Church Girl by Naima Simone-review tour

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au / KOBO / Google Play / Apple /

Don’t own a Kindle? Download the FREE Amazon Kindle App for your mobile device or pc

Add to your Goodreads TBR ➩ https://t.ly/IiihH

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date November 26, 2024

She’s a preacher’s daughter, a runaway bride and now the (not quite) qualified nanny for a sexy tattoo artist with a beautiful daughter—and a dirty mouth.

What’s a bad boy to do with a woman like her?

Everything…

Aaliyah Montgomery isn’t just ditching her wedding. She’s also fleeing her suffocating small town and her family’s expectations. She’s got plans—for college, for finding herself. But landing a job in Chicago that fits her schedule isn’t easy. Good thing Von Howard is desperate to find a live-in nanny. Bad thing that he’s a gritty, grumpy, gorgeous tattoo artist carrying as much baggage as he has ink.

Von’s new hire is inexperienced and a fire hazard in the kitchen. She’s also all thick curls, thicker curves, and a distracting mix of innocence and sensuality. After the upheaval of a divorce, he just needs a nanny, not a sneaky link. Meanwhile, Aaliyah is bonding with his seven-year-old and showing an unexpected flair for tattoo art. Who could resist?

Yet deep down, Aaliyah’s still running—from her feelings and her fear of losing herself to someone else’s expectations again. Even as their pasts return to haunt them, their undeniable heat says maybe it’s time to stand and fight for a love they didn’t see coming.

•••••

REVIEW:CHURCH GIRL by Naima Simone is a stand alone, contemporary, adult , erotic, romance story line focusing on twenty-four year old university student/ nanny Aaliyah Montgomery, and thirty-four year old, single father / tattoo artist Von Howard.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Von and Aaliyah) follows the forbidden but building relationship between Aaliyah Montgomery and Von Howard. Aaliyah Montgomery left her fiance at the altar, a man she didn’t love,a man chosen by her father. As the only child of an Alabama Bishop, Aaliyah is expected to act and behave a certain way, and running to Chicago with her stripper cousin was never in the cards. Desperate for work, Aaliyah applies to work as a nanny, and her first interview doesn’t go according to plan. Von Howard is a tattoo artist who struggles with Aaliyah’s lack of experience and perceived innocence, and in this, the aggressive interview questions push Aaliyah out of his life. When all else fails, Von becomes desperate enough to call Aaliyah back, and in the ensuing time, begins to fall for the woman that calls to his heart but when both Aaliyah and Von’s pasts refuse to let go, Aaliyah finds herself, once again, pushed out of Von’s life, having lost a chance at loving our story line hero.

The world building follows several paths including the destructive nature of betrayal and divorce; controlling families, obedient demands, and perceived expectations. Von’s ex-wife takes aim at our story line hero, and everyone will lose in the end. The author uses some street-slang, and African American vernacular throughout the story.

The relationship between Von and Aaliyah begins acrimoniously as Von struggles with his attraction to Aaliyah, as well as her lack of experience but Aaliyah refuses to accept Von’s aggressive attitude, and within minutes, gives as good as she gets. Working for Von finds Aaliyah becoming guardian and protector of a seven year old child, a child who sees and hears more than her parents imagined. The $ex scenes are erotic and provocative.

We are introduced to Aaliyah’s controlling parents, her ex-fiance Gregory, and her cousin Tamara, as well as Von’s ex-wife Sheree, and their daughter Gia.

CHURCH GIRL is a story of betrayal, secrets, power and control, family and relationships, acceptance and love. The premise is captivating yet slightly predictable ; the romance is passionate; the characters are POC, determined and charismatic.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

 

USA Today Bestselling author Naima Simone loves writing sizzling romances with heart, a touch of humor and snark. Her books have been featured in The Washington Post and Entertainment Weekly, and described as balancing “crackling, electric love scenes with exquisitely rendered characters caught in emotional turmoil.”

She is wife to Superman, or his non-Kryptonian, less bullet proof equivalent, and mother to the most awesome kids ever. They all live in perfect, sometimes domestically-challenged bliss in the southern United States.

  

AUTHOR LINKS

 Website: https://naimasimone.com 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/naimasimoneauthor 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naimasimoneauthor 

Newsletter: https://naimasimone.com/newsletter 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@naimasimoneauthor