The House of Eve. Sadeqa Johnson. 2023. Simon & Schuster. 384 pages. [Source: Public library.] In her latest release, Sadeqa Johnson skillfully weaves together the lives of two women, seemingly worlds apart, whose paths eventually cross, leaving both forever changed. The resulting story is one that explores the lengths one will go to for acceptance and the pursuit of their happiness. It’s 1949. In Philadelphia, 15-year-old Ruby fights nonstop obstacles to obtain a prestigious scholarship that she knows are her only path out of poverty. In Washington, D.C., Eleanor is a focused undergraduate at Howard University who’s determined to make the most of her opportunity in a city far from home. Both find themselves in tempted by relationships that threaten to derail the carefully laid plans they’ve created for themselves. Ruby finds herself getting close to a neighborhood Jewish boy whose family isn’t as open-minded toward her as he is. Eleanor faces a similar situation, with a med student who comes from the “right” family with the “right” background, something she doesn’t share. For both, the book explores how they navigate their environments in their attempts to create stability and a sense of belong for themselves. Johnson has a way…

We Over Me: The Counterintuitive Approach to Getting Everything You Want from Your Relationship. Devale & Khadeen Ellis. 2023. Rodale Books. 288 pages.  [Source: ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.] To many in the IG/podcast/Youtube streets, Devale and Khadeen Ellis aren’t new faces; their popularity as a millennial couple has grown over the years as they’ve let the general public in on their lives as influencers/entertainers and parents to “four whole boys.” I’ve certainly followed their growth over the years, and was pleasantly surprised by the announcement the couple had written a book. We Over Me is a further look behind the curtain of the couple’s relationship while also presenting the approach they’ve grown into that has allowed them to stay together more than two decades.   We Over Me chronicles the trajectory of Devale and Khadeen’s relationship while incorporating insights from the lessons they learned along the way.  Each chapter covers a particular time in their relationship and a challenge they overcame, with alternating perspectives from Devale and Khadeen explaining their thoughts at the time as well as their reflections having seen the other side of the issue. Interspersed are “hot takes” from…

Promise Boys. Nick Brooks. 2023. Henry Holt & Co. 279 pages. [Source: ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.] The beloved principal of Urban Promise Prep is dead from a single gunshot to the head. Three suspects — his own students — are in custody. While police work to find a motive for who would murder a man working to save so many at risk boys, the three students are seeing the futures they’ve worked for crumbling in front of them. Promise Boys follows J.B., Ramon, and Trey as they try to prove their innocence. To outsiders, they each appear to have a compelling motive to hurt Principal Moore, who seems to have a penchant for humiliating them under the guise of discipline. J.B. is described as quiet and smart, but with a size that intimidates and strength that hurts. Ramon is an aspiring entrepreneur whose affiliation with a local gang constantly asks him to choose between the life he wants and the reality he’s in. Trey has already been labelled a troublemaker, but the profile he brings to the school’s basketball team is hard to ignore. Almost immediately, the community erupts into a…

The Monsters We Defy. Leslye Penelope. 2022. Redhook. 384 pages. [Source: ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.] The Monsters We Defy starts with a birth at crossroads; this is an apt foreshadowing of what’s to come for the baby born at the turn of the twentieth century. Clara Johnson was born in a caul and yet, her life comes with none of the fabled luck of being born in her “veil.” Instead, she’s had a life filled with heartbreak and strife. Where she’s unlucky, she is equally headstrong and can be a fierce advocate or enemy. Despite this strength, she’s often at odds with her gift of connecting with the spirit realm. This ends up being the key challenge in the story — Clara’s interactions with the spirits drop a burden in her lap that she can’t afford to ignore but can’t resolve on her own. In her attempt to free herself from a bad deal she made with a particularly powerful spirit, she finds other wayward souls who carry their own burdens and seek their own versions of freedom. There’s her roommate Zelda, an albino pickpocket; Aristotle, an actor whose skill overshadows…

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty. Akwaeke Emezi. 2022. Atria Books. 288 pages. [Source: ARC provided by the publisher courtesy of Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.] They say you can’t always judge a book by its cover, but in the case of You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty, I did exactly that and came out a winner. I was struck by the vivid, indulgent vibe I got from the cover’s illustration, and I wasn’t surprised to pick up on this throughout the book. You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty is centered on Feyi, a 29-year-old Nigerian-American artist who is at a turning point in her life. She’s been widowed five years and is finally coming out the stupor that her grieving kept her in. She’s committed to picking up the pieces and moving her life forward, though she’s not always sure what moving forward looks like. Part of reinventing herself includes opening herself up to love (or lust). As Feyi leans further into her plan to rebuild her life, she steps into the “dating” scene. She easily meets different men, but actually being vulnerable enough to make a sustained…