When Souls Mate

This jumbled yet redemptive sequel revisits the misadventures of Klarke Laroque, Bria Williams (Breezy), and Jeva Dawson as they attempt to make right what they made wrong in The Root of All Evil. After serving four years of a life sentence for allegedly killing the baby her ex-husband Reo Laroque had by another woman, Klarke is released from jail when her 17-year-old daughter Vaughn admits to the crime and is locked up in her stead. Back in Toledo, Ohio, Klarke commiserates at the Cheesecake Factory with Breezy and Jeva, and obsesses over Reo instead of fighting for the release of her daughter, caring for her emotionally traumatized son HJ or seeking a relationship with her other son, Reo Jr. In the end, Klarke gets her priorities straight and fights her family. Meanwhile, Breezy vows to quit goldigging and steer clear of married men, and Jeva finally confronts her birth parents. Stilted prose, porn-style sex scenes, grown women brawling and neglected children make this novel hard to stomach at times, but fans of high drama should relish the troublesome trio's maturation.