Spotlight and Giveaway: This Time Always by Suzette D. Harrison

She's 53. He's 46. Your point is?

Vivacious Niyana Nichols isn’t looking for love. Between the demands of work as a Wellness Clinic Administrator, recent widowhood, and being there for her two beautiful daughters, love has taken a back seat for the fifty-three-year-old. To make matters worse, she’s also suffering from Alopecia. Yet, when Niyana meets her daughter’s handsome professor, she is faced with emotions she thought she’d buried with her husband.

Divorced single father and African-American Studies professor, Omari Josef, is devoted to his career. When the forty-six-year-old grandfather meets the gorgeous and spirited Niyana, he’s forced to rethink his own happiness. Their age difference doesn’t matter to him. What does is making sure she realizes that she's a woman worth cherishing. Will the sudden reappearance of Omari’s ex-wife wreak havoc in his life? Or will their undeniable attraction grow into something solid and abiding?

 

AVAILABLE ON

AMAZON

 

ADD ON GOODREADS

 

ENTER TO WIN

a Reusable Shopping Tote!

CLICK HERE

 

ABOUT SUZETTE D. HARRISON

Award-winning author Suzette D. Harrison grew up in a home where reading was required, not requested. Turning her love of reading into a rising literary career, Suzette first experienced publication when her poetry was included in a creative journal in junior high school. While she loves happy endings, Harrison’s work is dedicated to characters who are flawed yet resilient and open to redemption. She loves crafting storylines with intricate layers and depth, often leaving readers with unexpected plot twists. Her writing has been described as “lyrical” and “riveting.” Paying homage to Alex Haley, Gloria Naylor, Alice Walker, Langston Hughes, and Toni Morrison as literary legends who inspired her creativity, Suzette emphatically states that it was Dr. Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings that unleashed her writing. Literally. This bestselling author holds a culinary degree in Pastry & Baking and is busy cooking up her next novel...in between batches of cookies.

 

CONNECT WITH SUZETTE D. HARRISON

AUTHOR SITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | NEWSLETTER | PINTEREST | GOODREADS | BOOKBUB | AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

New Release: Basketball & Ballet by Suzette D. Harrison

When the dance and the game are done, is there room for love?

Yazmeen Williams is a busy woman. The former professional dancer is a Church Administrative Assistant by day and the mother of three-year old twin boys, always. What she isn’t, is interested in love thanks to a monster of an ex-husband who’s a danger to the well-being of her children. When retired NBA player Tavares Alvarez enters her life looking “utterly orgasmic,” that disinterest is severely challenged as is her hold on celibacy. But he’ll need to gain her trust, or her phone number first. With Yazmeen, neither will come easily.

Tavares has had zero relationships, but more than his share of women. Now that he’s born-again, he’s no longer focused on the opposite sex. His attention is devoted to his five-year old daughter and being a venture capitalist. Meeting Yazmeen proves a delicious disruption. The attraction is instant, but clearly she’s disinterested. Tavares will need to work to secure her affection despite the drama caused by his unhinged “Baby Mama.” 

Dive into this faith-filled, but sexy romance that will leave you rooting for Yazmeen and Tavares, laughing at their antics, and gasping at the actions of their questionably sane exes. 

 

ENTER TO WIN

autographed copy of Basketball & Ballet

CLICK HERE

ABOUT SUZETTE D. HARRISON

Suzette D. Harrison, a native Californian and the middle of three daughters, grew up in a home where reading was required, not requested. Her literary “career” began in junior high school with the publishing of her poetry. While Mrs. Harrison pays homage to Alex Haley, Gloria Naylor, Alice Walker, Langston Hughes, and Toni Morrison as literary legends who inspired her creativity, it was Dr. Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings that unleashed her writing. Literally. Not only is Harrison a multi-award-winning author, but she is an avid reader as well. “I’ve strayed away from the practice, but years ago I made a concerted effort to always read a book from the Harlem Renaissance writers every time I read a contemporary piece of fiction. It was my way of reaching back and balancing my literary indulgences.” Indulging her literary sweet tooth with works from her favorite authors Dianne McKinney Whetstone, Bernice McFadden, J.D. Mason, and Guy Johnson to name a few, Harrison is quick to proclaim McFadden’s Sugar as her all-time, absolute favorite novel. In addition to writing, Suzette’s career has afforded her opportunities to share her gifts through public speaking, as well as author-mentoring. A wife and mother who holds a culinary degree in Pastry & Baking, Suzette is currently cooking up her next novel…in between batches of cookies.

CONNECT WITH SUZETTE

AUTHOR SITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | NEWSLETTER | PINTEREST | GOODREADS | BOOKBUB | YOUTUBE | AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

Review: My Joy (California Love Book 1) by Suzette D. Harrison

The Blurb

Joy Matthews isn’t afraid of risks. She’s quit her Fortune 500 job and enrolled in culinary school, chasing her dream. Joy wants her own couture cake boutique. Pursuing her dream by day, Joy pays the bills working nights at The Hourglass—an exclusive gentlemen’s club catering to patrons who enjoy "a little extra fine on a woman’s frame." Joy’s catching up to her dream when a chance encounter reconnects her with Quinton Daley, a childhood friend. Mutual attraction throws the proverbial wrench in Joy’s relationship-phobic, happily agnostic life. A goal-oriented woman who "doesn’t do men with Bible breath," Joy sees in Quinton a whole lot of what she likes but doesn’t need. Tall, chocolate-skinned, and born-again, Quinton’s Christianity poses a risk even the tenacious Joy isn’t willing to take. Quinton Daley isn’t fazed. He’s a man of faith who will willingly wait on Joy to come to God…and him. When love and lust heat up, Joy and Quinton face a predicament. Will they indulge? Or abstain? Join this wild mix of custom cakes, a saved, sanctified and sexy man, and an obsessed patron from The Hourglass who’s determined to make Joy’s life a sticky mess. It’s a recipe for a read that’s wickedly witty and delicious. 

My Review

This story is incredibly entertaining. I howled with laughter throughout the book. Joy, my sweetie pie book boyfriend Quinton, and most of the secondary characters were hilarious. The use of Ebonics intermixed with proper language was a wonderful realism of the characters that brought me in to their world.

There was quite a bit of suspense in the story that had me wishing someone would end up injured. That part of the story had me upset – on more than just one level – on behalf of Joy. What I liked was that she took responsibility for her contribution to the drama that entered her life. A super strong woman who knew what she wanted in life, at least she thought she did until Quinton showed up.

The romance between Joy and Quinton had me sighing – a lot. I loved the way they each, especially Joy, grew during the time they got to know each other. An amazing romance that I really wanted to see a happy ending too, but at times wasn’t sure would happen.

Don’t get me started on the delicious deserts Joy created. I wanted to crawl into the book and grab a taste.

This book, as Joy would say, was everything. It had so much in it that I had to take my time and savor it. A wonderful romance that left me longing for Book 2 in the series. I don’t know who will star in it, but I do know that I’ll be reading it.

Be warned that issues got really heavy in this book. Highly sensitive situations brought out quite a bit of seriousness. Just letting you know that you may end up sad and angry at times while reading. Even so, it’s so worth it!

I give this five out of five oven shaped chocolate bars.

I purchased my copy from AmazonUK

Review: The Art of Love (Decades: A Journey of African-American Romance Book 4) by Suzette D. Harrison

The Blurb

Ava Lydell is chasing her dream. A gifted artist, she’s fled the violence of the Deep South for the seduction of sunny California. As luck would have it, the economic crisis of The Great Depression interferes with her hopes and plans. Without patronage and reliable sales, her fledgling art studio fails. Now, she faces poverty, eviction…and the distraction of a mysterious, young stranger engaged in a questionable trade that delivers danger to Ava’s front door.

In an age of Prohibition and poverty, Chase Jenkins has more than most Colored men. He’s savvy, successful, and hazardously employed. A bootlegger living on the wrong side of the law, he’s determined to discover who murdered his baby brother. He has no time for diversions. Especially one packaged in the form of a “midnight” beauty with sultry lips and curvaceous hips. Unable to deny her allure, he involves himself in her affairs despite better judgment. What begins as a crisis quickly becomes a risky romance. Join Chase and Ava on their journey to outlive danger and indulge in the art of love. 

My Review

Ms. Harrison knows how to throw a reader back in time and keep them there in a fantastic story. From the descriptions of the scenes, clothing, and even the vehicles, I was flung into the past as I read Chase and Ava’s romance.

Ava is a confident woman filled with fire, sass, courage and talent. She knew exactly who she was and what she wanted even though she didn’t know how to get there with her art. The book initially meets her in an argument and that’s how we get to know her throughout the story, not afraid to stand up for what’s hers. She had a true grit and strength, straight as an arrow with her personal morals without being overly judgmental when it came to other people’s lives. I really enjoyed this about her because it showed her tolerance for the way other people lived their lives and how she could still remain strong in her beliefs.

Chase – oh my goodness! The man was fine, smart, funny and just plain delicious. He’d taken risks in life and regretted that he’d lost his baby brother in the process, but not how he’d lived. Chase was a multi-dimensional character who swept me up with his charm. The kind of man I wanted Ava to end up with (but honestly wanted to keep for myself – a right and proper book boyfriend). He really knew how to handle himself. He made me sigh with his romantic gestures. Such a tough sweetie.

The twists, turns and revelations in the story made it a real page turner. A wonderful story that I hope continues with a couple of secondary characters that I wanted to see happily in love.

I give this book five out of five rose shaped chocolate bars.

I purchased my copy from AmazonUK

Review: Taffy by Suzette D. Harrison

The Blurb

Welcome to the sleepy, all-Black southern town of Bledsoe, where Colored residents proudly declare “ain’t nothing white here ‘cept milk and teeth.” It’s 1935. A press-and-curl costs a quarter. Records play on phonographs. And a telephone is a luxury.

Meet twenty-three-year-old Taffy Bledsoe Freeman. She doesn’t need her gift of second sight to know her “mockery of a marriage” to a man twice her age is far from good. After a seven-year exile Up North, Taffy travels down-home to the small town bearing her family’s name, plotting her escape from a marriage not worth the price of a press-and-curl. She only needs to retrieve the son her husband banished to her parents’ care, before boarding a train headed for the Windy City filled with liberty and opportunity. Instead, Taffy stumbles into Roam Ellis: her long-lost love and the man Taffy meant to marry.

Twenty-six-year-old Roam Ellis is a “broad-shouldered, hard-bodied” Pullman porter riding the rails coast-to-coast, outrunning the bitter heartbreak Taffy left behind. Now, after a seven-year absence, Roam is face-to-face with his first love. Anger ignites. Old wounds are exposed. But when pain subsides, passion rises, thrusting Taffy and Roam into a hurricane of buried secrets and lies.

Reminiscent of the works of Bernice McFadden, Bertice Berry, and Andrea Smith (The Sisterhood of Blackberry Corner) this Historical Romance is bathed in southern lore and sweeping imagery. Lyrical and powerful, Taffy is a story of restoration and redemption that you won’t soon forget. 

My Review

This is one of the most beautiful stories I’ve read in a very long time. The vividness of the writing was amazing and the tale was told descriptively without being overbearing or boring. The story held a plethora of emotion, dealing head on with issues that made me angry to those which gave me hope.

Taffy was an incredible woman who’d had to tolerate hardship which had made her grow up quickly. As the story progressed her strength, beauty, and good humor shone through although things had been immensely hard for her since she was sixteen.

I adored Roam. Absolutely loved him. He was everything a man should be, including forgiving. His younger self had a hard time dealing with what had happened with Taffy and I couldn’t blame him. His older self was perfection. A strong black man in a time when it was difficult to be one. He knew who he was as an individual, had goals, and worked to reach them, all while loving life (sometimes a little too much). His sense of humor, intelligence, and passionate nature made him one fine man.

The paranormal aspect of the book was intriguing. Taffy’s gift of sight and the story behind how she received it added strength and depth to the story and to the town of Bledsoe.

The one thing I didn’t care for was the head hopping in the book. It took a while to get used to. Other than that minor flaw I found it to be a fabulous novel. Absolutely stunning.

I give this book five out five  train shaped chocolate bars.

I purchased my copy from Amazon UK

Here's the Amazon US link.