Pecking Order

July 14, 2008
A hard-working San Diego accountant changes his station in life in Tyree's overlong, phoned-in latest. After Ivan David is embarrassingly denied entrance to a hip, downtown party, he goes home and dreams of becoming a big-time party promoter. Then he gets to work on pursuing that dream, and good things happen. His first party is a hit, and he hooks up with Lucina Gallo, who has a ton of great connections. As bigger and bigger money flows in, Ivan and Lucina experience their share of growing pains. Things work out and Ivan makes a pile of money, but readers may find themselves wondering after several hundred pages what the point is.

September 1, 2008
In best-selling, prolific author Tyree's ("Flyy Girl") latest, which he has pronounced his final adult urban fiction novel, Ivan David, a modest accountant in a well-established San Diego accounting firm, slowly leaves his position to embark on his dreams: promoting parties and events through his own company and web site. When he teams up with Lucina Gallo, a Brazilian Italian socialite who has been planning parties for years, they become an unstoppable force in the world of public relations. Offering everyday businesspeople an opportunity to rub noses with the rich and famous takes Ivan to new heights financially, while the attraction between him and Lucina slowly heats up. Tyree offers readers an intriguing, somewhat well-paced, and extremely wordy plot with an ending that is a bit dry and unrealistic; however, this book is worth reading for the joy of seeing the underdog rise to the top. Recommended for libraries with contemporary African American fiction collections.Lisa Jones, Birmingham P.L., AL

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2008
When 28-year-old Ivan Davids mother died after a long fight with cancer, it liberated him to really think about his future beyond the staid accounting firm where he worked. He felt some guilt that he hadnt been with his mother at the end, but shed always told him she wanted him to get on with his life. And thats exactly what he doesstarting a party service with an Internet connection, ID Promotions, to keep San Diego residents abreast of the lively interracial nightlife. Lucina Gallo, a stunning Italian Brazilian woman, with her own well-earned reputation as a party sponsor, teams with Ivan to dream up ever more fabulous productions featuring local athletes and national music stars. All the while, Lucina worries that Ivan will be like her previous partners, who allowed their egos todestroy the partnership. And then there is the matter of the sexual tension between the two of them. Tyree offers plenty of celebrity name-dropping and Internet business planning in this novelabout finding thebalance between ambition and love.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)