![luce [is reading]](https://wishfullyreading.files.wordpress.com/2023/01/9429655-1.jpeg){kind=small}
-
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 -
Soledad by Angie Cruz
βCould it be that thatβs just the way things go between people? Irreconcilable differences, which canβt really be explained or solved.β What could have been a polyphonic tragicomedy exploring trauma, abusive and dysfunctional relationships, generational and cultural divides, sex, love, and desire, is let down by a cast of cartoonish characters, repetitive dialogues and interactions,…
1990s, 2000s, 20th century, abuse, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, adolescence, Adult, America, Angie Cruz, Contemporary, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), Dominican American author, dominican republic, drama, Dreams, family, female authors, girlhood, grandmothers, illness, intergenerational, jealousy, latin america, latin american, latin american diaspora, latinx author, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+ side, MAGICAL REALISM, MELODRAMA, men who are sleazy, migration/immigration, motherhood, mothers & daughters, navel gazing, NEW YORK, no quotations marks, published in 2001, read in 2023, sex, sex scenes that are yikes, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SEXUALITY, Soledad, style over character, trauma, trying and failing @ feminism, unrequited love, womanhood/femininity -
Nothing Can Hurt You Now by Simone Campos
A banger of a premise is let-down by sensationalistic storytelling, a banal plot, and a writing style that for all its attempts to be gritty & edgy comes across as laughable. Worst still, the narrative seems under the impression that it is doing a lot, in terms of unconventional female characters and challenging simplistic representations…
2 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, amateur detective, brazil, brazilian author, Contemporary, f/f, female authors, graphic content, kidnapping, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, men who are sleazy, missing girls, missing persons, models, MYSTERY, Neurodiversity, Not Like Other Girls, Nothing Can Hurt You Now, prostitution, published in 2019, queer, read in 2022, sapphic, sex, sex scenes that are yikes, Simone Campos, SISTERS, smut, style over character, survival, SUSPENSE, THRILLER, TRANSLATED FICTION, trying and failing @ feminism, wannabe gone girl -
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
luce [is reading] 