One Night in Georgia

"Not only do we have to contend with white racists, we also have to contend with racism within our own race. The lighter you are, the better you are is slave plantation bullshit." ~ 21%

It is the summer of 1968 (before my time). It is an unfortunate part of our history marked by the tragic assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., race riots and political protests. Zelda Livingston, Veronica Cook and Daphne Brooks head to Atlanta for their senior year at Spelman College.

As is the case for most longtime friends, the three women come from different backgrounds. Zelda comes from a line of freedom riders. Veronica grew up privileged and wealthy, strongly believing in racial uplift. Daphne lost her black mother to suicide and was abandoned by her white father. These young black women have every intention to create lasting memories on this road trip.

I cannot imagine having to travel with a special guidebook to find racially friendly gas stations, food or rest stops. Yet these women had to. Things start going awry as they reach the Mason-Dixon line. A racially hostile situation leaves a white person dead and one of the girls holding the smoking gun.

"Do something spontaneous for once in your boring life. Don't think, do." ~ 6%

Chickadee and I often talk about how not much has really changed between the 60s and today. The world is still divided by race. Blacks are still stereotyped and wronged. Black men are often mistaken for real criminals all because of a general description. And Black women hold families together carrying the burdens on their bare shoulders. It is disheartening. Reading what little I did of One Night in Georgia was a reminder.

If that was not clear enough, let me say it directly: I DNF (did not finish) One Night in Georgia. The premise seemed promising but it was way too much dialogue. Enough saying; more describing! I read further than my 50-Page Rule because I really wanted to get through it but nope. I hope someone else has better luck getting through it.

Happy Early Pub Day, Celeste O. Norfleet. One Night in Georgia will be available Tuesday, June 18.

Disclaimer: This book was received directly from 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: One Night in Georgia
Author: Celeste O. Norfleet
Published: June 2019
Pages: 304
Edition: Galley
Rating: DNF

Recursion

"The neural impulses from your taste buds and your ears get transmitted to your brain, which processes them and dumps them into working memory—so by the time you know you're experiencing something, it's already in the past. Already a memory." ~ pg. 37

What makes a woman leap to her death from a Manhattan rooftop? Something called False Memory Syndrome. Law officer Barry Sutton begins to investigate her suicide and this mysterious disease that afflicts people with vivid memories of a life they actually never lived.

Meanwhile, neuroscientist Helena Smith is developing technology that allows people to relive memories and possibly remake them. If all goes well, her mother and other patients will be able to remember a time before dementia and Alzheimer's. Imagine if we could go back in time and re-do moments of our lives. Make different decisions. Accept offers. Avoid bad choices. Decline a path taken. Spend more or less time with people. Just imagine! Well through the narration of Barry and Helena's alternate chapters, readers get a glimpse at what could be.

"Fearlessly genre-bending, consistently surprising" is a blurb by Karin Slaughter used to describe Blake Crouch's new novel, Recursion. Truer words were never spoken about this new book. It cannot fit into a genre box. It's a little bit of realism in a fiction setting with a science fiction base and moments of suspense. Most of all, it is downright unputdownable!

I thought Blake Crouch was at his best with Dark Matter, which still holds a place in my mind. But Recursion took me for an inescapable loop. It is the kind of book I carried and broke out reading everywhere! Any lull in my day for a solid week was filled with reading about Helena and Barry. Oh, how I wish we get to see these characters again. Especially after that ending that left me flipping invisible pages for more!

Need I say more, bookhearts? Add Recursion to your TBR with an open mind. Be prepared to throw away your concept of time, memory and reality.

Happy Pub Day, Blake Crouch! Recursion is available today.

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: Recursion
Author: Blake Crouch
Published: June 2019
Pages: 324
Edition: Galley
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤

Series Sunday: A Prince on Paper

(Reluctant Royals #3) 

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 A Prince on Paper, the third book in the Reluctant Royals series by Alyssa Cole. I don't usually do this but I read out of order. What had happened was I started reading the first eBook of series, A Princess in Theory, when I got the opportunity to read an advance copy of the newest book, A Prince on Paper. So I put the first book on hold and dived into the third. Yes, completely skipping the second book but I was surprisingly not lost.

Nya Jerami is looking for her Prince Charming. So far he only exists in a virtual dating game. But when Nya returns home to Thesolo for a royal wedding, she finds the real-life celebrity prince she loves to hate. Meanwhile, Johan von Braustein is playing games with paparazzzi. He even creates a fake engagement! Readers will root for their fake romance to become a happily-ever-after.

"Reassurance had never felt so shitty." ~ 26%

The series jumped left. It is no fault to the author though; the writing is on point. It was the characters and main storyline that barely held my attention. Maybe because I was so into the first book when I put it aside to start this one. For lack of a better word, A Prince on Paper felt silly. I am a series addict but this is not the book for me. Regardless...

Happy New Pub, Alyssa Cole! A Prince on Paper 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 my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins.

Title: A Prince on Paper

Author: Alyssa Cole

Published: April 2019

Pages: 381

Edition: Galley

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.

"Before noon the residents of Central Harlem were already stewing in the sweltering mid-August heat. It was the hottest summer on record, with unrelenting temperatures that tipped close to 100 degrees."

~ One Night in Georgia by Celeste O. Norfleet 

Have for Half

So in an effort to save money and not be wasteful, I am challenging myself: Have for Half.

For the second half of 2019, I will not spend money on things I already have. I admit to buying things I do not need just because it is on sale. And surely I cannot be the only person that gets carry-out immediately after buying groceries. Because who wants to go home, put groceries away AND cook dinner? Well no more.

Instead of stimulating the f'ed up economy, I will stimulate my savings. When I have the urge to buy something I already have, I will transfer half of the cost to a savings account. Then use the extra money for vacay/travel expenses, paying down debt and retirement fund. Here are specific rules I have set for the next six (6) months:

• Eat the food I already have. For example, no more Del Taco if I already have ground beef in the freezer and taco fixings in the fridge. No more large sweet teas from McDonalds when I have a variety of loose teas at home to make a pitcher full. No more eating out of a fast food bag when fresh fruit and veggies are ripe for eating at home.
• Wear the shoes I already have. After organizing my shoe closet, I counted 83 pairs of shoes. This includes sandals, boots, flats, sneakers and (majority) heels. I don't count flip flops because I don't consider them real shoes; fight me IDC. Anyway, I can only wear one pair at a time and really, how many pairs of black pumps does a chick really need?
• Wear the clothes I already have. Another bad habit is buying a new outfit for special events. Or worse, buying the same item of clothing in all available colors. Why come if I already have dresses for all occasions, umpteen jeans, a multitude of sweaters, shirts for days, tons of pants both business and casual, tanks in damn near every style and color, and dresser drawers full of more clothes? Most importantly, I don't need to buy another piece of clothing because 🗣MY MAMA IS A SEAMSTRESS! 
• Wear the jewelry I already have. Everyone knows jewelry is an investment. You are never broke if you have gold, silver and diamonds. It does not help that I am an accessories gal that loves bling. But there is really no point in buying more Alex & Ani bracelets, for example, when I already have over a dozen. I don't need to wear a ring on every finger and five gold chains looking like Mrs. T out in these streets. 
• Listen to the music I already have. I pay $9.99/month for Tidal. There is no logical reason in spending an additional $1.29 for singles or whole albums on iTunes. I understand artists should be supported for their music so I'mma just keep listening to music through the streaming service only. They collect more royalties and sales via Tidal anyway.
• Read the books I already have. If you cannot already tell, I have a black belt in reading. I get plenty free books for review purposes and own enough books that I have an actual library at home. So why do I still stalk Amazon for book deals and purchase in one click? I have at least 80 unread books so need to read what I already got! 
• Use the skincare products I already have. Yeah so I kinda hoard skincare/hair products. Masks, cleansers, facial mists, pore strips, aromatherapy oils, toners/astringents, scrubs, body butters, beauty bars, smell goods, perfumes, lipsticks, balms, glosses, blushes, eyeshadows, hand creams, edge control gels, blasé blah. I seriously have enough to last a lifetime. I don't care what new product line is hitting the stores or what the next "micellar water" trendy item for the summer is...don't need it.
• And to keep it all the way real, wear the hair I already have. 🤣

Blogmoiring about this personal challenge will hold me accountable. But I need your help. Check on a chick! See if I am sticking to my Have for Half plan. Or better yet, join me! Let us do better together.

  

In West Mills

"She love them damn books of hers more'n she love me." ~ 11%

Did you ever read The Turner House? What about The Twelve Tribes of Hattie? Well, this new novel appropriately called In West Mills is of the same vein. It is an intimate story about a woman nicknamed "Knot" that no one understands but accepts as a member of their rural community. Sheeeeeit, Knot can barely understand herself but she is determined to live life as she sees fit. Oftentimes, that means moonshine, literature and male company.

Never mind the town gossip. It means nothing in comparison to Knot's family disowning her. Having no communication with her family back home and living alone in a shack, she relies on her neighbor, Otis Loving. But Otis is so eager to help that he unknowingly puts his wife and family second to Knot. This is oh-so-apparent thanks to the author's writing style. The story is set in a majority black community— dubbed West Mills—in rural North Carolina. It covers decades: 1941-1987 so readers can see how much time passes but little as nothing changed. And there is never a dull chapter.

"And ain't nobody studdin' you and them 'ol secrets you got." ~ 60%

In West Mills deserves more credit than my review can offer. It brings about issues in the black community, the importance of communication and how we are quick to ASSume a situation. The storytelling is smooth and the main characters are well defined. My only negative feedback is the dialogue was hard to read in beginning. As chapters went on, I still was used to the language so it slowed my reading down a bit. However, the story wouldn't have been the same with formal words showing no southern accents. The author knew what he was doin'! 

Happy Debut Pub Day, De'Shawn Charles Winslow! In West Mills 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 my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins.

Title: In West Mills
Author: De'Shawn Charles Winslow
Published: June 2019
Pages: 272
Edition: Galley
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤

 

Series Sunday: The Seduction Expert

(The Seduction Expert #1) 

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 The Seduction Expert, the first book in series of same name by Saya Lopez Ortega. One of the most anticipated romance books of 2019 is a stretch but it is entertaining. Just look at the cover! It has the image of a shiny red stiletto over a skyline—very Sex and the City-ish.

Have you ever heard of a seduction expert? Women hire Baroness to take control of their love lives. She handles their single status, relationships, breakups and affairs. She is a superwoman that dedicates her life in service to helping women succeed in seduction. Her network includes a clever attorney and a devoted assistant. But an unexpected encounter flips Baroness' carefully planned personal life and business all around.

"When clients foolishly think they can teach you your job." ~ 18%

I would not characterize this book as plain romance. It is more romance-with-a-twist. Without giving the plot away, it chronicles the business and personal life of Baroness with little detailed focus of her clients. And thank goodness because a couple of the women seemed too desperate, clueless or silly. Baroness' life was far more interesting and the writing just flowed.

It is not often I wish this but...The Seduction Expert could have been 100 pages longer. Kudos to the author for creating a hate-to-love main character and a helluva cliffhanger. It literally ends with "To Be Continued" so come on with it! Give me more of this series please.

Happy Debut, Saya Lopez Ortega. The Seduction Expert 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 my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins.

Title: The Seduction Expert

Author: Saya Lopez Ortega

Published: May 2019

Pages: 178

Edition: Galley

Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤