May 28, 2017

Series Sunday: American Gods Podcast

Sistah Speak: American Gods

Series Sunday is a meme hosted by Literary Marie (Sistah LM) featuring podcast episodes from Sistah Speak. I encourage all of my fellow podcast hosts to play along.
  • Listen to an episode of a podcast series.
  • Share your review/recommendation below.
  • Include the podcast title and episode info.

My Series Sunday pick is Sistah Speak: American Gods podcast. Listen to the Sistahs discuss S1E4 of the Starz original series, American Gods, from a Sistah's point of view here

Also a friendly reminder to register for the 2nd Annual Sistah Speak Reunion to be held in Nashville on June 29, 2017. There will be music, dancing, a photo booth, raffles, free happy hour, bar, dinner, dessert, a Spades tournament, fun and laughs. If you are interested in being a sponsor for the event, please email or send a private message. Hope to see you in Nashville!

Co-Hosts: Sistah A, Sistah J, Sistah K and Sistah LM
Date: May 26, 2017
Time: 2 Hours, 21 Minutes



May 27, 2017

Thick of It


So I am stuck in a rut. But busy at the same time. Allow me to explain.

Dare I say that I have been too busy to read? EEK! So not like me. I pick up a book when I get a spare moment and before I can finish one chapter, I'm out! Like knocked out snoring. Pulling an LM! The books I am currently reading are far from boring. But I am having the most difficult time actually finishing them.

Let me cut the shit–I have not made time for reading books because of new responsibilities occupying my waking hours (more active in the community, mentoring youth, creating a curriculum, enrolled in two Masterclasses, networking with alumni, ghostwriting and editing projects, podcasting more frequently, planning mini-vacays, condos-for-sale stalking, recovering from a personal matter* and slowly getting back into blogging consistently). My dear hearts, that's not all. I'm in the thick of it. How I manage all of this with only 24 hours in a day is beyond me. A chick is tired!

Alas, my lack of reading has caught up to me. I miss my books. I miss fictional characters. I miss escaping the real world and getting lost in pages. I cannot function without my fiction. I am off balance. So let this be the reason I am spending majority of my holiday weekend with some good reads, bumping music, tasty home-cooked food and family fun.

Dear Adulting, the mask is off. I'll be back later.

*See next blogmoir post for more deets.

May 26, 2017

First Lines Friday



First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Revision. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
  • Grab your current read(s).
  • Share the first line(s).
  • Include the title and author.

"Let me tell you about the first time I started living my truth."


May 25, 2017

Swimming with Fishes


"Dream you were swimming with fishes. Let me see your hands." ~ 3%

Y'all know what happens when someone in the family dreams of fish, right? Well here is a literary version of events. Set in rural Jamaica, Swimming with Fishes is about the love affair between a London businessman and a native Jamaican. What started as a business trip turned into much more.

Kat wants a baby more than anything in life. She's always been told it is extremely risky because she was born with sickle cell anaemia. She wasn't even expected to survive her first birthday. Yet when the local herbalist/mythological lady foretells a man from across the ocean who will father her child...the dream becomes a possible reality only years later. Fairy tale, right? Not so much. Unknown to Ben, Kat is a sickle cell sufferer; unknown to Kat, Ben is already married with children.

"Being interested or curious isn't being intrusive." ~ 10%

Talk about a doozy! Like so many other books, I found myself rooting for the "wrong" woman until I took my emotions out of it and enjoyed the story for what it was...island love fiction. Rasheda Ashanti Malcolm wrote with the right amount of description so I could picture the characters in my mind without losing interest or reading long paragraphs. However, I was somewhat disappointed by the end and wonder if there was an alternate ending the author had in mind. Hmmm...nevertheless, it was a good read, especially in public with the beautiful cover and tagline: Love and secrets under the Jamaican sun.

Happy Pub Day, Rasheda Ashanti Malcolm! Swimming with Fishes is now available.

Disclaimer: This book was received directly from the publisher for review purposes only. In no way does it influence my review. The opinions I have expressed are honestly my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins.

Author: Rasheda Ashanti Malcolm
Published: May 2017
Pages: 328
Edition: Galley
Challenge: Popsugar—A Book Based on Mythology
Rating: ♥♥♥

May 23, 2017

The Widow of Wall Street


"Trust but verify." ~ 42%

Why, oh why, did it take me so long to write this review? Well I wanted to be sure it was worthy of a full 5-heart rating. I wanted to be sure the story and characters stuck with me. Ensure the author's writing really was excellent. And finally, I have a solid rating. Kudos to Randy Susan Meyers for delivering another page-turning must-read!

Love is blind and Phoebe is wearing rose-tinted sunglasses too. Her foolish loyalty, like so many women in the real world, may be her downfall. Phoebe stood alongside Jake since they met as teenagers and well into adulthood as he built a financial dynasty on Wall Street. Yet she had no clue about his elaborate Ponzi scheme and deception. As Jake's billion-dollar crime is uncovered, all eyes are on Phoebe. Did she know? Did she help all along? Is her life a fraud? Even their children have distanced themselves from Jake, so why is Phoebe still by his side from the penthouse to prison?

"Hate the sin and still love the sinner." ~ 75%

Beware of the consequences of your actions. One decision not only affects you but the lives of loved ones too. In The Widow of Wall Street, Phoebe shows readers the struggle to survive and remain loyal. The conscious effort to not abandon someone who clearly did wrong is a central theme. How ride-or-die does a chick have to be? All of these emotions are well written in this new novel.

"Are we re-experiencing 1929?" ~ 53%

The Widow of Wall Street is recommended for bookhearts that watched the CBS web show, The Good Fight, and are familiar with Bernie Madoff. No movie can capture what really happened in the real life Ponzi scheme but this novel sure came close. Ain't fiction grand?

The Widow of Wall Street is now available. Read it to see why it is easily one of the best books of 2017!

Disclaimer: This book was received directly from the publisher for review purposes only. In no way does it influence my review. The opinions I have expressed are honestly my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins.

Title: The Widow of Wall Street
Author: Randy Susan Meyers
Published: April 2017
Pages: 352
Edition: Galley
Challenge: Popsugar—A Book with an Unreliable Narrator
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

May 21, 2017

Series Sunday: Married at First Sight

Sistah Speak: After Show


Series Sunday is a meme hosted by Literary Marie (Sistah LM) featuring podcast episodes from Sistah Speak. I encourage all of my fellow podcast hosts to play along.
  • Listen to an episode of a podcast series.
  • Share your review/recommendation below.
  • Include the podcast title and episode info.

My Series Sunday pick is Sistah Speak: After Show Episode 035. Listen to the Sistahs discuss Married at First Sight season 5 here

Also a friendly reminder to register for the 2nd Annual Sistah Speak Reunion to be held in Nashville on June 29, 2017. There will be music, dancing, a photo booth, raffles, free happy hour, bar, dinner, dessert, a Spades tournament, fun and laughs. If you are interested in being a sponsor for the event, please email or send a private message. Hope to see you in Nashville!

Co-Hosts: Sistah A, Sistah J, Sistah K and Sistah LM
Date: May 18, 2017
Time: 1 Hour, 34 Minutes

May 19, 2017

First Lines Friday


First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Revision. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
  • Grab your current read(s).
  • Share the first line(s).
  • Include the title and author.

"Again! Again! The men bind her again. Different this time: left thumb to right toe, right thumb to left. The rope around her waist. This time, they carry her into the water."

~ Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

May 14, 2017

Series Sunday: N is for Noose

(Kinsey Millhone #14) 

Series Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
  • Read an installment of a series.
  • Share your review/recommendation below.
  • Include the title, author and series name.

My Series Sunday pick is N is for Noose, the 14th book in the Kinsey Millhone series by Sue Grafton. I am moving along in this series thanks to the perpetual reading challenge. It is fun to catch-up leisurely on a book series. It is even more fun to still find out tidbits about a main character after so many books already published. I am happy to report this series has not fell flat at fourteen books in. I am still just as interested and enjoy the mysteries.

"If we understood the consequences of any given action, we could exercise discretion, thus restructuring our fate." ~ pg. 8

A town is saddened when a tough, honest cop dies suddenly. Sure he worked too hard, smoked too much, exercised too little and ate more junk food. So his wife did not question the coroner's report. It was his behavior in the last six weeks of his life that bothered the widow. Hence hiring 35-year-old licensed private detective Kinsey Millhone.

Like the true hard worker and thorough detective she is, Kinsey Millhone risks her own life and puts her career in jeopardy to give a widow closure. She should've left that little ass town instead of steadily looking for a needle in a haystack. Kinsey becomes the target; all the townies are suspects.

"Some little pipsqueak P.I. with a prissy sense of justice." ~ pg. 203

It is no point in trying to convince you bookhearts to pick up and start this series. But I will anyhow. Read with me! Kinsey is no punk. Seriously, this series keeps getting better. I dread the day I catch up and have to wait patiently for new releases.

Author: Sue Grafton
Published: January 1998
Pages: 246
Edition: eBook
Challenge: Perpetual Kinsey Millhone Challenge
Rating: ♥♥♥♥