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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 -
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 Other Mother by Rachel M. Harper
“Yes, of course. It is always him they want to know about—the father, not the other mother.” The Other Mother is an affecting and nuanced multigenerational tale unearthing long-buried family histories. The author’s interrogation of motherhood challenges the heteronormative archetype of the nuclear family, as she focuses on the experiences, choices, and parenting of single-women…
1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 3.5 STARS, 3rd pov, addiction, Adult, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, break-ups, campus, Contemporary, drama, f/f, family, FAMILY SAGA, fathers & daughters, female authors, FLORIDA, forgiveness, gay, grandfathers, GRIEF, heartbreak/breakups, identity, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, LITERARY FICTION, Longing, Miami, motherhood, mothers & sons, musicians, My reviews, New England, parenting, Providence, published in 2022, queer, Rachel M. Harper, read in 2022, reading, rhode island, siblings, The Other Mother, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, unrequited love -
Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia
However distressing, I appreciated the realities, issues, and themes Gabriela Garcia explores throughout her novel. Sadly, the author’s execution and writing style lessened my overall reading experience. I know that interconnected narratives can work well, and some of my favourite novels employ this technique (The Travelers and Travellers), but I would have probably preferred for…
19TH CENTURY, 20th century, addiction, Adult, America, American, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, child abuse, Contemporary, Cuba, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), female authors, HISTORICAL FICTION, interconnected stories, latin america, latin american, latinx author, Mexico, Miami, migration/immigration, motherhood, mothers & daughters, published in 2021, read in 2021, social issues, style over character, stylised prose -
The Veins of the Ocean by Patricia Engel
“I want to be forgotten. I want it to feel as if I’ve never existed. I want to be a stranger. Rootless.” A few days before reading The Veins of the Ocean I read, and enjoyed reading, Patricia Engel’s Vida, a collection of short stories centred on a Colombian-American woman. I was intrigued by…
1st pov, 3 STARS, Adult, America, Caribbean, Colombia, Colombian American author, Cuba, DEATH, family, female authors, heavy on telling, introspective, ISLAND, latin america, latin american, latinx author, LITERARY FICTION, Miami, migration/immigration, Patricia Engel, prison, PUBLISHED IN 2017, read in 2020, ROMANCE, siblings, social issues, The Veins of the Ocean, trauma, zoos
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