Review: Saving Ruby King by Catherine Adel West

Saving Ruby King: A Novel by Catherine Adel West

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Published: June 2020

Ruby King lives in Chicago with her mother and her abusive father. When her mother dies, Ruby knows she can't be there alone with her father. What can she do and where can she go? Her best friend, Layla, tries all she can to help and protect Ruby from what is happening. But Ruby needs more than protection, she needs a whole new change in scenery. Three generations of trauma are seen in this book along with a lot of parent/child relationships.

Thanks to Park Row Books and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC.

When I read the description to Ruby King, I was expecting a very different book. The subject matter in this book is very heavy and has quite a few triggers throughout. From a father sexually abusing his child, a husband abusing his wife and child, and one man blackmailing another. While Ruby King is the title of this book, every character in this book needs some kind of saving. One important character in the book, that I didn't see coming was the church. You get to see what happens, "If these walls could talk." It was eye-opening and interesting to see that part. The church is where all the secrets were kept.

This book was heavy, but also surprising.

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Audio Book Review: Casting the First Stone by Kimberla Lawson Roby

Casting the First Stone by Kimberla Lawson Roby
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Published: January 2000

Reverend Curtis Black is the minister to a faithful congregation in Chicago. He and his wife Tonya are upstanding members of the church and community. But when rumors of Curtis start to spread around the church that he has been unfaithful to his wife with other church members, Tonya's not sure what to do. Whenever she questions Curtis, his first instinct is to lie to her and she knows it. How will Tonya find out what is really going on? And what lengths will she go through to do so?

I have read a few of Kimberla Lawson Roby's books in the past, even a few in this series, but I never knew how it all started. This book had me on edge. It's books like these that have people doubting the church, but it is also something that really goes on. I don't know what I would do if I suspected my husband of cheating, let alone if he was a minister who was teaching people right from wrong every day.

This book had me laughing out loud and dying to know what was going to happen next. If you have never read one of Kimberla Lawson Roby's books, this is a good one to start with.

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Audio Book Review: The Poet X Elizabeth Acevedo

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Published: 2018
 

Xiomara Batista is a 15 year old Dominican American living in New York. She has a twin brother and lives with both of her parents. She's at the point in her life where boys are an interest, but her parents would never approve of her dating a boy. They are strict Catholics and Xiomara's mother tells her Jesus is the only man she needs to worry about. But Xiomara needs a way to express herself that she is unable to do with her family, so she writes poems. Her teacher thinks she is talented and encourages her to share her writing. But with her mother always on her about church, will Xiomara be able to find an outlet for her writing.

This book has been on my TBR and I have heard great things about it. This is a great road trip audio book to listen to. Since it's on 3.5 hours long, you can listen to the whole thing on a plane ride or long drive which is what I did.

I liked Xiomara character. I can understand how it feels to be a misunderstood teenager. Where you want to do the things you want to do, but also you don't want to disappoint your family. How do you live in both of those worlds? How do you please your parents and yourself? Being a teenager is tough, especially when you don't have someone who you can trust to share your problems with. Writing is a good outlet to get out the emotions that are hard to share with others.

This is the first book I've read by Elizabeth Acevedo. I look forward to reading her next book, .

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Review: Copycat by Kimberla Lawson Roby

Copycat by Kimberla Lawson Roby
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Traci Calloway Cole is about to release her 3rd book called Copycat, when she meets Simone Phillips. Simone is an aspiring writer herself and she loves Traci's books. After Traci agrees to read a few chapters of Simone's book and introduce her to a few people that could help get it published, Simone becomes obsessed. She wants to be just like Traci, but how far will her obsession grow?

This was a quick read for me. I have read a few books by Kimberla Lawson Roby and I have enjoyed them all. She is a great Christian Fiction author.

There are a few people in this world that I look up to and aspire to be, but I don't think would go to the same extremes that Simone goes through. She has quite the troubled past and has never truly discovered who she is as an individual. She already has so many positive things going on in her life. She has a decent job, a fiance and according to Traci, her book is going to be a hit. So why would she need to resort to the antics she pulls throughout this book? It makes her look weak and needy. Will she be able to see the error of her ways and turn things around before it's too late and everything she has worked for blows up in her face?

There are times where I felt sorry for Simone and other times I wanted to smack her and say, can't you see what you are doing is ridiculous and makes you look insane. Unfortunately the one person who told her this, she refused to listen to.

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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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