Author ReShonda Tate Billingsley gives the reader a daring look at: the good, the bad, and the ugly of church folks in “Holy Rollers.” The story centers around three main characters: Nita, Coco, and Audra who come to realize that their previous plan to land rich husbands among Ball players isn’t working. They tire of the Club scene and the younger competition. The ladies devise a scheme to snag husbands by pretending to be God fearing “Holy Rollers.” Their scheme is quickly discovered and foiled by real “Holy Rollers” who resort to low-down, dirty, drastic, and sometimes comical measures to protect their pastor.

Nita has issues of trust which are exhibited in her relationships with men and result in animosity towards church folks. Her issues cause hilarious interactions with the “church mothers” and disastrous outcomes with men. Coco suffers physical abuse within her relationship, which results in the end to a vicious cycle, but not without horrible consequences. Audra struggles as a single mother to find the right man to replace her son’s deadbeat father, and out of desperation she falls for a charming preacher who turns out to be “a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

For Nita, her insecurities and actions ruin her chance at true happiness with a “man after God’s own heart.” She learns a hard lesson about trust and fidelity. Audra finally breaks free from desperation and realizes that she can wait on the Lord. And at the moment Coco gives up on her “finding” a man, she is “found”, by the man of her dreams.

The reader applauds the faithfulness of a Godly woman in Audra’s life. Admires and respects the devotion to God of a righteous man. Acknowledges the support of a loving man, and is totally floored by the foolishness of the overbearing, overprotective, church mothers. The “Holy Rollers” behavior is spiteful and inexcusable, but their misguided love for their pastor is undeniable.

Those who have spent any amount of time in an African American church with a pastor who is single can identify with the characters of this novel, including the overly zealous and spiteful “Holy Rollers.” The author does a wonderful job of weaving together many storylines, illustrating biblical principles, portraying both negative behaviors, and positive outcomes. “Holy Rollers” is an enjoyable read with simple truths about relationships and clear differences between church attendance and spirituality. By the end, we find our main characters on their way to become genuine women of God.

I purchased this book on Amazon.







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Dianne Rosena Jones is the Founder/CEO of Royal Treasures Publishing, a Transformational Life Coach, Motivational Speaker, and Author of the award-winning “Tragic Treasures: Discovering Spoils of War in the Midst of Tragedy” the "Best Inspirational Book of the Year" [2010].