All the Buzz

Deadly Sexy
Beverly Jenkins
Avon, October 2007
$6.99 US, ISBN 0061246395

Love on a lonely highway…

When sports agent JT Blake, or Lady Blake as she is better known, and Reese Anthony, a highly respected attorney and part owner of his family’s international trucking company, meet on a deserted stretch of highway after JT’s car breaks down, the attraction is instantaneous and so explosive that the two don’t even try to fight it.

JT is a little leery at first of getting involved with Reese, but Reese is having none of it. Even though they live on different coasts, Reese’s new job with the football league brings them within close proximity of each other. Determined to wear down JT’s defenses, he begins courting her. And despite her best efforts, JT succumbs, and the two embark on a beautiful, torrid love affair. But as life is known to do, more than a few curve balls, some with serious consequences and repercussions are thrown at Reese and JT.

What a man, what a man, what a mighty good man! Maybe I should change that to what a book, what a book, what a mighty good book! Either way, the line from a classic Salt-n-Pepa song aptly describes how I feel about Reese Anthony and Deadly Sexy. I’m a die-hard romantic, and I love the courting aspect of romance. Courting is an aspect of romance that has really been lost, but Jenkins brings it back in true fashion. Reese is the perfect epitome of old school and new school. And let’s not forget JT. She is, to sum it up in one word, fierce!

Needless to say, I truly enjoyed this book. I’ve read every Beverly Jenkins novel to date, and I must say, this is my favorite. And I believe it’s her best work yet!

- Renee Williams, All the Buzz

October was Wild Sweet Love for TheGRITS.com online reading community. I was the hostess with the mostest. LOL Even though Wild Sweet Love by Beverly Jenkins was released in late April, it was still my reading selection for the month. I read it when it was first released, and then did a re-read in October, and I must say I enjoyed it just as much the 2nd time around.

I'm sure you're thinking why I chose the month of October for a romantic theme. LOL Sweetest Day, a holiday mainly celebrated in the northern states, is the 3rd Saturday in October, hence my choice. LOL

To end the month, the members of TheGRITS.com and members of Beverly Jenkins online reading community came together for a wonderful chat. We had a ball! Lots of prizes were given away. Everyone who attended the chat received a gift, including Beverly. We were also joined by another of my favorite romance authors, Evelyn Palfrey.

I loved Wild Sweet Love and can't wait for the next Beverly Jenkins release.

How Strong Women Pray
Bonnie St. John
Faith Words, November 2007
$16.99 US, ISBN 0446579262

Prayer will fix it…

How do you pray? Do you speak with God like He’s sitting right next to you and you’re having a conversation with Him? Do you go in your prayer closet and cry out to Him or do you speak out loud?

When do you pray? Do you find yourself calling out to God only in the midst of your trials and tribulations, or do you praise Him at all times, during the good and the bad seasons of your life? I believe there really is not a wrong way to pray, as long as you pray.

In How Strong Women Pray, Bonnie St. John, an amputee who overcame many obstacles, going on to become an Olympic skier and silver medalist, not only shares her struggles and successes in life, but also how prayer plays a vital role in her life.

Wanting to know how prayer played a part in the lives of others, St. John interviewed many women of different races, religions and creed. Some of the women were famous and some, not so famous. Readers are allowed an intimate peek into the prayer lives of such notables as Maya Angelou, Barbara Bush, Vonetta Flowers, and Kathie Lee Gifford, to name a few.

In a recent interview with Natalie Morales of NBC’s The Today Show, St. John talks about How Strong Women Pray and “how it can give you strength as well as help you heal.”

Normally, when I am enjoying a book, I find myself racing through the pages trying to find out what’s going to happen next. But this was not the case with this book. I was so moved by the stories that I found myself re-reading passages, and sometimes even chapters, making notes, and yes, even stopping to pray when certain aspects of the stories spoke to my inner being.

How Strong Women Pray is a powerful testimonial of God’s grace and mercy, and will only enhance the lives of all who read it. I will recommend this to everyone I know.

- Renee Williams, All the Buzz

Slow Burn

Brenda Jackson
St. Martin’s, November 2007
$6.99 US, ISBN 0312940491

When love calls…

Alright, alright, alright! The Madaris family is back! It’s been approximately 2 ½ years since we were last given a glimpse into the lives of our beloved Brenda Jackson family. But with the release of Slow Burn, the story of Slade Madaris, we’re reintroduced to the whole clan, including Justin & Lorren, the couple who started it all.

Skye Barclay gets the shock of her life when she finds out that not only is she adopted, but that she also has a brother; a brother who turns out to be Vincent Madaris, the adopted son of Justin & Lorren Madaris.

Against her family’s and her fiancé’s wishes, Skye heads to Texas to meet Vincent. She’s scared of what will happen once she gets to Texas, and understandably so. But her fears are quickly allayed when the Madaris family opens their homes and their hearts to her.

The moment Slade Madaris lays eyes on Skye, he feels an instant inexplicable connection with her. And the fact that Madaris blood runs strong in his veins, Slade pursues Skye, quickly wearing down her defenses and embarking on a beautiful love affair. Their euphoria is short-lived, however, when danger comes calling. Will Skye give into the pressure, or will she stand and fight for her newfound happiness?

I Stand Accused

Monica Frazier Anderson
TyMac Books, May 2007
$12.95 US, ISBN 097863781X

When the past comes back to haunt you…

Everyone has a past; some more traumatic than others. Sometimes there are certain aspects of our past that we would honestly rather forget. But at the most inopportune times, skeletons we believe are long buried, manage to break free of their ghostly abodes, and torment us with their secrets and sins. In, I Stand Accused by Monica Frazier Anderson, main character James Adams, finds himself haunted by youthful indiscretions that just won’t go away.

First, there’s the drama of his philandering father who spends all his time at a local strip club where he’s not just getting lap dances. When his father is savagely murdered, it’s anybody’s guess who did it and why. Then there are problems going on with several of his siblings, and a most embarrassing episode with his high school sweetheart, rocks his family’s foundation to it’s core. As soon as James graduates from high school, he shakes the hometown dust from his feet, ditches the East Texas twang, and becomes a successful ophthalmologist. He’s enjoying his new life very much when the past rears its ugly head and forces him to deal with a lot of unresolved issues once and for all!

When I read Ms. Anderson’s novel, When A Sistah’s Fed Up last year, I was impressed with her skills as a new writer. With the publication of I Stand Accused, her excellent writing skills are again realized even more. The telling of this story — with flashbacks to past and present occurences — is done so effortlessly that readers never feel confused by all that is going on in the story. Ms. Anderson also manges to realistically portray the small country town in East Texas where James and his family were raised right down to the dialect! With the exception that this novel did not have as much suspense as I would have liked, I Stand Accused is solidly written — engaging and entertaining! I definitely look forward to more literary endeavors from Monica Frazier Anderson.

--Renee Williams, All the Buzz