Review: Saving Ruby King by Catherine Adel West

Saving Ruby King: A Novel by Catherine Adel West

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Published: June 2020

Ruby King lives in Chicago with her mother and her abusive father. When her mother dies, Ruby knows she can't be there alone with her father. What can she do and where can she go? Her best friend, Layla, tries all she can to help and protect Ruby from what is happening. But Ruby needs more than protection, she needs a whole new change in scenery. Three generations of trauma are seen in this book along with a lot of parent/child relationships.

Thanks to Park Row Books and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC.

When I read the description to Ruby King, I was expecting a very different book. The subject matter in this book is very heavy and has quite a few triggers throughout. From a father sexually abusing his child, a husband abusing his wife and child, and one man blackmailing another. While Ruby King is the title of this book, every character in this book needs some kind of saving. One important character in the book, that I didn't see coming was the church. You get to see what happens, "If these walls could talk." It was eye-opening and interesting to see that part. The church is where all the secrets were kept.

This book was heavy, but also surprising.

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Audio Book Review: Casting the First Stone by Kimberla Lawson Roby

Casting the First Stone by Kimberla Lawson Roby
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Published: January 2000

Reverend Curtis Black is the minister to a faithful congregation in Chicago. He and his wife Tonya are upstanding members of the church and community. But when rumors of Curtis start to spread around the church that he has been unfaithful to his wife with other church members, Tonya's not sure what to do. Whenever she questions Curtis, his first instinct is to lie to her and she knows it. How will Tonya find out what is really going on? And what lengths will she go through to do so?

I have read a few of Kimberla Lawson Roby's books in the past, even a few in this series, but I never knew how it all started. This book had me on edge. It's books like these that have people doubting the church, but it is also something that really goes on. I don't know what I would do if I suspected my husband of cheating, let alone if he was a minister who was teaching people right from wrong every day.

This book had me laughing out loud and dying to know what was going to happen next. If you have never read one of Kimberla Lawson Roby's books, this is a good one to start with.

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