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HOLY ROLLERS - ReShonda Tate Billingsley Simon & Schuster/Gallery July 2010 |
SYNOPSIS: From #1 Essence bestseller, ReShonda Tate Billiingsley, a touching and funny story of faith, love, and tenacious friendship.
INSPIRATIONAL FICTION |4+| Patricia Sykes-Brown
REVIEW:
Wanted:
A good, clean, decent man. Friends since childhood, Coco, Audra, and Nita are
best girlfriends who trust and share their deep secrets. Since college the three
girlfriends have sought relationships with professional athletes or their
friends. Now, approaching the age of 30, they are still looking for husbands but
experiencing unfulfilling and dangerous relationships. Desperation leads them to
pursue men of the cloth, with the hope of finding wealthy husbands.
Ruthless in the pursuit of what she wants. Juanita “Nita” Reynolds is sexy,
flirty, and sexually promiscuous. Her voracious sexual appetite destroys the
best relationship she could ever have when she hides the truth, and then engages
in her last fling. Her redemption might not be too far away, after her
journalizing skills save the life of her best friend. Baby mama Audra Bowen was
raised in the church, but somehow lost her way in college. She blindly allows
herself to be fooled into believing that she can make herself available,
attractive, and desirable enough when pursued by Reverend Lewis, who engages in
the relationship without morals or bit of guilt or remorse. Cosandra “Coco” King
is a product of generational curses of abuse. Fortunately she realizes the
problem and flees from an abusive cycle where she gets the crap beaten out of
her regularly, into the arms of a true man of God.
HOLY ROLLERS is set in Houston, Texas where
the National Association of Baptist’s Tomorrow’s Leaders conference is
addressing the shortage of men in ministry. Unfortunately, there are wolves in
sheep clothing everywhere, and ho strolling through the church can lead to
horrendous results. Seeking the messenger of God, without the message, can wreak
havoc in your household and result in endless moments of misery and soul
searching. Who can you believe or trust when the people who are closest to you
are the ones who can cause the most hurt and pain?
HOLY ROLLERS is a riveting story that leaves
you closely examining the church-- sheep and shepherd. Themes addressed are of
faith, truth, generational curses, abstinence, sexual addiction, love, security,
trust, honesty, and punishment. The characters are complex, with diverse
personalities and secrets.
ReShonda Tate Billingsley has exhibited great artistry in development of the
plot and characters. HOLY ROLLERS was
thought provoking and kept me up all night because I just couldn’t put it down.
I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend this quick reading, emotionally
charged, inspirational novel.
reviewer@romanceincolor.com | 1st August 2010