Holy Rollers [Paperback]

ReShonda Tate Billingsley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 6, 2010

Looking for Love . . .

Lifelong friends Coco, Nita, and Tia have spent years looking for love in the arms of flashy pro athletes, hoping to land a baller but ending up with a stream of failed relationships. The beautiful and demure Coco has endured years of physical abuse from her boyfriend, Sonny, while Tia, a single mother, has dated her fair share of cheaters and yearns for a stable companion who will be a father figure to her son. And feisty, seductive Nita is tired of being the million-dollar mistress and wants to settle down—if she can find someone worth coming home to.

Changing the Game . . .

Now that the women are approaching thirty, they’re finding it harder than ever to compete with the pro groupies. Determined to change the game and find some worthwhile men, Tia hatches an outrageous plan. Soon the trio is "holy rolling," masquerading as God-fearing churchgoers at a local conference for young ministers in the hopes of snagging a prominent pastor. But will their big gamble pay off? Men of the cloth are still just men, after all. As the three friends meet their potential life partners, they will have to decide how far they want to take their holy rollers scheme—each risking heartbreak while taking a chance on finding a reliable, responsible man to love and cherish, flaws and all.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Billingsley (Can I Get a Witness?) succeeds in offering her loyal fan base yet another soap-operatic novel that reads a little too close to many women's realities. But her comic presentation of her characters' poor decision making is undercut by the serious consequences of those bad decisions. Billingsley centers her story on three friends who have been looking for love in all the wrong places. So Coco, Nita, and Audra decide to up their chances of meeting good men by attending a Baptist convention, and things get decidedly unholy from that point on. Trying to move past abusive relationships, the trio consistently stand strong for each other even as they continue to falter and fall back into unhealthy relationship patterns. Billingsley's work is a gritty reminder that life and love are indeed serious stuff with lasting lifelong implications, and her Christian themes are at best tenuous.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

ReShonda Tate Billingsley is the #1 national bestselling author of eight previous novels for adults, as well as the Good Girlz teen series. She has won numerous awards for her journalism and fiction, including the Nova Lee Nation Award from the Greater Dallas Writing Association and the prestigious Gold Pen Award for Best New Author for her first novel, My Brother’s Keeper. Her short fiction appears in the story anthology Have a Little Faith. She is also the author of the nonfiction book Help! I’ve Turned Into My Mother. ReShonda welcomes readers to her websites at www.reshondatatebillingsley.com.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Gallery Books; Original edition (July 6, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416578056
• ISBN-13: 978-1416578055
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #634,396 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a former news reporter in Houston. But I recently left to pursue my true passion full time - writing. I'm the author of twenty books and a mother to three young children. Two of my books are currently being made into movies. I'm also a proud University of Texas at Austin graduate. Not only do I love writing, I love reading almost as much!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshingly Fresh Story, July 6, 2010

By 

Rhonda McKnight "Legacy Editing" (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Holy Rollers (Paperback)

Get ready for a ride! That's what I felt I was on as I read this novel and took the journey with these characters.

ReShonda Tate Billingsley's books just keep getting better and better. I loved her last three novels. The Pastor's Wife, Can I Get a Witness and The Devil is a Lie were all extremely entertaining, but this book was just the best. For this reviewer, I think it was because the novel addressed issues that are near and dear to me -women wasting themselves on no good men and women who have a good man and "can't" and "won't" keep him! Jeez, enough of it already. I picked up a subtle message about loose sex in the story as well. Those who were giving the milk away just got milked.

Holy Rollers is a fresh, original story. Seriously, pro-athlete groupies who restructure their game plan - reminds me of change management class I took in grad school. I loved the character CoCo, felt sorry for that poor pitiful Audra and patiently waited for Nita to ______ , well, I won't give it away. The women were realistic, each one representing some woman I know or have know, or dare I admit, have been. LOL. (In a past life of course.)

It was a fun read. ReShonda was on her game, using her talent for making her readers laugh out loud. Don't pass this by, it's at the top of my list of great summer reads and a book I recommend for women of all ages.

Reviewed by Rhonda McKnight

An advance copy of this book was provided by the publisher for the purposes of review.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ho Rollers?, July 12, 2010

By 

Donnica Carter "AKA DCSquared" (Marietta, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Holy Rollers (Paperback)

Audra, Coco, and Nita are on a mission to find a man. Coco has spent years in an abusive relationship and she has finally decided to leave. Nita is known to be on the scene and always with a new man. But she is tired of feeling empty and is ready for something new. Audra is a single mother and needs to find a great man not only for her, but one that can be a father to her son as well. They have all dated plenty of athletes and friends of athletes. These men have dogged them out and left them lonely. They are now looking for a new place to find some good men. When Audra suggests they go to a Baptist ministers convention, everyone was a little skeptical. But if they are looking for good men, this may just be the best place. Will they find what they are looking for?

Billingsley gives it straight with no chasers. Each woman represents someone you know or even yourself. The characters in the church are definitely women that you know. You will laugh out loud and maybe even cry. This is not your typical Christian fiction book. It is definitely not preachy but still serves its purpose with a lesson. I recommend this one for a great summer read.

This book was provided courtesy of the publisher for review purposes.

Donnica Copeland
APOOO BookClub
Sista Talk Book Club

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Show me the way..., July 7, 2010

By 

Urban Reviews "Your Source for the Best in AA... (Online) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Holy Rollers (Paperback)

CoCo, Nita, and Audra are the best of friends that all yearn for the love of a good man. CoCo suffers the physical abuse of her boyfriend Sonny, but when he causes her to miscarry her baby, she walks away from him. Single mother Tia is looking for a strong man to be a father figure to her son, Andrew, all the while she's being chastised by her neighbor and babysitter, Ms. Bea. And the cunning Nita is tired of scouting for Mr. Right in the clubs. These three decide to embark on a crusade for their `husbands' in church with the Holy Rollers.

Will these three friends find their `Samson' within the church realm, or will they discover the battle within the sanctuary proves to be as treacherous as the battles in the world? Will the Lord turn their initial plight into something worthy and pleasing in HIS sight, or will Satan continue to encourage them to continue their unholy façade? Will a violent Sonny allow CoCo to walk away, or will he change his abusive ways to win her back? Ms. Bea's words of wisdom are many and with such conviction, can these three headstrong divas prove her wrong?

Reshonda Tate Billingsley pens another exciting read with plausible and cleverly orchestrated scenes. The characters are true to life and make you put a face to each character within the church. I applaud her for exhibiting the behavior of many `church women' and a widespread dilemma with the church and with the members. Holy Rollers was an enjoyable read, had consistent character development, and the dialogue was credible as well as engaging. Great job Ms. Billingsley!

Reviewed by Tazzyt2bossye for Urban Reviews