Angel of Greenwood

"Stand up against what you don't believe is right. Fight, punch, protest, whatever you want to be is ahead of you completely." ~ 66%

I'll be honest. This new book caught my eye for everything but it's description. I adore the author's name: Randi Pink. I haven't researched whether it's a pen name or real name, but I figured a story by a chick named Randi Pink has to be worth reading. Next, the cover art is striking! Beautiful brown skin girl with thick natural hair. Bold primary colors of red and blue background with white writing. I correctly assumed the story was historical fiction based on the title. I didn't need to read the description since I was already interested by this point. Advance copy accepted!

Seventeen-year-old Isaiah is the town troublemaker with a secret: he is actually an avid reader and poet. He never leaves home without his journal and is a follower of W.E.B. Du Bois. He believes black people should rise up and claim their place as equals. Sixteen-year-old Angel is known as a goody-goody church girl. She follows Booker T. Washington and believes black people should rise slowly without conflict. The two opposite teenagers are offered a chance to work together on a mobile library.

On May 31, 1921, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a white mob storms the town in what becomes known as the Greenwood Massacre of 1921. The town is left destroyed and thousands displaced. Isaiah and Angel then realize they aren't each other's enemy and must agree in order to survive. The amount of black history, black literature references and activism methods are what makes this book a good read. The themes explored may open your mind to how others think, regardless of their race. The main message I walked away with is: pride in your community!

Bookhearts, add Angel of Greenwood to your reading lists for Black History Month 2021. Do additional research while reading to get the full context then share it with others. And to the powers that be, please consider adapting Angel of Greenwood on film. It will make a powerful picture!

Happy Early Pub Day, Randi Pink! Angel of Greenwood will be available Tuesday, January 12, 2021.

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: Angel of Greenwood
Author: Randi Pink
Published: January 2021
Pages: 304
Edition: Galley
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤

 

Black Buck

"Power is the new black, baby." ~ 58%

Darren is a 22-year-old black (sales)man on a mission. He lives in a Bed-Stuy brownstone with his mom. He's content working at Starbucks, hanging out with his girlfriend and eating mom's home-cooked meals. He is not living up to his potential...yet. 

When Darren meets the CEO of NYC's hottest tech startup, it results in a job offer to join the elite sales team. Darren goes from taking coffee orders to working on the 36th floor as the only black person at the company. He takes on a new persona starting with nicknaming himself "Buck" and turning into a ruthless salesman. All in or all out, is his philosophy! Then a bunch of stuff happens prompting Buck to help young people of color to infiltrate America's sales force.

Satire at its funniest. Crackling with one-liners. Reminiscent of The Wolf of Wall Street and The Spook Who Sat by the Door. Razor-sharp delivery. Author Mateo Askaripour came through with a hilarious debut novel that explores race, ambition and a different interpretation of the American dream. Add Black Buck to your reading lists for the new year!

Happy Early Pub Day, Mateo Askaripour! Black Buck will be available Tuesday, January 5, 2021.

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: Black Buck
Author: Mateo Askaripour
Published: January 2021
Pages: 400
Edition: Galley
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤

 

Series Sunday: A Wedding Thing

(Amazon Original Stories) 

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.

"Because what I've grown to learn over the past twelve or so years of being married is that both people in the marriage often experience the same thing in very different ways." ~ 14% 

My Series Sunday pick is A Wedding Thing, a short from Amazon Original Stories, by Shea Serrano with Larami Serrano. It is part of The One collection. Sometimes you find the One and sometimes you chase the One. In this case, the wedding with the One went not as planned. Two days before their wedding, Larami was four months pregnant with twins and went into labor. You guessed it...they got married in a hospital room.

In this super short real life tale, Shea, with the help of his wife, Larami, tell a hilarious true love story! Never mind they are stuck in a hospital room a couple days before their well-planned wedding. Scrambling to dismantle a year's worth of preparations within mere hours. Imagine how frazzled Shea and Larami were! Yet they tell the story in a light-hearted funny way; I loved the dual perspectives!

These Amazon Original Stories are perfect to read in one sitting. Charge your Kindle and enjoy!

Title: A Wedding Thing

Author: Shea and Larami Serrano

Published: July 2019

Pages: 28

Edition: eBook

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.

"She was mine before she was anyone else's. All mine. Partly mine. Now she belongs to you and them and shirts and rallies and songs and documentaries."

~ One of the Good Ones by Maika & Maritza Moulite

It Was Good Until It Wasn't

So I'm that person that plays music at an ignorant level. Like the decibel below 180dB but still humanly possible to hear. I listen to at least five (5) songs a day in addition to the song that iHome randomly plays for my morning alarm. Most days I pick and listen to a whole album.

The pandemic has cramped my tune listening style though. I prefer to listen to music in the car. Just me, the road and a beat. However, my daily commute stopped back in March. Thanks to SiriusXM Radio and Tidal streaming service, I can listen to music with premium quality from the comfort of my home. (Would be even better if I had a dope bluetooth speaker! 😉)

Thank God for music as an escape and companion during this pandemic. I pray you find an album, song(s), game(s) or book(s) to help you through too. Stay safe, My Literary Hearts❣

  

Single and Forced to Mingle

"F*** This, Actually" ~ pg. 101

Single and Forced to Mingle is a guide for single people who are...well, forced to get out and mingle. It gives advice for nearly any socially awkward situation. No matter how many times you've told family and friends that you're happy being single, there are always moments where they believe otherwise. Well, Melissa Croce gives tips and tricks to graciously get through scenarios and the ups/downs of being single.

The best part of this loosely labeled "self-help" book are the chapter titles. They were more valuable than the content itself which, at times, came across as too in-your-face and I-am-single-hear-me-roar. Yes, there are a couple funny essays (why have kids in this economy and places to travel since single and childless) but nothing that made me LOL as the summary states. However, there are fun parts of this book too with mad-libs, quizzes and drink recipes that I am excited to try. Single and Forced to Mingle is more a cute read for the new year that younger generations may enjoy.

Happy Early Pub Day, Melissa Croce! Single and Forced to Mingle will be available Tuesday, January 5.

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: Single and Forced to Mingle
Author: Melissa Croce
Published: January 2021
Pages: 176
Edition: Galley
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤

When You Look Like Us

"Hope is just a four-letter word." ~ 80%

What does "us" look like? Brown skin, brown eyes, black hair, braids or fades, according to Jay Murphy. Most people assume we are trouble. And sadly, no one thinks twice about a missing black girl. For a minute, even Jay assumed his sister, Nicole, was off hanging with her boyfriend. But she's been gone too long. When the police department doesn't do anything about the missing persons report, Jay takes it upon himself to find and bring Nicole back home.

When You Look Like Us is very timely. How often are people of color treated differently or just plain disregarded? How many black girls are missing and no one seems to care? How many times have you started a sentence with, "When you look like us..."? Lastly, how many young black boys have to grow up too early when adults don't step up? Pamela N. Harris brought these issues to the forefront with well written fiction and characters that could easily be our brother or sister.

It's the copyeditor in me that notices small details. *wink, wink* for the book beginning and ending with a thump, thump, thump. So add, add, add it to your reading list for 2021.

Happy Early Pub Day, Pamela N. Harris! When You Look Like Us will be available Tuesday, January 5.

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: When You Look Like Us
Author: Pamela N. Harris
Published: January 2021
Pages: 352
Edition: Galley
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤