Near Perfect, the follow-up novel to Mitchell's first novel Nothing but the Rent, was very engaging.
Near Perfect starts out with the re-introduction of Roxanne, now married to famous Baltimore football star Jamal Steele. Roxanne, who in Nothing But The Rent was struggling to make ends meet as a teacher, is now living a lifestyle of wealth. Not only monetarily but with the love given to her by her husband. Jamal and Roxanne lives this "perfect" life. But sooner or later we all realize nothing or no one is perfect. Roxanne has been trying to conceive and can't. This fact has her so consumed in trying to make a baby that she has become very depressed. Then, Jamal dies while on the football field right before a championship game. Roxanne's world has now turned topsy-turvy. As we all know when a famous entertainer or athlete dies or is just in the limelight, lies and semi-truths come out. Roxanne is now faced with stories that her husband was on steroids which helped in his death. Then she was faced with a story that there was a "love" child. With no one else to turn to but her friends, she finds comfort in the arms of her childhood best friend and Jamal's best friend and team mate Linc.
I think this book was a very easy read and quite entertaining. It was very interesting to see the characters from Nothing But the Rent come back together again.
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