GEMS Book of the Month: January 2012

An Inconvenient Friend

by Rhonda McKnight

Selected by:

Camilya Daniels

Synopsis:

Samaria Jacobs joins New Mercies Christian Church in order to get close to Angelina Preston, her lover's wife. She's got her heart set on successful surgeon Gregory Preston. He has just the bankroll she needs to keep her in the lifestyle that her credit card debt has helped her grow accustomed to. If she gets to know Angelina, she can become like her in more than looks, and really work her way into Greg's heart.

Just when Samaria thinks she's got it all figured out, she finds herself drawn to Angelina's kindness. Will she be able to carry out her plan after she finds herself yearning for the one thing she's never had . . . the friendship of a woman?

Angelina Preston's life is filled with a successful career and busy ministry work, but something's just not right with her marriage. Late nights and early meetings, coupled with lipstick-stained shirts have her suspicious that her husband is doing a little more operating than she'd like. But does she have the strength to confront the only man she's ever loved and risk losing him to the other woman?

GEMS Book of the Month: November 2011

Faithful
by Kim Cash Tate




Selected by:
Sharon Hall




Synopsis:

Cydney Sanders thought she knew God's plan for her life. She'd marry, have kids, and then snap her body back into shape by doing Tae Bo. But she's celebrating her fortieth birthday as the maid of honor at her little sister's wedding...and still single. Now her life is suddenly complicated by the best man. He's the opposite of what she wants in a husband...and yet, he keeps defying her expectations. Starting with a lavendar rose--symbolizing enchantment--each rose he sends her reflects his growing love for her.

Cydney's best friend Dana appears to have the perfect marriage--until she discovers her husband's affair and her world goes into a tailspin. Then there is Phyllis--who is out of hope and out of prayers after asking God for six long years to help her husband find faith. When she runs into an old friend who is the Christian man she longs for, she's faced with an overwhelming choice.

Life-long friends with life-altering struggles. Will they trust God's faithfulness...and find strength to be faithful to Him?

GEMS Book of the Month: September/October 2011

The Deal, The Dance and the Devil
by Victoria Christopher Murray



Selected By:
Ty Davis


Synopsis:

What would you do for five million dollars? Adam and Evia Langston have lived in their own little garden of Eden since the two married at the age of seventeen. Working their way up from the humblest of beginnings, the Langstons have thrived beyond anything they could have ever imagined. Now they live in the finest home, drive the best cars, and indulge in all the trimmings that signify their massive success.

But then the recession hits and rips apart the family’s financial stability. Unable to support their three children and other relatives, Adam and Evia find themselves drowning in financial trouble and teetering on the brink of complete disaster. With nowhere to turn, the Langstons have no idea what to do.

Until Shay-Shaunté, Evia’s multimillionaire boss, comes to the Langstons with a five-million-dollar offer that seems so hard to refuse. Will the Langstons make this deal? Or will they recognize that the glitter of five million dollars may be far from gold?

Upcoming Events: 2011 National Book Club Conference

Join Author and Founder of Literally GEMS Book Club, Marguerite Benjamin Parker, for an amazing weekend of fellowship between authors and avid readers at the 2011 National Book Club Conference in Atlanta, Ga, July 29-31.

Upcoming Events: Black Pearls Magazine Chocolate Social

Join Author and Founder of Literally GEMS Book Club, Marguerite Benjamin Parker, for an elegant and exciting night of literary celebration at the 2011 Black Pearls Magazine Chocolate Social in Atlanta, Ga, on July 28.

GEMS Book of the Month: July 2011

Mrs. Big
by Maryann Reid


Selected by:
Gwen Barnes


Synopsis:

Loletta Hightower likes to live big: exotic vacations, designer clothing, trips to the spa. But it gets harder and harder to support her lavish lifestyle working the reception desk at a luxury car dealership. And though Loletta can con athletes, celebrities, and wealthy businessmen into taking care of her bills for a few months at a time, she wants the holy grail of every gold-digging businesswoman: the ring.

When she runs into Kavon "Big" Jackson, an NBA player and former college classmate of hers, she finds it really isn't so hard to snag a high-profile husband. But it sure is hard to keep him satisfied. "Big" lives up to his name in every way, including his temper and his libido—-neither of which Loletta can control. As violence and infidelity escalate in their home, so does Loletta's resolve. She's got a few surprises up her own sleeve, and the drama is just beginning.…

More about the author: http://www.maryannreidinc.com/

GEMS Book of the Month: June 2011

The Help
by: Kathryn Stockett



Selected by:
Amy Staton






Synopsis:

Be prepared to meet three unforgettable women: Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone. Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own. Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed. In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement...

About the Author:

Kathryn Stockett was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. After graduating from the University of Alabama with a degree in English and Creative Writing, she moved to New York City where she worked in magazine publishing and marketing for nine years. She currently lives in Atlanta with her family. The Help is her first novel.

http://www.kathrynstockett.com