BOOK BYTES: INTERRUPTION: The Gospel According to Crystal Justine (review)

4 out of 5 Rating

Worth the Interruption

When reading a book, I love to be entertained; even more so, I love to be taught something, and while reading Tracey Michae'l Lewis' latest novel, INTERRUPTION: The Gospel According to Crystal Justine, I definitely received big helpings of both.

Crystal Justine is a young woman in a long line of women in her family to endure a devastating generational curse, a curse that finds the weakest part of the women to crush their spirit and kill them. CJ has a slew of issues, many of them stemming from the mother who succumbing to the curse, died when CJ was young. CJ, searching for a life that is all hers and all good, must battle for every good thing she wants, for evil refuses to allow her to be the interruption to stop the curse from coursing through her family's veins.

Aside from the story itself, which I really enjoyed, my favorite part of this story is its discussion (through literature) of "the generational curse." We are set for victory, but there are a lot of forces that don't want us to succeed, and sometimes, those forces go beyond dealing with a person one-on-one; it infiltrates an entire family, an entire bloodline for the sole purpose of completely obliterating that family.

Lewis' novel vividly shows us how these forces can use everything against you, to include your family, to break you down, but there can be victory if you keep your eye on God, keep your heart on what's true, and what your mind focused on what's right.

I look forward to seeing what Lewis can teach us with her next novel.

Click the cover to order your copy of INTERRUPTION: The Gospel According to Crystal Justine today!

BOOK BYTES: Some Like It Hot (review)

4 out of 5 Rating

I Like It Hot, Too

In the romance world, Brenda Jackson is practically a household name; she is known for her bestselling sexy stories that turn up the heat between flawed but real men and women. In her first ever short story collection, Jackson continues to add the sizzle she's known and loved for. In a book titled SOME LIKE IT HOT, a reader wants the HOT, and I got it here. The sexual tension between the main characters is palpable, especially in my favorite of the five stories, "Strictly Business." Almost more so than Jackson's way with the sexy word, I enjoyed the main characters Jackson developed. Out of the five stories, no two characters are alike, and their yearnings, that "something" that pulled them through the story, felt real and authentic. My only issue, and it's a "me thing" is length of stories. At times, I felt like I was reading either really long short stories or short novellas, but Jackson's talent as a writer keeps you from feeling the stories trudge along. Hopefully, Jackson will grace us with more shorter works in the futures - "quickies" to whet our "need to have it now" appetites!

You can get your HOT ON today by clicking the cover above and ordering Brenda Jackson's Some Like It Hot!

BOOK BYTES: The Seeds of Green Mangoes (review)

4.5 out of 5 Rating


A lush, no-holds barred story


I am a big fan of stories that make you think, that make you want to talk about the story with others. Janete Scobie's debut novel, The Seeds of Green Mangoes is definitely one of those books. On the surface, it's a coming of age story, one young woman's journey to find herself and her place in the world. Beneath the surface is a lushly described story that vividly portrays locales, characters, and the yearning embedded in main character, Creola Philogène. There are two things I enjoy most about this story. One, I love the weaving of deep, serious issues in the story: the taboo of sex, culture, gender, and class, for example, blend well to layer the story and give book clubs something to talk about. Two, knowing a bit about Scobie's background - her education, travels, experiences - this book feels like a culmination of everything she's learned and felt thus far in her life. I look forward to seeing what she gleans from life next.

You can order a copy of The Seeds of Green Mangoes by clicking the cover above.

Book Review: I Must Be in Heaven...A Promise Kept

The world today is so cluttered with tragedy - one tragedy being the death of marriages...of long,enduring forever love.

And then I read Valerie Anne Faulkner's true inspirational love story, "I Must Be in Heaven...A Promise Kept" and realized that in certain corners of the world, real love exists - the kind that's built on faith and commitment and that lasts through life's tragedies.

What I loved the most about Faulkner's story is her connection to her faith; it's so easy to have a tragedy befall you and you not be able to withstand it because your faith is being tested. Faulkner, with her faith and her love for her husband, was able to make it through a dark and scary journey. She was able to endure of heartache of her husband's medical trauma and persevere despite it. I also enjoyed Faulkner's down-to-earth tone. I could hear her voice through every story, every experience. I felt connected with her and her family as they connected and plowed through life's circumstances.

Faulkner's story, as I think all inspirational stories should do, made me reflect on my life, appreciate what I have, and rededicate myself to keeping God in my life and keeping my faith strong so that I can withstand the obstacles that I know I will face.

Click the cover to purchase your copy of I Must Be in Heaven...A Promise Kept today!