Have you heard of The Deal, the Dance and the Devil by Victoria Christopher Murray? Well, if not, where have you been? Anyway, here is the first chapter read by Victoria Christopher Murray herself! This book comes out on June 7. Listen to the chapter, and I am sure you will want to pre-order your copy right away!
Read for the Oosa 2K11 Reading Challenge (book 5 out of 13)
About the Book:
The streets have their way of crowing the next Kingpin. Combine the history of the hood, and status is delegated accordingly. But it takes a cold heart, a ruthless make up, and there can be no room for love. How far will loyalty carry? Or is it even necessary? Serious' rise to power ended with his arrest and five years in the penitentiary. It was there where he found out it was all a lie. Now he wants the truth and he will stop at nothing to get it. Now a father, a successful club owner, and an exile from a dangerous underworld, Serious only option is to walk away from everything he'd built, to hand it over to his comrade and original partner, Tipsy. But Tip wants more than serious is willing to give. And when the stakes are high, betrayal is always written in blood. And the deeper it gets the more evident is the truth that loyalty and love play no part in the streets. All that's left is vengeance, and the players in this arena are certified killers. And in the end it all comes down to the first to Draw will be the last to stand. Draw 2 is a gritty pathway into the Yonkers underworld on levels where kingpins and Drug Lords roam and claim the streets by all means necessary. Where the same blood-shed that bonds is what justifies. Where you find out that your enemies and your friends are one in the same. A thrilling conclusion to the illest cinematic street epic.
My Review:
I read Draw, so I was very happy when I found out I won Draw 2 from J-Real!
Serious got a strike against him from me when he decided to see Laura upon his release from lock-up. He should have gone to visit Candy and his daughter first. She was so disappointed that her daddy didn't come to see her first thing. If he is going to go and have a child, she should be his first priority.
Draw 2 was an okay book for me. I get that this is an urban fiction book, but it was a little hard to read at times because of grammatical issues. I had to go back and re-read sentences because they didn't have proper punctuation. Because of this, I couldn't get into the story because I was paying attention to the way the book was written and not what was being said. Hopefully for Draw 3 this won't be an issue because I am not giving up on J-Real! I have to say though that J-Real really aced the steamy scenes in this book! I would like to see a more erotic fiction book written by J-Real!
Disclaimer: 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.
I am starting an exciting new feature on my blog! It is called "Week With An Author". I will be starting this in May. Please check out my Review Schedule Page to see when you can be featured for a week on Black Diamond's Book Reviews.
Week With An Author will run from a Monday to a Friday. I will dedicate the whole week to a featured author.
Here is an example of what I will post:
Introduce the Author of the Week and let everyone know what is coming up each day
Facebook (my page, Urban Image Magazine page, your page)
Twitter (@cherylbaryl)
Amazon (book review)
Barnes & Noble (book review)
Goodreads (book review)
Anywhere else you choose
Also, included will be advertising for the book on my Featured Sponsors Section of my blog for one month. The post will start on the Sunday of the week of the postings and continue for one month.
The first author to be featured will be Dell Banks, author of Shady: A Novel. Look for A Week With Dell Banks on April 23! You will be able to see what this is all about!
The charge for being featured on Week With An Author is $100.00, payable by PayPal or Money Order.
I was open but secretive.My friends saw me as laid back, but they couldn’t see the stirring inside.I kept myself hidden hoping one day I would have the courage to risk showing someone my concealed self.
Genre: Memoir Source: Review e-book sent to me by author
About the Book:
The author speaks very candidly about her life growing up in a house with a father that was mentally ill, the sexual abuse she encountered and most importantly the forgiveness of her father. She has to come to the realization that hating him will never allow her to move forward in life nor will it allow her to have any other successful relationship. Transparency about very serious topics in Black America including but not limited to Molestation , Forgiveness, Mental Illness are all discussed in this first book in The Journey Series.
Tamyra is a single mother who possesses many gifts and talents. Writing has been a gift that she has nurtured and carried deep in her soul even as a child. She uses her writing to speak to the heart and soul of women about real issues. Those issues include but are not limited to molestation, divorce, church hurt, struggling with suicide, and single parenting. However while she discusses the real raw painful situations she speaks very blatantly about how she uses those painful instances as fuel. She looks to embrace everything that life brings knowing that GREAT things are in store. She hosts an annual day of beauty and host beauty classes for disadvantaged women. She uses her years behind a salon chair to pull women in and restore them. Her sights are now set on The New York Times Bestsellers List; she has her eyes set on Directing a Stage play based on The Journey Series. Not to mention her sights are also set on THE BIG SCREEN. She wants the struggles of being raised by a Bi-Polar father, to be put before the world so that with love we can handle those that are not like us.
Through it all, I was a crazed Christian who still trusted enough to believe that God could do anything but fail. Now {if I was honest} I wasn’t so sure. I had been taught to believe in the Immaculate Conception of Jesus Christ which, if I am honest, seems farfetched, but is the basis of our entire religion. However, I was losing hope. I thought I had “Mustard seed” faith. Now I wondered if half a mustard seed counted. God had always sustained, and maintained, but now it was just heavy; heavier than normal.
I wasn’t certain how my story would end. So much in my life had become a vapor. I felt like it could all end at anytime. Others would look at the life and opportunities afforded to my son as being blessed. Others saw vacations and trips and clothes, houses, and land. Yes, I was able to build a house from the ground up before I was thirty, even after the tragedy of my divorce. But, at this moment, none of the trips or nice clothes or the home mattered.
Oh, how I wished the Coach I carried on my arm could run and tell the Dooney in my closet to tap on Louis Vuitton’s shoulder and ask for some of my money back. I just needed this Huritornaunami to END (hurricane+ tornado+ Tsunami). And just as if an alarm had gone off, Dorian, my son, peaked his head through my door and said, “Mama, I’m hungry.” In the middle of my shower, my son said he was hungry. In the midst of my pain, my son said he was hungry. He called me mommy and said he was hungry. I wasn’t allowed to finish my cry because duty called. An “Okay, baby” was all I could get out of my mouth
Book Trailer
My Review:
This is the memoir of T. Tamyra Eddy. She was sexually molested by her father and cousin at a very young age. She ends up finding out that her father is bi-polar.
We start off with Tamyra in the shower. She is trying to wash away her worries. She is so depressed and has so much on her mind. She is questioning God. She doesn't know why her life has been so hard. First the sexual abuse by her father and cousin, and then several men come and go out of her life and then come back again. She hates her job. She is afraid that she is going to end up like her father. She is lucky enough though to have a son, but he gives her some trouble too. At one point she is so worried because she doesn't have enough money for gas. She dug through some of her purses and found $6.00 in change.
Memoirs are so personal and touching. I found The Search for Me to be a very entertaining yet emotional book to read. I really felt like I was in the mind of Tamyra and could feel what she was feeling. The story flowed well and I got a look into her life. There were some grammatical errors such as missing commas and spelling errors, which caused me to have to back up a little bit and read some things again. Since this is the first book, I am sure these kinks will get ironed out in the next ones. Overall though, I would recommend this book!
Disclaimer: 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.
I have been blogging for Urban Image Magazine since December of 2010. My first "assignment" was to read Daddy Rich's book Mack's Revenge...All Hell Breaks Loose, and interview him. I loved his book and was excited to do my very first author interview! Here is a link to my first post Review Of Mack's Revenge All Hell Breaks Loose By Daddy Rich.
Since that time, I have interviewed Frank C. Matthews (current March/April issue), Zane, and K'wan (their interviews will be in the May/June issue)! I also put all of my blog posts from Black Diamond's Book Reviews on Urban Image Magazine.
Yesterday I was promoted to Staff Writer of Urban Image Magazine! I am very excited to be working for Urban Image Magazine. This is purely a voluntary position until the magazine can really get off the ground, but I enjoy it!
Before working for Urban Image Magazine, I had never interviewed an author or even written a story. I do post reviews, etc. on my blog, but for Urban Image Magazine I have even been blogging about news stories!
Make sure you check out Urban Image Magazine and Mack's Revenge!
To Review This Week:
The Search for Me by T. Tamyra Eddy (e-book sent to me for review by author)
Draw 2 by J-Real (Oosa Book Club 2K11 13 week challenge - book 5-won from author)
Read for Oosa Book Club 2K11 Reading/Reviewing Challenge (book 4 out of 13)
About the Book:
The storm of betrayal is brewing...
Justine Dasant walks the earth in search of something that always seems to be just out of reach. After she's promised herself that she would leave her past in the past, history starts to repeat when her current boyfriend, Isaiah Johnson, shows interest in someone other than her. Justine makes it known that she'll stop at nothing to get what she wants...no matter who gets hurt along the way.
Isaiah Johnson, a young, successful CEO, has climbed himself to a life of wealth. He's worked hard to open his own business and just when success peaks, Isaiah's new found strength to step out on faith drives a wedge between him and the woman in his life. Not only does he regret meeting Justine, it's a challenge for him to escape her calculated stalking. At what cost will Isaiah say no to the world and yes to God?
My Review:
In the Acknowledgments, Renee Allen McCoy cites this bible verse: "Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it," Proverbs 22:6. I love it!
The main characters that you will read about in this book are Isaiah and Justine. I like the fact that the chapters go back and forth between each character's point of view. I always enjoy finding out what each of the characters is thinking! Isaiah wanted to get closer to God, but Justine just blew all of that talk off. She was afraid to settle down with Isaiah and wanted to see what else was out there before. That's why she was also seeing Tony. Hector wanted Isaiah to go out with a woman named Deborah that was really into him. Isaiah just didn't know what to do because he was with Justine, but he just needed a break from everything too.
I liked Isaiah because he knew that he wanted and he made changes to his life for the better. He believed that God had bigger and better things for him, and he made a decision and stuck to it no matter what. Justine was the character that you just never knew what she would do next and believe me when I say that you will not forget her after you read this book!
The Kiss of Judas by Renee Allen McCoy was a very enjoyable book that I would recommend!
Disclaimer: 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.
. Look for A Week With Dell Banks on April 23! You will be able to see what this is all about!
