Ambitious’ Secret by Dameyon Allen

Posing hard questions about when we need to adjust our moral compass, Ambitious’ Secret: Hope’s Story by Dameyon Allen brings readers into the heart of Houston and its pulsing throb of hustlers, heartbreakers, and aspiring legends.

Hope is a fast-talking boss lady who knows how to work any player to get exactly what she wants. With her star on the rise, there seems to be no stopping her, until ambition collides with the unavoidable realities of an unforgiving game, in this brutal story of gritty city survival.

Allen’s visceral writing style is an uncut stream of consciousness, instantly immersing readers in the detailed lives of the alternating narrators, from fending off wannabe lovers and holding down the club to slinging on street corners and throwing the right punches. Laced with snappy dialogue that gives the writing a natural and contemporary edge, the storytelling feels freshly ripped from reality.

That said, there are scattered errors throughout the text (e.g., “souls” vs. “soles,” “bother” vs “brother”), and the prose would benefit from a thorough proofread to tighten up drawn-out conversations and redundant narration. There are also moments when colloquial patterns of speech change abruptly, and a tendency to tell, rather than show. However, despite these execution issues, the writing slaps with a fierce attitude and blunt beauty that will resonate with readers of urban fiction across America.

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