So You Call Yourself a Man

A raucous "desperate husbands" story line—co-starring crazy baby mamas, shady churchgoers and various deranged personalities—ups the conflict quotient significantly in Weber's latest (Baby Mamma Drama , The Preacher's Son , etc.). In signature Weber style, alternating first-person chapters follow the troubled, Catch-22 lives of best-of-friends trio James Robinson, Brent Williams and Sonny Harrison. Within the first five pages, James's marriage is in jeopardy when Michelle, an ex-flame (and Trent's former girlfriend from Player Haters ), reappears with a love child that she claims is his. Gorgeous Brent is a devout Christian who marries a big woman with a big heart, but ends up in a fiery love affair with a respected church member—one that calls more than his marriage into question. And after getting a Dear John letter from his wife, who unexpectedly takes off with their children, Sonny reconnects with an ex-, but wife Jessica's reasons for leaving, when they come out, may put all of his relationships in doubt. While some plot points are contrived, major revelations and an eye-raising twist will make even seen-it-all fans gasp. And the drama doesn't end but plants the seeds for Weber's next, The First Lady . (Jan.)