Nicholas McCane
Wow, just wow. I think I found my favorite author. S.A. Cosby knows how to write a damn book. Of his four novels, I’ve read three, and they’re all outstanding. I will list the three I’ve read so far and my rankings for them. I will read, “My Darkest Prayer” next and I’ve already preordered “King of Ashes” which releases on 6-10-25.
1. Razorblade Tears 5 Stars
2. All the Sinners Bleed 4.75 Stars
3. Blacktop Wasteland 4 Stars
S.A. Cosby did it again. This is my 2nd read by this author and again he didn’t disappoint. My first was Razorblade Tears (5 stars). This was a slow burn but very enjoyable and satisfying. I loved the southern feel. I felt like I was there drinking sweet tea and fighting racism lol. But seriously, this is a great book. Can’t wait to read Blacktop Wasteland. I’m giving this one four and a half stars!
It’s hard to talk about this book without spoiling it. So I’m just gonna say this. This book is heavy. Check the synopsis for your triggers. It’s 435 pages but it flew by. I couldn’t put it down. It’s my first read by this author but won’t be my last. This book carries the same weight as the Netflix documentary, “The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez”. Very sad, disturbing, and frustrating. But it’s realistic and a reminder of the world we live in. The only issue I had with this book was the chapter titles. It was a little hard to keep up with at times. Other than that, this book was flawless and delivered ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I had a good time with this book. This book takes place in Macon, Georgia (where I currently live). It was fun being able to visualize the neighborhoods and streets that were mentioned. The story is original, I love the mix of historical fiction and fantasy. And it’s always great seeing racist people/monsters get their butts kicked. I loved the ending and decision making. The only reason I didn’t give it five stars was because of the slow middle.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
ARC Review: From NetGalley
Release Date: 9-16-25
Authors: Mason Coile; Andrew Pyper
No Spoilers
First, I want to thank NetGalley for allowing me to read this in advance. As promised, I will give you my honest review.
This book is amazing! The book hooked me from the beginning. It held my attention the entire time. This is a fast-paced science fiction quick read. The book is about a crew sent to Mars to prepare the first-ever colony. Once they arrive, they find their base half-destroyed, and their three robots sent to set up in disarray. All kinds of stuff are going on y’all. We got aliens, murders, alliances, and other kinds of stuff. It’s a who done it Sci-Fi, and it’s exceptional! The end is very satisfying too. I will definitely purchase a physical copy.
This book was outstanding. The first page will grab you and never let go. I learned so much about her childhood as well as once she became an adult. I also felt like I had front row seats inside both the Black Liberation Army and The Black Panther Party. American Schools will only teach us about Rosa Parks and MLK. It’s up to us to teach ourselves about the hundreds (possibly thousands) of other heroes that the government keeps from us. Next up for me is An Autobiography by Angela Davis and Black Prophet by Nat Turner. Did you know that she is Tupac’s Godmother 🤯
ARC Review: From NetGalley
Release Date: 8-12-25
Author: Katie Bishop
This was my first ARC review and let’s just say that I was super geeked that I was given the opportunity. “High Season” is a who done it murder mystery. The plot is great, and I love the twist at the end. However, I felt like there was a lot of over-describing in the beginning and a lot of over-explaining in the middle. Sometimes it dragged on and I felt like there were parts that could have been left out. There is also a lot of jumping around between POVs and times, but it is not too difficult to keep up with. Overall, I liked it but didn’t love it. I’m giving it three and a half stars!
This is my book club’s second book. Our first book was the Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose. I had seen mixed reviews so I was kind of nervous that this book wouldn’t be as good as our first.
The Silent Patient started out extremely slow and boring. The first four chapters were blah, I found myself rereading paragraphs. But then the book picked up and got better and better. This ended up being a great read with a satisfying ending. I’m giving it four and a half stars!
Contains spoilers
So, this is hard to review. Dr. Lucinda Berry is a clinical psychologist and a leading researcher in childhood trauma. I’m an investigator who has spent the last 15 years working Crimes against Children. I have arrested more child molesters, rapist, and baby killers than I can count. But wait, the arrest comes last. Most of the time, it starts with a call from dispatch. After the initial outcry, taking the child to get an exam/STD test (if necessary), then listening to them disclose the worst moments of their lives to a stranger (forensic interview), is crazy. After that, I have to collect whatever evidence I can, and interview everyone involved. The worst part is hunting down the bad guy (which, most times, it’s someone the victim knows) then interview/interrogate them.
I have sat across from the bad guy hundreds of times as they confess to what they have done to an innocent child (sometimes while they’re smiling and/or erect). Some of them seem remorseful, many do not. A lot of them are teenagers (16-18) and they typically target the very young. I try my best to talk to them like I would anyone else, but I can’t because they’re not like anyone else. I’ve even had a few of them cry their hearts out about how they can’t control themselves and love to watch babies “booty shake in their diapers”. It was extremely hard reading “Saving Noah” and trying to sympathize with him and his mother. And although I understood what Dr. Berry was trying to accomplish, the Investigator in me was more concerned about the two little girls he abused. I wanted to hear more about them. How were they doing? Hell, I was more scared for Noah’s little sister than I was for him.
Dr. Berry did a great job showing me what happens to some of them after I’ve finished with them in court. I’ll give her that. Because I never even thought about them after that. I did not sympathize with mom for killing her son. Murder is murder. And yes, I figured dad was a bad guy too. I rated it 3 stars because it was original and thought-provoking. And another star for pissing me off. Good job Dr. Berry ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!
I wasn’t all that impressed. So many people had hyped me up about it, that I thought I was about to read the next terminator or something. So some of this is my fault. The book had some funny moments and I loved that it was a sci-fi. My biggest issue was the lack of murdering. This is the Murderbot Diaries. I needed dead bodies 🤦🏾♂️. I purchased the entire series so I will definitely keep reading. Hopefully the action I’m looking for will start in book 2 🤷🏾♂️.
The Poppy War was my first fantasy book. Unfortunately it starts off extremely slow. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great as far as world and character building, but still really slow. The book lacked action. I waited and waited. Somewhere near the 200th page it picked up, but quickly slowed back down. I still enjoyed it but to be honest, it was kind of a let down. I buddy read it and my buddy DNF. Since I’m invested, I will be completing the series. Maybe the other two books are full of action. I’m giving it four stars for the world building, some of the fighting scenes, and the graphic depictions of what war looks like. Those parts were really satisfying 🤷🏾♂️
R.F. Kuang surprised me with this one. It read nothing like her other books. It was fast-paced and kept me interested. I’m glad to share my opinion since there’s been a lot of discussion about this book on social media.
This book is about an unsuccessful author named Juniper Hayward (June) and her associate, Athena Liu (another author). June despises Athena because Athena is successful and she isn’t.
Athena dies from an accident, and June steals one of her unpublished manuscripts. June is Caucasion, Athena is Asian American. Since Athena’s book was about Chinese history, June changed her name to Juniper Song to appear Asian, then published it. Juniper ended up becoming very successful, but it did not come without drama.
The story is told from June’s perspective (first person), and it’s like watching a slow-motion train wreck. Juniper is an extremely unlikable character, and I couldn’t stop reading it. I rooted against her for the entire book.
R.F. Kuang holds up a mirror to the publishing industry. This book is about race, literary theft, and being an author in today’s climate.
According to reviews, people have found this book funny. I was so upset with the main character that I couldn’t laugh. Probably because I can see this actually happening in America. Overall, I enjoyed it!
I think it would have been a better story if a poor, talented Asian American woman had made it big. Then after dying, had her work stolen by this privileged white lady. I say this because Athena was also privileged, and seemed unlikable to me.
I am now caught up with this author’s catalog. Bring on Katabasis!
Listen, this book was phenomenal. It has become my favorite science fiction book (and no, I haven’t read the Red Rising series yet). I highly recommend the audiobook because there is a ton of math and science and reading it may be a little much. Plus, the narrator does an amazing job. I laughed out loud several times. I used both physical and audiobook. Ryland Grace started out being my favorite character, then Eva Stratt stole the show. And just when I thought she had it on lock, Rocky took over. This is more than just a book about outer space. It’s about sacrifice, love, betrayal, friendship, duty, and honor. The easiest ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I ever gave.
I absolutely enjoyed this book. This was my second book of the year and it will be hard for another one to top it. I loved the suspense, the detailed descriptions, the plot twists, and most of the characters. I said most because Adam and his mother were extremely annoying. But that's what makes the book so good. None of the characters sounds the same. They have their own voice. Outstanding! I can't wait for “The Perfect Divorce”. Beautifully written
I kept hearing about this book so I decided to pick it up. It did not disappoint. It felt like I was watching a movie. Road house type of fight scenes. I loved it. I laughed, gasped, felt sad at times, and was upset with both the protagonist and the antagonist. It had a very satisfying ending. I don’t know which was my favorite character Ike or Buddy Lee. In my opinion, all of this automatically equals ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
I really enjoyed this one. I have went down a rabbit hole of memoirs that have taken place in black neighborhoods in major cities during the 80s and 90s. This one didn't disappoint. Although my race has been through hell for centuries, this time period is unique due to the Crack Cocaine epidemic and gang culture. This memoir captures that from a Philadelphia teen's perspective. We go on a hood journey from the eyes of Malo. A teenage black male. He and his family goes through hell. I love how the author uses rap music and R&B to help tell it. And how he uses hood references to describe the scenery. Be prepared because this book is heavy on slang. This was a masterpiece. And although his story was amazing, I pray that his mother and brother both write a memoir because their stories seem interesting as well.
Social media was raving over this book so I had to check it out. This book is about finding your “Personal Legend”. Your mission on earth. It's about a boy named Santiago who is a shepherd. He goes on a journey to find his personal legend. It was slow paced but still a gem. I love the message of the book. I'll leave you with two quotes from the book.
1: “If a person is living out his personal legend, he knows everything he needs to know. There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure”.
2. “And anyone who interferes with the Personal Legend of another thing never will discover his own”.
I love the ending. The only reason why I didn't give it five stars is because it was too slow. I kept falling asleep and having to reread paragraphs.
I really enjoyed this book. It brought me through several emotions (which I like). I laughed a few times, was upset with her a few times, sad with her a few times, and shared her anger. I even slammed the book closed once. Any book that can do that, earns some stars. Good read, felt like some parts dragged just a little though.
I am a Crimes against Children's Investigator. I met Dr. Gregory Williams in 2023 at a conference in Dallas. After listening to him speak, I talked with him for a few afterwords. Outstanding guy. I purchased the book that same day. The book is just like his presentation, it will leave you speechless, sad, and angry. This short memoir packs a punch, and it doesn't waste time. Caution: This books deals with some heavy child sexual abuse. It's 142 pages of raw emotions and memories. I pray for you everyday sir
I'm a huge fan of D. Watkins. As a matter of fact, his book, “Black Boy Smile” is one of my favorites. This one however, didn't hit the same. As a former street person, some of this book felt exaggerated at best. It was still a good read, but it read more like an urban fiction than a memoir. There were also several grammatical errors.
When I saw that Yusef Salaam wrote a memoir, I was excited. I rushed out to purchase it, then pushed it ahead of all my “to be read” pile. Yes, I watched the Netflix series, but was ready to hear from one of the exonerated five. This book is not a memoir at all. It was more like a self help book for newly released inmates. And although nothing is wrong with that, it was not what I expected. It was repetitive and I had to try hard to stay focused. He talked about religion for most of the book. It's a great book for someone, just not for me. Much respect to Yusef.
Overall, the book was okay. The protagonist is a bit annoying, but some of the supporting characters (her friends) help out a lot. I have two issues with the book.
1. All the men in this book are incompetent, weak, and/or bad. You can make a book about strong women without making all the men weak.
2. The protagonist is the hero, but most of her actions
seem unrealistic.
I really wanted to like this book. I am an Investigator who has worked violent crimes for 15 years. This book is a horrible case of domestic violence that ended in murder. It does an excellent job at showing the toll DV has on everyone involved (including the children). It also does a great job at showing how insane these monsters can be. The problem with the book is that the opening grabs your attention, but then it drags for a very long time. The most interesting part was the 12-page document her mother wrote. It stays interesting for a little longer, then gets boring again. Don't get me wrong, I feel for Mrs. Trethewey, but I'm not going to lie, I feel asleep several times reading it and had to fight to not DNF. ⭐️⭐️⭐️