April 18, 2021

Series Sunday: 5 Amazon Original Stories

(Amazon Original Stories) 


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 picks are eShorts from Amazon Original Stories. Quick stories that can be read—or listened to—in one sitting with a central theme. Speed Grieving by Allison Ellis is a true love story of a 33-year-old sudden widow. An unexpected heart attack takes her husband's life. Allison devises an impractical plan to find a new husband within twelve months. Simplexity by Kiley Reid is about a 28-year-old entry level worker who implements a change after one microaggression too many. The Prince and the Troll by Rainbow Rowell is a short fairy tale. A man accidentally drops his phone off the bridge. It's retrieved by a friendly creature. From that day forward, they share a coffee and a friendship blooms. Rachel Rosenthal's Identity Thief is part of the This Can't Be Happening collection. Someone steals the identity of a minimum-wage employee at a children's museum. I Would Be Doing This Anyway by Jia Tolentino is living out the pandemic while maintaining the upper hand.

Don't sleep on these Amazon Original Stories. Free for Amazon Prime and Kindle Unlimited members or just $1.99 per eBook. They are a great way to boost your reading goals.

April 16, 2021

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.

"Cindy Thomas followed Robert Barnett's assistant down the long corridor at the law firm of Barnett and Associates in Washington, DC. This meeting could be the beginning of something terrific, and she had dressed for the win: sleek black dress, tailored leather jacket, a touch of lipstick, and an air of confidence that came from the material itself."

~ 21st Birthday by James Patterson 

   

April 15, 2021

Seven Days in June


"Stop writing about me." ~ 22%

Seven Days in June is about two writers and their second chance at love. Eva is a single mom with a huge fanbase for her bestselling erotica romance series. Shane is an award-winning author who shies away from the limelight. Everyone is surprised when he shows up in New York, especially Eva. Twenty years ago, Eva and Shane spent a crazy week falling madly in teenage love. The chemistry is still there!

Told in daily accounts, Eva and Shane reconnect in a sexy novel. Tia Williams did a good job of writing witty compatible characters. Even though the story span is one week, it moved too slow for my liking. I love a romance centered around characters of color. However, the slow pace made the tale less interesting. Seven Days in June is recommended for readers that like a slow and steady story. 

Happy Early Pub Day, Tia Williams! Seven Days in June will be available Tuesday, June 1.

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: Seven Days in June
Author: Tia Williams
Published: June 2021
Pages: 336
Edition: Galley
Rating: 🖤 🖤

April 14, 2021

The Marathon Don't Stop


"In the Tigrinya language of Eritrea, the name Ermias means 'God will rise.'" ~ 12%

Ermias Joseph Asghedom was born on August 15, 1985. The world knows him by a name that sounds phonetically pleasing: Nipsey Hussle. A prolific, self-gifted, hip hop mogul, entrepreneur, artist and activist. In the first in-depth biography of Nipsey Hussle, journalist Rob Kenner delves into his life and times, music career and ahead-of-the-times business movement.

Allow me to warn that The Marathon Don't Stop is an emotional read. Rob Kenner explores tough times in Nipsey's life with emphasis on L.A. gang culture, the LAPD, supporting the hood, and street violence. However, it is balanced with many high points. Nonfiction books are not typically page-turners. But I could not put the book down without looking forward to resuming. 

"His was a higher calling. Tangible results—ownership, freedom, justice—those were the things he valued."
 ~ 3%

By the last chapter, I was sad the book came to an end, sad for his family that no doubt miss him and sad for his absence in the music industry. The most emotional part was Kenner pointing out that Nipsey did indeed meet one of his goals (selling out Staples Center) even though he wasn't alive to witness it.

Majority of this well written biography is positive and motivational. It highlights Nipsey's many accomplishments, work ethic and strong family ties. Interviews and quotes are expertly woven into a story that is smooth reading. I recommend pairing reading with playing songs/lyrics that are referenced as well as adding his favorite books to your reading lists. Yes, Nipsey had a love for literature that has inspired book clubs all over the country.

"It's real words behind an experience." ~ 57%

Victory Lap is still in heavy rotation. I listen to at least one song on the album every single day. It was great to read the story behind the lyrics and how it relates to the late artist. The Marathon Don't Stop covers the origin of his name, early career and the impact of his death in the hip hop world, as well as in the city of Los Angeles. It is well researched and celebrates Ermias' life. Well done and thank you, Mr. Kenner.

Whether you are a Nipsey Hussle fan or not, The Marathon Don't Stop is recommended for all. You just gotta read it!

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: The Marathon Don't Stop: The Life and Times of Nipsey Hussle
Author: Rob Kenner
Published: March 2021
Pages: 288
Edition: Galley
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤

April 13, 2021

The Son of Mr. Suleman


"For being gifted with melanin." ~ 2%

Professor Pi Suleman is a BMFM (Black man from Memphis). Adjunct by day, struggling comic book writer by night. Pi is forced to bite his tongue among colleagues' micro aggressions while being blackmailed by a powerful white professor. His bright spot is meeting Gemma Buckingham, an entrepreneur from London escaping heartbreak. But the romance is interrupted when Pi's absentee father passes away. He was a celebrated writer with a complicated legacy. 

"For some this novel may feel different." ~ 100%

The Son of Mr. Suleman is not Dickey's best. Perhaps because my mind was focused on losing one of my favorite authors and this is the last new material I will read of his. But the dialogue was too choppy making the story not as interesting. Which is unfortunate since many themes are explored: colorism, cultural differences, self-love and code-switching. However, I can do without the Suleman character. This final novel is not one of EJD's finer novels.

Regardless, he is already missed. I can only hope that he felt appreciated while traveling the coordinates of Earth. Happy (Last) Early Pub Day to the late great Eric Jerome Dickey! The Son of Mr. Suleman will be available Tuesday, April 20.

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: The Son of Mr. Suleman
Author: Eric Jerome Dickey
Published: April 2021
Pages: 560
Edition: Galley
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤

April 9, 2021

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 saw my mother raise a man from the dead."

~ Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge

   

April 4, 2021

Life After Death

(The Coldest Winter Ever #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.

My Series Sunday Easter pick is Life After Death, the long-anticipated sequel to The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah. Winter Santiaga has served her minimum time of 15 years and is released from prison. The plan is to star in a reality show, guarantee her father's freedom and exact revenge. But within the first lines, Winter is shot and sent to hell. It's quite the original adventure that led me to delete the eBook from all of my devices.

I dread writing this review because this confirms my opinion. I will not sugarcoat. Life After Death is the worst book I have ever read. No exaggeration; I have read nothing as bad as this. Pure ridiculous fuckery. It took the leftist of left turns. Pun f'in intended. I read each page with a strong side-eye wondering if this was a joke. The timeframe was off and inconsistent with the Midnight novels she's published in the between years. The shit didn't add up nor did it make sense. 

I made an exception to my 50-Page Rule on the strength of Sister Souljah being the author. I am used to her pushing a personal agenda through "fiction" but this was beyond anything I expected. Maybe the purpose was to remind people that your actions can affect your life after death. That your beliefs can be tested and you'll have to confront demons. Regardless of the message, it could have been told differently. I want my minutes back. I want the images out of my head.


The Coldest Winter Ever is a classic whether you liked, ignored, hated or loved it. Over 20 years later, we are blessed with a follow-up and this is what we get?! I stopped reading when Winter tried to stand up on all four legs after being thrown around and leashed because she turned into a bitch (literally a female dog) running through hell and sleeping with Satan. Still immature. Still unlikable. Still materialistic.

Instead of continuing to read, I shared my disbelief with my reading buddy. Shoutout to Bridgett for actually finishing this book when I refused to and filling in the unbelievable blanks. Spoiler Alert: it got worse. I watched interviews of Sister Souljah trying to understand her thought process of Life After Death. I guess her mission was accomplished in creating a story that no one would dare copy or imagine. In that regard, well done, Sis.

Author: Sister Souljah
Published: March 2021
Pages: 352
Edition: eBook
Rating: DNF and Won't Ever Finish

April 2, 2021

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.

"When it's all over all that counts is how the story's told. So write my name down, write my aim down. To do this my way and carve my own lane out."

~ The Marathon Don't Stop: The Life and Times of Nipsey Hussle by Rob Kenner 

April 1, 2021

So Hard to Say Goodbye

It is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to this blog. For the past decade and more, I have enjoyed reviewing books, creating bookish memes, sharing my life as a migraineur, telling personal tales of this fuckery called life and connecting with authors, publishers and fellow readers. However, today is April Fool's Day and you've been fooled!