Prize Of A Lifetime by Donna Hill

Kimani Press - October 2009
978-0373831685
Reviewer: Missy
Rating: 5

How Far Will U Go

Donna Hill writes a fun seductive novel about love, prizes, and competition. Hill has created two characters that have you cheering for both sides of the competition. Can this couple win the prize and the love?

When Mitch Davenport life took a turn for the worst he watched both his business and the woman he thought would be there forever fall apart. But in the midst of tragedy Mitch has been offered the opportunity of a lifetime, giving him a chance to rebuild his life and regain all that he lost plus more. But before this can happen, Mitch has to learn how to accept life and all its surprise.

Sasha Carrington has always dream of having her own and making her mark on the world. When Sasha is offered the opportunity of a lifetime, she never expected to find a man who not only sparks her interest but also wins her heart. The question still remains will her need for independence overrule her heart or will she choose and allow them to have it all.

In Prize of a Lifetime, Donna Hill turns up the heat with this amazing couple. She gives us a couple with real strengths and weaknesses, making them own up to their downfalls before their true density can take shape. Definitely, another Donna Hill hit.

It Had To Be You by Francis Ray

St. Martin's Paperbacks, April 2010
9780312365073
Reviewer: Missy
Rating: 5

Identity Crisis

Francis Ray returns with the family and close net friends that everyone has come to love and adore.

Laurel Raineau is a world renowned violinist struggling with her career after the lost of her father. Zachary "Rolling Deep" Wilder is a well known producer, working with some of the best artist in the business. Zachery is interested in working with Laurel but wants nothing to do with Zach and the reputation that follows him. Determined to find his goal Zachery works his way into Laurel's life keeping his identity a secret.

Laurel and Zach are not looking for love but love is determined to find a way. Will Laurel and Zach find their way to love when Zach true identity is revealed. Will Laurel be able to separate the man from the rumor. Will Zach win the woman despite his reputation.

Francis Ray writes an exciting story about two passionate artists, in love with their music yet too blind to see their love for each other. Will their love for music lead to the love of a lifetime.

Murder On The Down Low by Pamela Samuels Young

Goldman House Publishing September 2008
9780981562704
Reviewer: Toni Mac
Rating: 5

Los Angeles attorney Pamela Samuels Young has given the staring role in her legal thrillers to attorney Vernetta Henderson. Vernetta returns in “Murder on the Down Low.” It opens with the murder of Quentin Banks, a prominent African American doctor. His shooting death was not the first and it certainly won’t be the last as there appears to be a serial killer on the loose.

Vernetta’s best friend Special is up to her usual antics. But this time her attention is focused on Eugene Nelson, fiance to her late cousin. Her cousin, Maya, died from AIDS, given to her by Eugene as a result of his being on the down low. However, this time, Special may be in over her head.

In “Murder on the Down Low,” Pamela Samuels Young shines a spotlight on the epidemic of HIV/AIDS in the African American community. Samuels Young adds suspense, drama and deceit as her tale takes readers from one surprise to the next. It’s not a book to be read lightly, as it has some powerful messages. For example, African American and Latina women in the U.S. account for more than 80% of the total AIDS diagnoses for women, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. That’s alarming and part of the reason why “Murder on the Down Low” is worth reading. The other reason is because Samuels Young knows how to deliver.

All Of Me by Venice Berry

New American Library: April 2001
9780451202628
Reviewer: Dee-Dee
Rating: 5

TV news reporter Serpentine Williamson has a great life. Surrounded by family, friends and God, she lives the life many people only dream of. But Serpentine is not happy. Serpentine's plus size frame has been her nemesis her entire life, shaping both her view of the world as well as her view of self. She has spent her entire life on an emotional roller coaster, trying one diet after another to become the thin woman society seems to prefer. When the struggle to be thin takes Serpentine to the lowest point in her life she is forced to face her nemesis and learn to love herself hips and all.

“All Of Me” by Venise Berry is a touching story that will appeal to anyone that has struggled with the images of beauty placed upon us by society. Through Serpentine, Venice Berry shows us how society has warped the image of beauty and made many of us believe that beauty only comes in one shape and size. Serpentine seems to have everything but her low self-esteem negated all of her accomplishments making her feel like a failure because she could not seem to transform herself into the thin woman.

I absolutely loved this book. As a plus size woman dealing with my own image struggles, I could relate to Serpentine and her struggle. I could see bits of me and my personal battles in Serpentine's story. I so completely understood the place she was in when she decided to do the unthinkable. Venice Berry penned a book that will strike a cord for anyone who has ever picked up a fashion magazine or watched a music video and wondered why they never saw a woman that looked like them.

Dubious by Tina Brooks McKinney

Taboo Publishing: September 2008
9780982108901
Reviewed by Dee-Dee

Rating: 5

Felicia Clark had it all or so she thought until her marriage of 13 years fell apart. She was everything a wife should be and yet her husband still walked away. As she struggles to get her life together and build a life with someone new, Felicia discovers secrets about her husband that shake her to her core and threatens to destroy everything she has worked to gain. Will Felicia find the happiness she deserves after dealing with her husbands secret fetish? Randy is confused. He has secret desires he cannot share with anyone and these desires are destroying everything he holds dear. They have already destroyed his marriage; will they destroy everything he has ever known?

Tina Brooks McKinney has done it again folks. If you read any of her other books you already knew McKinney could write. With Dubious McKinney lets readers know that her writing has no boundaries. This books discusses the feeling of sexual confusion that many people experience and shows how that confusion can affect everyone involved whether you want it to or not. Be warned you may find a scene or two that makes you stop and say hmmmmmmmmm. These scenes are done without being judgmental allowing readers to make their own decisions. McKinney is able to take a topic that would make many run for the hills and deal with it open and honestly. She neither sensationalizes nor underplays the sexual issues making you realize that this could be the lives of the people next door. You just never know. And don't worry, McKinney has not forgotten her fan base. She still brings the drama we have come to love from her previous novels.

Dubious is a page-turner. My only wish is to have Tina Brooks McKinney behind her keyboard right now writing a sequel because there is no way I cannot know what happens. She dropped a couple of bombs at the end of the book and I need to know about the aftermath.