Praise for Scorned Hearts...

Scorned Hearts
By Leila Jefferson
Publisher: My Time Publishing
Published: 2009
ISBN: 9780982053089
198 Pages

Prior to purchasing Scorned Hearts by Leila Jefferson, I was unaware it was a sequel to “He’s A Keeper.” However, it was a well-written novel allowing me to follow along easily without having read the first book. In this book, the main character Toni flees from California to Ohio after the demise of her relationship with her abusive husband Eric. It isn’t until the story unfolds that Toni realizes just how mean, abusive, and sadistic the father of her children is.

The move to Ohio is a long way from their home in Oakland, California from the climate to the racial makeup. Toni has difficulty adjusting to her life at work while her children, Amiya and Junior, hate being in a new state leaving their lifelong friends behind. However, Amiya finds a friend-becoming involved in adult behaviors-to help her change her focus while Junior is miserable without his father and seems to just be going through the motions. Finally, Junior gets to visit his dad which opens his eyes to the true beast his father is. Junior unfortunately witnesses his father in a different light immediately squashing his dreams of who his father was replacing his feelings with hurt and hate. The true depth of Eric’s madness is unknown to Toni until she looks into the eyes of her son.

Toni goes to see her husband to discuss their impending divorce and although her heart is drawn to him, she finds the strength to walk away with his signature on the documents. Although he expresses that he’s changed, his addiction and abusive manner continues and is quite evident when Toni enters the home. Toni, like her son, witnesses the life Eric has created for himself since their departure and easily walks away leaving that world behind. Afraid of starting a new relationship, Toni goes through a few changes trying to satisfy her needs and desires while adjusting to her new life.

This story flows from start to finish following Toni and her children through the triumphs and failures of their new life. Ms. Jefferson is a talented storyteller as she pens the story taking the reader through a twisting journey filled with an array of emotions—betrayal, hurt, sadness and pain with a little bit of love sprinkled throughout-- and eventually a murder. As I read this story I felt the pain, sadness, and fear as I anxiously turned the pages eager to see how the story would end. Ms. Jefferson has excelled in producing a great story, developed a book from cover to cover while paying attention to detail. Ms. Jefferson created a project that reflects her desire to promote a book of professional quality worthy of standing toward the front of store--my desire for all books by authors of color. Ms. Jefferson has helped restore my faith in urban literature. I highly recommend this book which will take you on a wild journey as life sometimes does.