Sistah Speak Sunday: Queen Sugar

Sistah Speak: QUEEN SUGAR Podcast

Listen to Sistah Speak: Queen Sugar Podcast where we discuss the OWN original television series from a Sistah's point of view.

Listen Now 🎧 S4E1 Time: 1 Hour, 14 Minutes
Listen Now 🎧 S4E2 Time: 1 Hour, 51 Minutes
Listen Now 🎧 S4E3 Time: 1 Hour, 39 Minutes

#SSQueenSugar Live Tweet Hashtag
@SistahSpeakCast on Twitter

Sistah Speak Podcast on Facebook

@SistahSpeakProductions on Instagram
Sistah Speak Productions Official Website

Visit our social media pages and join the Queen Sugar conversation.

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 the boy was four, he asked his father why people needed sleep. His father said, 'So God could unfuck all the things people fuck up.'"

~ The Travelers by Regina Porter 

100 Days of Sunlight

"I had a road to choose. And I chose the hard one." ~ 40%

The story opens on a tragic note. Tessa, 16-year-old poetry blogger, is involved in a car accident that causes her to lose eyesight for a minimum of 100 days. The condition is transient cortical blindness. Of course she is terrified that her vision may never return. But her thoughtful grandparents hire a typist to help Tessa continue writing and blogging.

Weston is a teenage boy with a bright smile and no legs. He understands why Tessa feels helpless, angry and afraid. He is eager to be her typist under one condition—keep his disability a secret from Tessa. After all, she cannot see his body so why tell? He sees an opportunity to be treated like a normal person and not a sob story.

"The blind see, the lame walk..." ~ 77%

Everything kept in the dark comes to light. As the two teenagers grow closer, time is ticking. In less than 100 days, Tessa's sight will return and Weston has to either quit or overcome his fear of being seen. The cover may be bright and joyful but the content is sensitive.

I put this new novel in the category of young adult heartfelt stories. Abbie Emmons' debut novel rightfully stands on the shelf besides Rainbow Rowell, John Green and Kim Holden. It tugged at my heartstrings at just the right moments. It is written so well that I couldn't help but sympathize with both main characters. Imagine if...

Happy Early Pub Day, Abbie Emmons! 100 Days of Sunlight will be available Wednesday, August 7.

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: 100 Days of Sunlight
Author: Abbie Emmons
Published: August 2019
Pages: 311
Edition: Galley
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤

The Silent Patient

"Borderlines are seductive." ~ pg. 174

The Silent Patient is when Snapped meets greek tragedy: a woman's act of violence against her husband. Famous painter, Alicia Berenson, is married to fashion photographer, Gabriel. They live in one of London's most desirable areas. It seems to be a normal night when Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot until Alicia shoots him in the face multiple times. Then she never speaks another word. Literally, the lady stops talking to everybody.

The domestic murder was enough tragedy but Alicia's silence is the big mystery. She refuses to talk. She does not defend herself. She gives no kind of explanation. Alicia is hidden away at a secure forensic unit for observation from a criminal psychotherapist. What a twisted path!

"I'll love him no matter what he does, or what happens—no matter how much he upsets me—no matter how untidy or messy he is—how thoughtless, how selfish. I'll take him just as he is. Until death do us part." ~ pg. 61

The cover is certainly more cryptic than the story itself. I enjoyed the diary chapters much more than the therapist's point of view. Way more perspective and understanding from the silent patient herself. Although, I see what the author was trying to do. It could be the reason why I reached the end and thought it obvious.

What was meant to be an unpredictable major twist turned out "oh, okay." I don't think it is enough to claim The Silent Patient as one of 2019's best psychological thrillers but it is recommendable. Pssst🤫...borrow from your local library or use an audiobook credit.

Title: The Silent Patient
Author: Alex Michaelides
Published: February 2019
Pages: 323
Edition: Hardcover 
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤

 

Sistah Speak Sunday: Claws

Sistah Speak: CLAWS Podcast

Listen to Sistah Speak: Claws Podcast where we discuss the TNT original television series from a Sistah's point of view.

Listen Now 🎧 S3E1 Time: 1 Hour, 29 Minutes
Listen Now 🎧 S3E2 Time: 1 Hour, 59 Minutes
Listen Now 🎧 S3E3 Time: 2 Hours, 3 Minutes

#SSClaws Live Tweet Hashtag
@SistahSpeakCast on Twitter

Sistah Speak Podcast on Facebook

@SistahSpeakProductions on Instagram
Sistah Speak Productions Official Website

Visit our social media pages and join the Claws conversation.

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 you open your closet to get dressed, do you feel overwhelmed or excited? Insecure or confident? Or do you think, I just need to clean this thing out?"

~ Fashioned by God: A 30-Day Devotional by Kathryn Graves 

Lock Every Door

"What a strange alternate universe you've stumbled into." ~ 47%

If it seems too good to be true, then it is. Jules (no nickname) Larsen has a new job as an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan's most high-profile buildings. The residents are rich, famous or both. It is the perfect place to start over in new surroundings for recently unemployed, orphaned and heartbroken Jules.

Every place has it quirks so Jules does not bat an eye to the rules. No visitors. No speaking to other residents. No nights spent away from the apartment. Sign a 3-month lease and get paid $12,000. Never mind being paid cash under the table. She does not hesitate to accept the terms. After all, it is the Bartholomew!

"In order to leave, I need to stay." ~ 76%

Jules is drawn to fellow apartment sitter, Ingrid. When Ingrid confides there is something sinister going on, Jules chalks it up to a ghost story and rumors. Until she hears a haunting scream from Ingrid's apartment followed by disappearance. Maybe there is some truth to the building's hidden past. Jules races against the clock to expose whatever is happening to the missing apartment sitters before she becomes a permanent resident, i.e., dead.

"One time is an anomaly. Two times is a coincidence. Three times is proof." ~ 66%

There is just something about a new thriller that makes me want to spend a summer afternoon reading. Lock Every Door is an example. The story takes off quickly like a marathon and doesn't stop until the finish line. Thank goodness I chose to read it on a leisure rainy weekday. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten anything done!

Author Riley Sager knows how to throw lines to hook a reader in. I started off in full agreement with the main character's decision to stay at the Bartholomew. Yes, the red flags were waving tall but for $12,000, take a chance! Then the real thriller fun began. Sager's written words are so realistic and descriptive, that I could feel Jules' fear through the pages. Lock Every Door is worth your coins and time. Recommendable for sure!

Happy Early Pub Day, Riley Sager! Lock Every Door will be available Tuesday, July 2.

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: Lock Every Door
Author: Riley Sager
Published: July 2019
Pages: 384
Edition: Galley
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤