Sin No More

Reverend Curtis Black #5

by Kimberla Lawson Roby

A man who once thrived on wickedness and counted on forgiveness, Curtis Black has changed his ways. Back in the heart of his congregation and his family, he will no longer stray from the beaten path. Or so he's promised his long-suffering wife, Charlotte. But the sins of the past have strange ways of coming to light. First, Curtis's former mistress shows up with their newborn baby daughter—named Curtina—and insists that Curtis be a part of their lives. Charlotte has forbidden her husband to have anything to do with them, but the trouble is, Curtis's newfound conscience is leading him to have uncomfortable thoughts of responsibility. Also, the interim pastor who took over while Curtis was on a book tour is threatening blackmail. He's gotten too used to life at the pulpit and will do everything in his power to stay there. Meanwhile, Charlotte has her own previous transgressions to deal with. The man who claims to be her son's biological father has turned up and wants to make amends for the past thirteen years. If Charlotte gives in to his increasing requests, she may lose the only child she has left. However, Curtis and Charlotte have been through too much together to give up now. They must work harder than ever—as a mother and a father, as husband and wife—to save their family, their marriage, and their souls.

Genres: Fiction, Christian Fiction, African American, Audiobook, Christian, Adult, Chick Lit

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

New York Times Bestselling Author, Speaker, Encourager of Women & Podcast Host, Kimberla Lawson Roby, has published 30 books which include her faith-based, nonfiction titles, THE WOMAN GOD CREATED YOU TO BE: Finding Success Through Faith—Spiritually, Personally, and Professionally and THE WOMAN GOD CREATED YOU TO BE: Companion Workbook & Discussion Guide, as well as some of her novels, such as CASTING THE FIRST STONE, SIN OF A WOMAN, A SINFUL CALLING, SISTER FRIENDS FOREVER, A CHRISTMAS PRAYER, THE PRODIGAL SON, THE PERFECT MARRIAGE, THE REVEREND’S WIFE, IT'S AS THIN LINE, and her debut title, BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, which was originally self-published through her own company, Lenox Press. She has sold more than 3 million copies of her books, and they have frequented numerous bestseller lists, including The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, Essence, Upscale, Black Christian News, AALBC.com, Barnes and Noble, Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, The Dallas Morning News, The Austin Chronicle and many others. Kimberla is also the host of The Woman God Created You to Be Podcast.

Over the years, Kimberla has spoken to thousands of women at conferences, churches, expos, workshops, luncheons, libraries, colleges, universities and bookstores. She shares her own personal journey straight from her heart and has a strong passion toward helping women become all that God created them to be.

Kimberla is the 2013 NAACP Image Award Winner for Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction, the recipient of the 2017 SOAR Radio Trailblazer of Honor award, the 2017 Southwest Florida Reading Festival Distinguished Author award, the 2017 AAMBC Christian Fiction Author of the Year award and the 2014 AAMBC Female Author of the Year award, the 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013 African-American Literary Awards Show (New York, NY) Female Author of the Year award, the Blackboard Fiction Book of the Year Award in 2001 for CASTING THE FIRST STONE, and in 2001, Kimberla was inducted into the Rock Valley College Alumni Hall of Fame (Rockford, IL). Additionally, in August 2020, she was named by USA Today as one of the 100 black novelists you should read, and in February 2021, her nonfiction book, The Woman God Created You to Be: Finding Success Through Faith—Spiritually, Personally, and Professionally, was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Instructional, giving her 4 NAACP Image Award nominations in total.

Kimberla’s books deal with very real issues, including women empowerment, sexual harassment, racial and gender discrimination in the workplace, problems within the church (and the consequences), Christian/family/moral values, drug and gambling addiction, marriage, infidelity, single motherhood, breast cancer, infertility, sibling rivalry, domestic violence, childhood sexual abuse, mental illness, and the care-giving of a parent to name a few. In addition, Kimberla’s books offer a message of redemption, forgiveness, and the realities of everyday life. Kimberla resides in Illinois with her husband, Will.

To share your thoughts with Kimberla regarding her work, please e-mail her at: kim@kimroby.com

Reviews

[Taneka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't like Charlotte. She is so immature and so spoiled, and it makes her impossible. Curtis was being Curtis. She wanted money, so now she has it, but now the chickens are coming home to roost and she can't handle it. I don't think that either one of them truly knows what love is. They keep hurting each other and then say, I love you. No, I think they are codependent on one another and they like what the other does for them.

She would not bend when it came to that little girl, even though Curtis could have been the same way with Matthew and Marissa. He accepted them, but she won't accept the girl. I really hated her character for that. She was being a hypocrite.

Great drama and can't wait to see what happens next.

[Gabriella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm...this one seemed much too close to the previous books, with the same old "congregation confrontations", indictments of deranged ex-lovers, and introductions of long-lost, revenge-bent scammers. I'm not against Kimberla Lawson Roby using the same blueprint for her stories, since it's clearly helped her sell some very popular books (as we speak, I've checked each one out from my library!)

However, while the first four Curtis Black books upped the ante in terms of drama and destruction to our characters, Sin No More suffers from (relatively) low stakes. I found myself hard-pressed to care about the outcomes of these scenarios, mostly because you could tell that no one was going to die, divorce, and/or relapse.

With the exception of a bit more maturity from Curtis, it's unclear how Sin No More progressed any of these characters. I even felt like we went backwards (or in circles) in some points: one of the biggest challenges with Matthew was completely reversed, making it seem pointless to have raised it as such an issue in the first place.

I'm glad the next two books in the series will take us away from Curtis and Charlotte—Roby clearly needed some time to figure out how to make them compelling characters again.

P.S. I'm tired of these jam-packed epilogues doing work the rest of the chapters haven't...

[Lord' Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sin No More (Reverend Curtis Black #5)


In a series, I love when the books flow into each other. For me, this creates a seamless saga, and as this series continued, Sin No More begins less than a year from Love & Lies.

Author Kimberla gave Reverend Curtis Black a make over in this novel, but other than Rev. Black, everyone else remained in character.

Mystery and drama starts from the very beginning. The subplots gave the author a lot of latitude to craft this tale. Chapter development was excellent, and I say excellent because there wasn't that much of OVER THE TOP DRAMA, this seasoned writer kept me driving towards the finish line for the How!

Mystery is a mighty force, which is hard to wheel, and the author displayed she has the ability to use this force as a tool to pin this novel.

From the very beginning we know the WHO, and we know most of the WHY to the subplots, and the author uses the element of HOW as the beacon. --That element of How, kept me in wonderment of the other missing elements, What and When.

I read the hard cover edition, and listen to listen to the audio version which was narrated by Tracey Leigh. Tracey Leigh does a wonderful job vocalizing each character, except Rev. Black. Tracey doesn't do a bad job at bringing him to life, it's not that at all. I just don't see him in that tone of voice.

If you are a fan of the Reverend Curtis Black series, and you're behind in your reading of the series as I am, you will enjoy this fifth installment of the series. I only hope you will enjoy it as much as I have, this way you will see why I gave it 5 Stars.


~LW~

[Tijuana Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is something else, boy I tell you these church folk is something else. I felt so bad for Vivian but in the end she got her revenge. Great can't wait to read book 6, Curtis Black and his family never have any dull moments

[Tip Mack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well Well Kimberla Lawson Roby does it again......This book had more twist and turns then a highway. It had me speechless near the end and I can't wait to pick up book #6 of the series. She never disappoints. Read it! Read it! Read It!

[Jay DeMoir · Rating 2 out of 5]

Charlotte got on my NERVES! Such a hypocrite, but other than that it was the same story but with different names and one twist. :(

[Lois · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.25 Stars Round Down

This is wild, kinda like a soap opera in novel form.
The drams felt overdone.
This is very dated.
The relationships are toxic.
I'm still planning to finish the series.

[Jenene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this series! The drama never stops and flows seamlessly from book to book!

[Dorothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent per usual! I can't wait to finish this series! I've read 10/15 books in this series. Hopefully I will be finished by the end of this year. I've enjoyed reading every book thus far in this series. Kimberla Lawson Roby is an EXCELLENT writer! :)

[Rebecca]

Great book

Once again the always challenging life of Reverend Curtis Black will keep you guessing what next. I have never known someone to have so much drama in their life. Between him and Charlotte they have a lot going on. I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it.

[Darcia Scates · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the fast pace , I loved the fresh dialogue. Kimberla Lawson Roby gives the reader a fresh and exciting novel. Although I hated the main characters, Charlotte, Curtis, and Charlotte's mom, I truly wanted to finish the book to find out what happens to them and everyone else. You will be glad you picked up this book.

[Yvette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rev. Curtis Black, the prominient preacher is back at it again and attempting to reconcile his cheating ways and its negative impact on his family. Realizing how being disloyal can bring havoc on a family. Can Rev. Black's family survive this mess?

[Angelspearl · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest I thought this story was a bit too much unnecessary drama. But I ended up really enjoying it. I absolutely love the Curtis black series and now I'm looking forward to the next in the series.

[Teaguem2005 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only part I disliked was the salon scene. The level of detail seemed entirely out of place. Odd. Everything else was on point and relevant to the saga. This installment has the good reverend finally taking full ownership of his wrongs and obligations to his church, his family, and his faith

[Anarda Nashai]

Great book so far...but then again Roby never fails to tell a great story!

[Lyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book EXCEPT the ending. So miraculously Curtis is indeed Mathew's father and the original DNA test taken years ago was wrong, ugggghhh

[Dana Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

These people are hilarious!!! Charlotte had so much nerves I was ready to jump in the book and slap her! The twist was too just a mess

[Alexis A · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you speak of this book as poor, reasonable, and unlecturable, you are just bogus. If you believe those are the right words, you may need to revise your statement. Sin No More is teaching an intriguing life lesson of love, hate, forgiveness, and sympathy. You wouldn't just flip through each page without reading it, the stories plot is so addicting you would just want to read more and more. Reading each chapter of the book just became more and more interesting to me. As I read the book, learning that Curtis and his wife Charlotte have been through so much throughout their marriage left me with me in tears and jaw drops. Learning the dirty secrets of the Black family was a stunner, the explanation of their son Matthew and Curtis’ mistress Tabitha left me in shivers. I began to picture myself as Charlotte and how hurt she must have been by Curtis, when he was cheating on her, even though before she did end up cheating herself. ¨So, for me, an affair was one thing, but a lifetime reminder was a whole other story,” (Lawson Roby, pg. 42). If that had been done to me, I would’ve been hurt too, in a way of anger just like Charlotte, but I certainly wouldn’t seek out for revenge. The story is being told in different perspectives of each character, as with their struggles, and hatred as well, then which all comes down to happiness and love at the end. If you are looking for a book that will leave you in your feelings, have sympathy, anger, and is lecturable Sin No More is the book for you. This book is all of the listed adjectives above, (except for the first sentence), surprisingly intriguing.

[His Wife7474 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The summary of this book will give readers more than enough insight as to what to expect. The **** hits the fan in Book 5- Sin No More.

In book 4 we learn that Matthew is not Curtis' son, but the son of Charlotte's cousin Anise's ex-husband (David)... whom Charlotte had an affair with when she was 17-years-old. After being out of the loop for 13 years David wants in. But his reasons are not completely genuine.

Curtis has a new daughter, Curtina, with his mistress Tabitha. Tabitha insists that Curtis be active in their daughter's life. If he isn't, she threatens to expose him to his congregation. Curtis keeps none of this from Charlotte, and to avoid more public scandal they try to work together to appease Tabitha. However, Charlotte is not happy and insist that Curtis steer clear of both Tabitha and the child. Curtis is conflicted. How will he deal with it? You gotta read :)!

***I enjoyed this book. Charlotte was meaner than usual and I found this to be a bit annoying lol. Still, it was a great read.***

[Dominique McAlister · Rating 4 out of 5]

If the womanizing Reverend Curtis Black met his match in Charlotte, then Charlotte met her match in Tabitha. She could recognize what Tabitha was doing before Tabitha even knew what Tabitha was doing. But Charlotte took Rev. Black having a side baby so much worse than Tanya. I had to keep reminding myself Charlotte should be in therapy to handle her grief instead of worrying about Curtis and David…tsk,tsk… she was right about him too.

I know Janine is Charlotte’s friend… but she’d never get a peach if it were up to me 😴😴😴 I was hoping ol crazy Aaron would show up, but I guess he’s still in the mental institution.

Curtis loves the kids!! Alicia, Matthew and Curtina…. Happy ending for all involved, despite the messy traumatic church service disruption.

[Katia Casimir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Je suis toujours impatiente de lire la suite de la saga de Curtis Black et de sa 3e femmes Charlotte. Sérieusement les 2 font la paires, 2 oiseaux rares. Impossible de surpasser l’autre dans leurs bassesses, par contre lorsque les 2 ont tord il est dans la logique de ne pas condamner le moraliste immoral 😂😂😂… L’audace du couple a pas son pareil lorsqu’il s’agit de lancer la première pierre, par contre il est Saint du Pasteur de tendra la joue aux premier carnage et Charlotte à faire pénitence 😜

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Auteure// Kimberla Lawson Roby
Genre // Drame
Pages // 273p ( Kindle )
Tome 5 Révérend

[T · Rating 4 out of 5]

🚨Spoilers🚨
Whew, the mess. This story was messy, messy and I was here for all of it. I found myself mad at Charlotte and understanding her at the same time. Mad, because I didn’t like her position regarding her husband’s love child. However, while her position was wrong, I understood her pain and frustration. I am glad that she was able to make great strides towards being a better person to that child. This story also serves as a cautionary tale as to what can happen when people wantonly engage in unprotected sex with multiple partners.

Now, I have to go read the Rev. Black series from the beginning since this was my first read in the series.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't think it could get no better but Curtis Black I do believe he could be on the straight and narrow and possibly faithful to his wife Charlotte. I didn't think it could get no better but this one is extremely good, more drama happening one behind the next. Now I can't wait to read her next novels if this one was so excited I'm waiting to find out what is going to happen in her other books. Come to find out that David is not Matthew father after all. I am so happy that Charlotte finally do have a child with her husband.

[Milano Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

Curtis and Charlotte can’t catch a break! It’s one after the other. One thing about Curtis is that he really changed his ways after apologising to Charlotte for cheating on her for the past few years. The icing on the cake with his latest affair was that he knocked her up things went left from there. Tabitha reminds me of Adrienne but in this case she started to become demanding and then Matthew’s biological father comes around and starts making demands about being around Matthew felt eerie. Boy the way plot kept thickening?!!?!?!?!??? Chile I couldn’t keep up!!!

[Mary Calton Gerard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a joy!

This romance has many exciting turns and it is certainly unpredictable. Some authors, I can see what is happening. Mrs. Roby, surprises and comes up with a entertaining and unexpected outcome. This book of the series is inspirational page-turning story. Unpredictability holds my attention and stokes my brain to read more. Chapter 29 & 31 really surprised me.

[kilobyyte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whewww chile. This story annoyed me to no end. I did agree with Charlotte only because of Tabitha but Charlotte was wrong as all hell knowing what all Curtis did for the marriage. Matthew was behaving kind of annoying when it came to David. That twist towards the end made absolutely NO sense at all. Then we never got back to Charlotte’s cousin and well I guess they got away with what they did. The epilogue did wayyyy more making the storylines rush together.

[Keesha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I took my time reading this one because it sounded just like the previous one I read (which I think came after this one technically but I had it out of order). The formula for Kimberla Lawson Roby obviously works as they continue to sell but I was a little tired of it. However, once I committed to finishing it, I sped through it and even found it pretty good (as usual)!

[Jennifer Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wheewww!!! My god my god!!! I promise you when the book is nearing the last few chapters and folks get to walking down the aisle of the church I realize all tea will be spilled!!!! OMG! I love the turn of events and new story line. No cheating going on but working through some serious issues. The wife still worked my last nerve but hey...

[Danielle Vaughan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is keeping me intrigued. When will Curtis learn? Charlotte is petty and so wrong. Marissa was a little demon. I wanted to here more of Aaron/Donovan’s reaction to Marissa’s fate. Tabatha and the interim pastor were a hot mess. Hopefully Curtis has learned his lesson on infidelity but I doubt it.

[Darlene Harrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Curtis black was something else and that tabitha girl got on my nerves tho because she really wanted to break Curtis and charlotte up but thru it all they remain to stay together dispite the situation