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My Darkest Prayer by S.A. Cosby
Not to sound dramatic but I feel betrayed. Blacktop Wasteland and Razorblade Tears managed to be gripping and gritty reads that managed to pack an emotional punch. The only nice thing I can say about My Darkest Prayer is that it attests to Cosby having grown as an author. My Darkest Prayer reads like a…
1st pov, 2 STARS, Adult, amateur detective, America, Black & Black heritage authors, Contemporary, CRIME, funeral homes, grit lit, male authors, men who are sleazy, men who do not seem to know how to write women, MURDER, My Darkest Prayer, MYSTERY, Noir, published in 2019, read in 2023, S.A. Cosby, SMALL TOWN, small town crime, Southern America, THRILLER, violence -
Stories from the Tenants Downstairs by Sidik Fofana
In this wonderfully polyphonic collection of short stories, Sidik Fofana explores the everyday realities and struggles experienced by the Black residents of a high-rise in Harlem. The unrelenting push of gentrification and the looming threat of eviction sees this cast of characters struggling to keep up with their rents and to stay afloat. As they…
3.5 STARS, Adult, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Black & Black heritage authors, class, collection of short stories, Contemporary, conversational style, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), gay side characters, gritty realism, Harlem, interconnected stories, lgbtq+ side, male authors, morality, NEW YORK, no quotations marks, place as character, Poverty, PRIVILEGE, published in 2022, RACE, read in 2023, short stories, Sidik Fofana, social issues, Stories from the Tenants Downstairs, strong sense of place, survival, work culture -
A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing: A Memoir Across Three Continents by Mary-Alice Daniel
Drawn by its stunning title & cover, I requested an arc for A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing. For some reason or other I ended up neglecting to read it but at long last decided to give it a try, and I’m really glad that I did get round to it. Written with clarity and…
1990s, 2000s, 3.5 STARS, A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing, A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing: A Memoir Across Three Continents, Adult, America, belonging, biography, Black & Black heritage authors, black diaspora, CHILDHOOD, Christianity, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, elementary school, england, family, female authors, generational trauma, girlhood, growing up, HIGH SCHOOL, history, identity, Islam, language, Mary-Alice Daniel, MEMOIR, MEMORY, migration/immigration, Nigeria, nigerian american author, Nonfiction, otherness, published in 2022, RACE, read in 2022, Religion, school setting, snapshots, social issues, story within a story -
Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm by Laura Warrell
Between Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm and The Ten Loves of Mr. Nishino I have now come to the conclusion that books about sleazy womanizers and the women who at some point or other loved them are not for me. Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm appealed to me because I find that ensemble-cast books usually make for…
2 STARS, Adult, affairs, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, bad love, Black & Black heritage authors, BOSTON, cheating, Contemporary, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), divorce/separations, drama, fathers & daughters, female authors, female solidarity…where?, FLORIDA, Laura Warrell, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, Massachusetts, MELODRAMA, men who are sleazy, Miami, music, musicians, polyphonic, pregnancy, published in 2022, queer side characters, read in 2022, ROMANCE, sex, sex scenes that are yikes, SEXUALITY, snapshots, Sweet Soft Plenty Rhythm, toxic relationships, unrequited love -
All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks
While there were certainly many pearls of wisdom scattered in bell hooks’ essays on love, I found many of the observations and conclusions she makes to be simplistic and at times even presumptions. Within these 13 chapters, bell hooks interrogates love (what does it mean to love someone? how does love look?) against the backdrop…
3 STARS, Adult, All About Love, All About Love: New Visions, AMERICAN AUTHOR, bell hooks, Black & Black heritage authors, ESSAYS, female authors, Nonfiction, parenting, psychology, published in 1999, read in 2022, Religion, self-help, social issues, Sociology, spirituality, trying and failing @ feminism -
If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery
“I’d be able to move out of my car and rent my own apartment; I could live like a fully formed twenty-first-century North American human. I needed this.” Being a big fan of collections of short stories following the same character/s, I was keen to read If I Survive You. Each chapter in this debut…
1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 20th century, 3 STARS, Adult, adulthood, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, belonging, Black & Black heritage authors, black diaspora, brothers, Caribbean, CHILDHOOD, collection of short stories, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), drama, family, fathers & sons, FLORIDA, gritty realism, growing up, HIGH SCHOOL, homelessness, HUMOR, interconnected stories, intergenerational, jamaica, Jonathan Escoffery, LITERARY FICTION, male authors, masculinity, Miami, migration/immigration, music band, natural disasters, PRIVILEGE, published in 2022, RACE, read in 2022, satire, short stories, snapshots, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, work culture -
The Furrows by Namwali Serpell
At first, The Furrows presents its readers with a labyrinthine yet hypotonic narrative about trauma, grief, and guilt. Cassandra, our central character, now an adult, recalls the death of her seven-year-old brother, Wayne when she was twelve. Then, this accident is presented to us again, except this time the circumstances are different. Cassandra tells different…
Adult, ambiguous protagonist, ambivalent mood, America, bad love, Black & Black heritage authors, black diaspora, CHILDHOOD, cold tone, Contemporary, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), female authors, GRIEF, GUILT, incest-y, LITERARY FICTION, MEMORY, MYSTERY, Namwali Serpell, psychological, published in 2022, read in 2022, rich people, sea, siblings, snapshots, style over character, surreal, The Furrows, toxic relationships, trauma, Zambian author -
The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope
In many ways The Monsters We Defy delivers on its premise: we follow a ‘ragtag’ crew as they prepare and execute a heist to save themselves and their community. It did manage to hold my attention and even delivered some fairly entertaining scenes and/or dazzling descriptions, and I can see this appealing to fans of…
1920s, 20th century, actors, Adult, adventure, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Black & Black heritage authors, FANTASY, female authors, ghosts/spirits, heist, HISTORICAL FICTION, insta love, Leslye Penelope, lgbtq+ side, m/m side, MYSTERY, occult, PARANORMAL, POWERS, published in 2022, queer side characters, read in 2022, ROMANCE, seances, spiritualism, The Monsters We Defy, URBAN FANTASY, Washington DC -
Someday, Maybe by Onyi Nwabineli
“Grief is not neat. Pain is not dignified. Both are ugly, visceral things. They rip holes through you and burst forth when they see fit. They are constant, controlling companions, and if they don’t destroy you or your relationship with others, they certainly go a long way to damaging you […] There is nothing eloquent…
1st pov, 3 STARS, Adult, Black & Black heritage authors, black diaspora, Contemporary, DEATH, DEPRESSION, england, evil stepmother, female authors, forgiveness, GRIEF, GUILT, MARRIAGE, MEMORY, mental health, nigerian british author, Onyi Nwabineli, photographers, pregnancy, published in 2022, read in 2022, Someday Maybe, suicide, widows -
Last Summer on State Street by Toya Wolfe
“Our friendships started with “What’s your name?” The answer carried with it looks that I can still see clearly: Stacia’s begged me not to talk to her, and Tonya’s asked, “Is she talking to me?!” We got past those facial expressions and gave our names. Names that sound like heartbeats: Fe Fe, Precious, Stacia, Tonya.”…
1990s, 20th century, 4 STARS, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, Black & Black heritage authors, Chicago, CHILDHOOD, Christianity, coming of age, family, female authors, female friendships, friendships, girlhood, growing up, Illinois, Last Summer on State Street, lyrical prose, missing girls, missing persons, RACE, read in 2022, Religion, siblings, social issues, strong sense of place, summer reads, Toya Wolfe, violence against women, YOUNG ADULT, youth
luce [is reading] 