October 30, 2020

First Lines Friday


First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie. 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.

"Daddy, you need to check for ghosts."

~ Home Before Dark by Riley Sagar

   

October 28, 2020

All This Time


"You just...pretended?"

The writing duo of bestseller and movie adaptation Five Feet Apart is back with a new collab titled, All This Time. It almost slipped by my radar because of the damn near identical book cover. It's just as beautiful! However, after a closer look the story is definitely different.

Kyle and Kimberly are high school sweethearts until their breakup on graduation party night. Their car crashes; Kyle has a brain injury and Kimberly is dead. No one can possibly understand what Kyle is going through.

Then he meets Marley, a girl suffering from her own loss that she blames herself for. The same pain reflects in their eyes. Their feelings are the same yet unspoken. Their wounds begin to heal each other. And I don't know what happens next because I did not finish.

It is hard to read a love story when you dislike the characters. Kyle is the master of projecting his feelings on others and obsesses over Marley to the point where it's annoying. Their co-dependency (an issue I diagnosed as a reader and not purposely portrayed by the author) was the last straw for me. This couple was heading down a toxic rebound road and I didn't care to ride along.

Is this 30-fine-year-old black chick over the YA romance genre?!

Authors: Mikki Daughtry & Rachael Lippincott
Published: September 2020
Pages: 336
Edition: Hardcover
Rating: DNF

 

October 27, 2020

Love Your Life


"The End, I type carefully, and feel a knot of tension unravel deep within me." ~ 85%

Ditch the dating app and go on a writer's retreat! This is what Ava decides since she believes in feelings, not algorithms and filters. After a dating app debacle, she escapes to coastal Italy to finish writing the novel she dreams about. At the retreat she meets a man nicknamed "Dutch" and the two begin a whirlwind love affair. But when they return to London, both realize their real lives are way different. Not compatible at all! They love each other but not each other's lives.

"Life, huh? It's a shitshow." ~ 98%

I'm not over Sophie Kinsella. I'm really not over Sophie Kinsella. I am not over Sophie Kinsella. 

Her writing is often funny, heartwarming and light. Usually chick lit fiction helps me to escape reality. What better form of entertainment than a cute British read, right? But with a global pandemic and racial unrest surrounding me, it seemed too cute. It certainly did not help that the main character was unlikable throughout. There are times the novel jumps months and no kind of character growth is shown. You'd think I could relate to a single woman opting for a writer's retreat...but nope. 

I only finished reading on the strength of my being a Sophie Kinsella fan, having read all of her works and will continue to do so. Either bad timing or my own state of mind, Love Your Life was just okay overall. Nevertheless, if you can separate reality from fiction enough to lose yourself in a cute romance, Love Your Life is it!

Happy Pub Day to the Sophie Kinsella! Love Your Life is now available.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins.

Title: Love Your Life
Author: Sophie Kinsella
Published: October 2020
Pages: 432
Edition: Galley
Rating: 🖤 🖤

October 25, 2020

Series Sunday: Dear Justyce

(Dear Martin #2) 


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.

"That he could run straight into a darkness so thick and complete, it would swallow him whole." ~ pg. 47

My Series Sunday pick is Dear Justyce, the second book in the Dear Martin series by Nic Stone. Justyce McAllister and Vernell LaQuan Banks grew up a block apart, went to the same elementary and middle school, had classes together and even shared the same hideout. But they turned out so different. While Justyce is walking the halls of Yale University, Quan is sitting behind bars of a youth detention center for a murder charge. Opposite paths!

I loved Dear Martin so was anxiously waiting for the sequel to release. I featured it on Coming Soon post. So imagine my disappointment when I had to implement my 50-Page Rule. Maybe it's me. I had trouble following the style: flashbacks, vignettes AND letters. It made the story seem disjointed. I am all for raising awareness of the American juvenile justice system but it was harder for me to figure out what the injustice was. I think the intended audience is young black men so I recommend they try reading and getting a lesson out of it. This 30-fine-year-old black chick did not finish!

Author: Nic Stone
Published: 
Pages: 260
Edition: Hardcover
Rating: DNF

  

October 23, 2020

First Lines Friday


First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie. 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.

"I refuse to acknowledge time, famously so."

~ The Meaning of Mariah Carey by Mariah Carey 

October 21, 2020

Breathless


"The loneliest place in the world is my house." ~ pg. 47

It's graduation season! Claudine is a graduate focused on college in the fall, becoming a famous author and the possibility of sex. The announcement of her parents splitting up shakes her world. Now she feels anything but stable. 

Her mom takes them on a quality-time trip to mend their broken hearts. There she meets Jeremiah, a local trail guide with a secretive past. Surprise, Surprise...Claudine decides to have "it's just sex" with Jeremiah with the notion that she won't fall in love or put her heart at risk. 🙄

I should have read the preview before borrowing from the library. Let me back up; I should have read the description before adding it to my TBR list. But I saw Jennifer Niven as author (All the Bright Places) and assumed it was a good read. Approaching my 50-Page Rule requirement and it was apparent that I wouldn't make it to page 381 with this sex-on-the-mind-complaining-about-mosquito-bites-whiny white teenager so this 30-fine-year-old black chick did not finish!

Title: Breathless
Author: Jennifer Niven
Published: October 2020
Pages: 381
Edition: Hardcover
Rating: DNF

  

October 20, 2020

Make Me Rain


"Good for us and all the Literate World." ~ 76%

What an honor, pleasure and delight to review an advance copy of Make Me Rain by one of thee most celebrated poets. This new collection speaks to the injustices of our society in Nikki Giovanni's signature sharp style. She even lets readers into her personal home life by sharing stories of loved ones and proudly displaying her black heritage through verse.

Nikki Giovanni minces no words. There is no guesswork in her prose. She unapologetically writes about racism, marriage, black athletes, the current political administration and shares her own truth. It's a treat whenever authors give a glimpse into their personal bubble. To get her perspective on the current state of our lives was enlightening and motivational. 

In the midst of today's highly emotional unpredictable times, read Make Me Rain to nourish your soul. I recommend. I stan, periodt.

Happy Pub Day to the G.O.A.T. Nikki Giovanni! Make Me Rain: Poems & Prose is now available.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins.

Title: Make Me Rain: Poems & Prose
Author: Nikki Giovanni
Published: October 2020
Pages: 128
Edition: Galley
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤

October 18, 2020

Sistah Speak Sunday: Patreon, Gin & Tonic

 

You've listened to The Sistahs. Now you can SEE us doing what we do best! Join us on Patreon for early access to all podcasts, movie and TV commentary, bonus clips and more. Adult beverages sold separately. See you there!

@SistahSpeakCast on Twitter
Sistah Speak Productions Official Website

Visit our social media pages. You can find me in them Twitter streets at @_SistahLM  

October 16, 2020

First Lines Friday


First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie. 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.

"Just look at me
they got me out here
wearing a dress
heels
makeup
hope Mama's proud"

~ Every Body Looking by Candice Iloh

October 14, 2020

Fifty Words for Rain


"Release me from my promise, she begged no one." ~ pg. 429

Kyoto, Japan, 1948. Eight-year-old Noriko "Nori" Kamiza is dropped off at the gate of her grandparents' estate. Grandparents she never met. Before walking away, Nori's mother leaves her with parting orders: Do not question. Be silent. Obey. On the verge of tears, a confused Nori begins a life of confinement to the attic. Her only interaction is with Akiko, a glorified babysitter that tends to the little madam daily, her grandmother that appears weekly to issue punishment in the forms of whipping, and an old man to teach her reading, writing, numbers and history.

Why is Nori hidden? Her grandparents take great measures to keep her concealed because she is the illegitimate child of a Japanese aristocrat (their daughter) and her black American lover. They will do anything to uphold their royal reputation. It is by chance that Nori's legitimate half-brother, Akira, moves into the estate as part of his inheritance. The siblings form a strong bond as the story spans across decades and continents. And this is where it kind of lost me.

"The cardinal rule was simple: stay out of sight unless summoned. Remain in the attic. Make no sound." ~ pg. 15

From the very first chapter, I picked up on V.C. Andrews' Flowers in the Attic vibes. Imagine a young girl not being able to make a sound. Hidden from the world. Never stepping foot outside for years. It is unfathomable! I definitely empathized with Nori and sensed the author took great care to pace the plot. However, I became disinterested in the middle somewhere and admittedly skimmed a good 100 of the 450 pages.

I am curious as to Good Morning America's Book Club reasoning for selecting Fifty Words for Rain. Was it to spotlight a debut author of color? Was it to bring awareness to post-World War II Japan? Was it meant to celebrate Japanese culture? Because these are certainly my reasons for trudging through this story, and thus, this review. 

Fifty Words for Rain is intense historical fiction about an interracial girl's hard knock life. I like to think it is the author's intent for Fifty Words for Rain to be read slowly but not out of readers' disinterest. This is just my lone opinion and you may better like it. Bottom line, Bookhearts: I'll let you decide whether to give it a chance and add to your shelf.

Title: Fifty Words for Rain
Author: Asha Lemmie
Published: September 2020
Pages: 449
Edition: Hardcover
Rating: 🖤 🖤

October 13, 2020

Everything I Thought I Knew


"If you became aware that what you were experiencing was a dream, you could control it. You could change the outcome." ~ pg. 230

When heart meets neurology. Chloe is a 17-year-old with a plan: get good grades, excel in cross-country, attend a top college. Her plans literally collapse during cross-country practice. One minute she's running and the next minute she's in the hospital. After medical tests and such, it is found that Chloe needs a new heart.

Fast forward eight months and the novel reaches its plot. It seems Chloe received more than a heart from her transplant donor. She now hits the waves on a surfboard, rides motorcycles and has flashing memories of people, places and a motorcycle crash that do not belong to her. Everything Chloe thought she knew is questioned.

Everything I Thought I Knew serves sad ill teenage love story with every page. But it never tugged at my heart strings. Of course I sympathized with the main character's diagnosis of Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia (ARVD). And yes, I learned about cellular memory. The novel certainly had the potential. It just wasn't enough for me to turn the pages faster or for the characters to stick with me long after finishing. Hence why I recommend it as a good in-between-books choice.

Happy Pub Day, Shannon Takaoka! Everything I Thought I Knew is now available.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins.

Title: Everything I Thought I Knew
Author: Shannon Takaoka
Published: October 2020
Pages: 320
Edition: Galley
Rating: 🖤 🖤

October 11, 2020

Sistah Speak Sunday: Power Book II S1E4-5

Listen / Watch our brand new podcast where we discuss the Starz original television series, Power Book II, from a Sistah's point of view!

Watch Now 👀 S1E4 Time: 1 Hour, 23 Minutes
Watch Now 👀 S1E5 Time: 1 Hour, 27 Minutes

Listen Now 🎧 Total Time: 2 Hours, 50 Minutes

@SistahSpeakCast on Twitter
Sistah Speak Productions Official Website

Visit our social media pages. You can find me in them Twitter streets at @_SistahLM   

October 9, 2020

First Lines Friday


First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie. 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.

"The first real memory Nori had was pulling up to that house. For many years afterward, she would try to stretch the boundaries of her mind further, to what came before that day."

~ Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie

   

October 6, 2020

Just Us: An American Conversation


"You go down there looking for justice, that's what you find, just us." ~ Richard Pryor

And so begins Just Us: An American Conversation. Way to set the tone!

There is so much conversation to be had among Americans, as Claudia Rankine points out in this new release. Hard topics such as whiteness in America, what reparations may look like, refugees fellow citizens' rights, vulnerability to white dominance, complicit freedoms and the "toomuchness" of our present reality. 

This non-fiction book is comprised of essays, poems, documents, images, quotes, and even rebuttals. My first thought upon picking up my reserved copy from the library was that it's beautiful and heavy—in both the literal and figurative sense.

After reading Just Us, I am less angry and more focused. I am aware of my nonwhite fragility. I am motivated to hop on Zoom and talk about it. Quick to open my Twitter app and quote tweets with an educated opinion. Post images on my IG story for awareness. Now is not the time to be silent or to worry about who may disagree. It is due time to have the gut-punch, throat chop conversation. Because the alternative is a terrifying thought: what if nothing changes?

"What I know is that an inchoate desire for a future other than the one that seems to be forming our days brings me to a seat around any table to lean forward, to hear, to respond, to await response from any other." 

And so ends Just Us: An American Conversation. What a call for a strategy!

Title: Just Us: An American Conversation
Author: Claudia Rankine
Published: September 2020
Pages: 342
Edition: Hardcover
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤

October 4, 2020

Sistah Speak Sunday: Power Book II S1E1-3

Listen and watch our brand new podcast where we discuss the Starz original television series from a Sistah's point of view!

Watch Now 👀 S1E1 Time: 1 Hour, 37 Minutes
Watch Now 👀 S1E2 Time: 1 Hour, 54 Minutes
Watch Now 👀 S1E3 Time: 1 Hour, 25 Minutes

Listen Now 🎧 Total Time: 4 Hours, 57 Minutes

@SistahSpeakCast on Twitter
Sistah Speak Productions Official Website


Visit our social media pages and join us Sundays at midnight for a live tweet of new episodes. You can find me in them Twitter streets at @_SistahLM 

October 2, 2020

First Lines Friday


First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie. 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.

"What does it mean to want
an age-old call
for change
not to change
and yet, also,
to feel bullied
by the call to change?"

~ Just Us: An American Conversation by Claudia Rankine