I Love My Blackness

How are you celebrating Black History Month?

I plan to read and review books written by us about us. I am making a not-so-subtle statement by wearing black all month long. As the only meatball, I will educate the bowl of rice with little known black history facts. And I plan to spread the word that I love my blackness...and yours. ♠️ 🖤

  

Surprise Me

"We're living in marital Groundhog Day." ~ 23%

Sylvie knows everything about her husband, Dan, and vice versa. They can predict each other's actions, finish one another's sentences and have shorthand conversations. A dream, right? Until one doctor's visit turns their ideal marriage into a long bad dream. The doctor predicts they are both healthy and have a long life ahead. Until death do you part means another seven decades. EEK! The glossy veneer begins to dull. To keep the boringness out of their marriage, the couple concocts a plan: Project Surprise Me. Keep the marriage exciting by surprising each other with spontaneous dates and untold truths.

"We've always been that couple. Blended. Interwined." ~ 2%

This has to unfortunately be the first Sophie Kinsella novel that I did not fall in like with. Surprise Me lacked the signature Kinsella charming wit and humor. It took almost the whole novel to gain interest in the main character and the superficial story line. For once, chick lit was annoying. Be happy you're living another 60+ years with the person you love; don't dread it! Usually I like light chick lit reads but this was a major eye-roll until the last chapters.

Happy Early Pub Day, Sophie Kinsella! Surprise Me will be available Tuesday, February 13, 2018.

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 my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins.

Title: Surprise Me
Author: Sophie Kinsella
Published: February 2018
Pages: 448
Edition: Galley
Rating: 🖤 🖤

The Darkest Child

"You 'bout the prettiest little dark-skin girl I ever seen." ~ 7%

Tangy Mae Quinn is the sixth of ten fatherless children born to Rozelle. She bears the brunt of her mother's cruel attitude and outlook on life. Tangy Mae may be dubbed the ugliest in her mother's eyes because of her dark skin, but she is also the brightest. Rozelle pulls all her children out of school at the young age of 12 to earn their keep. Tangy Mae, of course, wants to be the exception to that rule. It is 1958 and she is selected to be one of the few black students to attend an integrated class at a white high-school. (And sadly as I re-read this book in 2018, racism based on the color of skin still persists today. The world is not so integrated all these years later.) Nevertheless, Tangy Mae is schooled in and outside of the building's walls.

"Every child has to learn, and so Mama taught her." ~ 95%

I recommend The Darkest Child for literature lovers. I am talking those that love the writings of Maya Angelou and Toni Morrison. It is a difficult read with scenes that force a reading break to get through. There are passages that warrant multiple gasps. And with every page turn, you peel back layers of the story. It is a deep tale told well.

But even this second go-round did not make me like the book more than a 3-heart rating. It was hard for me to relate to the too intense characters. Is this a black family's reality somewhere? Because I still have a major disconnect with Tangy Mae and 'nem. However, The Darkest Child is a classic novel that literature lovers should read at least once.

Happy Re-Pub Day to the late Delores Phillips! The Darkest Child re-release is now available along with an introduction by author Tayari Jones and an excerpt from the unfinished sequel.

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 my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins.

Title: The Darkest Child
Author: Delores Phillips
Published: January 2018
Pages: 397
Edition: Galley
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤

   

Series Sunday: Food Fair Frenzy

(Logan Dickerson #4) 

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.

"I was a homicide magnet." ~ 19%

My Series Sunday pick is Food Fair Frenzy, the fourth book in the Logan Dickerson series by Abby L. Vandiver. Archeologist Logan Dickerson and VooDoo Herbalist Sleuth Miss Vivee are back solving murders in Georgia. Everyone is getting sick at the 105th food fair; people are vomiting, turning blue, having chest pains and fainting. Could it be Aunt Martha's Cherry Pie to Die For? Then one person turns up dead with a clue listing nine deadly flowers.

Cozy mystery? Yes.
A couple chuckles? Yeah.
Character development? Sure.
Writing style and delivery? Mmm...not so much.

I love the cute titles in Vandiver's books, especially this Logan Dickerson cozy mystery series. If only the thought and effort behind the titles matched the level of editing and proofreading. The stories are good but I am too distracted by all the errors. I have already downloaded the next two (2) books in this series so will continue. I really enjoy the story lines so let's hope it gets better.

Abby, girl, contact me for your copyediting needs. 

Title: Food Fair Frenzy

Author: Abby L. Vandiver

Published: August 2016

Pages: 202

Edition: eBook
Challenge: Popsugar—Next Book in a Series I Started

Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤

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.

"Her husband's almost home. He'll catch her this time."

~ The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

 

The Rooster Bar

Imagine realizing you've been duped. Been in law school for three years. In over your head in student loans. So close to the finish line yet not ready for the real world. Mark, Zola and Todd attend a third-tier for-profit law school now known for producing graduates that barely pass the bar exam let alone land a good job. Through careful research, the friends learn their school is a chain of others led by one hedge-fund manager who also happens to own a bank that specializes in student loans. It's the Great Law School Scam!

Is there a way out? The trio does the unthinkable: quit law school only a few short months away from graduation and with heavy debt. Mark, Zola and Todd try to expose the scam while making a few bucks in the process and saving their own identities.

John Grisham is one of those authors that I pick up knowing it will be a good ass legal thriller. I am guaranteed to be informed about law, learn about attorneys and their reactions, and be entertained with the personal side of the characters' lives. It is not often Grisham features a woman of color as one of the main characters but he did a very good job portraying Zola in The Rooster Bar. I hope to see her again in a future work of Grisham.

Mystery and legal thriller lovers, add The Rooster Bar to your reading list. It is so worth the read!

Title: The Rooster Bar
Author: John Grisham
Published: October 2017
Pages: 368
Edition: eBook
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤

   

The Marriage Lie

No marriage is perfect; but Iris and Will's marriage is close as it can be. Until the morning Will leaves for Orlando on a business trip and another plane headed for Seattle crashes and kills everyone on board. According to the airline, Will was one of the passengers on the Seattle plane. How could that be?

Riddled with confusion and grief, Iris is determined to find out what really happened. Why did Will lie about a business trip? Who is in Seattle? Surely it is a misunderstanding. Iris goes on a quest to see if her marriage is a lie.

Why, oh why, did it take me all damn year long to read this book?! If any book should have been called the next best psycho-thriller, it is The Marriage Lie. I was twisted, shocked and hoodwinked almost the whole book through. It was unputdownable from start to finish. Perfect to read while in for the cold weekend. I won't even tease you with quotes on this one. Go in blind! Trust me!

Title: The Marriage Lie
Author: Kimberly Belle
Published: January 2017
Pages: 352
Edition: eBook
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤