Hezekiah

Hezekiah. Sunshines Urban Novels. 2025. 388 pages. [Source: Kindle Unlimited.] What started as a check-in on his employee turned into a life-altering meeting for Hezekiah Strong. Almost immediately after meeting Willow, he’s convinced that his assistant’s daughter is the only woman who can match his energy as a life partner, whether she sees it or not. What’s immediately apparent is that Hezekiah isn’t someone used to nego...

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Can’t Get Enough

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...

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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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We Over Me
Advance Reader Copy , African American Interest , New Releases , Non-fiction , Self-Help/Advice / February 27, 2023

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 i...

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Promise Boys
Advance Reader Copy , African American Interest , Coming of Age , Education , Fiction , New Releases , Suspense , Thriller , Upcoming Releases , Young Adult / February 2, 2023

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 fu...

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The Chemistry of Love
Contemporary Romance , Fiction , Kindle First , Kindle Unlimited Finds , Uncategorized / February 2, 2023

The Chemistry of Love. Sariah Wilson. 2023. Montlake. 347 pages. [Source: personal copy.] The Chemistry of Love was a no-brainer for me to check-out. I love a good fake relationship trope, and this one seemed especially messy.  Anna is a mousy cosmetic chemist who feels stuck in a role that doesn’t allow her to explore her innovative ideas for beauty products.  Instead, she’s stuck pining over one of her bosses, hoping he...

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Chaos Theory
Advance Reader Copy , African American Interest , Fiction , Upcoming Releases , Young Adult / January 8, 2023

Chaos Theory. Nic Stone. 2023. Crown Books. 288 pages. [ARC provided courtesy of publisher via NetGalley for an unbiased review.] Nic Stone earned stars before I read the first line of the book. The transparency of her author’s note (I never read those, but read this one) and content warning was so endearing and a testament to who I imagine she is in her everyday life. Yes, she wants you to read her work but the reality of her acknowl...

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Madam X
Advance Reader Copy , African American Interest , Fiction , Upcoming Releases / December 22, 2022

Madam X. Niobia Bryant. 2023. Dafina. 320 pages. [ARC provided courtesy of publisher via NetGalley for an unbiased review.] Loved it! Have we read about Desdemona before?? I feel like I haven’t…if I’m right and this is a new character – I need some “flash book” books. The character was endearing and seemed to have enough history for a series on her past to be built. I love the self discovery and romance plot, mixed in wi...