October 2022 Reads

Happy October! Officially 19 days late, but I’m here. October has to be one of my favorite months. I love anything spooky. Not saying Halloween is my favorite holiday, but give me a month of nothing but scary movies and I’m there! And with that being said, I was only able to read 2 books this month. Since I’m starting a new job on Saturday, I’m really trying to get prepared for that. Also balance will come into play because reading is something that I love to do and I do not want to give it up anytime soon. On to what I read….

The Year of the Witching: Alexis Henderson

This is a story about a girl named Immanuelle Moore and her longing to find out about who she is. All she ever knew growing up was that her mother didn’t follow the Father’s word and that her mother brought shame upon her family. But one night, Immanuelle finds herself in the woods that no one is allowed to go in and she meets these two women who hand her a book. She takes the book and she realizes that it’s her mother’s. Then all these troubling events start to take place once Immanuelle realizes who those women were and who and what her mother was doing with them.

Once you get past chapter two, the story really starts to take off. This was my fist time reading anything like this. I really enjoyed the witch aspects of the story.

The Shadows: Alex North

How can I explain…This book was a WOW in my eyes. This is about a guy named Paul who after 25 years away, finally comes back home. His mother is sick and he wants to be there for her. But after 25 years of being away, all these memories come rushing back to him about a crime that happened to him and his friends. When a detective shows up because of her case that has happened miles away, 2 more murders occur. There’s something about the woods that keeps making people in that town scared. There’s a lot of twists and turns with this book. It’s fast paced. I also enjoyed the spooky feel to it. I personally don’t do the woods either, so I can understand lol.

I was happy that I found these two books especially for the month of October. These two books gave me the spooky vibes that I was hoping for. Although I didn’t read my usual 3 or 4 books this month, I’m glad I pushed myself to read these.

Thanks for stopping by. 🙂

September 2022 Reads

The month of September was pretty good to me, reading wise. I was able to read 4 books which to me was great because normally I like to read between 2 or 3.

Genuine Fraud

All Her Little Secrets

Tapas, Carrot Cake and a Corpse

The Trial: Women’s Murder Club

Out of the 4 books I read in September that were my favorite would have to be Tapas, Carrot Cake and a Corpse and The Trial: Women’s Murder Club. Tapas, Carrot Cake and a Corpse is a cozy mystery set in an English coastal town where a murder takes place on a boat and it’s up to the town residents to solve the mystery. The Trial: Women’s Murder Club is about a trial taking place and the person on trial is unleashing violence on the city from his cell, but the lawyers and police have to prove it.

I got a late start to my reading this month so I’m only going to be able to read 2 books this month. Hopefully I can squeeze in a 3rd one sometime around the end of the month.

Thanks for stopping by.

Book Haul

Recently, I purchased a few books from bookoutlet.com and just wanted to share what I got. I tried to do a little tiktok video, so I hope you all can see.

All Her Little Secrets

Genuine Fraud

Don’t Look For Me

The Year of the Witching

The Shadows

Tacos for Two

Thanks for stopping by.

July & August 2022 Reads

Seems like it’s been forever since I’ve posted anything, but since I’ve been M.I.A, I have been reading quite frequently.

July:

Out of these 3 books that I read in July, The Outsiders was my favorite. I’ve always wanted to read this book, never having seen the movie and I’m glad that I did. The Outsiders deals with social issues from two different groups of teens and then tragedy strikes. I’m sure most of you have read or seen the movie, but with this being my first time reading the book, I can say that this could be something that I re-read again, it was just that good.

August:

I genuinely enjoyed all 3 of these books for the month of August. But if I had to choose one, it would be Divergent. I know I’m late with this book and series but I think that this first installment was great! Yes, I saw the movies way back when they first came out and I don’t remember anything about them. I just know that there are different factions and if someone is discovered to be divergent, it’s deemed “dangerous”. The first book goes into detail about the factions and what they mean, and I also enjoyed reading about Tris and getting her backstory. I can’t wait to read the other books.

Until next time…

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Razorblade Tears

A black father. A white father. Two murdered sons. A quest for vengeance.

I read this headline and knew instantly that I wanted to read this book! I wanted this book so bad that I hunted it down on ebay so I could have the paperback edition.

This story is about two fathers, one black and one that’s white who have sons that have married each other. Neither father has accepted the relationship. But once they are murdered, these fathers come together with a desire to get revenge for their sons. Ike, who is Isiah’s father and Buddy Lee who is Derek’s father come together and decide to put their past life that they thought was behind them in the forefront. They both decide to ride around town to get answers no matter the cost. They figure Isiah and Derek’s friends may not be willing to talk to the police, so they go and get information that the police cannot or will not get. This eventually forms an unlikely friendship between Ike and Buddy Lee.

As soon as the story started, it was fast paced. This book will have you on the edge of your seat. I didn’t want to put it down, it was that good. I felt as though I could sympathize with the two fathers. All they wanted was answers for why their sons were murdered. This was the first book that I have ever read that made me tear up. It’s filled with action and thriller, so if that’s your thing then I’d give this a read. I ‘d give it a read anyways because it’s a great book. This has to be in my top two favorite books that I’ve read this year. I think SA Cosby did a great job with this story and I can’t wait to read more from him.

The Night Of The Party

Two Couples, Three Secrets, One Murder.

That tagline pulled me in. This story is about two couples celebrating one’s accomplishment until one of their children doesn’t return home when they say they will. Immediately the cops are called and that’s when the story really starts rolling.

This was the first time that I have read a book by this author and it did not disappoint. I loved all the twists and turns throughout. It also tells the story from everyone’s point of view which I thought was a nice touch. It jumps back and fourth to tell how everyone ended up at the point of which a murder could possibly happen.

I did kind of figure out who done it almost towards the end, but it was still a great story. I could not put this down once I started reading. I would love to read more books by this author. I love her writing style. All in all, I’d recommend this. It’s exactly what I love, suspense, thriller, mystery tied into one!

Thanks for stopping by. 🌹

56 Days

56 Days….

So I finished this book about a week ago. I listened to it on Audible, which was different for me because I do not like to listen or have books read to me, but it was ok. This story is about two people meeting during the pandemic and they decide to move in together after only like two weeks of knowing each other. Then someone in their building finds a body….

This book has all the suspense one could possibly be looking for. In my opinion, it’s more of a thriller than a mystery. Some parts of the story were a drag, like the two detectives working the case. I guess every story has parts that do not necessarily belong in the story. The conversations between the two main characters seemed to drag on as well as they got to know each other. And all the descriptions, like what type of glasses they were drinking out of…I couldn’t lol.

This is something that I wanted to read and I’m glad I did. Was it my favorite book? No. I would give it 3 stars. I would recommend this if you do not have any issues with a story being set around the pandemic and you just want a quick read.

Thanks for stopping by!

It’s Been A While….

It’s been a while, but hopefully I am back! Since the last time I posted, I believe I was about to start reading Mexican Gothic and Slay. Well I started Slay, but couldn’t get passed the first chapter. Then I picked up Mexican Gothic and was pretty blown away by it. I had never read a paranormal/horror type of book before and this did not disappoint.

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The second book I read right after Mexican Gothic was The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. I think this book is what people call a “coming of age” type of story. It’s about a young girl who discovers slam poetry in order to understand her mother and their religion. I also loved how this book was written, it was written in the style of poetry, so I finished it in a week. I think this book id perfect for all ages.

Currently, I’m reading Smash It! by Francina Simone. I think this is another coming of age type of story. It’s about a girl who decides to go through her junior letting go of all her insecurities and doing things that she normally would not do. Instead of being afraid to do or say things she normally would not say, she decides to just let go, Smash It! so to speak. So far, I am liking the story, I’m laughing and thinking WTH all at the same time.

So that’s pretty much all I have going. I did track down a book called Razorblade Tears: A Novel by S. A. Cosby. I wanted it in paperback. I cannot wait to start reading it. I think the story could be interesting.

Thanks for stopping by.

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Recent Purchases 📖

Recently, I decided to purchase some more books. I decided that once I finished The Black Kids, I’d save Mexican Gothic for an October read. This left me on the hunt for a new book to read. I picked up Slay and The Poet X.

The Poet X & Slay

Slay:

By day, seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson is an honors student, a math tutor, and one of the only Black kids at Jefferson Academy. But at home, she joins hundreds of thousands of Black gamers who duel worldwide as Nubian personas in the secret multiplayer online role-playing card game, SLAY. No one knows Kiera is the game developer, not her friends, her family, not even her boyfriend, Malcolm, who believes video games are partially responsible for the “downfall of the Black man.”

But when a teen in Kansas City is murdered over a dispute in the SLAY world, news of the game reaches mainstream media, and SLAY is labeled a racist, exclusionist, violent hub for thugs and criminals. Even worse, an anonymous troll infiltrates the game, threatening to sue Kiera for “anti-white discrimination.”

Driven to save the only world in which she can be herself, Kiera must preserve her secret identity and harness what it means to be unapologetically Black in a world intimidated by Blackness. But can she protect her game without losing herself in the process?

Goodreads

The Poet X:

A young girl in Harlem discovers slam poetry as a way to understand her mother’s religion and her own relationship to the world. Debut novel of renowned slam poet Elizabeth Acevedo.

Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking.

But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers—especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about. With Mami’s determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself.

So when she is invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she doesn’t know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out, much less speak her words out loud. But still, she can’t stop thinking about performing her poems.

Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent.

Goodreads

These two books sounded interesting to me. I can relate to both of them, mainly Slay. I mean I’m not a heavy gamer per say, but I do play Call of Duty from time to time. And after what I saw today online dealing with Call of Duty Cold War, yes I can relate when it comes to women being in the same field as men. So I’m really excited to read Slay. I’m hoping I can get a few chapters in tonight!

Thank you all for stopping by and checking my little blog out! It means a lot to me.

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The Black Kids Conclusion….

This weekend, I finally finished The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed. This was a very good book in my opinion.

The Black Kids

Synopsis:

Los Angeles, 1992

Ashley Bennett and her friends are living the charmed life. It’s the end of senior year and they’re spending more time at the beach than in the classroom. They can already feel the sunny days and endless possibilities of summer.

Everything changes one afternoon in April, when four LAPD officers are acquitted after beating a black man named Rodney King half to death. Suddenly, Ashley’s not just one of the girls. She’s one of the black kids.

As violent protests engulf LA and the city burns, Ashley tries to continue on as if life were normal. Even as her self-destructive sister gets dangerously involved in the riots. Even as the model black family façade her wealthy and prominent parents have built starts to crumble. Even as her best friends help spread a rumor that could completely derail the future of her classmate and fellow black kid, LaShawn Johnson.

With her world splintering around her, Ashley, along with the rest of LA, is left to question who is the us? And who is the them?

Like I stated in my previous post Currently Reading…. I feel as though I connected most with the main character Ashley. I had many different friends and grew up where there wasn’t any violence around me. I would tend to let other’s decide things for me and I would let them say things that I knew wasn’t right. High school was a doozy.

Mostly with this story, I wanted Ashley to stand up to one of her friends throughout this entire book, but in the end, she didn’t. I mean she was the bigger person in the end. No matter what Kimberly did or said to her, Ashley chose to ignore it.

All in all, the ending is what left me wanting more. It kind of just left me on a cliffhanger. I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but I know I felt as though I needed more from the story. I guess in the end, the people that were there for Ashley were here real friends. I gave this book 4 stars, but only because of the ending.

Now I’m on the hunt for something light to read. My go to authors are usually Stephen King, James Patterson or Jackie Collins. My search on Amazon continues…

Thanks for stopping by.