Alpha Females Unleashed: From the Boardroom to the Bedroom by C.C. Lyons (Book Review)
Thanks for stopping by. Are you new to Black and Bookish? Please take a look around. Here are the books I've read and reviewed, or you can start here to get an overview of who I am and what I do. Don't forget to subscribe to get news and posts sent straight to your inbox.
“Despite the limited exploration and thorough examination of the Alpha Female, there is an understanding that she is not the typical societal female.”
This post contains affiliate links.
*****
Get Unleashed
From the title alone, I was excited to read this book. I've always been seen as a bit intimidating by some, and I expected to find my own thoughts and feelings tied up within these chapters. I'm also not one to shy away from exploring the life experiences of others, regardless of societal norms. Written by C.C. Lyons, Alpha Females Unleashed: From the Boardroom to the Bedroom takes a look at how strong women, known as Alphas, tend to take charge and what that might mean for life and future happiness.
Lyons has personal experience with corporate life and chose to take the narratives of many people to write her book. She presented a wide range of ideas, but all coming back to the notion that knowing the ins and outs of an Alpha Female can help both men and women be their best selves for their partners, coworkers, and families.
*****
Mixed Feelings
Sometimes I worry that self-published books won't hold up to mass-market titles. But this book is produced on great quality material and is well-written. The language and chapters flow freely, and it's easy to understand. There is a natural progression to the build-up of finding balance in your life as a single, hard-working woman, and transitioning to creating a family with a man who can hold his own.
What would trip me up was the structure.
I have to be honest and say that this book is not for me. I think that's why I put off finishing it and reviewing it because the book isn't what I expected. I was expecting a guidebook based on the experiences of the author, sprinkled with references of how their life mirrored common statistical data. But that is not the way Alpha Females Unleashed is written.
Lyons used multiple interviews to complement her research. Those are the stories we have to understand the content. I didn't feel attached to any of the characters and wasn't pulled into their stories. To be honest, their stories pulled me out of the other writing because it made me pause from the well-written meat of the book.
I love creative nonfiction, and I wish the author would have used their story as a way for readers to know them on a personal level. That would have been a much more powerful book than creating these perfect scenes for the readers.
I'm not the audience for this book but I do think some of my readers are. In the same vein of She's Just Not That Into You, Alpha Females Unleashed is a good way to regain some of that confidence you may be missing or put yourself back on track in your dating life. It's also a good reminder that being yourself is better than being anyone else, no matter what the haters say.
Have you read C.C. Lyon's debut? I'd love to hear your comments.
About the Author
Black & Bookish is the brainchild of Antoinette Scully, educator and lover of all things bookish. She is on a quest to fill your bookshelves with beloved authors of the African Diaspora. When she's not hanging out online, she's living it up as the mother of two rambunctious girls and wife of a local filmmaker.