We Were Eight Years in Power

"This would not happen again, and everyone knew it." ~ 79%

We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy is a strong reflection on America during the Obama years. Not only is it an examination of our country but also a roadmap of Ta-Nehisi Coates career as a black writer and eight (8) of his previously published articles. It gives a glimpse into his thoughts and behind-the-scenes of his writing assignments from 2008-2016.

"It was as if I had spent my years jiggling a key into the wrong lock. The lock was changed. The doors swung open, and we did not know how to act." ~ 13%

This nonfiction book is also a history lesson. Coates brings up things that even I hang my head in shame because I didn't know the full true story. It seems I am one of the few blacks to study The Civil War. He also mentions black and white supremacy, mass incarceration, hip-hop, reparations, call-outs, slavery, economic issues and other difficult topics that need to be discussed in the black community but are often glossed over. His writing style is more personal perspective than a politically correct rhetoric. This is a fine line for journalists so kudos to Coates!

If you are looking for an in-your-face, my President was black, more power to our people book then this is not for you. On the flip-side, this is not a book for those committed to whiteness (which you probably aren't reading this review anyway). At almost 400 pages, it brings a deeper vibe than Between the World and Me. It is for intelligent minds to digest and discuss. It is for readers ready to receive knowledge. It is motivation for bloggers. It is for the average person of color to read and reflect on those eight years of "Good Negro Government." And alas, it is for open-minded Americans.

Happy Pub Day, Ta-Nehisi Coates! We Were Eight Years in Power 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: We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy
Author: Ta-Nehisi Coates
Published: October 2017
Pages: 384
Edition: Galley
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤

Series Sunday: No Middle Name

(Jack Reacher Series) 

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 No Middle Name, the Complete Collected Jack Reacher Short Stories by Lee Child. It is comprised of eleven (11) previously published short stories and one (1) new novella. There is a central theme: Jack no middle name Reacher never has a destination yet trouble seems to always find him.

This series is still new to me, as I have only read the first book and a prequel. But I was so eager to read something new and this seemed like the perfect travel book. So glad I picked it up. It gives a good description of the main character's background, personality, family and career. I highly recommend this collection for both new and old series fans. It is the ultimate Jack Reacher reading experience!

Title: No Middle Name: The Complete Collected Jack Reacher Short Stories

Author: Lee Child

Published: May 2017

Pages: 432

Edition: Hardcover

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.

"This story began, as all writing must, in failure."

~ We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates 

📖 📖 📖 📖 📖 📖 📖 📖 📖 📖 

"I looked down the barrel of my Glock 19 service weapon."

~ Haunted by James Patterson & James O. Born

Rosie Colored Glasses

"When one world rubbed against another." ~ 1%

Rex Thorpe is a man with a plan. He has strong morals and always prepared. Rosie is the opposite; she craves spontaneity. She flits here; skips there. Never a steady presence. Rex and Rosie meet in an unconventional way. Their romance is sudden. Then came marriage and children: Willow and Asher. Years go by with series of events happening and then divorce comes. Rosie Colored Glasses tells the story of this family focusing on central themes like love, bliss, self-medication and extreme loneliness.

Titles mean everything! It is often the first thing you notice about a book besides the cover. So was this an attempt at the cliché: looking through life with rose-colored glasses? Because if so...nice try. Rosie wasn't even looking through life with clear vision let alone following her line of view! Some call it eccentric, but she was too loopy when it came to love, life and basic interaction. Thus making it hard to embrace her as the main character.

Willow, however, was more relatable. She wanted to see the good in all people. She had firm beliefs in her little world and darnit if anyone would tarnish them. As an eleven-year-old, Willow tries her best to adapt to newly divorced parents and two households. But she really wants to spend all her time with mom Rosie. Unfortunately, Willow learns the hard way that Rosie has her own demons to deal with.

"Determination to get to love." ~ 88%

Rosie Colored Glasses was not incredibly heart-breaking. It did not cause tears or draw sympathy from me. The writing style of alternate narration was done very well though. It is what kept me interested seeing points of view from the past and present. This can be tricky for a debut novel but the author definitely made it work.

Happy Early Pub Day, Brianna Wolfson! Rosie Colored Glasses will be available February 18, 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: Rosie Colored Glasses
Author: Brianna Wolfson
Published: February 2018
Pages: 336
Edition: Galley
Rating: 🖤 🖤

 

This Is Not A Love Letter

"Do you see #chriskirk?" ~ 53%

Chris Kirk is a responsible, smart, athletic, funny and kind high-school senior. He is heading off to college on a full-ride baseball scholarship. Almost everyone in the small town loves him. His little sister adores him. His best friends are loyal. His girlfriend of nine months thinks his laughter is like a gulp of cold water on a hot day. He's the sparkle in his mom's eye. A guy like Chris Kirk doesn't go missing.

Police do not suspect foul play. In fact, authorities believe he ran away. But as the search continues, accusations of racism in the small town arise. After all, Chris Kirk is one of the only black boys in this white community. Could it be more to his disappearance? A hate crime or harassment gone too far? Why is Jessie receiving frightening threats now?

"I just packaged my heart in bubble wrap." ~ 70%

I want to reach through my Kindle and give a group hug. I want to join the search for Chris Kirk and give him a strong shake. I want to hold Jessie and tell her it'll be okay. These characters had my heart on the page and twisted it with every new day. Instead of chapters, the book is set up as dates and times surrounding Chris' disappearance and narrated by the girlfriend, Jessie. Every Friday since they've started dating, Chris wrote Jessie a love letter shaped as an airplane. Now she is writing a letter of her own. She may not know it yet, but as readers we see she is falling in love with him. The emotions of all friends and family leap off the pages.

"Did you know that we release a hormone when we get sad, which actually causes the throat to swell up?" ~ 8%

No exaggeration. No fib. I legit cancelled my plans for the day to finish this book. I got zero steps on the Fitbit. I didn't want to leave the house for food so I cooked a frozen pizza and stayed in just to finish reading. Not many books can hold my attention like this. Not many plots can make me read nonstop. And I am stingy with my five (5) hearts! So consider this a high compliment, author Kim Purcell and a strong recommendation, bookhearts.

Happy Early Pub Day, Kim Purcell! This Is Not A Love Letter will be available January 30, 2018. Yup, you have to wait for the publication of this greatness.

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: This Is Not A Love Letter
Author: Kim Purcell
Published: January 2018
Pages: 368
Edition: Galley
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤

A Messy, Beautiful Life

"If only all of life were that simple—a morphine-drip for the soul." ~ 34%

I like to read books with settings in places I recently visited. So it was a pleasure to read an advance copy of A Messy, Beautiful Life that takes place in the north suburb of Chicago. The colorful cover reminds me of the Osaka Garden, with beautiful Japanese landscape, a waterfall, bonsai trees and foot bridges. It was my hope that the story within would be just as beautiful.

The problem with judging a book by its cover is...well, it can be misleading. And while the book cover and title is literally beautiful, the subject matter is not. Life can indeed be messy and downright ugly sometimes, especially if finding out you have a rare cancer called chondrosarcoma. As such is the life of 17-year-old Ellie. Her life is at its very best and very worst simultaneously; hence, messy and beautiful. She tries to be strong, funny and brave for her mom, friends, improv group and that hot guy. She doesn't want them to watch her die. So Ellie puts on a smile and tries her damnedest not to cry. #LiteraryBars

"I prefer tumorously challenged." ~ 47%

Sorry if you are on the verge of crying mere minutes into my book review. Sometimes we need a reminder to appreciate life to the fullest, the importance of family and building friendships. Author Sara Jade Alan writes about cancer and love in such a tender comforting way through well-developed characters and, at times, perfect dialogue.

I'll be careful not to compare this new release to that other cancer book that shall remain nameless but made me boo-hoo-wet-face in between pages and in movie theater. Nope. Instead I will say, fans of TFIOS should add A Messy, Beautiful Life to your immediate reading lists because I know you will appreciate this good read. And the cover is so public-friendly!

Happy Early Pub Day, Sara Jade Alan! A Messy, Beautiful Life will be available Monday, October 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: A Messy, Beautiful Life
Author: Sara Jade Alan
Published: October 2017
Pages: 212
Edition: Galley
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤

 

Don't Let Go

"The past does not simply die away. Whatever happened here still haunts these grounds." ~ 20%

Detective Napolean "Nap" Dumas has no family and few friends. His life has been this way since his senior year of high school when his twin brother and friend were found dead on the town's railroad tracks. Immediately after, Nap's girlfriend disappeared without logical explanation. For fifteen years, Nap has been searching for the woman he considers the love of his life and also the truth behind his twin brother's death. When familiar fingerprints turn up at a murder scene, Nap is forced to investigate the abandoned military base near where he grew up and also look into a secret conspiracy club.

Few things are certain. One is that author Harlan Coben will deliver a bestselling thriller that I will no doubt cancel plans in order to read the page-turning novel nonstop. It will be full of suspense. It will raise my eyebrows and get the sleuth in me going. It will introduce a new, or familiar, character that is well-developed. The story will occupy my mind for hours on end and most likely be one of my top reads of the current year. New fiction release, Don't Let Go, is no exception.

"I know your pain now. It's like...it's like being members of the worst club imaginable." ~ 54%

Nap Dumas is probably one of the most emotional characters belonging to Harlan Coben. Through careful dialogue and narration, I was able to pick up on Nap's thought process and feelings. I felt Nap's frustration when he hit a roadblock that didn't mesh with his theory. I smirked at his smart ass remarks when talking to a character that didn't understand his dry humor. I related to his quest for answers and need to pry open doors from the past. And though I am not a person who loves the idea of ghosts, I did not mind Nap talking to his dead brother throughout the whole book. And oh, fans will be delighted to read a cameo of Myron Bolitar within its pages. Reading Don't Let Go allowed me to escape the real world for a day to get lost in a story based on a legend.

Happy Pub Day, Harlan Coben! Don't Let Go 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: Don't Let Go
Author: Harlan Coben
Published: September 2017
Pages: 400
Edition: Galley
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤