Next Read....The Ex Files: A Novel About Four Women and Faith

There are four ways a woman can handle heartbreak. She can fall apart, seek revenge, turn cold, or move on. The Ex Files is the story of these four women:

When Kendall Stewart finds her husband and her sister in bed together, she vows to never let anyone get that close again. But when she is faced with saving the life of the woman who destroyed hers, will she be able to forgive?

When an NBA superstar tells his mistress, Asia Ingrum, that he's decided to honor his marriage vows, her shock quickly gives way to revenge...but her decision may come back to haunt their five-year-old daughter.

Every night Vanessa Martin wonders why her husband committed suicide. Even worse, she contemplates joining him in eternity. Will Vanessa be able to gather the strength to live again?

Sheridan Hart is finally finding her way after a lie destroyed her seventeen-year marriage. Her new love is ready to get married, but will she commit to this younger man or is her ex-husband taking up too much space in her heart?

When their pastor asks Kendall, Asia, Vanessa, and Sheridan to meet weekly for prayer, they can't imagine they will have anything in common. But then a devastating tragedy strikes and these strangers are forced to reexamine their choices. Will they find true friendship, or will prayer -- and their union -- fail them?

About the Author

Victoria Christopher Murray is the author of nine Essence bestselling novels, including The Ex Files, Too Little, Too Late, and Lady Jasmine. Winner of the African American Literary Award for Fiction and Author of the Year (Female), she splits her time between Los Angeles and Washington DC. Find out more on Victoria Christopher Murray at www.victoriachristophermurray.com.

Also make sure to check out her lastest book "Sins of the Mother".

~Peace and Blessings~

Chelsa

Review for Playing God by Michelle McKinney-Hammond

"Playing God" by Michelle McKinney Hammond received mixed reviews by the women of Proverbs 31. While we all appreciated and understood the point McKinney-Hammond was trying to make, some felt the book was too busy. The multiple characters combined with multiple story lines made it difficult for some to follow, and even finish the book.

Others felt McKinney-Hammond did an amazing job of illustrating how "we" tend to take matters into our own hands, by "playing God." It was very interesting that the readers weren't given detailed descriptions of the five main characters, which I personally thought was executed well, making the characters both adaptable and relatable to any reader.

McKinney-Hammond taught an important lesson in patience, faith and trusting God. Through Tamara, she illustrated what could happen when we get impatient and don't think God is moving fast enough on our behalf. Through Corinne and Jada we learned if we just trust God, the outcome will be better than when we try to handle difficult situations on our own. Through Lydia it was clear that, only until we put God first, will things truly work out in our lives. With Jamilah we learned God always knows best even if it seems our situation just isn't fair.

Our overall rating of the book is a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

AJ

Be Greater Than Aids: Get Yourself Tested!

Imagine living with HIV and not knowing that you have it. That is the reality for one in five HIV positive Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control. HIV, like many STDs, often shows no symptoms and can go undetected.

As National HIV Testing Day (June 27th) nears, MTV and Greater Than AIDS are encouraging young people to get tested for STDs and HIV by providing free testing sites in 10 cities during Get Yourself Tested Week.

The testing sites include confidential medical centers in Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles and Houston.

Today, women account for more than 1 in 4 new HIV/AIDS cases in the United States. Of these newly infected women, about 2 out of 3 are African-American. Most of these women got HIV from having unprotected sex with a man.

AIDS is now the leading cause of death for African-American women ages 25–34. And African-American women are more than 21 times as likely to die from HIV/AIDS as non-Hispanic white women.

All people should know their HIV status. The only sure way to know if you have HIV is to get tested.

Also check out this book, "The Naked Truth: Young, Beautiful, and (HIV) Positive" by Marvelyn Brown.