FICTION

The Favorite Son

Dafina: Kensington. Mar. 2015. 320p. ISBN 9781617731983. pap. $15; ebk. ISBN 9781617731990. F
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OrangeReviewStarDrama swirls throughout Warren's (Don't Tell a Soul; The Replacement Wife) inspirational story about relying on faith to get through emotional struggles. Twins Camden and Blaine have been raised in Dallas's Graceway Worship Center run by their domineering father, Pastor Wilson. Straight-arrow Camden is all about writing gospel music, but charismatic Blaine is a gifted singer who also sleeps with the congregation's women on a rotating basis. Along with friends Akil, Dawn, and Amber, the brothers form the gospel group So G.I.F.T.E.D. (God Is Faithful Today and Every Day). Dawn has dated Camden for ten years and wants him to put a ring on her finger and commit to the relationship, but Camden leaps at a recording offer in Atlanta. Meanwhile, Blaine is being groomed as a pastor for a Graceway branch church. Money flows in, but success breeds jealousy as relationships are broken, maybe forever.
VERDICT In this tale hinting of Oxygen's reality TV series Fix My Choir, Warren includes excessive detail about gospel music and behind-the-scenes church maneuverings, but the pace livens up with lots of cold-blooded backstabbing. Betrayal comes fast and furious as it's clear these brothers and friends don't have one another's back.
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