Series Sunday: Cross the Line

(Alex Cross #24) 

Series Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Revision. 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 Cross the Line, the 24th book in the Alex Cross series by James Patterson. What is going on in Washington, DC? There are road rage murders, killers on the loose, vigilantes raiding drug houses and a long list of possible suspects. While Alex Cross and partner John Sampson are running around trying to calm the city, his wife Bree is adjusting to her new position as Chief of Detectives. The two begin to clash professionally while taking the law back into their own hands.

"We never heard the shot, just the bullet ripping the air..." ~ pg. 135

I may not agree with Patterson's movie casting choices but I still consider Alex Cross as one of my favorite characters of color. He is a strong black man taking care of shit. Analyzing criminals, hunting down killers and taking care of home. He is a loving husband to Bree, a fine example of fatherhood, and a provider to a full house that includes three children and a sassy grandmother. Alex Cross is that dude!

If you are overlooking this mystery series for goodness knows what reason...stop. Take a moment to read and enjoy Alex Cross' books. Like any longstanding series, there are a couple books that are just okay but most of them are well written and damn good.

For my bookhearts that are already Keeping Up with Patterson, join my reading challenge and read this recent release. The cliffhanger will leave you excited for #25! 

Title: Cross the Line

Author: James Patterson

Published: November 2016

Pages: 373

Edition: Hardcover
Challenge: Keeping Up with Patterson

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

 

First Lines Friday

First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Revision. 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.

"Portia! Wake up!"

Twelve-year-old Portia Carmichael slowly awakened to her Aunt Eddy roughly shaking her shoulder. "I need you to get dressed! Quickly!"

~ Breathless by Beverly Jenkins

Adore You

"Dealing with catching unexpected feelings when this was just supposed to be a mutual satisfaction of needs was not in the game plan." ~ 3%

How many of us women spend our adult life looking for "the one" perfect guy? Devorah Lee certainly has. But maybe he is already in her life. Enter Ellis Taylor III, the black George Clooney who also happens to be the brother of an ex-boyfriend. As much as Devorah wants to deny their chemistry, Ellis tries even harder to show he is Mr. Right.

It is the giddiest of feelings when I see a bookheart's work in print. I broke into the widest grin and cheered soon as I saw that Nicole Falls published her debut novella, Adore You. It takes diligence to commit to writing and self-publishing. So kudos to my bookheart, Nicole Falls, for writing a romance story so tempting to read that I broke my literary promise of No Romance Books in 2017. It was well worth it.

"Women are wild, unpredictable creatures. Just when you think you got 'em figured out they come and put some hoodoo on your ass." ~ 15%

Adore You is recommended for fans of romance. It has a feel good tone with the right amount of lusty scenes. The dialogue between main characters, Devorah (Bee) and Ellis (El), is like listening to a conversation among close friends. There is some slang—and a couple grammatical errors—but not so much that it distracts the reader. The story of companionship still drew me in. In fact, a couple scenes had me adding my own two cents to the pages of my Kindle while reading. (Surely I am not the only one who talks to fictional characters). By the middle of the novella, I was so rooting for Bee and El's relationship that I read nonstop. What fun, relatable characters!

I am ashamed that it took me months to finally read this quick good read. Now I am looking forward to more by this author...and you should too.

Title: Adore You
Author: Nicole Falls
Published: July 2016
Pages: 166
Edition: eBook
Challenge: Bookish Kill Your TBR—Read a Love Story
Rating: ♥♥♥♥

The Blood of Emmett Till

"This 14-year-old's crucifixion is going to strengthen and clarify the cause of de-segregation, human brotherhood, and freedom." ~ pg. 66

Allow me to tell you a real life story. On the evening of August 24, 1955, six boys and one girl drove to the store in a 1941 Ford. One of the boys was Emmett Till, a 14-year-old from Chicago visiting his family in Mississippi. They stopped at a store for candy and drinks. Emmett was inside the store alone with Carolyn Bryant, the white woman working the cash register, for less than a minute. What happened in that short amount of time, no one really knows. But whatever Emmett Till did verbally offended Carolyn Bryant enough that she went to the car for a gun. Emmett said goodbye and the kids left the store.

One thing is for sure: whatever happened in that store between Emmett Till and Carolyn Bryant did not warrant the injustice that followed. In the middle of the night, white men kidnapped Emmett Till from his bed. His mother was notified in Chicago. On the third day, his body was found.

Yes, white men in Mississippi lynched a 14-year-old boy from Chicago named Emmett Till. The protest of Emmett Till's murder became the foundation of the civil rights movement. Rosa Parks had enough; she refused to move to the back of the bus only weeks later. The Blood of Emmett Till goes over the incident, what happened immediately after, the trial and verdict, and the politics behind this part of history. It contains new evidence including the only interview ever given by Carolyn Bryant Donham, the woman behind Till's kidnapping and lynching. This is the narrative of one of the most notorious hate crimes in history.

"Every last anglo-saxon one of you." ~ pg. 160

It is an understatement to say this nonfiction book is a difficult read. I was getting angry and angrier by the page. Of the lies we now know were told. Of the description of Emmett Till's body when found. Of the grief his mother must have felt for years to come. I spent most of President's Day (how appropriate, huh?) determined to finish. Not because I knew the outcome but because there was only so much more I could stomach reading. Admittedly, I had to skim a couple chapters. It was just...beyond difficult to read.

Timothy B. Tyson researched this tragedy to deliver an insightful, detailed and revealing account of a black boy lynched six decades ago. And here we are, in 2017, still fighting for justice.

Title: The Blood of Emmett Till
Author: Timothy B. Tyson
Published: January 2017
Pages: 291
Edition: Hardcover
Challenge: Popsugar—A Book About a Difficult Topic
Rating: ♥♥♥

Recommendations, anyone?

Calling all bookhearts! Calling all bookhearts!

I scrubbed my To Be Read shelf and narrowed it down to only 200 books. At my reading pace, it won't take long to finish. So I am asking you for recommendations. Are there any series I should start reading? Any mystery or love stories that I shouldn't miss? Is there a page-turner that you are raving about? Have you published a book that I haven't read yet? Let me know and I'll be sure to give you a S/O for the recommendation(s).

Thanks in advance!

 

Series Sunday: Pulling Doubles

(The Wright Brothers #2) 

Series Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Revision. 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 Pulling Doubles, the second book in The Wright Brothers series by Christina C. Jones. Nurse Devyn is finishing her internship at University Hospital. She is excited for the opportunity to learn and the experience itself. There is only one thing she can't stand—the arrogant, know-it-all Dr. Joseph Wright. Professional and private lines blur when they start pulling doubles together.

"Something about a broad shouldered, fine, arrogant, intelligent man that I just..." ~ 8%

I didn't enjoy this second installment of the series as much as the first book. It was just okay. Perhaps because all of the characters were new to me. But now I see the author has a predictable formula, which is fine. Don't fix what ain't broke! Pulling Doubles is another quick read at under 200 pages. Check out The Wright Brothers!

Title: Pulling Doubles

Author: Christina C. Jones

Published: April 2016

Pages: 178

Edition: eBook

Rating: ♥♥♥

 

First Lines Friday

First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Revision. 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.

"The older woman sipped her coffee. 'I have thought and thought about everything about Emmett Till, the killing and the trial, telling who did what to who,' she said."

~ The Blood of Emmett Till by Timothy B. Tyson