246th out of 485 books
—
402 voters
Dark Side of Valor: A Novel
by
Alicia Singleton (Goodreads Author)
Achild advocate and a mercenary must work together to overcome their past losses and save both of their lives and hearts.
Lelia Freeman created a life for herself after growing up homeless on the streets of Los Angeles. When the horror has passed, Lelia vows to make a better life.
Now, Lelia spends her life trying to save children. As the director of ChildSafe Shelters, she...more
Lelia Freeman created a life for herself after growing up homeless on the streets of Los Angeles. When the horror has passed, Lelia vows to make a better life.
Now, Lelia spends her life trying to save children. As the director of ChildSafe Shelters, she...more
Paperback, 352 pages
Published
February 7th 2012
by Strebor Books
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What a amazing novel!
I really do not know how to describe this book, it is sad, funny, moving, captivating, romantic even venemous
Our main character is a total publicspirited person, helps childen, even buy foods for a total stranger. Lelia is like a trouble magnet, wherever she is it finds her, first she cames across with Zeek, then gets kidnapped, president Deng, Mabadu... but she never looses her spirit, her desire to help, her faith.
Every day she is eaten b...more
What a amazing novel!
I really do not know how to describe this book, it is sad, funny, moving, captivating, romantic even venemous
Our main character is a total publicspirited person, helps childen, even buy foods for a total stranger. Lelia is like a trouble magnet, wherever she is it finds her, first she cames across with Zeek, then gets kidnapped, president Deng, Mabadu... but she never looses her spirit, her desire to help, her faith.
Every day she is eaten b...more
Yayy..I won this book from the giveaways.
I'm so glad I Won it.
I have to admit that this book is a hard reading, especially for a person who don't speak english fluently like me.
But it's a good reading experience, though.
This book is well written. Singleton's words are hard but great.
The story is good, bitter from the beginning but moving.
I love Lelia's toughness and how she remained positive after seeing all the street life's bad side.
And the women exploitation felt so real, just like how it hap...more
I'm so glad I Won it.
I have to admit that this book is a hard reading, especially for a person who don't speak english fluently like me.
But it's a good reading experience, though.
This book is well written. Singleton's words are hard but great.
The story is good, bitter from the beginning but moving.
I love Lelia's toughness and how she remained positive after seeing all the street life's bad side.
And the women exploitation felt so real, just like how it hap...more
My Thoughts
Dark Side of Valor is not my typical genre of novel, so when they say don't judge a book by its cover I don't listen. I always seem to be attracted to the cover of a book first. Maybe I'm vain that way, the cover made me think I would love this book. I was right I thought beginning to end original, must read novel. Lelia Freeman moved me in all directions, sadness, triumph, pain, shock, desperation, joy, love, and life. I enjoyed the writing style of Alicia Singleton.
My favorites
Lelia...more
Dark Side of Valor is not my typical genre of novel, so when they say don't judge a book by its cover I don't listen. I always seem to be attracted to the cover of a book first. Maybe I'm vain that way, the cover made me think I would love this book. I was right I thought beginning to end original, must read novel. Lelia Freeman moved me in all directions, sadness, triumph, pain, shock, desperation, joy, love, and life. I enjoyed the writing style of Alicia Singleton.
My favorites
Lelia...more
This book was amazing, yet it was also one of the hardest books I’ve ever read. Leila works getting runaways and such off the streets and into safety because she was once on the streets. In fact, she almost died because she refused to work for the pimp that ran the street she lived on. On the day she decided to get help and get out she got caught and was shot and left to die. The 13 year old child she had been helping and protecting died in her arms from an illness that was the final straw that...more
I have to tell you right away that some books are hard to read and this is one of them. I have always felt this way about books and movies that begin with the awful things that happen to people as children. Nothing worse that I hate more than anything (movies) that profit from taking pleasure in torturing or hurting children. Thankfully, with books you read it thru the author's eyes and the eyes of the child. This is one such book. It has it's good moments and in the end Lelia will triumph to a...more
Posted on Romancing the Book's blog
Reviewed by Desere
Review Copy Provided by the Author
Think about the word valor for a second and see what you come up with …bravery, courage, fighting till the end? This book is about all that and so much more.
The author took me to a whole new world that definitely did not previously exist in my mind. A world lived on the wrong side of the streets where “monsters” of the truly deep, dark and dangerous kind lurk around every corner ready to pounce on their unsusp...more
Reviewed by Desere
Review Copy Provided by the Author
Think about the word valor for a second and see what you come up with …bravery, courage, fighting till the end? This book is about all that and so much more.
The author took me to a whole new world that definitely did not previously exist in my mind. A world lived on the wrong side of the streets where “monsters” of the truly deep, dark and dangerous kind lurk around every corner ready to pounce on their unsusp...more
Lelia Freeman, a child advocate, knows what she speaks about. She herself spent years on the street, running from a miserable homelife. She managed to find a way out, but not before a tragedy occurred that stole her best friend from her, a victim of the streets and the predators that prowled them.
These days, Lelia is well past those days. Her adopted family supported her as she used education to build a life for herself. A life that not only sustained her, but allowed her to give back to society...more
These days, Lelia is well past those days. Her adopted family supported her as she used education to build a life for herself. A life that not only sustained her, but allowed her to give back to society...more
I won this from Goodreads and I am really glad I did. The blurb sounds interesting but truthfully I wasn't sure if I would be able to give this book justice. I mean I am pretty much the opposite of the main character but Alicia Singleton shows that it doesn't matter. I really felt for and identified with the characters.
The story follows Lelia who ran away from home. She lives on the streets of LA for several years before getting her life in order. As an adult she makes it her mission to help chi...more
The story follows Lelia who ran away from home. She lives on the streets of LA for several years before getting her life in order. As an adult she makes it her mission to help chi...more
The title of this book—The Dark Side of Valor—intrigued me. It almost sounded like a contradiction or something…but Alicia Singleton shows otherwise! Singleton knows how to write suspense! Her style grips the readers, pulling them right into the scene—the moment—and will have them holding their breath. The story plot has many rough characters, as Lelia fights to get out of the hood she was born into and live a better life.
All that said, there was a lot of things I didn’t really like about the b...more
All that said, there was a lot of things I didn’t really like about the b...more
The story of a young woman who beginning in her own childhood fights to give hope and a solution to the runaway children on the streets of Los Angeles. As an adult she furthers her crusade as director of ChildSafe. When she is appointed to a prestigious position to address child and family welfare issues taking place in the African nation of Sudania, she agrees only to serve because it will financially benefit her organization and the runaways who are her life's mission.
What follows is a kidnapp...more
What follows is a kidnapp...more
Lelia Freeman ran away from a neglectful mother hoping for a better life in LA. Instead, she ended up living on the streets and hoping she can keep out of the clutches of the local drug lord determined to make her part of his "family". More importantly, she's hoping the lifeline a local church has thrown her will help save her and her friend Joella. But things do not goes as Lelia plans. While she gains a loving support unit, she loses something dear too.
Fast forward ten years and Lelia is now r...more
Fast forward ten years and Lelia is now r...more
Lelia Freeman is a child advocate and director of ChildSafe Shelters in Los Angeles. Known as "The Street Angel," Lelia was a former teen runaway from New York, who lived off the mean streets of Los Angeles for two years, until Ma Ella, a 102 year old matron of Cornerstone Baptist Church, and the rest of the church family took her in at the age of nineteen, and provided her with support to rebuild her life. Now as a successful and passionate child advocate, Lelia helps other runaway teens get of...more
DARK SIDE OF VALOR by Alicia Singleton is a fast paced suspense/thriller/romance. What a complex and intense story of child abuse,teen runaways,child advocate,mercanaries,conspirancy,revenge,vengeance, suspense,romance and past demons. It is the story of the true meaning of valor. Well written with details and a great plot. The characters will have you on the edge of your seat. A wonderful debut novel full of suspense and drama. Follow Elijah Dune and Lelia Freeman through the jungles of Zaire,...more
Dark Side of Valor is a story of child advocate Lelia Freeman. She is a woman who as a teenager ran away from home because she had higher dreams than living in a dump with her mother, who is an alcoholic. She feels that her mother does not love or care about her so she leaves. She spends two years on the streets of L.A. among druggies and pimps. A very dangerous situation indeed. She comes across a young girl, Joelle, who gets ill and Lelia vows to take care of her and she does the best she can...more
I was due for a review of Dark Side of Valor but unexpected circumstances was unavoidable but I am glad that I did received it and to review it now. Reading Dark Side of Valor was a combination of sadness, love, happiness and overwhelming satisfaction.
I won’t go on telling you what the book is about since the synopsis covers everything but what I would tell you is what makes this book awesome. First of all, Lelia was such a strong lead. Having dealth with so much difficulties early in her life,...more
I won’t go on telling you what the book is about since the synopsis covers everything but what I would tell you is what makes this book awesome. First of all, Lelia was such a strong lead. Having dealth with so much difficulties early in her life,...more
Dark Side of Valor, tells the story of Lelia Freeman, a child advocate, who is dubbed the Street Angel. Life wasn't always kind to Lelia. She came of age on the streets of LA. As an adult, she refuses to forget the nightmares associated with being homeless. She remembers what it felt like to be dirty, hungry and cold. She also refuses to forget a little girl who touched her heart, and changed her life. Lelia's love and compassion for children, takes her into the jungles of Zaire, where she meets...more
This book captivated me from the very beginning. Alicia Singleton wove a story full of action, emotion and faith. I really appreciated that the author didn't feel the need to pepper the dialogue with expletives or explicit scenes. This story of a young runaway who is eventually taken in by a church family sees her come into her own as a woman who spends her adult life working with runaways, helping them navigate the treacherous streets. "Dark Side of Valor" is a quick read; I hated having to put...more
When I won this book at goodreads I couldn’t believe at first; especially because of the great things that I have heard of it. Even though I decided do give it a shot, I have to confess when I started to read it I just couldn’t put it down.
The story is about Lelia Freeman, a child advocate; she herself knows what she is doing especially because when she was a teenager, she used to live at the streets after she ran away from home; So she knows what it felt like to be cold, hungry, lonely. Dark...more
The story is about Lelia Freeman, a child advocate; she herself knows what she is doing especially because when she was a teenager, she used to live at the streets after she ran away from home; So she knows what it felt like to be cold, hungry, lonely. Dark...more
The lead character Leila, spent the first part of her life as a homeless runaway - experiencing horror after horror living on the street, including the loss of her dear friend - another child runaway. Leila is able to turn her life around and focuses on giving back to the community - helping other children that are in the position she was once in. Leila is a strong, compassionate character with a will to live, and a genuine love for helping others. She was given a second chance by a church famil...more
Dark Side of Valor is a fast-paced thriller/romance with a strong, likeable heroine and a very timely and interesting story line. There are several other reviews that provide an excellent synopsis of this story in detail, so I will skip that step and focus instead on something that I appreciated on a personal level.
Most of Ms. Singleton's characters are people of color from widely differing backgrounds, yet the author does not focus on divisions of race or culture which could have been emphasiz...more
Most of Ms. Singleton's characters are people of color from widely differing backgrounds, yet the author does not focus on divisions of race or culture which could have been emphasiz...more
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It was a long journey, from runaway Lelia, until she was mature enough to forgive and to love. Lelia Freeman had been through so many things, and I'm glad to find that the author gave a proper change to her, time by time.
Lelia was a strong woman character. She held her principles of life, fearless--or knew how to hide it, but, however, had some humanly side that touched me when I read the book; losing friend, missing her mama, caring for children, and being vulnerable because of love. All those...more
Lelia was a strong woman character. She held her principles of life, fearless--or knew how to hide it, but, however, had some humanly side that touched me when I read the book; losing friend, missing her mama, caring for children, and being vulnerable because of love. All those...more
The novel is about Leila Freeman, a child advocate. She knows and does her job well because she knows what it is like to live on the streets. As a teenager she herself had run away from her home, leaving an alcoholic mother behind, and had lived on the streets. She had gained a lot of experience and lost a dear one in those years. But she was lucky as she managed to get off the streets and clean up. Not only did she manage to make a good life for herself but also help those around her. Her dedic...more
A woman who went through it now spends her time defending others so they don't have to. Strong. Courageous. Caring. Is recruited into something she questions once getting involved. This question is her down fall as it starts to spiral the rest of the events in the book.
The book brings together many different people and shows a real web of how nice appearance people can be not so nice guys. It contains fear, love, hate, question, curiosity, crime, drugs, lose and hope.
A captivating read.
The book brings together many different people and shows a real web of how nice appearance people can be not so nice guys. It contains fear, love, hate, question, curiosity, crime, drugs, lose and hope.
A captivating read.
I read Dark Side of Valor a couple of weeks ago and it has stuck with me. It's one of those books that long after you have read the last page, you will find yourself thinking back to this suspense novel and all the emotions that you felt while reading. Alicia is an amazing author with the ability to open readers eyes. My advice is to pick up this book and set aside enough time to read it straight through. Once you start, you won't want to stop!
I won this book on Goodreads, and to be honest I wasn't sure if I would like it or not. The synopsis frankly made it sound like it would be a book more directed towards a female audience.
When I received my copy of the book it was autographed with a personalization, which was a nice surprise. Also, I received a very nice personal letter from the author.
I'm happy to say that I really liked the story and the way Singleton told it. The main character was likeable from the start, and as a reader I wa...more
When I received my copy of the book it was autographed with a personalization, which was a nice surprise. Also, I received a very nice personal letter from the author.
I'm happy to say that I really liked the story and the way Singleton told it. The main character was likeable from the start, and as a reader I wa...more
I love your book! I also enjoyed your article on Technorati here Forgiving Insanity the Key to Surviving
Nice article on the the effects of mental illness on oneself and family I really enjoy how you write and your style of telling a story.
Nice article on the the effects of mental illness on oneself and family I really enjoy how you write and your style of telling a story.
This book has a lot going on. It starts off with Leila leaving home and ending up on the streets at the age of 16. She faces insurmountable odds and becomes a child advocate in her adulthood with the help of a surrogate family. She loses a close friend which defines her future.
In her adulthood she is recognized nationally for her advocacy efforts and is kidnapped by the president of an African nation. She meets and is rescued by Elijah and both must face their pasts.
With that said, there is a...more
In her adulthood she is recognized nationally for her advocacy efforts and is kidnapped by the president of an African nation. She meets and is rescued by Elijah and both must face their pasts.
With that said, there is a...more
I received this book through a giveaway by the author here on Goodreads. It was an entertaining mix of suspense and romance with a few plot twists thrown in that I didn't see coming. The heroine, Lelia is a very strong highly likeable character. I was initially intrigued by the cover art, and I'm glad I got the chance to read this as it isn't the usual type of novel I normally read.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q&A with Alic...: Welcome! | 1 | 5 | Mar 08, 2012 09:39am | |
| Q&A with Alic...: The authors who inspired me. | 1 | 3 | Mar 08, 2012 09:35am | |
| Q&A with Alic...: A Writer's Life. | 1 | 4 | Mar 08, 2012 09:32am | |
| Q&A with Alic...: Dark Side of Valor was a totally different novel at birth. | 1 | 5 | Mar 08, 2012 09:25am |
By her sophomore year in college, Alicia Singleton knew she was born to be a writer. Too intimidated to change her major, she continued her nursing studies and received her Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing in 1987. From Johns Hopkins University Hospital to Howard University Hospital to Washington Hospital Center, and numerous other medical facilities in the Baltimore/Washington DC Corridor, the Ho...more
More about Alicia Singleton...
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