deeka and his mother together, he is not happy, forcing Geneva to make a tough choice. Noah, for his part, finds his relationship with Zahn tested when an attractive gay couple moves into their neighborhood and suggests a partner swap. And finally there is Chevy, who lands a coveted gig as assistant to a high-maintenance radio personality, Anja. When Chevy accompanies her boss to the Caribbean, she receives a scandalous—and frankly implausible—proposition.

A raunchy and funny novel that would have benefited from stronger connections between the characters’ stories.