Review by DBNJ -- Mixed Blessings by J.M. Muse

[DBNJ]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Mixed Blessings" by J.M. Muse.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Kimberly Solberg is a biracial girl who is born to a Mexican father and his mistress a Jewish - American mother. She is curious to know about her identity in the company of her other family, so she goes to Mexico to see them.

Michael Kublai Khan is a black society religious leader and the minister of The House of Jeremiah. He has a long-held belief that the government is not giving due recognition to his community and feels that there is much racial discrimination against them when it comes to important social affairs. Therefore, he has devised a long-term plan to increase the black population by initiating interracial marriages involving black males and Asian females. Pastor Tucker Dalton, who is the leader of the white-dominated congregation called Christian Covenant Church finds out this outrageous plan and stop at nothing to destroy it.

Meanwhile, Star Mathews, a half colored and half-Japanese girl participates in a Japanese community contest called The Gardena Cherry Blossom pageant. She finds she is not even included in the last five contestants due to her mixed race. This is despite her performing exceptionally well and getting the highest scores in the initial rounds.

Read Mixed Blessings by J.M.Muse to find out what happens next.

Mixed Blessings is a work of fiction that talks about alternate present-day events. The plot unfolds assuming that civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X never existed, and civil rights laws were not passed in America. As a result, the minority communities in America, especially people of black color and mix race are deprived of real democracy and human right privileges.

The protagonist of the novel, Kublai Khan’s quest is to find a lasting solution to this racial discrimination faced by his community. Even though he is the central character in the story, several other characters do exist, which leads to multiple storylines together. Regrettably, some of these characters and storylines are not interrelated to the protagonist or the plot of the novel. For example, Star Mathew’s character, as well as the narrative, seems to be independent of the central plot. As a result, the consistency and coherence of the story are somewhat lacking.

Moreover, it would have been more appropriate if the author has presented the state of affairs of a supposedly white-dominated society in a realistic way. While following the story, the readers do not get the impression that there does exist a racial disparity among the general public. For example, there are instances where the characters talk about today's popular public figures like Michael Jackson, Denzel Washington and Mariah Carey. However, it is hard to fathom these personalities will ever be popular in an era where black colored people do not get any opportunities. We rarely come across the names of such personalities prior to the civil rights moment.

Notwithstanding the preceding flows, what I admire most about the novel is the author’s courageous attempt at portraying that there nevertheless exist racial discrimination in any culture. This is a frequent occurrence in any society, though it is a rare topic in public forums in this day and age. What I observe is that biracial individuals are the most vulnerable and fall victims to this issue as they belong to two diverse cultures. Most of the time, neither of the cultures is willing to accept these individuals as one of their people. The author recounts two storylines to stress this factor which will present the readers a different perspective. For example, Star Mathew is unable to win the beauty pageant contest simply because she is not a pure Japanese girl. Likewise, Kimberly Solberg is getting bullied by her friends as she is from a diverse racial family.

Considering the aforementioned factors, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. I have discovered some grammatical and typographical errors. The book contains profanity and includes descriptions of erotic encounters. The novel would be more appropriate to a mature audience. The readers who would like thriller novels with a bit of romance involved are encouraged to read this book.

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Mixed Blessings
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[Jackie Holycross]

Are the interracial marriages random or based on love? It seems pretty underhanded. Still, it would be interesting to see how the author interpreted a world without the Civil Rights movement.

[MeganDJ]

I must agree that the way in which Michael intends to reduce the prevalence of racial discrimination is unethical and abhorrent especially if it is nonconsensual among the relevant parties. Still, I do appreciate that the author was giving a realistic and shameful view of how society can discriminate against people who do not look like them Thank you for the wonderfully detailed review! Happy reading

[Honest-reviewer]

I agree with your opinion about this book.. Even I think it should have been more realistic. Your review was nice and detailed. I liked it.

[Melisa Jane]

I've also been able to read this book. The subjects tackled are very relevant. Nice review

[Ellylion]

Thank you for this honest review! I believe I should explore this book and the subjects it touches on.

[DBNJ]

Are the interracial marriages random or based on love? It seems pretty underhanded. Still, it would be interesting to see how the author interpreted a world without the Civil Rights movement.

The marriages are actually at random and part of the population increasing part. So sometimes it feels a bit odd as well. This is part of the plot, so that's the reason I have mentioned that the author could have given more perspective and meaning to the plan. Thank you for the comment. Happy reading

[DBNJ]

I must agree that the way in which Michael intends to reduce the prevalence of racial discrimination is unethical and abhorrent especially if it is nonconsensual among the relevant parties. Still, I do appreciate that the author was giving a realistic and shameful view of how society can discriminate against people who do not look like them Thank you for the wonderfully detailed review! Happy reading

Thanks for your kind words. Happy reading!

[DBNJ]

I agree with your opinion about this book.. Even I think it should have been more realistic. Your review was nice and detailed. I liked it.

Thanks for commenting. Happy reading!

[DBNJ]

I've also been able to read this book. The subjects tackled are very relevant. Nice review

Thanks for stopping by!

[DBNJ]

Thank you for this honest review! I believe I should explore this book and the subjects it touches on.

Thanks for teh comment. Happy reading!

[Adanna Inya]

While subjects explored are relevant, the execution was poor. I've read this book and didn't enjoy it. Nice review.

[DBNJ]

While subjects explored are relevant, the execution was poor. I've read this book and didn't enjoy it. Nice review.

Thanks for stopping by.

[Kanda_theGreat]

Muse did a great job with his choice of topic and content, but failed to do enough justice to the book, with it's poor execution. I believe it would have been better to fully exploit the potential of one character to the end.
Thank you for the honest review.

[Tonika632]

I have read this book and I have found it really interesting. I was surprised to find many mistakes. Nice review!