Something Real by J.J. Murray

Something Real Reviews

• 
  Danielle The Book Huntress *Pluto is a Planet!*

  Ah, now this was an interracial romance that left me completely satisfied. The name of this book tell you what you need to know. The characters are 100% real. They are people you might work with, go to church with, see at the gas station, or stand in line with at the Walmart. And they are people you want to see happy, and to fall in love with each other.
  
  JJ Murray didn't play it safe with this story. The heroine is older than the hero, and in her late thirties. She's a hefty woman. She's the ex-wife of pastor who turned out to be a closeted homosexual. Despite trying to do the right thing, life hasn't treated her very well. She was ostracized by her congregation for leaving her husband. She could have told everyone about his hidden lifestyle, but instead, she took the hit, and is now considered notorious.
  
  Dewey is a struggling single father. He's blue collar, and dealing with the emotional fallout of his life. He's too much in his own head a first to see the value of a relationship with Penny. But her affection and care for his kids, opens his mind and heart to her.
  
  This is one of those books where I feverishly read each scene between Penny and Dewey. They had that kind of chemistry. And it's so refreshing that they're normal. Not movie star or typical romance novel handsome or beautiful. Dewey seems like a real-life hunk. Working class, with hard muscle, but a little bit of padding as well. While the earthiness of the love scenes in Renee and Jay didn't work for me, they work very well in this story. And race was not the issue. Dewey actually had kids with his last girlfriend who was Black. Sadly, she turned out to be a drug addict who abused them. He didn't know about it, because he wasn't allowed to see them. He had to fight to get custody of them. Because of this, he's just plain worn out, and not ready to risk another relationship. Good thing that Penny's able to give him and his girls lots of TLC.
  
  Although I consider this a romance, it's also mainstream fiction, as Penny and Dewey have to deal with inner and outside conflict. They have to grow as people so they can grow as a couple. I found this to be a wonderful book that I didn't want to end. Dewey and Penny are one of those couples you want to look back on to see how they are doing years later. And Dewey's little kids are very cute.
• 
  Stephanie

  I always want to love a book I read and after Danielle's excellent review, I thought I would love this book. I had planned to read this in 3-5 days but it has taken me a month. It was a little slow and the parts leading up to the actual ending I didn't like so much. The book was funny and sad. It was a bit of fantasy and mysticism but ultimately it was about finding love again in all its form and trusting in yourself and knowing that God has a plan for you. Some of the situations bordered on hysterics and even nonsense but still an amusing read. The zingers in this book were great. So many great lines.
• 
  Bg

  Another Murray book and another disappointment. Though I do like Murray but it seems like some of his story are hit or misses. This is another miss for me. In the beginning main character Ruth is going though a really hard time. Not only is she going though a divorce from a more then slimy prist and was pratically being mistreated by everyone because of the divorce. So now, freshly divorced, working at a salon, and living in a small apartment Ruth was living a pretty lame life. Ruth seemed a little bitter and rough around the edges but she was likeable sometimes. Murray often makes his female black characters a little too overzealous. And what I mean by that is that their trying to be too ghetto or something. It just seemed like she was trying to be "black".
  Anyway, one day at the salon two kids Dee and Tee came in, though timidly, to get their hair done and Ruth was in love with the kids. She basically thought they were so cute, even though Dee(brother) the youngest wouldn't talk and Tee(sister) who wouldn't stop talking were really nice to her. And their father, who I must say is a really nice hilly-billy kinda guy named Dewey.
  Not to give too much away but this book started out really okay then I just couldn't find the reason for why it was so long. The characters were nice and Ruth really did try her best to become a more independent woman. This book was just okay. Still can't stop Original Love which I think is still awesome since I have a long history with that book. But I say if you want to read it then go ahead. I can't be the judge of everything. I just didn't like this book as much as I thought I would. But I still like J.J. Murray and will read some more of this books.
• 
  Connie

  It is an ok book. It took a long time, about 30-40 pages for it to even be called interesting. Once it got going, I really enjoyed the humor of the heroine. I don't think of this as a romance, but more as just a story. I didn't get the romantic connection between Ruth and Dewey and was more of a byproduct. Ruth also annoyed me in the end with her behavior as well. She put too much burden on Dewey when he had nothing to do with how others were treating her. She was unfair and unrealistic, but maybe that is how depression works for some people. They place unrealistic expectations on others. I'll give Mr. Murray one more chance before I make a true decision on him as an author.
• 
  Natasha Mangan

  Amazing!!!! I love interracial love stories.... a good book.
• 
  Tiana

  I did not like the main character Ruth "Penny". I felt that she was very pushy and rude. It was hard to finish this story with her as the main character. I thought that she basically forced herself on this man she didn't know because she liked his kids. She was almost like a stalker to Dewey and his kids. She even went so far as to tell another man's kids not to take his ADHD medicine. I didn't like her as a main character when it came to her relationship with her love interest. I kind of wondered why this man would even want her because she was kind of bossy. Also I found some things a little disingenuous, on one hand you have a woman who supposedly loves the Lord and then she has no qualms about premarital sex or even marriage to a non Christian. There was no mention of her reading her Bible at all. I couldn't help but shake my head at that. However, I did like how Ruth overcame a lot when it came to her ex-husband Jonas and reaching out to her local community. Basically I think I would've liked this story better with a main character who had a different kind of personality. So for me this book was almost a DNF, but definitely a miss for me.
• 
  JemmaT

  Great!!!!
  
  Ok....I loved Ruth....She was better than me because Jonah would have been all over the news when I was done with is behind!!!! I did get upset with ruth...after all what she did to get her man she was ready to lose him , which I could understand after the church did her like that but it was a bit much but Dewry did well. I had many laughs while reading this book.
• 
  ⭐️MidnightSun⭐️

  Of all J.J. Murray book, this is my favorite. These characters are so real everyday ordinary people that you meet along the way in life. Struggles and pain, love and family, ending and new beginnings make up life. That's what I loved about this book.
• 
  Sarahpheena

  It's a really good interracial romance story. It hit me right in the feels at the end. This book was suggested to me, by a co-worker and I'm glad she did. I've recently found it hard to actually finish books, but this book has inspired me to read more avidly again. It was a rather joyful read with good laughs. My bf is now reading it and enjoying it.
• 
  Severine

  I could not stop laughing at the antics of these characters! They were so relatable and I could visualize them going about their business in this small town.
  
  Dewey and Ruth were just so lovable and I was rooting for them to get together and find something real. I fell in love with Dee and Tee and wanted to reach through the pages of the book and give them lots of hugs and love. Pastor BORE-EM, I mean Borum and that Baptist establishment were just too much!
  
  Looking for a good read and lots of laugh, pick up Something Real by J. J. Murray.
• 
  Shadalis

  This here is one of those stories, you know, the ones that make you laugh till your side's hurtin, cry till your eye's are puffy, and makes you feel soo warm inside you jusst gotta say "Awwwww". Penny is a hoot of a black woman, an proud to be. With her gift of playing the organ, she follows GOD with her head held high. Read this story and laugh out loud, nonstop, as she finds her soulmate in a country, redneck white man and his two kids. To her, its the family that GOD planned for her to have all along.
• 
  Cindy

  I liked the basic story, but I did not care for the author's sexual terminology. In my opinion, I thought it took away from the story. I liked Ruth "Penny" Borum", the main character. She always tried to treat people fairly, even when they didn't deserve it. Being that Ruth was a preacher's wife and very devoted to her church, I found it difficult to reconcile that part of her to the raunchy thoughts and language the author chose to write into the character.
• 
  Felecia Parker

  I really enjoyed the book. It didn't focus to much on the interacial aspects of the characters but did use that as an element to add more dimension to the relationships. It was very enjoyable to read.
• 
  Charlisa Tyler

  Good book to read, I enjoyed it so much, when I seen the other books, with this Author's name, I had to get them. He is a good author, I like the way he puts God into his books, and a little loving, but they are books , you want to finish, they get your attention. So far I am happy with his works.
• 
  Domino (aka Meme)

  wasn't my fav by Murray. i didn't really get into the main characters as much in this novel. they just didn't seem to fit together. their relationship seemed forced and unlikely. i did enjoy Dewey's kids though. they were cute. eventhough this one wasn't great i'm still going to read more from him.
• 
  Anino

  An overall decent IR, but in my opinion, it could have been better. Other than that it had lots of snappy downhome dialog, and small bursts of brillance. This book is an example of IR Romance writers needing to raise the bar on the quality of their books.
• 
  Amanda

  Not a bad read! The beginning was the funniest. While reading and cheering Penny on for her life choices and anticipating a happy end, I felt that the ending seemed rushed and unrealistic. I left feel more disappointed than I have with any other of J.J. Murray's books.
• 
  Kara

  Awesome!
  
  This book was great. Real life situation. I could totally relate to this female lead. A very good book overall. JJ. Murray knows how to spin a tale. This was worth the read. Keep up the good work.
• 
  Shayna

  One of my JJ Murray favorites.
• 
  Ikaika

  I thought the book was great. I loved Ruth's Spirit and how she didn't take crap from anyone... not even the members of her church.
• 
  Tiara

  Reread.
• 
  Christy Witherspoon

  My first BWWM read ever! Loved it
• 
  Jordan

  God this book was fucked up. Just no.
• 
  Kelly Murphy

  Cute
  
  This was my first story by JJ and it was really good. I'm looking forward to reading more from him
• 
  Ursula

  Hilarious.