Review of Unexpected Interruptions by Trice Hickman

Unexpected Interruptions

by Trice Hickman

Unexpected Interruptions

What happens when a young woman finds herself falling for two men--one black, one white, both determined in their pursuit for her affections?...Love, passion, drama and secrets are just the beginning!

Paperback, 310 pages

Published November 1st 2007 by Platinum Books (first published 2007) 

My thoughts:

Victoria is described as a tall African American woman.  She is the senior director at Via Tech.  Her boss Ted seems like a really great guy and her friends thinks he wants her, but he is white.    She has never dated a white man before.  She is lonely and just wants a man.

Victoria went to eat at the Cheesecake Factory alone and sees "Mr. Gorgeous", but he isn't alone.  Victoria falls and "Mr. Gorgeous" helps her and seems to have some interest in her.  She hopes she gets to see him around again.

Victoria then goes to pray that god sends her a man and sends him fast, but she says it twice.

She ends up bumping into "Mr. Gorgeous" again and finds out he is a surgeon.  His name is Parker.  She has quite the decision to make.  Does she hold on to Parker, the African American surgeon, or does she go for Ted who is also her boss and a white man?

What I liked about this book:

1. This is the second book that I have read by Trice Hickman and I love her writing! 
2. Victoria just seemed like such a nice lady and deserves a great man.
3. I just felt so comfortable while reading this book like I really could picture the story unfolding. 
4. This book was not at all slow or boring to me like books can sometimes get.  I never found myself drifting off at all while reading this book.
5. I received this book from the author, and she autographed it!  (That in no way influences my review).  Trice just seems like such a sweet lady.  She is my friend on Facebook and I would really love to meet her in person some day!

What I didn't like:
There was nothing about this book that I didn't like.  I liked every bit of it!

5/5 diamonds
Loved this book - Go Out and Buy This One!

Disclaimer: Thank you to Trice Hickman for sending me an autographed review copy. I was not compensated for my review. My thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist. They are my personal reflections based solely on MY experience while reading this novel.

© 2011, Cheryl of Black Diamond's Book Reviews. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Black Diamond's Book Reviews, Urban Image Magazine, or Cheryl's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.  
 

Teaser Tuesday - November 30

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!  

Unexpected Interruptions by Trice Hickman

I am loving this book and just had to put more than one teaser on here.

P21

"Mom, I can take care of myself, and I've been doing a pretty good job of it for quite some time.  Besides, I enjoy the peace and quiet of coming home alone...no unexpected interruptions." Victoria said, trying to convince herself.

P63

Gnawing at the forefront of Victoria's thoughts was the question that Rob had asked--was she dismissing Ted because he was white?  She'd always thought herself to be open-minded, but in her romantic relationships, she'd only dated black men.

Mailbox Monday - November 29

Mailbox Monday

is hosted by Julie @ Knitting and sundries (November Host)
We share what books that we found 

in our mailboxes last week.

Well, I already had a post earlier with what I received in my mailbox, but I do have some more to add!

Draw by J-Real  I saw this author on facebook and thought I would give his book a try.  I bought this book, and he was even kind enough to autograph it for me and put in a couple bookmarks!

The First Person by Peron Long.  I read Livin Ain't Easy and loved it.  I am friends with him on facebook and this book sounded good to me too.  I also bought this book and received it autographed from the author.

Deuces Wild by Jean Holloway.  I read the first 2 books in the series and loved them.  I am also friends with Jean on Facebook.  She is such a sweet lady.  I also bought this book from her and received an autographed copy along with a very cool bookmark that looks like an Ace of Hearts card with her name and website listed on it!  I got a chance to talk to Jean on Blog Talk Radio and was very excited about that opportunity!

If You Don't Tell by D. V. Hent.  RWA (Readers With Attitude) Bookclub is having a Season's Readings Program that I saw on Facebook.  If you order certain books by certain authors and you send them your proof of payment, they will send you a free book.  Since I ordered Deuces Wild by Jean Holloway and sent them my receipt, they sent me this free book!!  I haven't heard of this book or author, but it sounds great, and I am so excited to win this book!  Thank you RWA Bookclub!

Very exciting week for me!

Book Gifts in my Mailbox!!!!!

I am not waiting until Monday because I am so excited about the books I recently received, and they are all gifts (one is a book tour book--my very first time doing a book tour!)
---------------

I received these signed books from the author Trice Hickman!  I am so excited to read these books.  I started Unexpected Interruptions and I am loving it so far.  Keeping Secrets and Telling Lies also looks like a great book, and I look forward to reading it next!  I read her book Playing the Hand You're Dealt and loved it too!  Trice Hickman is a great author and a very nice lady that I am so glad I have connected with on Facebook!

I am scheduled to post a review on A Pointed Death by Kath Russell on 1/5/11 for the Pump Up Your Book tour!  I just received this book in the mail too!

I received Lover Eternal from my Book Blogger Holiday Swap Secret Santa who is Dany Stormborn at 100 Book Challenge.  I just visited her blog and thanked her for this book.  I can't wait to read it.  I read the first book in this series and loved it--very steamy book!

I received a signed copy of Painkiller Ghosts along with some bookmarks in the mail and it was a big surprise.  It was sent to me by author J. Marc Harding with a note that Ami Blackwelder suggested I might enjoy this review copy!  It looks like a great book and I am so excited to receive it!

Review of Dracula In Love by Karen Essex

Dracula in Love

by Karen Essex 

Dracula in Love  

Karen Essex turns on the heat in this transporting and darkly haunting new tale of love and possession that puts forth the question: What if everything you knew about Dracula . . . was wrong?

From the shadowy banks of the River Thames to the wild and windswept coast of Yorkshire, the quintessential Victorian virgin Mina Murray vividly recounts in the pages of her private ...more Karen Essex turns on the heat in this transporting and darkly haunting new tale of love and possession that puts forth the question: What if everything you knew about Dracula . . . was wrong?

From the shadowy banks of the River Thames to the wild and windswept coast of Yorkshire, the quintessential Victorian virgin Mina Murray vividly recounts in the pages of her private diary the intimate details of what transpired between her and Count Dracula—the joys and terrors of a pas­sionate affair and her rebellion against a force of evil that has pursued her through time.

Mina’s version of this timeless gothic vampire tale is a visceral journey into the dimly lit bedrooms, mist-filled cemeteries, and locked asylum chambers where she led a secret life, far from the chaste and polite lifestyle the defenders of her purity, and even her fiancé, Jonathan Harker, expected of her.

Bram Stoker’s classic novel was only one side of the story. Now, for the first time, Dracula’s eternal muse reveals all. What she has to say is more sensual, more devious, and more enthralling than ever imagined. The result is a scintillating gothic novel that reinvents the tragic heroine Mina as a modern woman tor­tured by desire. 

Hardcover, 400 pages

Published August 10th 2010 by Doubleday 

I received this galley from Shelf Awareness

What I liked about this book:

1. I was very excited to get a book about Dracula.
2. I really liked the cover.
3. The author is very talented at what she does.
4. I liked the sex scenes, but there weren't as many of them as I thought there would be.  The book says it's for Twilight's grown up fans, but not quite as sexy as I would have thought.

What I didn't like:

1. I didn't like Jonathan and wished that Mina wouldn't have gone to him.
2. I didn't like the fact I didn't hear much about Dracula until the second half of the book.
3. I didn't like the way the book ended, she should have gone the the opposite of what she did.
4. I just felt like the story could have been told in fewer pages.

This book was okay.

Review of Tempted by Trouble by Eric Jerome Dickey

Tempted by Trouble

by Eric Jerome Dickey

Tempted by Trouble 

New York Times bestselling author Eric Jerome Dickey returns with a flaming-hot stand-alone set in the world of conmen and thieves.

We can plan all we want, but sometimes fate has a different agenda...

Dmytryk was a respectable man...once. College educated, happily married, a stable job at a car factory in Detroit. He's the king of the world with nowhere to go but up. B ...more New York Times bestselling author Eric Jerome Dickey returns with a flaming-hot stand-alone set in the world of conmen and thieves.

We can plan all we want, but sometimes fate has a different agenda...

Dmytryk was a respectable man...once. College educated, happily married, a stable job at a car factory in Detroit. He's the king of the world with nowhere to go but up. But when a crippling recession annihilates the auto industry, Dmytryk and his wife Cora suddenly find themselves without jobs. And after two years of trying to live honestly, they begin to realize that honesty just doesn't pay the bills.

Afraid of losing her home and her marriage, Cora compromises her faith and makes some choices that she isn't proud of. And when a powerful and ruthless crime boss named Eddie Coyle gives them an opportunity to buy back their old lives, Cora urges Dmytryk to man up. All he has to do is join Eddie's crime ring and rob some banks: two minutes, in and out, nobody gets hurt. Torn between desperation and his moral integrity, Dmytryk gives in, but no sooner does he enter a life of crime than Cora abandons him, taking with her his dreams for a better life and disappearing without a trace.

Now, more determined than ever to get his life back on track, Dmytryk is only one bank job away from having enough money to leave Eddie Coyle and find Cora. But when the job goes dangerously wrong, he realizes yet again that destiny has another plan for him. Forced into seclusion with one of his partners-a dangerous and damaged woman with a plan of her own-Dmytryk wonders if he'll ever find his way back to his old life. And in the end, will he even want to? 

Hardcover, 400 pages

Published August 24th 2010 by Dutton Adult (first published August 7th 2010) 

My thoughts:

This is the first book i've read by Eric Jerome Dickey and it sure won't be my last! 

Dmytryk Knight and his wife were down on their luck.   His wife Cora is a dancer (which Dmytryk really doesn't like), and she met a guy there named Eddie Coyle.  He robs banks, and told Dmytryk about him.  Dmytryk told her to tell Eddie that he would be his getaway man if he needs one.  The first job didn't go so well.  One of the team's men died, the other was wounded, then Dmytryk ends up taking a hostage which he had never planned on.  The worst part is that his left his fedora inside her vehicle which had his DNA all over it. 

What I liked:

1. This book is cool because it takes place in Detroit.  On page 6 they first take a body out of an SUV and put it across from the big Uniroyal Tire on I-94.  I've seen that tire before since I am from Michigan.  
2. I can tell Eric Dickey really did his research and got into Detroit and really planned this story out.
3. Dmytryk really was a good guy just trying to do what he had to do.
4. Throughout the book Dmytryk saw ghosts of some of the characters after they died.  That was interesting.
5. There was a lot of action and it definitely was not boring!

Really liked this book!  I will definitely hang on to this one!

Review of Dirty Little Angels by Chris Tusa

Dirty Little Angels

by Chris Tusa

Set in the slums of New Orleans, among clusters of crack houses and abandoned buildings, Dirty Little Angels is the story of sixteen year old Hailey Trosclair. When the Trosclair family suffers a string of financial hardships and a miscarriage, Hailey finds herself looking to God to save her family. When her prayers go unanswered, Hailey puts her faith in Moses Watkins, a failed preacher and ex-con. Fascinated by Moses' lopsided view of religion, Hailey, and her brother Cyrus, begin spending time down at an abandoned bank that Moses plans to convert into a drive-through church. Gradually, though, Moses' twisted religious beliefs become increasingly more violent, and Hailey and Cyrus soon find themselves trapped in a world of danger and fear from which there may be no escape. 

Published March 30th 2009 by Livingston Press (AL)

I received the digital version of this book from the author.

What I liked about this book:

-          The characters really came to life for me.  I felt bad for Hailey.  She just had an awful family life and had to go through so much for a sixteen year old girl

-          The author didn’t sugar coat anything.  He told the story like it needed to be told.  At times it turned my stomach, but that really brought it to life.

-          Hailey would do anything to save her brother.  She was really a courageous girl.

What I didn’t like:

-          I really don’t care for reading digital books.  If I had a Kindle or something like that it might be different.  I just don’t spend that much time sitting at the computer reading.  It took me a while to get this book read and it’s hard to remember everything I’ve read.

-          I didn’t like Hailey’s mom.

 

It was an okay book

Teaser Tuesday - November 23

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!   

I just finished Tempted by Trouble by Eric Jerome Dickey, but I want to share a teaser from page 111!

Maybe I had been the weak link.  Maybe I had been incompetent.  If I had moved the car closer to the door about one minute and thirty seconds into the job, then, regardless of the fact that Sammy was wounded, they could've made it to the car and fallen into the backseat before the guard had staggered out the door.  But then the money bag would've exploded inside the car and left that red dye all over the inside of windows.

I am have just started reading Dracula in Love by Karen Essex.  Here is my teaser from page 45:

"But that very night, something happened in my dream that I could not put off to a rational explanation, an experience thrust upon me on some astral plane where I was not in control but subject to the specters that prowl the ethers.  In this dream--though it felt more vivid than an ordinary dream--a man was on top of me and inside me, and I wanted him to be there.  I held him in place, digging my fingernails deep into his back, clutching him to me, urging him to move deeper and deeper into me.

Mailbox Monday - November 22

Mailbox Monday

is hosted by Julie @ Knitting and sundries(October Host)
We share what books that we found

in our mailboxes last week.

The first two books I received from Shelf Awareness:

Anatomy of Ghosts

by Andrew Taylor

 Anatomy of Ghosts

They say Jerusalem is haunted by Mrs Whichcote's ghost. Frank Oldershaw claims he saw her in the garden, where she drowned. Now he's under the care of a physician.

Desperate to salvage her son's reputation and restore him to health, Lady Anne Oldershaw employs her own agent - John Holdsworth, author of The Anatomy of Ghosts, a controversial attack on the existen ...more They say Jerusalem is haunted by Mrs Whichcote's ghost. Frank Oldershaw claims he saw her in the garden, where she drowned. Now he's under the care of a physician.

Desperate to salvage her son's reputation and restore him to health, Lady Anne Oldershaw employs her own agent - John Holdsworth, author of The Anatomy of Ghosts, a controversial attack on the existence of ghostly phenomena. But his arrival in Cambridge disrupts the uneasy status quo. He glimpses a world of privilege and abuse, where the sinister Holy Ghost Club governs life at Jerusalem more effectively than the Master, Dr Carbury, ever could.

But Holdsworth's powers of reason and natural philosophy have other challenges. He dreams of his dead wife, Maria, who roams the borders of death. And now there's Elinor, the very-much-alive Master's wife, to haunt him in life. And at the heart of it all is the mystery of what really happened to Sylvia Whichcote in the claustrophobic confines of Jerusalem.

Why was Sylvia found lying dead in the Long Pond just before a February dawn? Why was she in Jerusalem at all? And how did she die? 

Hardcover, 496 pages

Published January 25th 2011 by Hyperion (first published September 2nd 2010) 

A Widow's Story: A Memoir

by Joyce Carol Oates

A Widow's Story: A Memoir 

In 2008 Joyce Carol Oates lost the husband—Raymond Smith—to whom she’d been married for 48 years. Her recollections of those harrowing early days of widowhood provide a glimpse of Oates as a teacher of writers and as caretaker of the literary magazine she and her husband kept in print for so long.

Hardcover, 432 pages

Published February 1st 2011 by Ecco 

This book I bought (Blood of the Moon).  I became friends with the author on Facebook and wanted to read his book!:

Blood Of The Moon

by Richard Gazala (Goodreads Author)

Blood Of The Moon

What if everything you know about oil is a lie?

David Rivers is a second-generation oilman. From Houston, he runs the multinational oil company built by his father, former Apollo astronaut Michael Rivers, one of the last men alive to walk on the moon. Michael now spends his days confined to an assisted-living facility, his mind succumbing to the ravages of Alzhe ...more What if everything you know about oil is a lie?

David Rivers is a second-generation oilman. From Houston, he runs the multinational oil company built by his father, former Apollo astronaut Michael Rivers, one of the last men alive to walk on the moon. Michael now spends his days confined to an assisted-living facility, his mind succumbing to the ravages of Alzheimer's disease. Somewhere in Michael's crumbling memory is a devastating secret he has revealed to no one in over forty years, not even to his sole surviving child. The secret is the location of a small capsule Michael brought back from the moon in 1972 containing proof that conventional wisdom is a deliberate lie. With the cryptic aid of an anonymous benefactor deep within the ancient and powerful secret society of the Hostmen of Newcastle, David races to unravel the mysteries shrouding his father's legacy while wars, terrorism, and riots over dwindling oil reserves inflame the planet, and a corrupted American presidential election teeters in the balance. David finds himself confronting the same crisis of conscience his father faced decades before. Should he risk his life and company to expose the Hostmen's lies? Or will he bury what he uncovers and let the world burn? 

Paperback, 392 pages

Published October 13th 2009 by iUniverse, Incorporated (first published 2009) 

The Last book is one that I bought from the author through 
a fundraiser on a blog. 

I am excited about this book!  
It is signed by the author and also has notes written by the author 
throughout the book!

Taken by Storm (Taken by Storm #1)

by Angela Morrison 

Taken by Storm 

 Isn't this cool!  Here is her note to me and autograph, and also a page she has written on telling me a song to listen to while reading Chapter 5!  There are several notations throughout the book!

Leesie Hunt has many rules: No kissing. No sex. No dating outside the Mormon faith. When Michael Walden—a deep-sea diver who lost his parents in a violent hurricane—arrives in town, Leesie sees someone who needs her. They fall for one another, even though his dreams are tied to the depths of the ocean and hers to salvation above.
Will their intense chemistry be too strong
...more  

Leesie Hunt has many rules: No kissing. No sex. No dating outside the Mormon faith. When Michael Walden—a deep-sea diver who lost his parents in a violent hurricane—arrives in town, Leesie sees someone who needs her. They fall for one another, even though his dreams are tied to the depths of the ocean and hers to salvation above.
Will their intense chemistry be too strong to resist?
Leesie and Michael must make the hardest choice of their lives: whether to follow their beliefs or their hearts.
Readers will be swept away by this tale of forbidden romance told in online chats, Leesie’s chapbook poems, and Michael’s dive log. It’s as steamy as Twilight and just as clean.

 

Review of An Inconvenient Friend by Rhonda McKnight

An Inconvenient Friend

by Rhonda McKnight

An Inconvenient Friend 

Samaria Jacobs is a deceitful, yet captivating diva who will do anything to win the heart of her married lover. Will she get her man or destroy herself and everyone else in the process?Samaria has her sights set on Gregory Preston. A successful surgeon, he has just the bankroll she needs to keep her in the lifestyle that her credit card debt has helped her grow accustomed
...more Samaria Jacobs is a deceitful, yet captivating diva who will do anything to win the heart of her married lover. Will she get her man or destroy herself and everyone else in the process?Samaria has her sights set on Gregory Preston. A successful surgeon, he has just the bankroll she needs to keep her in the lifestyle that her credit card debt has helped her grow accustomed to. He's married, but Samaria would never let a little thing like that get in her way. 

Samaria joins New Mercies Christian Church to get close to Gregory's wife. If she gets to know Angelina Preston, she can become like her in more than just looks, and really work her way into Greg's heart.
Angelina's life is filled with a successful career and busy ministry work, but something's just not right with her marriage. Late nights, early meetings, lipstick- and perfume-stained shirts have her suspicious that Greg is doing a little more operating than she'd like. But does she have the strength to confront the only man she's ever loved and risk losing him to the other woman?
 
Just when Samaria thinks she's got it all figured out, she finds herself drawn to Angelina's kindness. Will she be able to carry out her plan after she finds herself yearning for the one thing she's never had. . .the friendship of a woman?

Paperback, 300 pages

Published August 1st 2010 by Kensington Publishing Corporation 

My thoughts:

I loved this book!!  Rhonda McKnight is a great author and I look forward to reading more books by her!  I found this book at the Black Expressions website.  I looked at the cover and thought it looked like a great  book.  The woman on the front looked to me like a nice church going woman--boy was I ever wrong!  

Samaria Jacobs has a married lover named Gregory Preston who is a doctor. She said she understood how the cheating thing worked and there were two categories (P.7) "The first was what I called "something different." .... "The second category, and the one I preferred to be, was the new model".    She met Gregory at a sports bar.  She didn't think he would be interested but she pushed him because he was upset over a patient.  She got  him and had him for six months.  She wanted to be more than just the woman on the side. (p.25).  He did help her with her bills, but of course she wanted more.

Gregory's wife Angelina had a feeling that something was up.  He was getting a lot of phone calls at odd times and worked more hours.  She would also find lipstick stains on his collar and smell fresh woman's perfume on him.   Samaria got to be good friends with Gregory's wife because she joined a church group and got involved in a big project.  She even made up a fake name-Rae Burns.

No good can come out of getting so close to your lover's wife.  She wanted to find out more about her so she could do everything she could to get Gregory closer to her, but then she started to really like Angelina.  Samaria is a cold hearted woman.  I can't believe the lengths she went to in order to try to tear Gregory and his wife apart. 

You need to read this book to see how it ends.  

My rating:

Excellent book that everyone should buy!

Teaser Tuesdays - An Inconvenient Friend by Rhonda McKnight

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme; hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read• Open to a random page• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

An Inconvenient Friend by Rhonda McKnight

P.95

She was just kind and genuine.  Pure, even.  I hated that her good heartedness and naivety were going to cost her so dearly because I was going to bust up her marriage and take her husband if it were the last thing I did.

Mailbox Monday - November 15

Mailbox Monday

is hosted by Julie @ Knitting and sundries(October Host)
We share what books that we found

in our mailboxes last week.

I bought these books from Barnes & Noble.  I had some gift cards from my birthday that I finally decided to use!

Peace of Me

by T. Williams

Paperback, 288 pages

Published November 1st 2010 by Kensington Publishing Corporation

A teenage girl from Detroit's inner city vanished into thin air three years ago.  Some assumed she was a runaway and the investigation was closed. 

            When Celia discovers a link between Khalil and the missing girl, she revitalizes a search that may be more than she can handle. Khalil Alexander is incarcerated, but he is far from confined.  He has created an unusual business operation to feed his disturbed mind and fund his hopeful release. Kaleia Alexander hides her pain like a well worn diary.  The troubled sixteen year old daughter of Celia and Khalil heads down a destructive path, her actions are invisible in plain sight.  Tumultuous event follows another.   While a mystery unravels and truths unveil, Celia learns that her family's peace is depending on faith and wisdom.

------------------------------------------------------------------

The Golden Hustla

by Wahida Clark

All of Georgia law enforcement is aware that WMM Advertising-also known as "We Make Millionaires" - is one of the biggest and hardest-to-penetrate fraudulent telemarketing firms in the state. 

But when a tape recording of a man's death surfaces that may involve WMM, Atlanta homicide detective Danny Houser realizes that he may actually have the smoking gun needed to go after the firm. All he needs is someone inside WMM to sniff out the company's secrets.

Soon he sets his sights on Alexis Greenspan, aka Nina Coles, the telemarketer's top sales associate. Approaching retirement, Houser will do everything in his power to manipulate Coles and solve this one last case... no matter who gets hurt in the process. (less)

Paperback, 336 pages

Published October 28th 2010 by Grand Central Publishing (first published October 19th 2010)

Smooth Operator: A Novel

by Risque

Paperback, 240 pages

Lyfe is a black Adonis and one of the most powerful businessmen in the country. But there’s a catch: His superior is his gorgeous wife Payton, who “discovered” Lyfe when he was a mere delivery man and brought him from the mean streets to the boardroom. Though Lyfe’s more than proven his mettle, Payton never lets him forget who’s in charge.

Arri is a secretary by day. But at night, this voluptuous honey secretly earns extra cash to support her junkie sister’s five-year-old son by operating the Web site, ASmoothOperator.pro. With her webcam, she bares all for the men who log on. But besides the guys who pay for their pleasure, Arri has no connection to men in real life. Her past is too painful, and she doubts she’ll ever be able to trust another man again—until she meets Lyfe, her new boss, and soon to be her lover.

But will they both be able to break free from old wounds and forge something solid? It will be a challenge to protect their present bliss from Payton’s vindictive nature and from an unexpected menace, who threatens to tear Lyfe down and ruin every good thing—on the job and in the bedroom—he and Arri have tried to build. 

Published September 28th 2010 by One World/Ballantine

I was looking at the Barnes and Noble website for author signings and I found this author and looked up her book.  It sounded so good that I knew I had to get it!

Thrift Store Saints: Meeting Jesus 25 Cents at a Time

by Jane Knuth

Paperback, 160 pages

Thrift Store Saints is a collection of true stories based on Jane Knuth s experiences serving the poor at a St. Vincent de Paul thrift store in the inner city of Kalamazoo, Michigan. At the outset of the book, Knuth is a reluctant new volunteer at the store, sharing that her middle-class, suburban, church-going background has not prepared her well for this kind of work. By the end of the book, Knuth has undergone a transformation of sorts, and neither she nor we can ever view the poor in the same way again. Knuth s transformation is rooted in the prevailing message of Thrift Store Saints: When we serve the poor, they end up helping us as much as we help them. Throughout the book we are introduced to new saints, as Knuth thoughtfully, at times humorously, describes how her encounters with the poorest people led her to the greatest riches of God s grace. 

Published October 1st 2010 by Loyola Press

theundercoverbooklover.blogspot.com had a fundraiser and you could bid on books and the money is going to a fundraiser for Pakistan.  I won this book and it's an advance uncorrected proof signed by the author!  This book is not being published until January 2011.

 XVI

by Julia Karr (Goodreads Author)

Paperback, 272 pages

In the year 2150, being a girl isn’t necessarily a good thing, especially when your sixteenth (read sex-teenth) birthday is fast approaching. That in itself would be enough to make anyone more than a little nuts, what with the tattoo and all – but Nina Oberon’s life has taken a definite turn for the worse. Her mother is brutally stabbed and left for dead. Before dying, she entrusts a secret book to Nina, telling her to deliver it to Nina's father. But, first Nina has to find him; since for fifteen years he's been officially dead. Complications arise when she rescues Sal, a mysterious, and ultra hot guy. He seems to like Nina, but also seems to know more about her father than he’s letting on. Then there’s that murderous ex-government agent who’s stalking her, and just happens to be her little sister’s dad." (less)

Published January 6th 2011 by Puffin/Speak