Should Have Known Better

Written by Grace Octavia

Narrated by Sharon Washington

When your dreams come crashing down, what's next? In Essence bestselling author Grace Octavia's moving new novel, one woman must begin again when betrayal shatters the life she knew. . . Dawn Jones's sorority sisters thought she made a big mistake marrying blue-collar Reginald. But thanks to hard work and belief in each other, Dawn and Reginald left the big city and made their own happiness, complete with a comfortable home and two lively children. Dawn can't wait to show everyone just how perfect her choices were-especially when her mega-successful best friend, Sasha, shows up to visit. But she never expected Sasha would like Reginald so much she'd steal him for herself. . .or that Reginald would see Sasha as a second chance to pursue hopes he never fulfilled. With her perfect life now in shambles, Dawn will do whatever it takes to regain what she's lost. But the road back will mean facing the hardest of truths, even tougher choices-and risking more than she ever imagined to discover what her life could really be. "Wonderful . . . holds your attention from beginning to end." -Romantic Times on Something She Can Feel "Funny and sexy." -Essence on Take Her Man "Octavia pens a great tale." --The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 20, 2013
• ISBN: 9781470379742

Grace Octavia

Grace Octavia is a native of Long Island and a graduate of New York University. She also completed her PhD in English at Georgia State University. A proud sister of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, she is also a member of the Sigma Tau Delta National English Honor Society. The former editor of Rolling Out Urbanstyle Weekly, she lives in Atlanta, GA. She enjoys international travel, hiking, cooking, and being with her girlfriends. She currently teaches writing at Spelman College.

Reviews for Should Have Known Better

[sunshine608 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

My sister picked this book up first and I though it sounds interesting and it didn’t appear to be one of those drama for drama’s sake books. Plus the author is attending my Alma Mater, so I had to support Ms. Octavia.

Should have Known Better introduces us to Dawn Johnson a devoted wife, mother and librarian living in Augusta, GA. Dawn exemplifies the working mom struggle which is increased by the fact that her son, has Autism. One day she gets a call from a her old college roommate who is in town for a conference and wants to come hang out like old times. Sasha is Dawn’s sorority sister and once best friend who is now an acclaimed journalist living the fast life in the Atl. While Dawn is excited, she also has some reservations about Sasha coming to visit because she knows that Sasha has never approved of her relationship/marriage to her husband Reginald a blue collar worker who never finished college. Reginald has his own issue with Sasha and her BUPPIE lifestyle. Putting all that aside, Sasha comes to visit and after she and Regional initially but heads, things soon swing quickly in the other direction. Dawn is never able to put her hands on it, but she sees things changing and her gut tells her that Sasha is desperate for a man and a baby and will do anything to get it.
The story reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend recently. I wanted to visit her and her family in their new military duty station( which for reference was outside the continental U.S.). During the planning process she told me that she would was fine with me staying with her. I remember being taken aback because the only way I could afford this trip was because I didn’t budget a hotel. My friend went on to explain that her mother had warned her not to have her friends staying in her house with her husband unless she could trust them( no clarification on if them included the husband). Apparently, I had made the cut, but many others had not and it caused a riff in the friendships. That conversation stayed with me for years and pops in my head from time to time. After reading this book, I wonder if Dawn could have benefited from a similar conversation.

I really wanted to like Dawn, but I had trouble with the plot. It’s completely plausible, but Dawn was just so slow to act and clueless it was annoying. Now we have all been in a situation where our gut tells us one thing, but the way Dawn took a back seat was just annoying.
I really enjoyed the writing, and the way that Ms. Octavia addressed some really big A’s- Adultery, Alcoholism and Autism and because of her smooth writing, I kept reading even if I didn’t really connect with Dawn and wanted to reach into the book and shake her. Sometimes the sequence of events just seemed over the top and the ending was pretty abrupt which I guess means we can anticipate a sequel. I know love and lust are crazy things, but Sasha and Reginald just seemed far-fetched. Had it not been for the great writing, I probably would have given up on the book halfway through, but the writing flowed so well, it was easy to just keep going.