by Kimberla Lawson Roby ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 20, 2017
A deliciously decadent beach read of temptation and the wages of sin.
Pastors Raven Jones Black and Porsha Harrington may co-minister the New Vision Christian Center but there’s no room for two at the top.
Fans of Roby’s (Copycat, 2017, etc.) bestselling Reverend Curtis Black series will rejoice at this new tale of women wrestling with temptation. After serving time for embezzling $100,000 from the Rev. Black himself, Raven married and divorced the reverend’s son, Dillon. She subsequently made an unexpected alliance with Porsha, Dillon’s former mistress, who fronted most of the money to start the women’s mega-church. No stranger to creative financing, Raven has never repaid Porsha’s seed money, nor has she repaid the money she stole years ago from a loan shark. Called to the pulpit by greed not God, both women are unlikely Christian role models, drawing hefty monthly salaries and indulging in steamy relationships outside the bonds of marriage. Tensions between Raven and Porsha escalate when Porsha announces that she will be delivering an inspirational message before Raven’s sermon. Raven smiles but seethes. Hoping to turn the spotlight back on herself, Raven spontaneously decides to share her story of being raped by a prominent pastor years ago on Facebook Live. The ploy works, but as Porsha suspects, the story is a lie, and Raven’s strong suggestion that the Rev. Black was her assailant sparks outrage from both Raven’s ex-husband and her current boyfriend. Coincidentally, the loan shark is back on her doorstep demanding payment with exorbitant interest. Financially desperate, Raven again turns to criminal behavior. Meanwhile, Porsha tries to turn back to God and clean up her behavior, but Steve, her married boyfriend, might not let her go, and Dillion is pushing her to reignite their love affair. Less burdened with back stories than other books in her series, Roby’s latest sizzles with scandal.
A deliciously decadent beach read of temptation and the wages of sin.Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4555-6969-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 3, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
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by Colleen Hoover ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 2, 2016
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of...
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Hoover’s (November 9, 2015, etc.) latest tackles the difficult subject of domestic violence with romantic tenderness and emotional heft.
At first glance, the couple is edgy but cute: Lily Bloom runs a flower shop for people who hate flowers; Ryle Kincaid is a surgeon who says he never wants to get married or have kids. They meet on a rooftop in Boston on the night Ryle loses a patient and Lily attends her abusive father’s funeral. The provocative opening takes a dark turn when Lily receives a warning about Ryle’s intentions from his sister, who becomes Lily’s employee and close friend. Lily swears she’ll never end up in another abusive home, but when Ryle starts to show all the same warning signs that her mother ignored, Lily learns just how hard it is to say goodbye. When Ryle is not in the throes of a jealous rage, his redeeming qualities return, and Lily can justify his behavior: “I think we needed what happened on the stairwell to happen so that I would know his past and we’d be able to work on it together,” she tells herself. Lily marries Ryle hoping the good will outweigh the bad, and the mother-daughter dynamics evolve beautifully as Lily reflects on her childhood with fresh eyes. Diary entries fancifully addressed to TV host Ellen DeGeneres serve as flashbacks to Lily’s teenage years, when she met her first love, Atlas Corrigan, a homeless boy she found squatting in a neighbor’s house. When Atlas turns up in Boston, now a successful chef, he begs Lily to leave Ryle. Despite the better option right in front of her, an unexpected complication forces Lily to cut ties with Atlas, confront Ryle, and try to end the cycle of abuse before it’s too late. The relationships are portrayed with compassion and honesty, and the author’s note at the end that explains Hoover’s personal connection to the subject matter is a must-read.
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of the survivors.Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5011-1036-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
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SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
by Rebecca Yarros ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 26, 2019
A thoughtful and pensive tale with intelligent characters and a satisfying romance.
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A promise to his best friend leads an Army serviceman to a family in need and a chance at true love in this novel.
Beckett Gentry is surprised when his Army buddy Ryan MacKenzie gives him a letter from Ryan’s sister, Ella. Abandoned by his mother, Beckett grew up in a series of foster homes. He is wary of attachments until he reads Ella’s letter. A single mother, Ella lives with her twins, Maisie and Colt, at Solitude, the resort she operates in Telluride, Colorado. They begin a correspondence, although Beckett can only identify himself by his call sign, Chaos. After Ryan’s death during a mission, Beckett travels to Telluride as his friend had requested. He bonds with the twins while falling deeply in love with Ella. Reluctant to reveal details of Ryan’s death and risk causing her pain, Beckett declines to disclose to Ella that he is Chaos. Maisie needs treatment for neuroblastoma, and Beckett formally adopts the twins as a sign of his commitment to support Ella and her children. He and Ella pursue a romance, but when an insurance investigator questions the adoption, Beckett is faced with revealing the truth about the letters and Ryan’s death, risking losing the family he loves. Yarros’ (Wilder, 2016, etc.) novel is a deeply felt and emotionally nuanced contemporary romance bolstered by well-drawn characters and strong, confident storytelling. Beckett and Ella are sympathetic protagonists whose past experiences leave them cautious when it comes to love. Beckett never knew the security of a stable home life. Ella impulsively married her high school boyfriend, but the marriage ended when he discovered she was pregnant. The author is especially adept at developing the characters through subtle but significant details, like Beckett’s aversion to swearing. Beckett and Ella’s romance unfolds slowly in chapters that alternate between their first-person viewpoints. The letters they exchanged are pivotal to their connection, and almost every chapter opens with one. Yarros’ writing is crisp and sharp, with passages that are poetic without being florid. For example, in a letter to Beckett, Ella writes of motherhood: “But I’m not the center of their universe. I’m more like their gravity.” While the love story is the book’s focus, the subplot involving Maisie’s illness is equally well-developed, and the link between Beckett and the twins is heartfelt and sincere.
A thoughtful and pensive tale with intelligent characters and a satisfying romance.Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-64063-533-3
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Review Posted Online: Jan. 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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