Monday, January 31, 2011

Book Review - Beater by Brian W. Smith

Beater

A young man has to deal with emotional and physical abuse inflicted upon him by his fiance.

Paperback, 224 pages

Published February 9th 2010 by Hollygrove Publishing

Kim and Todd were brother and sister from the same mother, Linda. They lived with her and Kennedy who is Todd's biological father. This is something that really put a strain on Kim and Todd's relationship. Kennedy had several children from other women and had to try to work to support all of his children. He would get very violent with his wife. She always told Todd to promise her never to hit a woman.

Kim and Todd just couldn't get along because he accused her of not doing something that he told her to do, and he blamed her for something that happened. She felt terrible and she had to get away from there. Her and Todd didn't see each other for 10 years.

Kim gets a great new job and an apartment. She is told that her new boss Rachel is a hard person to work for. (It kind of reminded me of "The Devil Wears Prada". She was that kind of a boss.) She runs into her brother and really doesn't want anything to do with him. Rachel decides to take Kim out to eat to kind of get to know her better, when who do they run into but Kim's brother Todd. Rachel is very interested in Todd and they start dating. Kim is worried because she doesn't want to get fired if things don't work out between them. Todd has some friends that are kinda strange, but Bubba ends up really being a true friend and helping him out. Rachel has some secrets in her life and Kim is determined to find out what is going on.

I was very surprised at the ending at what the secrets were and what happened at the end. This book deals with real issues that people face. I was very sad to read that the author grew up in a home where his father abused his mother , but I am glad to hear that she was a survivor of it. I am lucky that I did not grow up in this type of environment. I really appreciate the life I had growing up and feel really sorry for the people that have to go through domestic violence. Brian Smith really writes about important issues that people face, and he did an excellent job writing this book. I was glad to see that the book had some humor as well. Kim and Todd's Aunt had three unique cats! Brian W. Smith is becoming one of my favorite authors because his writing is very unique and keeps everything fresh and interesting. This is one book that I didn't want to put down--it was that good!

5 out of 5 diamonds

Amazing Book!

Thank you to the author Brian W. Smith 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.

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB ofShould 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!

Makes Me Wanna Holler by Nathan McCall

p. 17

It is difficult sometimes to pinpoint defining moments in a life. But I'm certain that period marked my realization of something it seemed white folks had been trying to get across to me for most of my young life--that there were two distinct worlds in America, and a different set of rules for each: The white one was full of the possibilities of life. The dark one was just that--dark and limited.

Head Bangers by Zane

p. 34

I decided to get super freaky and pulled my dress up around my waist, then sat down on the bench in the booth, lay back and raised my legs all the way up so that my ankles were on either side of my head. He got on his knees behind me and held my ass up with one hand and moved the crotch of my red lace thongs to the side with the other one. Then he commenced to eating his pie in the sky. Let's just say the brother had a serious sweet tooth.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday

is hosted by Rose City Readers (January Host)

We share what books that we found

in our mailboxes last week.

Okay, I saw my friend Jason's review on this book and I had to buy a copy. I got a signed copy from the author. Here is a link to Jason's review: rubiconreader-rubiconreader.blogspot.com/2011/01/pussy-whispers-by-dean-jean-pierre.html. I think you will agree after reading this review that this book begs to be read!

The Pussy Whispers by Dean Jean-Pierre

The Pussy Whispers is a delicious collection of sensually erotic short stories and poetry which will stimulate all of your senses as you indulge in this writer's brand of erotica. The lyrical passion will caress your mind and feed your body from the first mental stroke of The Pussy Whispers verbal penetration. It will leave you craving and thirsting for more...

This book I got from Shelf Awareness. It's an advance copy.

When the Thrill is Gone by WalterMosley

Leonid McGill is back, in the third-and most enthralling and ambitious-installment in Walter Mosley's latest New York Times- bestselling series.

The economy has hit the private-investigator business hard, even for the detective designated as "a more than worthy successor to Philip Marlowe" (The Boston Globe) and "the perfect heir to Easy Rawlins" (Toronto Globe and Mail). Lately, Leonid McGill is getting job offers only from the criminals he's worked so hard to leave behind. Meanwhile, his life grows ever more complicated: his favorite stepson, Twill, drops out of school for mysteriously lucrative pursuits; his best friend, Gordo, is diagnosed with cancer and is living on Leonid's couch; his wife takes a new lover, infuriating the old one and endangering the McGill family; and Leonid's girlfriend, Aura, is back but intent on some serious conversations...

So how can he say no to the beautiful young woman who walks into his office with a stack of cash? She's an artist, she tells him, who's escaped from poverty via marriage to a rich collector who keeps her on a stipend. But she says she fears for her life, and needs Leonid's help. Though Leonid knows better than to believe every word, this isn't a job he can afford to turn away, even as he senses that-if his family's misadventures don't kill him first-sorting out the woman's crooked tale will bring him straight to death's door.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Book Review - Insatiable by Allison Hobbs

Insatiable

by Allison Hobbs

From Goodreads:

Insatiable: a seductive portrait of two women and their obsession with one man.Life has delivered some hard knocks to Terelle Chambers, who grew up shuttling between foster homes. She desperately needs something or someone to believe in. She plans her future around Marquise, the father of her toddler daughter. Devastatingly sexy, Marquise is currently in jail on drug char
...moreInsatiable: a seductive portrait of two women and their obsession with one man.

Life has delivered some hard knocks to Terelle Chambers, who grew up shuttling between foster homes. She desperately needs something or someone to believe in. She plans her future around Marquise, the father of her toddler daughter. Devastatingly sexy, Marquise is currently in jail on drug charges. Terelle, however, is living for his imminent return and dreaming of the day they can start building a life together as a real family.

A cunning seductress, Kai Montgomery is the bi-racial adopted daughter of a wealthy Caucasian couple. Rich, beautiful, and well-bred, Kai is Terelle's polar opposite. After being dumped by an affluent and very married physician, Kai is without a sex partner. When one of numerous trysts results in the best sex of her life, she becomes obsessed and is quickly set on a collision course destined to destroy many lives.

Paperback, 336 pages

Published November 30th 2004 by Strebor Books (first published 2004)

I purchased my book from: russosbooks.com

My thoughts:

Well, this is my first Allison Hobbs book. I was really looking forward to reading it because she is my friend on Facebook, and I knew I was going to love her writing!

Terelle is trying to get everything ready for her baby daddy Marquise to come home from prison. He is in there on drug charges. She talks to him on the phone a lot, even though it costs and arm and a leg. She is working as much as she can to try to get the bills paid and make a good life for him when he gets home.

"Terelle let out a sigh. She was so tired. Tired of being lonely, tired of struggling to take care of Markeeta alone, tired of juggling bills. And she was sick and tired of dealing with her mother's issues--her unending problems. Her mother, Cassandra Chambers, had been on and off drugs for most of Terelle's life. At present, Cassandra was clean. She'd been clean for three months, the longest time ever." p. 3

Terelle had to be ready at any minute to take off work and go get Marquise. Finally the day came when he got to come home.

"He'd grown up in prison--matured. The things he used to do, he was no longer interested in doing. He promised: no more running the streets, no jump-off chicks on the side; no more hustling; no more hugging the block all day and until the wee hours of the morning. The drug game couldn't be won. He realized that now. He was going to work a straight job. Be a family man." p.41

He was on house arrest though and couldn't leave the house for 90 days. Terelle loved him being confined to the house and really wasn't looking forward to his house arrest being done.

Terelle's mom Cassandra came over and accused Marquise of something shocking. Of course, Marquise denied it, but Terelle didn't know what to think.

Marquise started to get a little too comfortable at home and was going to start back at old habits, but Terrelle wasn't going to let him. He just didn't feel right having her being the breadwinner, and he wanted to get out there and contribute. He knew though that he needed to do what he had to in order to make her happy and get a respectable job and one that is legal.

Then there is Kai. She is something else. She was having sex with Dr. Kenneth Harding, but then he left for vacation and didn't even tell her. She was pissed at him. Like a married man is supposed to really put his life on hold for her and let her know where he is every minute. Come on, Kai.

Kai also has this weird thing about pulling on her hair and is totally addicted to sex. As long as the person is breathing, they are good. She called for someone to service the "clogged drain" in her apartment, but really what she wanted is to fuck the maintenance man. She heard a tap at the door and:

"It didn't matter who was on the other side of the door as long as he had a functional dick.
Kai opened the door and locked eyes with the maintenance man. Ortiz was the name embroidered on his uniform. She didn't know if it was his first or last name. Nor did she care. She was concerned only with the size of his assets and trying to make a determination, she stared openly at his crotch." p.91

"Kai unzipped her slacks and allowed Ortiz to ease them off. By the time he had taken of his pants, he was fully erect and she was moist. There was no need for kissing or fondling. All Kai wanted was some rock-hard dick." p. 91

Kai ended up in a facility and got the attention of one of the employees--a hottie who asked her what she had to eat and she said:

"For lunch...Hmm, I think I'll skip what's on the menu. I'd rather spend that time tasting you."p. 113

"Her eyes swept his long body, zooming in his crotch. His swagger and the bulge in his pants told her he was packing major meat. She took a deep breath and let it out. p. 151

Things end up a little out of control at the end and you will just have to read the book to see what it is.

There is definitely an erotic book and kept me turning the pages! I was very surprised at what happened at the end. One person's actions can really ripple through to other people's lives. I loved this book and plan on reading more books by Allison Hobbs. I love her writing and want more!

5 out of 5 diamonds

Loved this book!

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.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB ofShould 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 am reading Insatiable by Allison Hobbs

I have two quotes:

It didn't matter who was on the other side of the door as long as he had a functional dick.

Kai opened the door and locked eyes with the maintenance man. Ortiz was the name embroidered on his uniform. She didn't know if it was his first or last name. Nor did she care. She was concerned only with the size of his assets and trying to make a determination, she stared openly at his crotch. p. 91

Kai unzipped her slacks and allowed Ortiz to ease them off. By the time he had taken off his pants, he was fully erect and she was moist. There was no need for kissing or fondling. All Kai wanted was some rock hard dick. p. 91

Book Review - Mo' Dirty Still Stuntin' by Darrell King

Mo' Dirty Still Stuntin' by Darrell King

Paperback, 288 pages

Published August 1st 2008 by Urban Books

About Mo’ Dirty

Peter Whiskey Battle is a 24-year-old enforcer for Peola, Georgia’s Bad Boyz II Syndicate, a dangerous street gang controlling the lion’s share of illicit narcotics coming into the bustling port of Savannah. After murdering two local snitches for David Ambrosia, the suave, smooth-talking leader of the syndicate and Whiskey’s best friend, he is given an offer he can’t refuse.

The underworld bosses and thugs of the low country have joined forces with a handful of rogue cops to bring an end to the term of meddlesome police chief Mickey O’Mally, whose war on crime has angered many of the shot callers and big ballers of the dirty-dirty. With the headache of the top cop gone, they can depend on the crooked officers to eliminate their connections.

Everything goes as planned, until Whiskey begins a torrid affair that ends in the death of his lover. Is he guilty of killing his famous lover, or is he simply a victim of circumstances, considering the powerful enemies she recently made? You be the judge!?

About Darrell King

Darrell King has been writing ever since the age of eight. His first published work of fiction was penned during the fall of 1976 as a student of Mary Field’s Elementary School on South Carolina’s Daufuskie Island. This effort, an adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” was both written and illustrated by Mr. King and was published in the school’s quarterly periodical, “The Daufuskie Kid’s Magazine.” Mr. King went on to write several unpublished stories and numerous poems, several of which were published in the 1995-1996 “Poetry Anthology” by the National Library of Poetry in Owings Mills, Maryland.

During the 90s, Mr. King was attracted to and inspired by the lurid tales of inner city crime and drama that he read on the pages of novels by great writers such as Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim. This, coupled with an enduring appreciation for the hard-edged, yet enlightened lyric of the era’s gangsta rap icons like Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Easy E and others prompted Mr. King to begin writing his very own stories of urban crime and inner city drama.

(from Pump Up Your Book!)

My thoughts:

I was excited to see this book on the Pump Up Your Book tour. Actually my friend Staci told me about it because she knows I love reading urban books. I was looking forward to reading this book and enjoyed it because I like reading the "street talk". It makes the story come to life. The author did an excellent job with the street talk, and it seems like a book with all of the street talk would be a little tough to write.

The first thing that happens in this book is the main character Whiskey was paid to murder Pastor Leon McBride. His fiancee' was happy to hear when her cheating pastor husband was dead, especially since she is the one that paid to have him killed.

Whiskey gets paid to murder people along with dealing drugs. He never feels bad for any of the murders he commits. Here is a sample quote from the book:

You gotta peel his cap back, homie. David done told us dat you da man when it comes to deadin' niggas. We know da dude's livin' down in y'all's neck o'da woods an' shit. So can you take care of the light work for us or what? P.16

I liked this book and was surprised at the ending. I would like to read the next book to see what happens!

I give this book 4 out of 5 diamonds because I really liked this book!

Thank you to the author Darrell King for sending me an autographed review copy. Thank you also to Pump Up Your Book.com for hosting this book tour. 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.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday

is hosted by Rose City Readers (January Host)
We share what books that we found
in our mailboxes last week.

Bought this book:

The Snowman's Quest by Nancy Anderson Judge

and bought this book from Russo's Books:

Chedda Boyz by C.J. Hudson

I got this book from Shelf Awareness:

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

This book I got from the Pump Up Your Book Virtual Tour for review:

Flavors by Emily Sue Harvey

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Book Review - Nina's Got a Secret by Brian W. Smith

Nina's Got a Secret by Brian W. Smith

Published: December 1, 2008

Publisher: Hollygrove Publishing

Pages: 192

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Yes, this definitely does meet my standards Brian!

Larry is from San Diego, California. He lost his wife Deidra to Brian cancer. They have an Autistic daughter named Chrissy. On the same day, Nina, a stripper from New Orleans, Louisiana. lost her boyfriend Flip in a drive by shooting. They have a baby named Precious.

Larry and Nina met at the strip club, and then they get married. Larry's best man Terry was thinking that this marriage was not for the best and asked Larry if he was sure, and he said he was. Nina's friend Val kept asking her the same thing. Val said:

"Nina, you know damn well you ain't lookin' forward to being the biggest nigga in the bed. Besides, you already admitted that you aren't physically attracted to him. He's older than you. You've already admitted that he's got a little dick and he doesn't eat pussy. So I can only conclude that you're about to marry this man because he has money." p17

Nina thinks she will grow to love Larry.

Nina seems so ungrateful. I mean she marries this rich man with a hug ehouse, and she wasn't happy because their daughters would be sharing rooms. She wanted her daughter Precious to have her own room. Plus, Larry's daughter was handicapped, so that was another problem.

Of course, something happened to make Nina have a secret. You will have to read the book to see what it was. I was surprised about how her friend Val treated this information.

My favorite character is Larry. He is just such a good guy. He would do anything for anybody and was a real gentleman. Nina, on the other hand....well....just read the book to find out what you think about Nina and her secret.

I was very surprised at the ending. I like how it ended, but I thought it would go the other way from what it did.

I highly recommend this book! This is the first book that I've read by Brian W. Smith, and can't wait to read the other two that he sent to me!

I gave this book 5 out of 5 diamonds

Thank you to Brian W. Smith for sending me a 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.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB ofShould 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!

Nina's Got a Secret by Brian W. Smith

P.47

Larry looked depressed as he contemplated the evening's events. Nina had a smirk on her face as she thought to herself, he's going to learn that as long as I have the coochie, I run this show.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Mailbox Monday and It's Monday What Are You Reading

Mailbox Monday

is hosted by Jenny Q. @ Let Them Read Books (December Host)

We share what books that we found

in our mailboxes last week.

Wow was this ever a cool week for me! Let's see, where do I start?

Well, author Brian W. Smith asked if I would review his book. I was so excited when I got the package from him and it had 3 books in it, all autographed. They are:

Nina's Got a Secret by Brian W. Smith

Beater by Brian W. Smith

Deadbeat by Brian W. Smith

I got a surprise package in the mail from PHE INK!

They sent me a mug, a book thong and The Frog Pond by Otis Randolf! I was totally surprised by this! Check out their website at PHE Ink!

Their authors are Jazz Singleton (have not read anything by her yet), Jean Holloway (read Ace of Hearts, Black Jack and Deuces Wild-all awesome books), LM Blakeley (have her book Wikked to read), P Renee (need to read her book still), T.L. James (I have her MPire books at home to read!)

I also got a surprise from Simply Said Reading Accessories. Check out the cool bookmarks and book thongs they have. Here is what they sent me:

Here is all the book marks together

I did buy some books too:

Not a Good Look by Nikki Carter

These I also purchased from the Publisher at a very reduced price. Thanks Staci for the recommendation that you printed. Obviously I ordered it along with a couple others!