February 25, 2021

Review: Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas


Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Published: January 2021
Concrete Rose (The Hate U Give, #0)


This book is a prequel to The Hate U Give. This book tells the story of Maverick, the patriarch of the Carter family, and how he got to where he is now. At the age of 17, he is a senior in high school, a member of a gang has one child and his current girlfriend is pregnant. Hustling isn't going to work anymore in order to take care of his family.

I loved this book I think even before I started reading it. After reading The Hate U Give, I wanted to know more about the other characters in the book. Starting with Maverick, one of the most complex characters of THUG was a great place to start. I would also like to have a book about Seven and his complicated life that he lives with his parents who used to be friends but aren't any longer.

Maverick is leading a hard life, but one that is supported by a strong mother. His mother has his back through everything he goes through. She is supportive when she didn't have to be. We should all wish to have a mother like that. She wasn't really a part of THUG, but I would have liked to have seen more of her.

What do you do when you have so much on your shoulders and you aren't even an adult yourself? It's a lot for anyone to handle, let alone a child. If you liked THUG, you'll love this one.

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February 24, 2021

Review: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig



The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Published: September 2020


The Midnight Library
Nora Seed is ready to die. She has had enough of this life and is ready to move on. Where she ends up is The Midnight Library. A place that allows you to go back and fix regrets you may have had in life. What would you do if you were given that opportunity? There are infinite possibilities based on each decision you make in life.

'Between life and death there is a library.' she said. 'And within that library, the shelves go on for ever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices ... Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?'

This was a book club selection for the month of February. At first, I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book because I'm not really into fantastical novels. I really enjoyed this book and dove right into it. I knew exactly the first place I would go if I had the opportunity to go back and fix regrets. I would go back to my college days and graduate and do school the way I should have done it the first time around. If that didn't work out then, there are other things I know I would like to do to change my past.

Have you read this book? Do you know what book in the library you would pick up first?


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February 23, 2021

New Release Tuesday 2/23/21

 


Every Tuesday, publishers grant us with the latest books available.  Here are the books being released today.  

WHAT I'M ADDING TO MY TBR



Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers
With her newly completed PhD in astronomy in hand, twenty-eight-year-old Grace Porter goes on a girls’ trip to Vegas to celebrate. She’s a straight A, work-through-the-summer certified high achiever. She is not the kind of person who goes to Vegas and gets drunkenly married to a woman whose name she doesn’t know…until she does exactly that.
This one moment of departure from her stern ex-military father’s plans for her life has Grace wondering why she doesn’t feel more fulfilled from completing her degree. Staggering under the weight of her parent’s expectations, a struggling job market and feelings of burnout, Grace flees her home in Portland for a summer in New York with the wife she barely knows.
In New York, she’s able to ignore all the constant questions about her future plans and falls hard for her creative and beautiful wife, Yuki Yamamoto. But when reality comes crashing in, Grace must face what she’s been running from all along—the fears that make us human, the family scars that need to heal and the longing for connection, especially when navigating the messiness of adulthood.

Like Home by Louisa Onome
Chinelo, or Nelo as her best friend Kate calls her, is all about her neighborhood Ginger East. She loves its chill vibe, ride-or-die sense of community, and the memories she has growing up there with her friends. Ginger East isn't what it used to be though. After a deadly incident at the local arcade, most of her friends' families moved away. Kate, whose family owns the local corner store, is still there and as long as that stays constant, Nelo's good.
When Kate's parent's store is vandalized and the vandal still at large, Nelo is shaken to her core. And then the police and the media get involved and more of the outside world descends upon Ginger East with promises to "fix the neighborhood." Suddenly, Nelo finds herself in the middle of a drama unfolding on a national scale.
Worse yet, Kate is acting strange. She's pushing Nelo away at the exact moment they need each other most. Now Nelo's entire world is morphing into something she hates and she must figure out how to get things back on track or risk losing everything--and everyone--she loves.


Flowers of Darkness by Tatiana De Rosnay
Author Clarissa Katsef is struggling to write her next book. She’s just snagged a brand new artist residency in an ultra-modern apartment, with a view of all of Paris, a dream for any novelist in search of tranquility. But since moving in, she has had the feeling of being watched. Is there reason to be paranoid? Or is her distraction and discomfort the result of her husband’s recent shocking betrayal? Or is that her beloved Paris lies altered outside her windows? A city that will never be quite the same, a city with a scar at its center?
Stuck inside, in the midst of a sweltering heat wave, Clarissa enlists her beloved granddaughter in her investigation of the mysterious, high tech building even as she finds herself drawn back into the orbit of her first husband who is still the one who knows her most intimately, who shares the past grief that she has never quite let go.
Staying true to her favorite themes—the imprint of the place, the weight of secrets—de Rosnay weaves an intrigue of thrilling suspense and emotional power.

Some Other Now by Sarah Everett
Before she kissed one of the Cohen boys, seventeen-year-old Jessi Rumfield knew what it was like to have a family—even if, technically, that family didn’t belong to her. She’d spent her childhood in the house next door, challenging Rowan Cohen to tennis matches while his older brother, Luke, studied in the background and Mel watched over the three like the mother Jessi always wished she had.
But then everything changed. It’s been almost a year since Jessi last visited the Cohen house. Rowan is gone. Mel is in remission and Luke hates Jessi for the role she played in breaking his family apart. Now Jessi spends her days at a dead-end summer job avoiding her real mother, who suddenly wants to play a role in Jessi's life after being absent for so long. But when Luke comes home from college, it's hard to ignore the past. And when he asks Jessi to pretend to be his girlfriend for the final months of Mel’s life, Jessi finds herself drawn back into the world of the Cohens. Everything’s changed, but Jessi can’t help wanting to be a Cohen, even if it means playing pretend for one final summer.


The Marriage Pass by Briana Cole
He’s rich, successful—and has been faithfully married to his longtime girlfriend for nearly one gruelingyear. Because for Dr. Dorian Graham, too many women is never too much—no matter how loyal his wife, Shantae, has been since their college days. So when she proposes they celebrate their first anniversary by each spending a no-questions-asked, no-consequences night with their greatest temptation, Dorian is shocked, but can’t resist. Especially since Shantae’s wild-card younger sister, Reagan, is gorgeous, uninhibited—and the one who got away . . .
It turns out one sizzling night with Reagan isn’t enough. Yet the more Dorian takes, the more she demands—and the more he suddenly has to lose. Soon, with his mind games being used against him and his every move checkmated, Dorian will be forced to go all-in on one last desperate play to win. But winning might just be another way to crash and burn . . .

OTHER BOOKS RELEASING TODAY



What new books are you looking forward to?

Click on any book cover* to learn more about the book or to order a copy. 

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February 22, 2021

Review: Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires


Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Published: January 2019
Heads of the Colored People

This is a series of short stories that talks about different topics among the African American community. Some of the topics covered in the selection are Cosplay, homosexuality, friendships, and weight issues. I really enjoyed the collection of stories, but there were only a couple that really left a lasting impression.

Usually, I'm not a fan of short stories because it's never enough for me. I always want more of the story which I think you miss. My favorite story was that one about the Frenemies and one of the characters from that story carried over to another story.

I was able to finish listening to the entire book in one day.

From Amazon: Each captivating story plunges headfirst into the lives of utterly original characters. Some are darkly humorous—two mothers exchanging snide remarks through notes in their kids’ backpacks—while others are devastatingly poignant. In the title story, when a cosplayer, dressed as his favorite anime character, is mistaken for a violent threat the consequences are dire; in another story, a teen struggles between her upper middle-class upbringing and her desire to fully connect with so-called black culture.




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February 19, 2021

Review: Let's Get Back to the Party by Zak Salih

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Let's Get Back to the Party by Zak Salih
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Published: February 2021
Let's Get Back to the Party


Sebastian and Oscar were friends when they were in elementary school. When Oscar moved away, Sebastian wasn't sure if he would ever see him again. But they did see each other again when they were in college and then again now, at a wedding, Sebastian is a plus one for his friend Dani. Sebastian believes this may be the time when he will be able to fulfill his thoughts about Oscar. Will they be able to build a friendship again and maybe something more?

Thank you to Algonquin Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

This book moved slowly for me. It switches back and forth between Sebastian and Oscar narrating the book. They are both deeply hurt men, who are trying to find their way in the changing world. A world that looks like it is becoming more accepting of the LGBTQ+ community when a tragic incident happens.

Each of these men is dealing with their own demons as it concerns their homosexuality. Both of them are sad even though Oscar probably wouldn't admit it. The story follows these two as they go through a year of changes that change them as well.



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