Title: On Top of the World: Until the Bell Chimes
Author: David Lamb
Publisher: Wooly Mammoth Books
Publish Date: 2016

Book blurb: "Now let's be real: The more things change, the more they stay the same. An artist has to know his audience. Who do you think was buying my music? Shoot, if I had to rely on Black folks to actually purchase the music, I'd be broke and living in the projects." Loc 1479 of 2229

Rating: 5 stars

On Top of the World is by far the best read of the holiday season coming up so far. I say so far because I haven't read another Christmas story yet. The novel makes me laugh because it is modeled after A Christmas Carol using the characters of Scrooje, Marley, and Cratchit. Add to the trio Belle, Kleo, and Tiffany, and you have another modern-day redemption story.
Scrooje, a big-time music mogul -is the main character in this story. Just as Scrooge before him, he became a miserly man who only thought of money and the bottom line. He didn't think of how other people felt. He grew up poor and an orphan. He lost his sister to another family when they were younger but adopted by his partner in crime, Marley. After Marley's death by a pool, he, Scrooje, was visited- by three ghosts. Actually, in this story, I only count two ghosts; in my rush to see how it ends, I glossed over the third ghost. As with the story, it ends with Scrooje turning over a new leaf.
Here is the twist: it is set with a music background, growing up as an adoptee with a fear of failure. Scrooje felt insecure and showed it to those who grew up with him. But they were all the way in with him for survival and success. When he met his future wife Belle, they were going to college, and she was already a sorority sister-legacy pledge. The two stayed together as Cratchit, Marley, and Scrooje built their music career and two companies together. The three were all under the business run by Scrooje. Belle was the woman who kept him centered and made his life worthwhile until their fight. The fight over giving money to charity.
One such charity run by his former principal from his elementary school, Ms. Williams -is the one he turned down on national television. He did feel bad; about that because she didn't have any money. Cratchit had family problems but found the love of his life just like Scrooje wanted to.
I gave this book five stars because I laughed through the whole thing. The twist on A Christmas Carol and the use of the names show that people needed to be nicer and better to have life. It was great. I think you should all read this book for real!

David Lamb takes us through a riveting account of a relationship—or the lack thereof—at the top of the Hollywood food chain.

This masterpiece draws on intermittent stories from the eyes of both weirdly-relatable characters, allowing for a compelling mesh of experiences while enjoying the mental stimulation that stems from the constant switch between a pair of juxtaposing world views, imaginations, and language styles.

On top of the world is an effortless and engaging read. It flows using a modern and casual style, incorporating well-thought-out, often humorous references.

This covert high-society romance is an excellent fit for lovers of good literature everywhere

Scrooʝe was the next big thing in the music industry. You gotta give the guy credit for climbing up through the ranks to become a big-time music mogul. Heck, he even considered himself the King of the World.

But it’s not all butterflies and rainbows and unicorns for Ebenezer Scrooʝe. He displayed himself for everyone else to see, to admire and adulate him from the pedestal. He’s got some irksome attitude, annoyingly greedy behavior, and obnoxious and unfair treatment of his subjects. And worst, he cheated on the one girl who had been with him from the beginning.

Belle was the one thing that illuminated Scrooʝe’s life. But now she’s no longer within his reach. True, she was responsible for his rise from rags to riches, for his major makeover and flock of adoring fans. Too bad, things didn’t go well with these lovers.

Beneath the facade of ego that Scrooʝe showed, there lurked some secrets of the past and more surprisingly, a vulnerable heart. And it’s up to his dead friend Marley’s ghost to make Scrooʝe see what he has been missing, what currently destroys him, and what lies ahead in the near future.

I must admit though, at first, I was quite irritated with Scrooʝe. He was so full of himself, he disrespected people, and he annoyed the hell out of me. My heart ached for Belle, I couldn’t quite grasp the struggles she’d been through with Scrooʝe’s rise to stardom. I really liked Belle’s character, she was definitely the one good thing in this book that had me reading until the end. And yes, there was also Marley’s manacled ghost that made Scrooʝe’s chaotic life more interesting.

It’s my first time in a long while to read a satirical novel about celebrity life. David Lamb was able to reimagine A Christmas Carol into this new book with complexity, grit, and tenacity. The ghosts of the past played a big role in making Scrooʝe’s life fascinating and palpable. The writing was excellent and the pacing was fast. I never thought I’d appreciate this kind of satirical fiction with a paranormal twist but I ended up liking it. Such a great honest read!

I absolutely loved this book. On Top of the World Until the Bell Chimes is a very fitting title for this refreshing twist on an old classic. A twist as it is not only modernized but it is also an African American tale of love. A tale of a man’s journey to obtaining what he thinks he wants until he realizes the loss that comes with it. I was impressed with the storyline and how the characters’ lives were entwined.
Sometimes our worst enemy is our mind. And Emotional pain is the most destructive pain that there is as you cannot see the scars. It’s that pain that we use to define who we are and how we act. David Lamb takes us deep inside the souls of his characters
Scrooje endured losses in his life that scarred him and almost cost him all that he loved. Mr. Lamb shows through Scrooje how true love can prevail. From the moment she met Scrooje , Belle saw in him what he didn’t see in himself.
My favorite part of this story was the history. I love how you are given a brief but meaningful background of the characters.

This book is a modern-day twist of Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol”. It tells the story of progtantist who must redeem himself or he’ll suffer grave consequences.

The main character Scrooje Ebenezer lost his parents in a tragic accident when he was a child and he was forced to live a hard life. Despite odds against him doing well and succeeding in life, he worked his way up from humble beginnings, attending college and doing well. While in college he meets Belle, a fellow law student and they fall in love. However the relationship goes south when he betrays her. Three years after their breakup, Scrooje is a rich narcissist who has made it big in the music industry but with all his riches he still wants more.

On the day of the Award Ceremony, Scrooje is visited by the ghost of his close friend, Marley who died tragically. Marley’s ghostly body was entwined with chains forged during his lifetime of greed and selfishness. Marley warns him about his lifestyle in hopes to help him avoid the same fate. Marley tells Scrooje that will be visited by three ghosts and that he must listen or he’ll have to carry heavier chains than his own.

I really don’t want to get into the story because that is not fair to the author or you. Read the book and enjoy the story for yourself. I will say that this is a good twist to the original story. I have never read a book like this before so I was very intrigued with the concept and the writing style of the author. The characters are also well developed and the story teaches a valuable lesson.

This book had me hanging off its pages. I finished this book in less than a day. I couldn’t stay away. I had to finish chapter after chapter after chapter. There was nothing predictable in this book. You’ll laugh a little, tear up, get angry, and fall in love with the characters. This book is a load of emotions as it highlights modern-day issues and themes such as wealth, power, sex, and love.

I love the grittiness of this story and the twist and turns. It really pulled at my heart.

A MUST-READ!

On Top of the World is a fast-paced romantic fiction by David Lamb. In comparison, it might have been a retelling of the Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. This author has done an amazing job of making this story his own, imbued with African-American culture and history (not to mention laugh-out-loud humour).
This story starts 3 years earlier when Belle, the IT girl, gets involved with a scrawny nerd against all counsel. Fast forward to the future, Scrooge is a multimillion-dollar superstar with no respect for anyone or anything. With the ghost of Scrooge's fourth-grade best friend, who died in a freak accident, we go on this journey of redemption of Scrooge with Belle and Marley.
I was hooked from the first chapter, and you, as the reader, will find yourself flipping from page to page, unable to drop the book until you're done. This well-written, witty, and extremely entertaining book will take you on a roller-coaster of emotions, and you'd be glad to read it.

I'm so glad that I stumbled across this read! I work in the entertainment industry so it is needless to mention that it was uber relatable for me. The writer nailed the essence of relationships in the industry. This page-turner, though short, left me with all the feels and wasn't short on the laughs. I highly recommend adding this work of art to your collection! Hats off to the author!