The Soulmate Project

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...

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Church Girl

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...

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Stuck Wit’ Chu

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...

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Flamboyants

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...

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Twenty-Four Seconds from Now . . . 

Twenty-four Seconds from Now … Jason Reynolds. 2024. Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books. 253 pages. [Source: ARC provided by the publisher courtesy of Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.] How many times do Black boys get to be the center of a love story? I don’t mean a coming of age novel with hints of dating among the minutiae of teen life. I mean a story that is completely focused on the evolution of a romantic relationship and i...

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In Due Time
African American Interest , Contemporary Black Romance , Contemporary Romance , Fiction , Kindle Unlimited Finds / February 24, 2018

In Due Time. B. Love. 2018.  B. Love Publications. 147 pages. [Source: Kindle Unlimited.] In Due Time is an interesting story that intrigued me and kept me reading. But at the same time, I was frustrated the entire time because of its protagonist.   Mackenzie and her best friend, Rahim, have a weird non-love triangle thing going on, despite being best friends. Mackenzie dated — and was repeatedly hurt by — Rah...

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Feud
African American Interest , Contemporary Black Romance , Fiction , Kindle Unlimited Finds , New Releases / February 10, 2018

Feud. Phyllis Bourne. 2018. Red Lipstick Press. 150 pages. [Source: Kindle Unlimited.] Sometimes you have terrible neighbors you love to hate. The Lawsons and Bridges have been those neighbors for each other for over 100 years. Their feud is so intense that the families established clauses in wills to reward the descendant with the fortitude (or luck) to outlast the opposiing family. That is how Tate Bridges and Justice Lawson cross eac...

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Something Special
African American Interest , Contemporary Black Romance , Fiction , Kindle Unlimited Finds , New Releases / February 4, 2018

Something Special. Tiffany Patterson. 2018. 329 pages. [Source: Kindle Unlimited.] As far as enemies to lovers stories go, Something Special was pretty enjoyable.  It features esthetician Gabriella and her best friend’s cousin Jamal. They hate each other. Can’t spare a kind word or smile for each other. Can barely stand to breath the same air as each other. They probably want each other. However, when a night out winds up ...

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Love Notes
African American Interest , Contemporary Black Romance , Contemporary Romance , Kindle Unlimited Finds , New Releases / February 3, 2018

Love Notes. Christina C. Jones. 2018. 269 pages. [Source: Kindle Unlimited.] Her first night in town lands Jules in Troy’s bed for a one-night-only fling. They don’t even bother to catch each others’ names before she leaves like a thief in the night. Too bad that Mahogany Heights is only so big, and they inevitably cross each others’ paths again. For his part, Troy has sworn off reckless behavior, so his willingn...

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The Autobiography of Gucci Mane
African American Interest , Autobiography , Hip-Hop , Multicultural , Public Library Love / January 24, 2018

The Autobiography of Gucci Mane. Gucci Mane & Neil Martinez-Belkin. 2017. Simon & Schuster. 270 pages. [Source: Public library]. Trap God. Guwop. Gucci Mane. Radric Davis. All names for the same man whose career — and rap sheet — has read like a series of unfortunate events. Admittedly, I am not a Gucci Mane fan. There are a handful of songs of his that I like, but otherwise, I’ve only been as familiar with him...