Dear Martin. Nic Stone. 2017. Random House. 212 pages. [Source: Public library.] If nothing in the world ever changes, what type of man are you gonna be? I picked up Dear Martin on the recommendation of someone because I’d enjoyed The Hate You Give. This book is in a similar vein as THUG in that it follows the aftermath of an officer-involved shooting that results in a young, black teen’s death.  More than that, however, it explores the complexities of racial and social class in nuanced ways. Told from the perspective of 17-year-old Justyce, Dear Martin gives a young, black males insight, which I found especially interesting. Justyce is an honor student who attends a prestigious private school on a full scholarship.  He is, however, from the other side of the proverbial tracks, the child of a single mother and lives in what he describes as a bad area of Atlanta.  His bright future is a foregone conclusion – Ivy league education, law school, public policy career. However, he receives a rude awakening that his accomplishments mean little in the face of biased community members.

The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl. Issa Rae. 2015. Atria. 225 pages. [Source: Public library]. In the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that I’ve been a stan of Issa Rae since her co-worker caught her rapping along aggressively at a stop sign on Youtube.  That fandom exploded when her show, Insecure, hit HBO in 2016.  I’ve always related quite a bit to her experiences on her web-series, and (not surprisingly) the trials and tribulations of adulthood chronicled on the small screen spoke to my own experiences in dating, working, and trying to look like I had my sh*t together while I fumbled through the process. I’m honestly a bit disappointed it took me so long to get my hands on her autobiography, but it was worth the wait.  It’s an easy read and felt like I was kicking back on the couch with my girl from way back, reminiscing about the good, bad, and ugly.  (Sidenote – Issa Rae is my friend in my head. She completes my sentences and we do that thing where you can give someone a look and they know exactly what you’re thinking).  I appreciated from the start her ability to inject wit (albeit often…

Unforgettable. Delaney Diamond. 2014. Garden Avenue Press. 174 pages. [Source: Public library]. “This isn’t a forever thing. It’s just a for now thing. I have plans.” These are the words that Lucas Baylor shared with socialite Ivy Johnson in the midst of a short-lived, but hot-as-fire affair nearly a decade earlier.  In that time, he has skyrocketed to fame as a self-professed permanent bachelor who makes a living giving relationship advice to misguided women through his books.  While he enjoys the company of women, he knows better than to settle down with one. Ivy Johnson is the one woman who gets under Lucas’ skin. They had a summer fling nine years earlier that stuck with him for all the wrong reasons.  When a chance re-meeting brings them into each other’s worlds for a short period, he’s ready to pick up where they physically left off, but his early words to her come back to haunt him. Ivy is guarded and unwilling to allow Lucas to get too close to her or her nine-year-old daughter.

  Anonymous Acts. Christina C. Jones. 2017. 364 pages. [Source:Kindle Unlimited.] ​As always, I devoured a great new book from CCJ. I had been reading samples leading up to its release, but was still pleasantly surprised with the plot twists and turns of Anonymous Acts. The book focuses in Monica Stuart’s legal woes, both for her once-thriving cosmetics company and for herself, as she faces murder charges in the death of her estranged husband. As much control as she exerts over the quality of her nail polishes, she can’t figure out why she’s getting nothing but bad reviews for her upcoming “Wicked Widow” line. This is followed, coincidentally, by the vicious murder of her philandering husband, leaving people to guess whether she took her new product line a little too literally. To make matters worse, her virtual friend with benefits, whom she’s never met, is arrested on suspicion of the murder.

Haunted. Christina C. Jones. 2015. Warm Hues Creative. 175 pages.  [Source: Kindle Unlimited.] Don’t tell CCJ this, but I danced around Haunted for over a year because I could not wrap my head around how she could possibly write a paranormal romance that I would enjoy.  I devoured everything else she wrote with no question, but just couldn’t motivate myself to touch this one.  It wasn’t until she had a holiday special that I decided to give it a go … Now, I’m mad at myself. I could have enjoyed Haunted so long ago!  This is both a credit to the author for being versatile and to the story itself.  I literally could not put this down – I’m talking standing in the checkout line at the grocery store to figure out what happened next! Khalida is content with her career managing a nightclub inside a trendy hotel.  She’s successful in her role and has the enduring love of her younger sister.  But something’s been off around her, and what started as the odd reflection of a man’s eyes in her windows at night are instead the start of her journey in unveiling of the truth about her identity.  The mysterious man whose presence she…