A Champion's Heart: Born to Win Men by Piper Huguley

Released: Dec. 2016

BW/BM

Historical

Rating: 5-star

Piper Huguley is one of my favorite authors and she doesn't disappoint with this her latest historical romance. A Champion's Heart tells the story of Delie and Champion. Fans of Ms. Huguley and her Migrations of the Heart series (A Virtuous Ruby, A Most Precious Pearl, and A Treasure of Gold) will recognize Delie as one of the younger Bledsoe sisters from the fictional town of Winslow, Georgia. At this stage of the family saga, Cordelia "Delie" Bledsoe is all grown up. Unlike her older sisters, Delie has never left Winslow. Instead, she remains at her family home, brokenhearted and caring for a group of mostly abandoned children alongside her sister Emerald (Em). Seven years ago, an engaged Delie was left behind without a word by Champion, the man she intended to marry. Champion has since become a boxer and he's preparing to fight the most important fights of his life. One of which is to regain the forgiveness, trust, and affection of the love of his life. Unfortunately, both Champion and Delie harbor secrets that could prevent them from having their happily ever after.

A Treasure of Gold by Piper Huguley

Published: November 2015

Character diversity?: African-American main couple

Rating: 4 stars

Available @ Amazon:

This is the third book in Migrations of the Heart series, which centers around an African-American family from a town called Winslow in Georgia. Unlike previous books in the series, A Treasure of Gold takes place entirely in Pittsburgh, giving the story a fresh sense of place. As always, Piper Huguley's writing is powerfully beautiful and intriguing as it transports me back in time.

A Virtuous Ruby by Piper Huguley

A Virtuous Ruby is a book that has a striking cover and an equally striking story. When I started to read this book, I couldn't put it down. It covers so many things  - love, betrayal, shame, pride, strength, acceptance, and forgiveness. The characters feel organic, beautifully fleshed out and formed from their life's circumstances such as race and skin color, environment, and social standing. As I read A Virtuous Ruby, I found myself holding my breath on some scenes and pondering how I would have personally reacted or behaved in others.

The story takes place in 1915 Georgia, in a town named Winslow. The town is named after the white owner of the mill where many of the African-American residents work. The mill doesn't pay well and generally has poor working conditions. Because this is 1915 Georgia, the good people of Winslow aren't about to rock the boat. With the exception of Ruby that is.

Taken by Koko Brown

I want to start off by saying that the cover of Taken is one of my favorite covers of the year. It is striking in the intensity of the model's stare and clearly it's not a cover that has launched a thousand previous books.This guy just seems to stare through you (even though he's a bit heavy on the smudgy eyeliner) and dares you to pass up on the opportunity to read his story inside. With that cover and a fair idea of what the book was about, I was pretty certain I was in for a fantastic few hours of reading. I mean, this had all of the makings of a book that I should have loved. A story set in the early 1900s. African-American siblings who were not destitute, but educated and successful. A heroine who's a nurse in 1908, and a foreign hero, arrogant and unwilling to take no for an answer. Strong and plucky, our heroine is someone who would keep our hero on his toes and make him work for her affections. Add in a journey to Africa and rich, descriptive writing - well, just gimme a comfy spot, a glass of wine and don't interrupt me I'm reading. Sigh. Unfortunately, Taken didn't earn the five star rating that I would like to give it.

Chained by Elise Marion

Two things drew me to this book - #1 an amazing cover and #2 the hope for a well written historical romance featuring people of color. What kept me reading was the fact that it had an actual STORY and characters that weren't just there for the sake of sex or an unbelievable and instant "love." There's a lot to like about this book...

For Love & Liberty: Untold Love Stories of the American Revolution by Alyssa Cole, Lena Hart, Kate McMurray, and Staey Agdern

For Love & Liberty is an anthology set during the Revolutionary War. It is unique in that it is not only culturally diverse, but also features a m/m storyline. Typically Revolutionary War romances only tell the story of one type of couple, so initially this intrigued me. There are four stories featured in this anthology. In the first story entitled Be Not Afraid we have a love story with a hero who is a slave fighting as a Patriot and a heroine who is a runaway slave who has decided to take her chances with the British and their offer of freedom away from America. The second novella is A Sweet Surrender and the hero is a British soldier who is nursed back to health secretly by the heroine who is a Native American/African woman. The third story, Rebels at Heart, is a m/m story about an ex-slave and an eccentric American man who masquerades as a British man of wealth. The final short called Home, is the story of a young Jewish couple who are faced with war days before they are to marry and the choices that they must make for their future.

The Search by Shiree McCarver

I didn't know what to expect when I sat down to read The Search by author Shiree McCarver, and I have to say that I was taken surprise.This book was different and I mean that in a good