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Reviewed: Jul 30, 2008

Crown's Jewel by Cynthia D. Toliver
iUniverse, February 2008
196 Pages, Paperback, $14.95
ISBN: 0595483356
Genre: Fiction

RAW Rating: 5.0 (out of 5)

A Stunning Debut

CROWN'S JEWEL transports the reader to early twentieth century Texas where the world is introduced to the troubled Crown McGee.  Highly intelligent, but physically deformed, Crown is raised in a Catholic orphanage while his parents live their lives free from the burden of raising a handicapped child in Colwin County.  It is not until his father's death that he returns to claim the thriving rice farm, run-down mansion, and cemetery of the father who abandoned him.  Immediately taken by the beauty of Carrie Giddings, the oldest daughter of one his tenants, Crown vows she will be his, no matter what the cost.  When Crown discovers Sam Giddings is in the worst kind of trouble there is for a black man in the South, he offers to aid him in exchange for Carrie, his daughter.  However, when the Giddings family flees Colwin County, Crown is shocked to find it is not Carrie who is left behind.  In her place is her younger, mentally challenged sister, Jewel.  
 
Forced to take care of Jewel or risk Sam Giddings’ trouble becoming his, Crown learns lessons on love, family, forgiveness, and business as he tries to be the best husband he can be.  But when his daughter, Sela, is born bearing his deformity and his estranged brother, Jackson, tries to claim the estate, Crown will have to fight his own demons in order to keep everything he has built intact.
 
Cynthia D. Toliver has made a grand impression on the literary world with her debut novel by keeping me engaged from beginning to end.  An intricately woven tale filled with unconventional romance and suspense, CROWN'S JEWEL reads like the work of a seasoned author.  If you want to read a tale filled with rich characters that give you a front seat on their emotional roller coaster, CROWN'S JEWEL is a definite must read.

Reviewed by **Guest Reviewer Nicole S. Gary, RAWSISTAZ.com
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Nicole S. Gary is a middle school English teacher from Detroit.  In her spare time she enjoys reading, writing, and working out.  She is currently working on her first novel.

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