Urban Reviews - Your Source for the Best in AA Fiction!

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The Story Behind The Story -  Alaya Johnson - Author of 'Moonshine' - Alaya (rhymes with “papaya”) lives, writes, cooks and (perhaps most importantly) eats in New York City. Her literary loves are all forms of speculative fiction, historical fiction, and the occasional highbrow novel. Her culinary loves are all kinds of ethnic food, particularly South Indian, which she feels must be close to ambrosia. She graduated from Columbia University in 2004 with a BA in East Asian Languages and Cultures, and has lived and traveled extensively in Japan. Urban Reviews:  Can you tell us what Moonshine is all about? Alaya Johnson:  Moonshine follows the story of Zephyr Hollis, a demon hunter turned social activist in the Lower East Side of 1920s New York City. She teaches night school to immigrants and Others (including vampires) and generally tries to repent for her past as the daughter of Montana's most famous demon hunter. However, things turn sticky when one of her student...

Jordan Belcher - Tre Pound - Availalbe Now! - 3 out of 5 books - 21-year-old Levour King a.k.a. "Tre Pound" is a menace to the streets in Kansas City and comes from a long line of hustlers. Tre is a hood star and feels as if the King's runs the streets and that he is untouchable...even after all the grimey things he has done. He goes around robbing folks without a ski mask. He wants his victims to be well aware of who it was that actually robbed them. Unbeknownst to him, a lot of people want to see Tre dead or behind bars for life and will stop at nothing to make this happen. Tre's little cousin Camille is looking for love in all the wrong places. Her ex-boyfriend is still in love with her, and he's just waiting for the right opportunity to swoop Camille back up. Her current boyfriend is a pretty boy who does not have much heart. Both of these boys have one thing in common: they are both terrified of Tre Pound. Camille loves her cousin Tre, but she hat...

Terry L. Wroten - Natural Born Killaz - Available Now! - 4 out of 5 books - John Wilson and Kevin Goodman live in South Central and attend Carver Junior High School, which is the only predominantly Black school left in Los Angeles. Gangbanging is the game of choice in their hood, which is what they both see with older siblings as well as other family members. The gang members ARE family and they all pledge their lives and unconditional love to their set...the infamous Crips, the almighty color of blue. John’s mother preaches as well as pleads with him not to fall into the trap that the white man has devised to enslave the young black men into self destruction. John falls for Donita Johnson, while Kevin lays his heart on the line for Meosha. The only problem is the fact that the girls’ family are their enemies...the Bloods. An innocent walk home from school one afternoon births the demons in John and Kevin. John becomes Killa Black while Kevin deems the hood name Kil...

Carol M. Mackey - Sistergirl Devotions - Available Now! - 5 out of 5 books - Sistergirl Devotions by Carol M. Mackey is broken down into 90 life lessons. This book is ideal for a Women’s Bible Study Group or a focused Sunday School Class. Mackey’s chapter titles are so informative for a Christian education teacher that they can create their own Sunday School Class Curriculum coupling twelve life lessons together, which have similar subject matters (i.e. working moms, working wives, office politics.) Most importantly, readers can use this book as a guide to help them navigate themselves toward and through the corporate ceiling without having to lay down their religion to get there. Sistergirl Devotions is more than a devotional. Mackey gives partners life lessons with personal anecdotes, scriptural reference, action plans [her power moves] and guided prayer for readers to use when they connect with a topic. Kudos! Reviewed by Dee Stewart for Urban Reviews Order yo...

Styles P - Invincible - Available Now! - 3 out of 5 books - Life is very precious, and at times, it's taken for granted. What if your life as you knew it was forever changed? Your freedom was taken away from you in a blink of an eye. Would you be able to sit down and be still, knowing that your downfall was at the hands of another man, or would you be out for the ultimate vengeance? Jake Billings was a legend for a reason. Jake seemed to have settled down from his wild and crazy days. He owned a successful store and had his girl Kim by his side.  Suddenly, he finds himself back in prison. Jack plans to walk the straight and narrow in prison, but then he receives a mysterious letter threatening his life. Watching over his shoulder is not how Jake saw doing his bid. His life began to fall into a downward spiral. Jake ends up in a coma after an unsuccessful attempt was made on his life. Waking up in a hospital room two years later, Jake a.k.a. “Mr. Inv...

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Author Allison Hobbs discusses 'Stealing Candy' Riveting! Graphic! Edgy! Just a few words that describe the responses to Allison Hobbs´ writing style. Known for writing provocative and controversial novels, Allison burst on the literary scene with her highly successful debut novel, Pandora´s Box in 2003. In her latest release, Stealing Candy, Allison departs from erotic fiction, and has taken on the serious and disturbing topic of teenage sex trafficking in the United States.  A prolific writer, she is the national bestselling author of fourteen novels and novellas of multiple genres, including paranormal and fantasy. Urban Reviews:  Can you tell us a little about Stealing Candy? Allison Hobbs:   Three teen-age girls from very different backgrounds have been kidnapped by a pimp and forced into the sex trade. Saleema Sparks, a woman who runs a sanctuary for troubled teens risks her life to save the girls. Urban Reviews:  What mad...

Joe Martin - Ill Street Blues - Available Now! - 3 out of 5 books - Come take a journey on these Ill Street Blues by Joe Martin. As a child in Buffalo, N.Y., Bum struggled day to day, growing up with hardly anything to call his own. As he got older, these ill streets were calling his name with all the money that could be made by selling drugs and anything else to bring in the money. He runs with a clique they call the "Young Guns," which included him and his two men Mojo and Bumpkin. With all the money that he's making, there are others on the streets plotting to take him down. Being born into the game and with his father being one of the biggest dealers in town, it comes natural to Lex to want to follow in his father's footsteps. Money is far from his motive because his family has plenty of it. He is torn between the streets and the fame he has on the football field. His high comes more from being the top five for the NFL draft. Just when Lex is about to ...

Noire - Unzipped - Available Now! - 4 out of 5 books - Sometimes life throws us many curveballs. Things can be going well, and the next minute it can be all bad. What if your life as you knew it was forever changed at the hands of evil? How would you handle the situation? Would you seek revenge, or would you lose it all to cause the ones who did you wrong to experience the pain that you felt? Pearl Baines was a star in her own right. One-half of a twin, Pearl was the complete opposite of her sister Diamond, who was in and out of trouble with a recurring drug problem. Pearl and Diamond were a force to be reckoned with in their teenage years. The Baines twins had the boys in Harlem going crazy, which resulted in the twins getting pregnant by the same man. Pearl strived to change for the better and wanted to set a good example for her daughter and niece. Pearl had goals and worked hard to accomplish them. Pearl’s dreams of becoming a FBI agent began to unfold before her e...

Various Authors - Can A Sistah Get Some Love? (Anthology) - Available Now! - 4 out of 5 books - For Love or Success by Tinisha Nicole Johnson Jasmine Carter is a corporate exec who is looking for the same type of man, even though that hasn't gotten her very far. When her best friend convinces her to take a trip on the city bus with her for fun, Jasmine meets Kevin Matthews-the bus driver. Regardless of how he looks, Jasmine could never be attracted to a bus driver...could she? When she runs into Kevin again, she decides that maybe she would give him a try...on a friendship level. Kevin is willing to go along with this. Jasmine eventually finds another man that is everything she thinks she wants, and Kevin has a steady girl that will always be there. Will Jasmine let Kevin get away because he is not what she envisioned as her perfect guy? For Love or Success is a good read by Tinisha Nicole Johnson. I enjoyed the twist that Johnson gave the story where the woman was th...

Maureen Smith - Recipe for Temptation - Available Now! - 5 out of 5 books - Dr. Reese St. James needs to get away! She has been dealt a tragic blow on her job, and she is not so sure that the relationship she's in is working for her anymore. So when a friend asks her to house sit for two months while she is off on assignment, Reese jumps at the chance. This trip to Atlanta is exactly what she needs. Meeting celebrity chef Michael Wolf is not so bad either. However, a case of mistaken identity have the two at odds. Fate steps in and Reese has been chosen as one of the finalist in a contest that Michael had to find an assistant on his TV show. She goes in with all intentions of making him look bad, but the heat they share in the kitchen lands her the job. Their chemistry is undeniable, and Reese is trying to fight her attraction for Michael. Michael is not making it easy because he has decided that he wants Reese. Can his Recipe for Temptation be hot enough to win Reese...

Justina Wheelock - Twisting The Script - Available Now! - 3.5 out of 5 books - Erica Madison, Larry Aaron, and Cyprien Gravier are involved in a love triangle that would take a mathematician to figure out. Erica and Larry have been best friends since childhood. At some point, Larry fell in love with Erica. Up until recently, Erica loves Larry like a friend. She didn't realize that she was in love with him also. Once the realization set in, Cyprien Gravier reappears in her life. Erica and Cyprien dated two years ago, and their relationship ended when Cyprien decided that he needed to find himself. Erica was devastated, not because she was in love with him but because he left her. When Cyprien returned, he realized that walking away from Erica was the biggest mistake of his life. He wanted her back and planned on getting her back. However, Larry was determined to have Erica and on his terms this time. Can Erica figure out this mess without anyone getting hurt...including her...

Beverly Taylor - Desires of the Heart - Available Now! - 5 out of 5 books - The Greek word for “the heart” is LAY-BAWB and it means the inner man. So it’s no wonder when you read that "God looks on the heart" that He is in fact doing just that...looking inside of us. When you meet the love of your life, what are you looking at? Carson O’Connor finds out the hard way that outer appearances might not last, but when you make a commitment to God or His people to love and cherish, you have to look at the heart to sustain the years together. Carson and Katharine O’Connor have been married twelve years. Katharine is still in love with her man, but Carson is drawing bored with Katharine. He misses the fun they use to have, He mentions that she no longer wears make-up and walks around the house unattractive. After two children, Katharine is no sore eye. As a matter of fact, she has maintained a coke bottle figure. But when she is in her home, she doesn’t see the pressure to...

Pat Simmons - Still Guilty - Available Now! - 5 out of 5 books - Parke & Cheney Jamieson thought they had put their past behind them and could move forward, but that is not the case. Cheney needs Parke more than ever since she lost the baby, and his mind is completely somewhere else. Parke is too busy looking for the son that he fathered a long-time ago. Once the search comes to an end, there's still the trials that are going on for Grandma BB & Roland Reynolds. Cheney's strong faith in the Lord has gotten her through so much, but now she's not so sure with everything that's going on with her loved ones. Cheney's twin brother Rainey is still upset that she had an abortion. He also learns that one of his ex-girlfriends had done the same thing. He feels that someone is going to feel the pain that he is feeling. It's not until Rainey meets someone that he could truly see himself with, but in order to move forward, he has to seek forgiveness for...