Find out what happens when Alec “Smoke” Avery walks back into Breanne “Anne” Phillips’s life and turns everything upside down, including the son he never knew he had. Isaiah is under the impression that he’s in control of his own destiny, but he soon finds out that destiny isn’t something that can be easily controlled. Come to think of it, so does Anne…
Father’s Day takes on a whole new meaning when Alec "Smoke" Avery gets a look at the 16-year-old son he never knew he had. Right down to the gap between their front teeth, the curved pinkie fingers on both of their left hands, and the apparently inherited courtship with criminality, he and his son are nearly twins. But Alec is feeling far less than proud. More like engulfed in flames…
His son’s name is Isaiah and the boy has so much more potential to make something of his life than he realizes. Unlike Alec’s own humble beginnings, Isaiah is well on his way to receiving an athletic scholarship and the fact that he is academically inspired doesn’t hurt his chances at greatness, either. If only he wasn’t hell-bent on running with thugs and frying his brain cells with drugs and liquor. If only Alec had known about him before now…
His mother was once one of Alec’s customers, back when he was heavy in the drug game and unable to see the error of his ways. She was addicted to crack cocaine and Alec was just money hungry enough to feed her addiction and line his pockets at the same time. All these years later, he struggles to remember what she looks like, let alone how they could’ve created a life together. Nevertheless, he’s prepared to step back onto the scene and dominate the situation and everyone in it, just as the old Smoke would’ve done. But sometimes the best laid plans…
Breanne Phillips calls herself "Anne" now and so do the people in her employ at the wellness center she owns and operates with one hand tied behind her back. Just about the last thing she ever saw herself doing was tracking down Smoke Avery and telling him about their son. But Isaiah’s drug and alcohol abuse takes her back in time to the days when she was trapped in a hell she never imagined existed. She doesn’t want that for her son, so she starts looking for Smoke and praying that he’s changed for the better, like she has…
Isaiah doesn’t know what hit him when Smoke materializes right before his eyes and refuses to go away. He had managed to convince himself that he didn’t need a father in his life and that running the streets at all hours of the night was enough to fill the void he refused to acknowledge. Not until he finally learns his father’s identity, does he realize just how much he has been missing the faceless man’s presence in his life. A long awaited father-son relationship develops, but just when Isaiah thinks he knows all there is to know about his father, the streets come calling again and the old Smoke comes out of hibernation…
Professional Reviews
The Book Midnight Should Have Been
So if you are one of the many people who was extremely disappointed with Sister Souljah's new book please do yourself a favor and get this one. Smoke is the character that many of us dreamed Midnight would be like.
The way the relationship develops between Smoke and the woman he knew as a 14 year old crackhead who gave him sex for drugs is well written. Fast forward 16 years later and Smoke is caught between his old life and the new life he made when he left the game behind. Anna did everything in her power to keep their child to herself until she realizes that no matter how strong she is she can't save her only child alone. She is forced to reach back into her painful past to give her son the father he never had.
Even though you know exactly what's going on between Smoke and Anne AND what has to happen next - Terra Little takes the time to pull you all they way into their story. I literally read this book in less than 24 hours and I really hope she writes another book soon because it was a great story!
KR - Amazon.com
Where There's Smoke There's Fire
Breanne "Anne" Phillips overcame drug addiction when faced with an unplanned pregnancy. Still a teenager she relocated to another state with her aunt to raise her son Isaiah aka Zay. In an attempt to warn Zay about street life Anne reveals her past but it has just the opposite affect. Anne's admission pushes Zay into the streets as he loses all respect for his mother after envisioning her as a pipe sucking fiend. Desperate to save her son from the same streets she narrowly escaped Anne enlists the help of Zay's father, Alec "Smoke" Avery.
Smoke was Anne's teen aged drug dealer who she occasionally exchanged sex for drugs with. A stint in the military has reformed Smoke into a math teacher. The exact type of man that Zay needs in his life to steer him away from the streets. The only problem is that he has no idea that Zay even exists. When that awareness comes in the form of a child support petition Alec is beyond pissed. He too has left his sordid past behind and he doesn't want to be reminded of it by a child he might have fathered by the junkie he remembers Breanne Phillips to be. It doesn't matter much anyway because Zay isn't going to heed a man he views as nothing more than his mother's supplier.
Author Terra Little's Where There's Smoke has an excellent story line that's fast paced and driven by her witty wordplay. The story is told in the voice of each character adding depth and excellent character development. Each character is believable and readers will not only relate to each character but root for them as they attempt to overcome their pasts and prevent their son from making the same mistakes.
Coast2Coast Readers
One of the Best Books I've Read This Year
Okay, I have to admit that I'm not down with the Harlequin Romance thing and I definately am an urban fiction fan, but this book made me change my mind about a lot of things. When I bought it, I figured "Okay, another story from the hood. Great." I couldn't have been more wrong. The story tells about the love of a man for his son. That surprized me to no end. After Smoke finds out that he has a 16 year old son, he goes out of his way to make himself available as a father. He confronts his son's bad behavior at every turn as he makes his presence felt as Isaiah's father and his friend. So now, I'm thinking "Okay, urban fairy tale." but, once again, I am pleasantly surprized. Not only does the story unfold about a man and his son, but it picks up the story about the man and his baby's mama, Anne. This story has twist's, turns and revelations that are funny, tragic, remorseful and entertaining. I actually thought I knew every good author, but I missed this one, sorry to say. This book was a hilarious page turner that I am so glad that I picked up. If you want a book that tells a story of love, betrayal and triump of the human spirit, pick this book up. I dare you to be able to put it down without reading the whole thing!
Hearts of Gold
Synopsis
by
Frank P. Whyte
Portland, Oregon is known as the City of Roses. Of course that’s an odd name for a city whose mere mention conjures images of driving winds and torrential ra
Deputy Dave Jenkins investigates the murder of local high school principal, Jerry Egge, but this is a multi-faceted novel that deals with spiritualism, romance, friendship, and children who fall through the cracks.
"Murder isn't usually this
