Amazon Category:  Drama Publisher: iUniverse ISBN-10:  0595346677 Type: Fiction Pages: 184 Copyright: May 2005 Steven Porter finds himself the victim of domestic violence at the hands of his beautiful girlfriend. Steven Porter finds himself caught in a vicious cycle of domestic violence…and he’s the victim. When Steven meets gorgeous model Julie Montenegro on a New York City street corner, he thinks he’s struck gold. Rich, famous, and unbelievably sexy, Julie is every man’s dream. Their passionate relationship begins well enough, but there is a dark, sinister side to Julie. For no apparent reason, she explodes and viciously beats Steven, sending him to the hospital more than once. His family is afraid for him, his friends warn him to break it off, but he’s caught on an emotional rollercoaster that he doesn’t know how to stop. With the help of a new love, the church’s spiritual guidance, and his growing courage, Steven finally begins to heal both physically and emotionally. But Julie isn’t ready to let him go, and her jealousy is turning dangerous. Will he break free from her manipulation, or is his fate already sealed?

In Flight
Steven Porter, a software librarian, is just your run of the mill ordinary guy. Instead of a meaningful relationship he took the low road to sure sex. It's a rainy day when he goes to help a woman struggling with her packages and believes he's found the most beautiful person that he's ever laid eyes on. Julie Montenegro, a former model now photographer has the three traits that Steven has longed for:
Intelligence
Attractiveness
Self-Sufficiency

However, Steven allowed himself to move into a relationship without heeding the warning signs. Julie went from fine to strange and enchanting to troublesome in the blink of an eye. Instead of halting things, her inexplicable desires conquered his manhood causing him to become completely dependent.

Julie is demanding, direct and dangerous. Steven learns through pain, blood and tears, that things will be her way either with him as a willing participant or her strong arming him into submission evident from the numerous trips to the emergency room.

As hard as it is to endure, the love that Steven has for Julie is apparent as he willingly protects her, shielding outsiders from the truth while retaining her love and happiness. Julie is attentive and provides sex, frequent & expensive gifts and as the situations dips further into hell, she learns to control Steven's emotions.

Living in shame and fear, Steven questions his `manhood'. He learns that domestic violence isn't gender bias and that there are other men in this situation. After admitting his release of control and being able to accept help and love, Steven recovers a little bit of power and decides that he has to want to take another chance on life. Can he untangle the web that Julie has on his heart, mind, and spirit in order to become his own man?

I admittedly was a person who thought that this role reversal was something I wouldn't be able to understand. Naively, I assumed that a man would never allow any woman to mistreat and disregard him in such a way. STEVEN is a very dominant tale that forces you to look beyond limitations. I was moved to tears in many of these pages and I found myself wondering how it must feel to be afraid of the person you love. I pray that I never have to live through that and that those who have and do seek help. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IS REAL.

I highly recommend this revealing read to any and everyone regardless of gender, race and socio economic status. People knowledge is power.


Enchanting but Troublesome
Steven and Julie's relationship is a tumultuous one.

"You made me do this!"

Words uttered by one mate to the other after a fierce beating. Julie, a petite perfect size six, is no physical match to Steven at six-one, six-two, at least 200 pounds. If it were only that simple...

"You made me!"

With manipulation, power, fear, and sex, the scales have tilted in the other direction. It is Steven that is subjected to mental and physical abuse at the mouth and hands of Julie. Ashamed, broken, and scared, Steven doesn't know if he's coming or going. Slap after slap, punch after punch, kick after kick, he's dangerously nearing the point of no return. Will Steven continue to suffer in silence?

As this frank novel unfolds, Steven will suffer more than physical abuse as he questions his worth and manhood. Marvin Curtis Reid has drawn a vivid and dramatic portrait that gives readers a greater understanding of an often unspoken of abuse - men victimized by women. Steven's struggles will resonate for anyone that has themselves been a victim or knows someone that is - pretty much everyone. I highly recommend this novel.

Thank you Marvin. Did you succeed? Yes, you did.


A Triumph!
Settling in for a nice evening and curling up with a good book? Well, this ain't it. If you're looking for a nice chick-lit story or some sweet, honest drama, you've come to the wrong place. STEVEN is a gritty, shoot from the hip memoir of a man suffering the indignity of domestic abuse at the hands of his "gorgeous" girlfriend, Julie. About Julie: she's a character that you'd love to grab by the neck and squeeze. Her visceral actions will leave you speechless, especially one particular scene...but I won't give that one away.

Steven Porter himself is a sweet and gentle character who is exceptionally well developed, but his choices obviously contributed to his situation with Julie. Fortunately, Fallon, his subsequent wife is an amazing person. The author's characterization of her is obviously meant to send a message to the men of the world. She's generous, loving, patient and strong, just the way she should have been. She needed to be to deal with a situation like that.

Overall, this book is mind-bending and shows the triumph of the human spirit. I applaud the writer for his insight and taking on a topic that is extremely difficult. Men are often victims of circumstance and generally unwilling to come forward, Reid clearly points that out. Though some might be more interested in why Julie was the way she was, that really doesn't matter because it's about Steven and how he manages to get through it all.

It was indeed a pleasure.