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Sunshine, secrets, and swoon-worthy stories—June's featured reads are your perfect summer escape.

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He doesn�t need a woman in his life; she knows he can�t live without her.


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A promise rekindled. A secret revealed. A second chance at the family they never had.


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A cowboy with a second chance. A waitress with a hidden gift. And a small town where love paints a brand-new beginning.


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She�s racing for a prize. He�s dodging romance. Together, they might just cross the finish line to love.


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She steals from the mob for justice. He�s the FBI agent who could take her down�or fall for her instead.


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He�s her only protection. She�s carrying his child. Together, they must outwit a killer before time runs out.


White Lines

White Lines, January 2007
by Tracey Brown

St. Martin's Griffin
512 pages
ISBN: 0312336489
EAN: 9780312336486
Trade Size
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"Never get high on your own supply..."

Fresh Fiction Review

White Lines
Tracey Brown

Reviewed by Nicki Salcedo
Posted January 7, 2007

Multicultural Romance

WHITE LINES is Tracy Brown's blunt yet strangely evocative urban epic starring Jada Ford, a girl who life is turned upside down by her indifferent mother and her mother's cruel boyfriends. The first boyfriend, drunk and abusive, causes Jada's sister to attempt suicide. The second boyfriend, seemingly nicer but ultimately more malicious, feeds Jada's budding crack addiction and trains her to become one of his whores. Drugs and prostitution lead to her arrest and first try at sobriety. Then Jada meets Marquis Graham apply nicknamed "Born." Born had a rough start of his own. Before he was thirteen, Born had seen his father shot, knew his father was a murdered, and lost his virginity in a whorehouse. Instead of creating a sense of grittiness, Brown describes Born with a nostalgic hint of tenderness and sadness. "[He] was drained. He was also slightly uncomfortable. He wasn't sure why, but he was." Born may not be the perfect romantic hero, but you get the idea that if ever there was a hero in White Lines, it's Born Graham. Tracy Brown's urban saga draws its strength on believable characters in extraordinary lives. The story chronicles the drug world of New York with simplicity. You feel pity for Jada who struggles to stay clean and fails, and you also feel pity for Born who struggles for power and trust and also fails. There are explicit scenes of drug use, violence, and sex. Other scenes are tempered with quiet moments of connection, redemption, and love. Born and Jada's relationship spans an edgy and emotional ten years. When they finally meet up as friends, Jada hopes that "...she could completely regains is trust. And his heart." As readers, we hope for the same thing.

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SUMMARY

Jada left home at the age of sixteen, running from her own demons and the horrors of physical abuse inflicted by her mothers boyfriend. She partied hard, and life seemed good when she was with Born, the neighborhood kingpin whose name was synonymous with money, power, and respect. But all his love couldnt save her from a crack addiction. Jada goes from crack addict and prostitute to survivor and back again before she finds the strength to live for herself and come out on top. And her stormy romance with one of the fiercest hustlers on the streets makes White Lines one of the most unforgettable urban loves stories of the year.


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