If you are not aware already, in 2022 I have been starting each month off by reading the work of an author that is new to me. “A Novice’s First Take” will be my raw feelings, thoughts, and opinions about these authors’ stories. It will consist of three sections; my pre-reading thoughts, my raw thoughts, and hindsight. Of course the Pre-Reading Thoughts section briefly describes my thoughts from the cover or from reading the synopsis alone. My Raw Thoughts section features the unstructured immediate thoughts that I have while reading. Lastly, the Hindsight section highlights my overall reading experience and my big takeaways. If you haven’t read it already, there will be some spoilers in the Raw Thoughts section.
In April I decided to get into Kimberly Brown. I’ve seen a lot of readers sing her praises, so I am definitely intrigued. To start off I am going to be reading Beyond Measures. This story follows Ariyanna Ramirez, a young woman who is in a dead end relationship with a serial cheater, Jordan. When she encounters Simeon Cartwright, a single father, the pair’s lives change forever. While Ari comes with heavy baggage of her own, Sime has a lot of issues that he is sorting out too, including his deadbeat babymama who comes back into the picture. Will their relationship be able to withstand the test if time or will their personal drama cause them to go their separate ways?
TRIGGER WARNING ⚠️
Sexual Assault
Domestic Violence
Gun Violence
Violence Against Pregnant Women
Pre-Reading Thoughts
What initially attracted me to this book is the cover. Usually I don’t really care about what the cover looks like, as long as it’s not looking too low budget. The cover of Beyond Measures is making me want to read it and I haven’t even read the synopsis! Plus it’s an Urban Romance, and that’s my fav. I’m excited to see what it’s giving.
My Raw Thoughts
Ari Girl, why are you going through that man’s phone when you already know he’s cheating and has been cheating. If you don’t go ahead and leave this little boy! What Cardi say?! “A nigga only gon do what you allow!” If you don’t make your worth known and set that boundary, a lame is going to treat you less than. If someone tells you that they love you but they don’t show it through their actions, then they are a liar! Sis got all the proof in the world telling her to leave, but she’s holding on to a sliver of hope. I’m gonna need Ms. Ari to STAND UP expeditiously! This book is going to be a lesson for the girls: DON'T LET YOUR BOYFRIEND BLOCK YOU FROM YOUR HUSBAND!
It’s homeboy and the grillz for me! I ain’t gon lie, I thought his occupation would be a little different, but a mechanic is cool too. He was definitely laying it on thick, had me blushing too lol. Like forget Jordan, we’re with Mr.Cartwright now! Okay, so he’s a single father and I bet the BM is going to try to come back and wreak havoc.
Wtf is up with the sexual assault in the bathroom?! Like is something going to happen with that orrrr? I’m on chapter two, but I already know I’m going to need Memphis and Lovey’s story.
Mmmm, Sime’s like “oh I was sooo reckless back in the day you would have thought I was from the ghetto and not a two parent household in the suburbs.” I don’t like that line at all. First off, it's just lame. To me, it insinuates some harmful generalizations. It’s blatantly problematic. It’s not a deal breaker, but I'm not feeling it. He claims to be a “hood nigga”, but he’s missing one defining factor, and that’s actually being from the hood. It takes more than some aesthetics and a little recklessness. That's messing up the vibe for me because it’s giving inauthenticity.
One thing I like about Sime is that he knows how to apply pressure! They just met and he’s already calling, texting, cooking brunch, and threatening to shoot people lol! Sime is already on go for her. He’s not letting Ms. Ari get away.
This stripping scene is everything. Ari got bitches saltyyyyy! I know Jordan is sitting there bricked up and mad as hell! I just know they are about to smash after that lap dance. Bruh, here Sime go doing too much and ruining the moment.
See hold on. You barely know this man, haven’t talked to him in two weeks, and the first time you call you’re asking for help? Getting him into some crazy mess? I’m not feeling that. What if Jordan started shooting or something? She is starting a whole beef. Sime has a whole lot that he could lose over her mess. Women who talk too much and don’t think when they are hurt are dangerous.
Not them on the regular phone talking about a conspiracy to commit murder. Like, no. If Sime was really real like he’s presented, he would have off’d Jordan in silence and the police wouldn’t have even been an option.
Ari is acting stupid talking about she doesn’t feel safe with Sime. What? She’s about to go to a hotel alone so she can end up getting attacked or kidnapped.
Sime talked so heavy about how his name held weight in the streets, yet he was fumbling terribly. This is what I’m saying, he’s not really like that. Then Ari keeps calling him her saving grace or her protector when not only did he make it worse, but Ari had to kill Jordan herself wtf.
Hindsight
The first thing that I will say is that I enjoy Kimberly Brown’s writing style. At some points things would get repetitive (which caused some stagnancy), but other than that there were a lot of great qualities, especially her word choice. From Beyond Measures I can tell that she takes her craft seriously. Another thing that I liked was the depiction of family. Neicy was embraced by Ari like a sister, Ari was treated like she was really a part of Sime’s family, and Ari and Kyla naturally formed a mother daughter bond. These relationships showed that family doesn’t always have to mean blood relation; it can also indicate the strength of a bond. Their connections were heartwarming.
If I’m going to be honest though, I have to say that from the first third of this book something about this felt off. I’m a lover of urban romance. That’s probably what I read the most, so as a reader who is well versed in urban romance I can say that this didn’t give me that vibe. I can see how other readers could get urban romance from this, but I was expecting something a little different. For me, it was just a romance trying to be urban romance, but falling flat. Similarly to how Sime was pretending to be a gangsta, but failed miserably. It wasn’t about his occupation either. It was about the fact that when it was time to put in real work he folded terribly and failed to protect his woman.
Reading this made me think: What is Urban Romance really? I’m realizing that for some people it is being simplified to aesthetics: wearing certain things, owning a gun, having characters with reckless mouths, speaking a certain way, and putting in grills. While some of these things may frequently be included in urban romance, the biggest thing is ensuring that the story captures the essence of urban life, struggles of those different lifestyles, and the realities of the people who reside in those areas, while still covering the growth of a romantic relationship. To me, Beyond Measures could have been set anywhere (for the majority of the story I didn’t even know where they were). Nothing about it screamed urban romance besides the stereotypical stuff.
Cut to the chase: Would I read another Kimberly Brown story?
Absolutely, like I said I really do enjoy her writing style. This particular story fell flat for me but I would be interested in reading her regular Black romances. I would love to get into Memphis and Lovey’s story!
If anyone is interested, I would really like to know what you guys think about this story specifically or about Urban Romance as a genre. Am I tripping? Let me know. Like always don’t forget to like and comment your thoughts (my DM is always open for discussion!) Until next time, Happy Readinggg 💕
Ciao,
J. Lynae 💋
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