4.5 out 5 books
Twenty-years-ago F.I.R.E, a female R&B group, hit the music industry with a force that couldn’t be recognized by any other of its time. Their songs had dope beats and lyrics, and each girl seemed to ooze seductiveness. Four high school friends would have never imagined how huge their group would become and that they would have a least a decade in the industry as a group. The more they were in the limelight of stardom, they seemed to lose themselves among conflicts between each other, egos and addiction. The group began to fall apart. When the lead singer, Shai decided to go solo and leave the group…that was the end of F.I.R.E.
From the outside looking in (from what the tabloids and magazines showed) it looked like Shai was happy in all she had and had accomplished. I mean she did have 5 solo albums and had over 8 million in sales. Money was good. She has 2 beautiful children and married to one of the best basketball players in the NBA. But everything that glitters, is not gold.
During her high school and early part of her career with F.I.R.E, Reign was always referred to as the chubby or overweight one of the group. She is finally at the stage in her life where she is physically comfortable with her weight and has maintained her healthy and fit lifestyle. She has a mother that has been a drug addict and this is the source of pain from an early age. But Reign loves her more than anything and would do anything to make sure her mother is taken care of.
Kiki is driven…driven by money. ‘The money maker.’ Kiki went on to write countless hits for big names in the music industry and has multiple Grammy awards to show for them.
Paris is still bitter and pissed about Shai’s abrupt departure from the group. The way she went about it was just wrong on so many levels. Now the only interest she has in the music industry is her husband that is a rapper.
When the girls are brought together after a public reunion, gossip starts to circulate that F.I.R.E may be getting back together. Will they consider it and possibly do another album together?
F.I.R.E by Portia Cosby will put you in mind of the days when girl R&B groups such as TLC, Xscape, Changing Faces, Total and SWV and many others were just a few of the hottest on the scene. At the time of me reading this novella I went to the XSCAPE concert a (four girl group, popular back in the day) just seemed ironic. If anyone follows Ms. Cosby on social media one thing you can easily determine is that she loves R&B music and especially groups like TLC. It just seemed a natural thing for her write this type of novella. Reading this is like reading a script for a hip hop reality tv show, all the drama, lies and secrets are just waiting to explode. Ms. Cosby did an excellent job in engaging this reader and has me eagerly anticipating the novel to come.
Reviewed by Leona Romich
Urban Reviews
