For Love and Grace

As a black man, I love books that glorify black men. I was introduced to the writing of this author by a book store owner in my town. I asked for good fiction where men weren't made to look like snakes and her first words were "Have you read anything by Kendra Norman-Bellamy." With the option to bring the books back for a refund if I didn't like them, I walked out of the store with every one of her titles. That was Saturday. Today is Wednesday. I read all four of her books in five days and I loved every one of them. I can't say that I've experienced love like the folks in A Love So Strong, For Love & Grace, and Because of Grace, but it was kwel to read about black love and survival despite the odds and the forces that fight against them. I'm more of a Jhordan kind of guy in Crossing Jhordan's River. I got issues, but I'll bust a ni**** in the mouth if he messes with my family. All of these books were great and it was good to read about brothers who fought for their women and the survival of their marriage. I think I'm a fan.

For starters, I admit that I am too embarrassed to sign my name to this review. Why? Because I'm a grown a-- man and I actually enjoyed reading this love story. Love stories aren't quite something that brothas are proud to admit enjoying reading. I actually found this book under a chair at an airport while I was on business travel. My flight got delayed and I was reading it just to try and keep my sanity during the wait. I was so engulfed in this book that time just flew by. Even when I loaded for my flight, I kept right on reading. I was so hyped at how this book promoted men and kind of gave them the crown that most books like this save for the women. Even Derrick, who by the way was my favorite character. He was bull-headed and at times aggressive and even got way out of line a time or two, but he was never depicted as a bad person. He was very real to me. In fact, I found a lot of me in him. Greg, as "perfect" as he seemed to be was real to me to because he was a carbon copy of my half-brother. My brother got married seven years ago and still treats his wife like rare gold and is always thinking straight, always optomistic and always catching the eye of every girl in the office. As much as I'd like to hold on to this book and re-read it or pass it along to another brotha to read, I don't have those kind of balls. I'm going to give it away to the first Goodwill that I see and if anybody asks me if I wrote this review, I'm going to lie and say no. Yes, I loved the book. But as man as I am, I ain't man enough to tell nobody that I loved it. To the author, keep writing books just like this and if I'm somewhere where I dont' know nobody and nobody don't know me, I'll buy it.

This is the first time I've read a romance book where all the lead characters were professional and progressive black people and that in itself was a wonderful relief! Usually somebody in the leading role is a brother with a rap sheet so long that it reaches from one county to the other or a sister who has served more men than McDonalds. For Love And Grace is a wonderfully written novel that just left me feeling warm and satisfied. I generally don't read a lot of Christian based novels because they lack the ability to capture my attention and hold it until the end. This one did that and did it very well. The author didn't spend her time trying to convert or save the reader's soul, but instead gave us a great story about Christian folks who had to survive an everyday situation that threatened their faith and friendship. The relationship that flourished in the middle of all of this between the doctor and the college student was beautiful.My favorite character was Sherry who in my opinion did a heck of a job balancing her friendship with Greg and her love for Derrick. I could also relate to her because I too, am a school teacher who grew up with my best friend being a male classmate.This book is definitely worth the read. I was disappointed to read one reviewer's comment that said she didn't want to see a sequel to this one. Everyone has their own opinion, but I, like the other reviewers, couldn't disagree more. I'd love to see a sequel so that we can read what happened after October 6th! Great first novel from an author who I'm sure we'll hear more from in the future.Michelle Homer

If ever a book can grab you in the first few chapters and hold your attention long enough to know that it's character-driven and not a generic read, then you know that you have a good book. I read For Love And Grace and came away convinced that this author is destined for a graceful future. Kendra Norman-Bellamy has penned a love story extolling virtues of likable men seldom seen in lieu of the penchant to show them in sordid situations. Seldom too, will you find novels written where romance is not based on sex, sex, and more sex! Real life situations work best when storylines are woven to give poignancy to the process of eliciting genuine page turners.When Derrick Madison lost his mother in a tragic car accident he immediately looks for reasons to justify angst gone awry by blaming others, and not allowing the better part of valor be instrumental in the healing process. The gist of this story involves Grace a college student who was involved in the aforementioned mishap. Enter Dr. Gregory Dixon, Derrick's best friend who falls in love with Grace and opens a can or worms that prove to be troublesome and somehow manages to bring to the fore the real meaning of friendship. I was able to read into the author's reason for writing such a book that would raise the sensibilities of strong male charisma amid the need to make viable decisions. Moreover, I saw how one can really bring back together friendship gone bad, how to deal with misguided guilt, learning how to let remorse guide forgiveness, and most importantly, in allowing a higher spiritual awareness define the real reason to fall in love. All of this is inherent in this book!This is billed as Christian Romance, but the author articulates with clarity and the aplomb of a seasoned writer. It manages to render a heartfelt storyline allowing the characters to define substance, thus taking it way beyond the usual confines of a stereotypical debut novel. Kudos to you Kendra, we welcome this and look forward to the sequel.

A girlfriend of mine bought this book recently and told me how much she enjoyed it. She passed it along to me and I agree with her wholeheartedly. This is one of those novels that you curl up in bed and read and when you wake up in the morning it's either underneath your pillow or on the floor by your bed because you couldn't put it down and you fell asleep still trying to read it. I know this because that's what happened to me two nights in a row. I read it in the morning before work, during my lunch break, and before going to bed. It demands that kind of attention. It's not just a story of true love, but also a story of true friendship that survives a huge problem that creeps between two men who are as close as brothers. I love Grace and Greg, the leading love birds in this novel, but my favorite characters are actually Lena and Mattie, the mothers of the leading characters who have a love/hate relationship that keeps you in stitches. This is a great read from beginning to end. There is even a brief surprise guest appearance by some prominent celebrities that blend in so well with the story-line that their appearances are highly believable. This book would make a great stage play or a made-for-TV movie. A+ for this one.