A Heart of Devotion

A Heart of Devotion
By Tia McCollors

This novel has been sitting on my shelf since January. It’s not that I didn’t want to read it, it just got lost in the stack. Well, Tia McCollors debut novel was well worth the wait! Meet two best friends, Anisha Blake and Sherri Dawson, two single women supporting each other on those lonely, dateless weekends. Life takes a turn for the friendship when Anisha meets Tyson Randall.

As Anisha grows closer to Tyson, her friendship with Sherri becomes strained. This is not the only relationship that suffers. Anisha finds her time with God becoming more limited as Tyson and his aspirations become a major focal point. Unfortunately a person from Tyson’s past comes back on the scene putting the breaks on the budding romance. Hurt and confused, Anisha must find her way back to her first love – the lover of her soul – the one who loves her unconditionally.

In the meantime, Sherri, missing her best friend and tired of the single Christian life, gets involved with a man who is definitely not equally yoked with her spiritually. Sherri finds herself struggling to keep her Christian walk and at the same time grab on to some happiness she feels she deserves.

As both friends fall away from the Lord’s will, they both learn valuable lessons about making God a priority and the importance of accountability among friends.

A Heart of Devotion was on Essence’s bestseller’s list last year. Tia’s next book Zora’s Cry will be released Spring 2006.

Check out two mysteries in one!

Fighting Bread & Roses
By Lynn A Coleman

Writer Lindsey Taylor is staying in New England gathering research for a new novel. Her research involves the unsolved death of mill worker Anna Lopizzo. Anna was shot in a crowd of protestors during the 1912 Bread and Roses strike. Unfortunately, the shooter has never been found. This unsolved mystery presents Lindsey’s with a well-loved past time – solving old murder cases. This love for sleuthing has brought her trouble in the past. During her last research project in New Orleans, she accidentally found a photo that clearly showed a crime taking place thus placing her life in danger.

Now with a new project, the more Lindsey digs, the more she becomes unsettled with her findings. She comes across the drowning of another mill worker, Jenna Waverly. Lindsey becomes more and more intrigued with Jenna – was her drowning a suicide or murder? This novel soon breaks off into two mysteries as Lindsey learns that someone does not want her to continue her research. A mysterious man has been keeping tabs on Lindsey’s whereabouts and someone is purposely trying to scare her.

Even with her life in danger again, Lindsey’s determination to get to the bottom of Jenna and Anna’s death spurs her on. Both the past and modern day mysteries conclude with surprising results.

Lynn Coleman does a great job of going back and forth between past and current events. Reading this novel is a real treat for a mystery lover as the reader tries to shift through the clues along with Lindsey as she find them. At the same time, the reader becomes anxious to find out why the past would affect someone in such a way they want to stop Lindsey’s investigation. Definitely a worthy page-turner!

Lost Diaries of Queen Esther

Chosen: Lost Diaries of Queen Esther
By Ginger Garrett

There have been several fictional representations of the book of Esther. Last year I read Hadassah by Tommy Tenney and Mark Andrew Olsen. I really enjoyed this version for its vivid historical details. With this latest version, I was not quite sure how Ginger Garrett could present the familiar story any differently. With an interesting twist, Ginger introduces readers to the Diaries of Queen Esther. I think readers will find a fresh perspective on a well-known and loved heroine.

Drawing from contemporary headlines and archaeology research, Garrett presents a sense of mystery around these supposed diaries of Queen Esther. The historical detail and emotional entries almost have an authentic feel to them. Readers may come away feeling, are these diaries real? Ginger Garrett does not answer yes or no about this question, but apparently her book has caught the interest of many.

With amazing details, Garrett introduces readers to a young Esther at the age of 12. At this age Esther begins recording her life experiences that include her secret crush on young Cyrus. Like a real diary, where one expresses her deepest emotions, readers can connect to Esther’s puppy love feelings. After being rudely taken from her home with Mordecai, she records her anguish and longing to be married to Cyrus instead of having to prepare to meet with the king for one night. Also, like any diary or journal, while reading Esther’s entries readers receive an insightful view of how an unlikely teen transforms into a mature young woman, a woman’s whose faith would save her people.

Esther is one of my favorite women in the bible and I loved Ginger Garrett’s version of the story. She introduces us to several (possible) key people around Esther who helped groom her inside and outside for her special moment. I think Garrett’s version will be a great one to pass onto young females for their reading collection. With her unique style, I’m looking forward to seeing which woman in the bible Garrett will write about next.