Can’t Get Enough. Kennedy Ryan. 2025. Forever. 448 pages. [Source: ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.] This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for an unbiased review, and I was dancing a whole jig at the “invite” to read it after missing the “read now”. I’d only been stalking the author and site for months. Since the beginning of the Skyland series, I’ve been saying “Ken...

The Soulmate Project. Reese Ryan. 2024. Forever. 304 pages. [Source: Public library.] I’m a sucker for a friends to lovers story, so The Soulmate Project was right up my alley. The book starts with a New Year’s Eve love confession by “girl next door” Emerie to her best friend Nicholas. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go as planned and he doesn’t return her affections. Instead of ringing in the new year in a new relationship...

Church Girl. Naima Simone. 2024. Afterglow Books. 264 pages. [Source: ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.] Admittedly, the cover of Church Girl drew me in, and the story held my interest. Aaliyah is a runaway bride who left her small Alabama hometown to get out from under the thumb of her bishop father. She convinces her cousin to take her back to Chicago, where she’s planning to reinvent herse...

Stuck Wit’ Chu. Olivia Shaw-Reel. 2020. 149 pages. [Source: Kindle Unlimited.] Stuck Wit’ Chu is essentially a story about a broken marriage and a couple at a crossroads. Keith and Marlow have been married over a decade, are parents to three young children, and have somehow lost their way. They’re navigating the Covid-19 pandemic while facing their own crisis at home, and the book follows their attempt to figure otu whether to s...

Flamboyants: The Queer Harlem Renaissance I Wish I’d Known. George M. Johnson. 2024. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 127 pages. [Source: Public library.] The Harlem Renaissance was a remarkable period in American history, but was pivotal within Black America. The “New Negro Movement” launched the careers of countless scholars, photographers, musicians, and dancers and ushered in a rebirth of racial pride and solidarity, in addition to le...

On the Rebound

On the Rebound. Alexandra Warren. 2020. 225 pages. [Source: Kindle Unlimited.] Alexandra Warren is back with a great (and anticipated) return to the Tennessee Trojans’ saga. Instead of centering two players, On the Rebound features Trojans’ Kage Steele and Bleu Taylor, a sports reporter with a budding show of her own. Kage is entering his second season and has the pressure of proving he’s still worth the trouble he cau...

It’s The Chase For Me

It’s The Chase For Me. Christina C. Jones. 2020. Warm Hues Creative. 90 pages. [Source: Kindle Unlimited.] You know that feeling when you keep running into someone you really are trying to escape? That’s January. And the guy she bumped into — and subsequently caused to spill coffee on himself — just keeps popping up everywhere around town. It wouldn’t be so terrible if they hadn’t had a one night stan...

Malcolm and Me

Malcolm and Me. Robin Farmer. 2020. SparkPress. [Source: ARC provided courtesy of Netgalley.] Amazingly executed … Robin Farmer captures that pivotal moment when life and your thought process changes. As a former Catholic school girl and Black woman, I distinctly remember those moments that reminded me I was the minority in the classes. Roberta was unapologetic and insightful but young. And that’s a struggle for many young Black...

Loving MAN

Loving MAN. Bailey West. 2020. 224 pages. [Source: Kindle Unlimited.] Sometimes you just want to read something a little messy. The world outside my window is obviously imploding, so a bit of catharsis is always appreciated. The description for Loving MAN certainly supplied that — a pregnancy from a short-lived fling, and then another woman on top of that? Add in the food aspect, and I was ready to jump in. Loving MAN, at almost a...

Come Inside

Come Inside. ShanicexLola. 2020. SXL Publications. 144 pages. [Source: Kindle Unlimited.] Kiyah’s reputation as the office “Ice Queen” might be on shaky ground. After being tricked into attending her company’s masquerade party by her work BFF, she finds herself face to face with the man she lusts for across the board room table, Nixon. It’s certainly hard to turn down an open invitation to sate her curiosit...