Review: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Published: June 2020

In the town of Mallard, Louisiana every one is a light-skinned black person. Some could even pass for white. Darker-skinned blacks were frowned on. Twins Stella and Desiree Vignes wanted to get away from Mallard and see what else was out there in the world. When they were sixteen, they did just that. No one saw them again, until many years later when Desiree comes walking back into town with her very dark daughter, Jude. Running away from a dangerous situation to the only other home she has ever known, Desiree doesn't think she will stay in this place, especially without her sister.

This was a book club selection for the month of March. I have read The Mothers and I enjoyed that one, but this one I connected with even more.

When Desiree brings her daughter into town, it reminded me of my mom and me. My mom is dark-skinned and I am lighter-skinned. I recently found out that I'm 37% European. So when I was little, my mom used to get asked a lot whose child she was watching whenever she and I were out together. I could really relate to this story, coming from a family where half are light-skinned black people and the other half are dark-skinned. Another thing, my light-skinned family a few of them all live together on the same land they grew up on. I live there for the first 10 years of my life. I loved it because I know I could go to this aunt's house for cookies, and if I went to this uncle's house, I better take my shoes off at the door.

I really loved this book and I devoured it. I couldn't put it down.

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Review: 96 Words for Love by Rachel Roy & Ava Dash

96 Words for Love by Rachel Roy and Ava Dash
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Published: January 2019


Raya Liston is at a turning point in her life. She has just graduated high school and college is the next step. She thinks she knows what she wants to do, but not exactly sure. When her grandmother, Daadee, passes away Raya feels more confused than ever. Together with her cousin Anandi, she travels to an ashram where her grandmother had visited as a youth and then again a few years before she died. She told the girls that she had left something for them there and they were determined to find it. What else would Raya find there? Most than she ever expected.

I decided to get this book after hearing about it on a morning talk show. I'm not really familiar with Rachel Roy as a designer except for seeing her on Project Runway a few years ago. I like reading about different cultures and learning things I may never discover because I doubt I will ever visit. I don't know anything about Indian culture or Hinduism. I didn't know that there were 96 words for love in Sanskrit. I wish that they would have given all of the words since that was the title of the book.  Here they are:(image fromhttp://www.gnaana.com/blog/2017/02/the-very-many-sanskrit-words-for-love/)

96 Words for Love is a YA novel that gave me all kinds of emotions. There are multiple love stories spanning generations. And not just physical love, but love of religion, love of music, love of teaching, love of family and friendships. Dealing with that strange adjustment period after high school, and the feeling of knowing you have found the things you were searching for even those you didn't intend to find.


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Review: Mayhem, Murder and Marijuana: The Los Angeles Marijuana War By Arik Kaplan

Mayhem, Murder and Marijuana: The Los Angeles Marijuana War by Arik Kaplan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Published: March 2018

Adam Copland is the master when it comes to the legal marijuana business in Los Angeles, California. But not everyone in the business plays nicely. Adam has to deal with the good, the bad and the ugly of this industry. The book focuses on Adam expanding his business to other parts of California as well as other parts of the country. There are a lot of highs and lows he experiences with this expansion. His wife is not happy with the business he is in although it makes him lots of money. Will Adam be able to continue to live and survive being in the marijuana industry?

Thank you to NetGalley and BookBaby/Independent Book Publishers Association for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I was excited to read this book because I have an interest in the marijuana industry and how it has changed so much over the past few years. Being legalized in many states for medical as well as recreational purposes. The overall story was interesting and filled with characters I loved to hate, but there were some issues with the writing that made me give the book three stars.

First off, we're introduced to several characters all at once with similar names(Jamal, Jam) and I had to go back to make sure I was with the right person. Then all throughout the book, the main character would go by different names in the same sentence and paragraph. His name is Adam Copland, sometimes it was just Adam, sometimes Copland and sometimes AC. And there never seemed to be any rhyme or reason as to why it was this way. I'm used to a name shift when a person has a title(eg. Dr. Jones, friends may call him/her by the first name or a detective), but not for an average person. At first this left me very confused because I wasn't sure if they were talking about the same person or different people. Other than that, I had to find out what was going to happen.

This is the first book in the series, I'm not sure how many books there will be all together, but I want to know what is going to happen next, because this book left us with a bit of a cliffhanger.



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Review: Hit the Ground Running by Mark Burley

Hit the Ground Running by Mark Burley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Eric Bakker has just received a cryptic message from his brother, Michael, about the disappearance of their parents. Now Michael is also missing, but who can Eric trust to help him with all of this. Michael says to trust no one. Eric is away at boarding school and hasn't made too many friends. What is he going to do to find his family?

Thank you to NetGalley and Blue Moon Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Hit the Ground Running had me hooked from the start. I read almost 1/2 the book on the first day. This is a faced paced novel that leaves you wanting more. Imagine your parents dumping you in a boarding school in Canada for no good reason and uprooting you from the home you've always known. Eric isn't sure why his family made the move to Canada or why he has to go to this school. He tries to stick to himself as much as possible. But when he needs help to find his family, who can he trust to help him. While contemplating his situation, he runs into Tess another student from the school, and she thinks she may have a way to help him. Can he trust her? Will he be able to find his brother and his parents before it's too late?  Traveling between Canada, California, and Montana, Eric does everything he can to locate his family.  With the help of a colleague of his parents and a couple of kids from school, they travel by plane, boat, motorcycle and RV in order to accomplish the task at hand.

This is the first book in a trilogy. The end leaves you hanging so you will want to read the next book. I can't wait for it to be released.

About the Author:
Mark is originally from Truro, Nova Scotia. His parents were teachers, which means he could have grown up around books, and he did, but mostly he marked biology tests for his dad and dissected whatever they had for dinner (true story). He attended Dalhousie University in Halifax to complete his science degrees and continued to cultivate the writer seed that was planted when he was a kid. Mark has always been involved in high-level sport, as an athlete through university and as a coach afterward, and maintains that sport has given him the chance to succeed in art, something he’s sure he couldn’t have done otherwise. As a result, though, he eats the same breakfast every morning and he always puts his left shoe on first—bad things will happen if he doesn’t. Mark and his wife live outside Halifax with their two children. Books are big in their house; Mark’s favourite thing is Bedtime with Ry (come on, Mom, who can sleep during the Quidditch World Cup?). As a reader, he's always been slow, preferring to savour, which drives his wife nuts —she’s a devourer. He is often drawn to books that are beyond his ability to comprehend, which is only frustrating when the words aren’t beautiful. He also has an unnatural attraction to chai lattes. It’s a problem. He’s okay with it.

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Review: Finding Our Forever by Brenda Novak

Finding Our Forever by Brenda Novak
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cora has just moved to the town of Silver Springs California, hoping to start a new life with a new job teaching art. She's teaching a a school for troubled boys called, New Horizons and Cora is really drawn to its founder Aiyana. Besides the teaching job, Cora has other reasons to be in Silver Springs. Will she be able to find the answers she is looking for, or will the decisions she makes along the way hinder her ability to discover the truth about herself?

While I have many Brenda Novak books on my Kindle, this is the first of her titles that I have actually read. I was drawn to this book initially because of its setting of Silver Springs, the town I live in is called Silver Spring. I was even more drawn to the book by the characters because I have members of my immediate family with similar names to the characters in the book.

Cora Kelly was adopted 28 years ago. Since that time she has been on a quest to find her mother and find out why. She loves her adoptive parents wholeheartedly, but still has a desire to know where she comes from. Her birth mother was at a reasonable age to keep a child, 21, so what were the circumstances that made her decide that adoption was the best idea, especially since in her investigation she finds out that her birth mother has adopted several children over the years.

This was a very compelling story. It drew me in immediately and I couldn't put it down. I read it in just a few hours over a couple of days. I can't imagine what it would be like to not know your birth parents. And then searching your whole life to find them, with a closed adoption. In Cora's quest to find all this information, she falls in love and faces conflict with her adoptive parents. It's a great story for everyone who likes a little romance in their lives.

If you enjoy Ms. Novak's books, consider joining her book club on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/brend...

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Review: Queen Sugar by Natalie Baszile

Queen Sugar by Natalie Baszile
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Charley Bordelon has just inherited 800 acres of a sugar cane farm from her father. So she uproots herself and her daughter from their life in California to Saint Josephine, Louisiana. She moves in with her grandmother, Miss Honey and tries her best to raise a successful cane farm. With other family members stepping in her way, this can prove to be difficult at times. Charley is doing the best she can, but will it be enough to keep the farm or will she be forced to sell it and head back to California.

I watched the series for this book on OWN and I loved it. If I would have known about the book, I definitely would have read that first. They always say, the book is better than the movie, but in this case, I will say that the book was not as good as the series. The characterization is a little different and the TV series definitely added a lot more drama to the situation. Overall, though, I enjoyed the book and look forward to other books by Natalie Baszile.

Charley Bordelon has a lot on her plate. She has an adolescent daughter who hates the idea of leaving her home in California to live in a remote area of Louisiana. She has a sugar cane farm she has just inherited and she knows nothing about sugar cane. Her older brother Ralph Angel feels as though he is entitled to something, but he feels that way about everything in his life. Dealing with hurricanes, quitting farm hands, no money, and flooding back lots, there is a lot to learn and most people in the area, don't think she can do it.

The book takes you on a journey through Charley's first season of Cane Farming and all the trials and tribulations she endures during this time. I enjoyed the book and I look forward to the new season of the show coming this summer!

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Review: Maya's Notebook by Isabel Allende

Maya's Notebook by Isabel Allende
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Maya Vidal may only be 20 years old, but she has been through a lot in that short time. Sent to live in a remote village in Chile after battling great challenges in her life, Maya uses her notebook to write about and learn from those challenges. The mistakes from her past will help her to hopefully lead a more productive and promising future.

Told from Maya's point of view, we are transported all over the world. Most of the book takes place in Chiloe, Chile, but you will also spend time in Berkeley, California, in Oregon, in Las Vegas and other countries throughout the world. Taken back and forth in time from Maya's present to the events of her past that brought her to Chile in the first place. This book is full of strong family ties that help Maya to keep her head on somewhat straight.

Overall this was a great story, but it took way too long to read. Full of great details it makes you feel as though you are in the setting of the book.
Favorite quote from the book: "...there's no fuel for the bonfires of despair."

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Review: The Mothers by Brit Bennett

The Mothers by Brit Bennett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nadia Turner, Aubrey Evans, and Luke Sheppard are young adults living in Oceanside, CA. They are each going through their lives trying to overcome their individual struggles. One summer they are all joined together by unforeseen events and these events will help to mold them into the people they will be for the rest of their lives.

We all have people in our lives who know everything think that is going on in our lives or think they do whether we want them to or not. In this book, a few ladies at Upper Room Church fill this spot. They narrate the scene for most of the chapters in this book and give their honest opinion on how the story will unfold. They have known these young people most of their lives and have been in their position many years before.

I have been looking forward to reading this book or a long time. I will say that even though I read this book rather quickly it wasn't quite what I was expecting. I would have liked to seen more of a voice from "The Mothers". Other than that, this was an enjoyable read for me.

Nadia, Aubrey and Luke are all around the same age and live in Oceanside. Luke and Nadia date briefly the summer before she leaves for college. Then Luke suddenly cuts her out of his life like a bad habit. She takes a job working as the First Lady's assistant at Upper Room. There she meets Aubrey. Aubrey is quiet and shy, but is instantly drawn to Nadia. Both of them having lost their mothers, although in very different ways, have a connection that no one would have seen. The story follows the trio as they move through life and deal with their pasts in order to move forward with their futures.

This was a very good debut novel and I look forward to more books by Brit Bennett.

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Review-Don't Fail Me Now by Una LaMarche

Don't Fail Me Now by Una LaMarche
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Michelle Devereaux in a police department with her younger siblings Cass and Denny waiting with a social worker for their aunt to pick them up.  Their mother has been arrested.  Unfortunately, this is not the first time this has happened.  Her mother has been in jail several times and she hasn't seen her father in several years.  When Michelle finds out that her father is dying in California and may have something for her, she sets out on a journey that will hopefully end in a windfall for her and her siblings.

This was a great YA Novel.  A book about love, family and adventure.  Michelle and her siblings are black kids from Baltimore, Maryland.  Michelle knows that she and Cass have a half-sister, Leah, that is white, and that is about all the know about her.  Until she shows up with her step-brother at Michelle's job with information about their father.  With this new information and the current state of affairs, Michelle decides now is a good a time as any to drive across the country to see her father before he is no longer there.

Five kids, in an old station wagon are heading across the country without any of their parents being aware.  They have very little money and barely more than the clothes on their back, but they are determined to find Buck Devereaux and collect whatever it is he has for them.

Their adventure is not without some complications.  Will they make the journey successfully?  Will these siblings, Michelle, Cass, and Leah be able to build a relationship? Will they reunite with the father they barely know? How will this trip change their lives for the future?

One of the things that drew me to this book where the characters.  They were characters I could relate to, when I was that age and the kids are all from Maryland where I live.  Plus, who doesn't love a good road trip.  All of these factors made this an excellent book and something I would recommend to young adults from mixed racial backgrounds and diverse family dynamics.

**I received this book from the FirstToRead program through Penguin Books in exchange for an honest review.**


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Review--Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave

Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Georgia Ford had just arrived at her childhood home, dressed in her wedding dress, but it's not her wedding day.  As she was having her final fitting, she saw her fiance in a way she had never expected to see him.  So she runs home to her parents and brothers only to find that there are even more problems there.  Always being the fixer in the family, will she be able to solve all the issues she runs into by running away from her own?  Or will this be a time when fixing isn't going to work?

Synchronization is the theme of this novel.  All things happen for a reason.  Because this happened(or didn't)thatwas able to take place(or not). Georgia Ford is living as an attorney in Los Angeles when her world is turned upside down.  She runs home to her family's winery in Sebastopol during the final harvest of the year.  Final harvest is always a big deal for the Ford family and this year, even more so.

I LOVED this book!  It showed so many different family dynamics and so many emotions.  It made me laugh and cry.  This novel felt so real to me, I could see myself in this setting.  I picture myself reading this novel on the porch of the winemaker's cottage looking out over the winery, enjoying a glass of Block-14.  The imagery is that vivid.  I could definitely see this book becoming a major motion picture.

Kudos to Laura Dave for writing an incredible novel that many will love.

**I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

Also by Laura Dave:
The First Husband
The Divorce Party
London Is the Best City in America


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