On The Run With Love
by J.M. Benjamin

Reviewed by: Cherri Millard

Freddie Holmes is your archetypal street-running, heart-breaker with a specialty in seduction; a ladies man or male gigolo if you will. He loves flashy clothes, cars, money, and beautiful women. But he's far from your average gun-toting hustler. He is known for seducing and preying on women to get what he wants; milking them down to the last drop and for everything they've got.

The story wouldn't be worth the read without the supporting cast: Simone—Freddie's main woman—who is what every ghetto don desires, she is attractive, smart, and does whatever she has to in order to please her king, even hustle if it calls for it; Gina—his dessert after every meal with Simone being his main course every time; Slug the cousin of Freddie, who schools his family member on the ins and outs of the dope game.

The story doesn't actually start until Freddie murders a rival thug and accidentally strikes a police officer. From here on in, you now know why the book is titled: On The Run With Love. Freddie drops his gun while trying to evade return fire from his rivals; the gun has his fingerprints all over it. Simone is drawn in into this catastrophe after the car Freddie was driving on the night of the murder is found and authorities learn the car is registered in her name. On the run they go with Simone risking it all to be with Freddie. With police in search of Freddie and Simone, plus the victim's brother out for vengeance, how will they ultimately live their lives?

The two venture south with the help of Slug. Through it all, Simone would end up pregnant and Freddie goes back to what he knows best, "macking" in order to provide for the both of them and their unborn child. Eventually, while down south, Freddie gets back with Gina for the first time since he's been on the run and not only does she drain his pockets of the little bit of money he had, but she also sets him up with a package to distribute for sale. He turns to Slug for assistance in successfully flipping the drugs. Now it's back to the lavish life they all know, while police and henchmen track them to the south.

On The Run With Love proves to be your one-stop shop for a street lit book that is filled with: clothes, jewelry, cars, women, cops and robbers. What somewhat amazed me was the fact, that not one character in this book was unattractive; everyone for the most part seemed to either have a gorgeous face, an excellent figure or body and long luscious hair, with perfect features and well "dipped," (well dressed). This was one of the first novels that I've read where you didn't have to worry about imagining a character with a horrible appearance.

What did you like best about this book?
I loved the front cover and I also liked the book's overall message.

What did you dislike about this book?
The story took some time to pick up, then it slowed down again; a rollercoaster ride for sure. There were a few moments where the story got off track and lost its focus. There was too much description of clothes, jewelry, and the like; I often got distracted with this as well as the overuse of slang within the narrative. Freddie said "Ma" too many times and it actually got annoying throughout the read.

There were tons of unnecessary character banter, fumbling, and tussling. This also slowed the overall read down. There was not one ugly female inserted in this book; again, every last female introduced within the pages was extra glamorous: Simone, Gina, Kiki, Tina, all of them! I actually started waiting for an ugly character. The fact that everyone was beautiful made this a bit unrealistic because in reality everyone is not a beauty queen.

How can the author approve this book?
Get rid of all the irrelevant things! This took away from the narrative and story being told and made it fall off track frequently. Imagine listening to someone talk to you about a movie, but all that is spoken of is what the characters were wearing instead of plot points or scenes.

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