Shine Bright

"'Diva' is an honorific often applied derisively to modern women pop stars. Sometimes, that title is taken on as an empowered self-identification." ~ 10%

Before I delve into this book review, please take a look at this beautiful eye-catching cover! Such a vibrant orange with flowers surrounding a gold album. It shines bright as the title.

Shine Bright is a blend of biography and music history with Black women as the foundation. There is a short list of people qualified to write such a book; Danyel Smith is the best author for it. She has written pieces of this history for years through essays, as an editor for Vibe magazine and as a music critic. Now she dives all in with this intimate narrative along with her own memories.

The story of Black women in pop begins with an 8-year-old among a slave ship in July 1761. She grew into a woman who sang her poems by the name of Phillis Wheatley. The author feels a personal connection with this Black woman genius and dreams of her often. The stories continue featuring the Drinkard family, Gladys Knight, Peaches, Deniece Williams, Mariah Carey and more.

"To scream at a show, to get drunk on bass vibrations, to sing memorized lyrics loudly in unison with people you don't even know?" ~ 38%

Reading Shine Bright was an experience. It was like sitting down with Danyel Smith in front of a retro record player as she put on different albums and told stories. There's just some music that puts you in a certain headspace. There are songs that hold memories. But the history behind the music are the real gems in this book. Danyel Smith shares those moments with readers and gave damn good arguments on why her favorites are her favorites. 

The appreciation for Black women in pop leaps off the pages. It goes without expressly saying that I recommend Shine Bright. Place your pre-order. Reserve at the library. Secure your copy! Share the fact that Black women created meaningful music. 

Now excuse me while I go create a playlist on Tidal—if Elliot Wilson hasn't already—and continue the praise of Black women musical masters.

Happy Early Pub Day, Danyel Smith! Shine Bright will be available Tuesday, April 19.

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: Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop
Author: Danyel Smith
Published: April 2022
Pages: 320
Edition: Galley
Genre: Nonfiction Music
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤

Take My Hand

"The story of my welcoming you into my life, of my decision not to marry or bear children, is complicated." ~ 2%

History + Fiction = A Damn Good Novel 

The bestselling author of Wench is back with a new release titled Take My Hand. Bookhearts, drop everything and reserve this book at your local library or bookstore. This one is for my social justice Bookhearts, my historical black fiction lovers, my believers that history repeats itself. Be warned: this story will linger long after the last page is read.

Civil Townsend is fresh out of nursing school with a plan to make a difference in her Black community. She works at the Montgomery Family Planning Clinic in Alabama, 1973. Her first week on the job leads her to new patients—a pair of 11- and 13-year old sisters on birth control. Neither have children, let alone sexually active. But they are poor, Black and receiving welfare benefits so the government deems it necessary to have the girls on birth control.

"Now, you know how some white folks feel about Black bodies. They think we can tolerate pain better than them." ~ 22%

Civil's job was just to give the shot and keep it moving. But this doesn't sit right on her spirit. Then one day she shows up to find the unthinkable has happened and there's no fixing the damage. It shaped Civil's future and forever changed the course of the young girls' lives.

It breaks my heart that Take My Hand was inspired by true events not even 50 years ago. It puts into perspective women's rights and how little things have changed when it comes to our bodies, our choice. Dolen Perkins-Valdez wrote of reproductive injustice and informed readers via fiction of a terrible wrongdoing. She has raised awareness and definitely tapped into the emotional impact of the real-life case of Relf v. Weinberger. So well done! 

Happy Pub Day, Dolen Perkins-Valdez! Take My Hand 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: Take My Hand
Author: Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Published: April 2022
Pages: 368
Edition: Galley
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 

Short Story Sunday: Chelsea's Werk Week

(Southern Belle Insults #3) 

Short Story Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.

• Read a short story.
• Share your review/recommendation below.
• Include the title, author and series name.

"Do I look like I'd allow cheap synthetics on this gorgeous dome?" ~ 81%

Janet ain't so shy anymore! She's now strutting around in a wig named Chelsea that is straight, long and the color of two-day-old corn husks. She is werking it with the newfound confidence. She legit becomes a different person with each wig and it's a funny concept for short stories. But Chelsea was a lot annoying making this one less enjoyable. 

I am still moving on to the next in series. You can easily read or listen to these all at once too. 

Title: Chelsea's Werk Week
Authors: Keke Palmer with Jasmine Guillory 
Published: November 2021
Pages: 29

Edition: eBook

Series: Southern Belle Insults
Genre: Humor Fiction
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.

"Milan was the first person Feyi had fucked since the accident."

~  You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi

Blood Sugar

"Did I get away with it three times, just to later be accused of murdering someone I truly loved and didn't kill?" ~ 61%

Never mind that Ruby is a murderess. She just isn't guilty of THIS murder in question. She's an animal-loving therapist capable of feeling empathy, having long-lasting friendships and adoring her husband. When readers first meet Ruby, she is being accused of murdering her husband. Ironically, this is one murder she did not commit.

The narration in Blood Sugar alternates between Ruby being interrogated at the police station and her memories of past crimes. It is meant for readers to like Ruby and even sympathize with her being wrongly accused. A great debut thriller idea but it just fell short.

Stories are not complete without three (3) parts: beginning, middle and end. A perfect novel has a perfect balance of these key parts. Unfortunately in Blood Sugar, that balance was off. I appreciate a good backstory but geez. It should not take damn near half the novel (~ 40%) to get to the victim in question. By the end of the novel, I lost interest and still found the main character extremely unlikable. I recommend bookhearts skip this one.

Happy Early Pub Day, Sascha Rothchild! Blood Sugar will be available Tuesday, April 19.

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: Blood Sugar
Author: Sascha Rothchild
Published: April 2022
Pages: 336
Edition: Galley
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 🖤 🖤 

Gathering Blossoms Under Fire

"Lord, this is some thick shit Black women must get through." ~ 12%

What if you had the opportunity to read fifty (50) years worth of sixty-five (65) journals and notebooks from a Pulitzer Prize-winning author? Well you WILL in exactly one week! 

For the first time ever, the edited journals of Alice Walker are gathered like blossoms for your reading pleasure. Journal entries from 1965-2000 reflect her complex, passionate, intimate details of her life as an award-winning author, artist, writer, human rights activist, women's advocate, friend, daughter, lover, wife, mother and citizen.

An array of events are shared with such great detail as if they happened yesterday. She explores how it felt to march in Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement, her interracial marriage in the South, the trials and triumphs of being a Black woman, enduring relationships both erotic and toxic, her bond with only daughter, the making of The Color Purple and insight into each decade.

"It is a primer for people of all ages who wish to live free lives. It is both a deeply personal journey and an intimate history of our time." ~ 1%

Listen...I enjoyed Gathering Blossoms Under Fire more than any fiction she ever wrote. Classics included! It is something about her open thoughts, vulnerable prose, nonjudgmental observations and perception of life that was addicting to read. It kept me interested throughout and even prompted my own journal entries when it came to financial goals/savings. (Yes, she even shared personal budget entries!)

The format of Gathering Blossoms Under Fire is genius! Organized by decade, it is easy to follow and witness her personal growth. Major social issues are addressed and her opinion is not minced. It feels like a gift to read the diary of a literary legend. I dare not spoil its contents so let me stop this review here. Bookhearts, please know The Journals of Alice Walker is recommended to all Bookhearts that appreciate the work of Great Black American novelists.

Happy Early Pub Day, Alice Walker! Gathering Blossoms Under Fire will be available Tuesday, April 12.

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: Gathering Blossoms Under Fire
Author: Alice Walker
Published: April 2022
Pages: 512
Edition: Galley
Genre: Nonfiction Journals
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤

Short Story Sunday: The Evil Mother

Short Story Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.

• Read a short story.
• Share your review/recommendation below.
• Include the title, author and series name.

"The Tower plus the Moon and the Ten of Swords." ~ pg. 9

From the bestselling author of Handmaid's Tale, comes a new short story by Margaret Atwood.

Life is hard for a teenage girl in 1950s suburbia. On the outside, her single mother dresses in starched dresses, pearls and aprons. But there is mysterious liquid in a jar and an herb garden. Tarot card readings of a boyfriend with a fatal end. Whispers of the wacky homemaker. As the daughter comes of age and her mother becomes more outlandish, maybe witchcraft is real.

Bookhearts, grab The Evil Mother while it is *free* with any Amazon First Reads book until April 7. Amazon Original Stories rarely miss. And this was a 5-heart read!

Title: The Evil Mother

Author: Margaret Atwood
Published: April 2022

Pages: 32

Edition: eBook

Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤