The Sweethearts of Soul Book

The author of the critically acclaimed novel The Justus Girls spins a lively, outrageous tale about a girl singing group that hits the heights in the heyday of rock and roll, and then comes shockingly down to earth.

Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting the legendary Sweethearts of Soul ...

At long last, the Rock and Soul Foundation is honoring Ruth Thomas, Adeline Lights, Venus Jones, and Brenda Wade with the Pioneer Award and a place in its hall of fame. When music reporter Legs Diamond gets the assignment to do an in-depth story on the women, what a tale she hears, from their start singing gospel to their fame and fortune in the 1960s.

When the glory days ended, the lives of these close-knit women went in very different directions. Searching for the past, Legs discovers a revealing present: Venus is a single mom struggling to run her own business and to raise a pregnant teenager. Ruthie tends bar when she's not playing gigs or keeping tabs on her free-spirited daughter. Addie is a real estate queen and stays busy watching her son deal with the success of being a rising rap star. And Brenda, aka Birdie, well, she has become something of a mystery and the most difficult for Legs to reach.

With a little help from Legs, and a trip down memory lane that unveils dark secrets and fallen friendships, the women soon discover that they need one another now just as much as when they were young stars on the rise.

The Sweethearts of Soul is a sassy, big-hearted, and irresistible story that will make you laugh and cry, and, most of all, love every one of these unforgettable women.