Throwaway by Heather Huffman

Overview from Barnes and Noble:

Jessie Jones is living the life--except for the fact that she earns it by working the streets. She's been under pimp Spence's thumb for fourteen years, and she isn't looking for change. That is, until undercover cop Gabe walks into her life and offers her something she's never had before: a love, a future, a home. But even if Jessie could walk away from Spence, there are darker forces of evil who want her to stay put, or worse, dead.

In this romantic suspense, author Heather Huffman delivers an adventure from the vibrant streets of St. Louis to the caves of the Ozarks as Jessie discovers whether she can love another, whether she can love herself, and whether any of it is enough.

My thoughts:

I've been reading this book on and off on my iPod for quite some time. Last week the story caught me up again and I read the second half in a day. I wasn't sure about the premise at first, I kept thinking about Pretty Woman, but it really didn't follow that story at all.

Jessie was in foster care after being abandoned by her mother. When she aged out she found herself with nothing and nowhere to go and fell into the clutches (sounds suitably evil) of a pimp. She has been working the streets for 15 years and has not even though too far into the future about what she can and will do. She meets a cop by chance who asks her to help him uncover some underground illegal activity where young girls are being sold. Along the way they fall in love, but Jessie is afraid to leave and feels like she should stay to help these girls.

One of the things they do together is take a vacation to the camp where Jesse James hid out years ago. It is the first vacation Jessie can remember ever taking and it makes a real impression on her. I don't want to give anything else away, but it really was an enjoyable story.

What I liked most was how at the end there is a not that Huffman wrote this book to bring attention to the plight of children who age out of the foster care system and what becomes of them if they are let go with no resources to help them.

Product Details

• ISBN-13: 9781935961246
• Publisher: Libertary Co.
• Publication date: 8/15/2011
• Pages: 226

Meet the Author

Heather Huffman is a full-time author who lives in Missouri with her husband and three children. Her passion is writing fiction with strong female characters who are flawed, relatable and very human.The stories and settings are varied but always intertwine, reminding us of the important truth that our lives are all connected in some fashion. We are more alike than we realize.

A portion of profits from this book go to join the fight to save women and girls from exploitation. Please see details on Heather's website at www.heatherhuffman.com