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...

A Princess in Theory

A Princess in Theory. Alyssa Cole. 2018. Avon Books. 373 pages. [Source: Public Library.] A Princess in Theory is a book I couldn’t ignore. I saw frequently in passing, but not at times when I was adding to my TBR pile. Finally, seeing it on the Goodreads lists for best romance book of 2018 made me stop and check it out. Surely, there was some hype I was missing. I thought this was a cute story, but it didnR...

A Beautiful Ghetto

A Beautiful Ghetto. Devin Allen. 2017. Haymarket Books. 121 pages. [Source: ARC provided courtesy of Edelweiss Above the Treeline.] I had chills while reading A Beautiful Ghetto. Part of it was seeing beautiful Black faces in environments that seem anything but that, based on social standards. Allen, however, captures everyday life in Baltimore with a brutal honesty that is truly compelling. There are pictures of children lounging on a ...

Work Less, Travel More
Advance Reader Copy , New Releases , Travel / October 29, 2018

Work Less, Travel More. Tosh Patterson. 2018. 98 pages. [Source: ARC provided courtesy of author.] Whew, this book was so on time for me.  I am “leave-taking challenged,” in that the idea of taking off work is sometimes so overwhelming that I just don’t. Besides that, I have a full roster of other priorities that take all my attention.  All work and no play … you know the rest.  I love that this book isn’t just about how to...

Everything to Me

Everything to Me. AC Taylor. 2017. 177 pages. [Source: Kindle Unlimited.] Haze and Dominic have an oddly intimate friendship. Dominic’s an R&B star who immediately claims Haze as his friend when he visits her ice cream shop while on vacation in Hawaii. For her part, Haze has run to Hawaii in an attempt to heal from her mother’s recent death. Despite them both being from Dallas, it’s only half a world away that they...

Wins & Losses

Wins & Losses. Alexandra Warren. 2018. [Source: Kindle Unlimited.] For her twentieth release, Alexandra Warren outdid herself. Wins & Losses is a page-turner that I couldn’t put down and gets my strong recommendation.  With this release, she demonstrated that she’s capable of more than just telling a story, but is able to make a compelling critique of current events in an authentic and insightful way. The book star...