Genevieve

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was my first time reading a book by Kristina Forest, and it won’t be my last.

This was such a cute, and romantic summer love story. We follow Noelle, who works at a bookstore and has a side job as a bridesmaid for hire while trying to save money to go back to school.

Jeremiah, who comes from a wealthy business family, tells his mom he has a girlfriend, the only problem is he doesn’t. He hires Noelle to be his girlfriend for a weekend, but what was only supposed to be a weekend turns into something much more, and I loved watching their relationship grow.

The slow burn was done so well. The chemistry between Noelle and Jeremiah felt natural, the family connections added so many heartwarming moments to the story, and their bond felt very real.

This book was warm, sweet, romantic, and just made me happy while reading it. It’s the kind of book you pick up when you want something comfy and easy to get lost in.

I’ll definitely be reading more from Kristina Forest.

Daniel Black is a genius. Isaac’s Song is the sequel to Don’t Cry for Me, and I’m so glad I read them back to back.

Getting to hear Isaac’s side of the story and see his perspective on his relationship with both his father and mother was such an experience. If you’ve read Don’t Cry for Me, you know how emotional that story is, and this one adds so much more meaning to everything that happened.

Isaac is grieving the loss of his father while trying to figure out how to heal, forgive, and move forward. He starts to realize that he and his father are more alike than he ever wanted to admit, while also confronting the things his father never taught him.

What I loved most was how beautifully these two books connect. I definitely recommend reading Don’t Cry for Me first because it makes Isaac’s journey come full circle, but this book still stands on its own. You can feel the pain, the healing, the growth, and ultimately the acceptance throughout the entire story.

I immersed read this one and listened to the audiobook, and JD Jackson did an amazing job. His narration made an already emotional story even more powerful.

This book made me feel so many emotions, and I’m really glad Daniel Black gave Isaac the chance to tell his side of the story.

I’m kind of sad to say this was my first time reading anything by Daniel Black, but it definitely won’t be my last.

This was such a beautifully written and emotional story. The entire book is basically a letter from a dying father, Jacob, to his son Isaac, and his son is gay, something Jacob struggled to accept. And this whole book is him finally being real about why he couldn’t love his son the way he should have.

Jacob is finally opening up and being honest about why he couldn’t love his son the way he deserved, and it’s not easy to read. It really gets into how Black men are raised to be tough, not soft, not emotional, being providers, and carrying all of that generational pressure.

What really stood out to me is how Daniel Black shows that a lot of parents are really just parenting the way they were parented. That doesn’t excuse the pain, but you see where it comes from, even when it hurts.

This book felt raw. Like I was sitting in the room with him while he was writing this letter, witnessing something personal that wasn’t meant for anyone else.

We don’t get a lot of stories where a parent is this vulnerable, where they admit they were wrong and actually apologize. That alone made this feel powerful and real.

However, He never even got the chance to say any of this face to face. He never reached out, never had that conversation with his son, and that frustrated me. Because at the end of the day, he chose not to. He had time, and instead he made excuses and I hated that.

I think I’m reading Isaac’s Song next because I really want to read the story from the son’s perspective.

I didn’t expect to enjoy this book as much as I did.

This was my first time reading anything by Mia Corland, and I’m honestly impressed. The story follows six different POVs, each character is pulled into the same dangerous mission, but for very different reasons.

They’re all connected by one goal, but the tension comes from the fact that nobody fully trusts each other and honestly, as a reader, I didn’t either, not one single person!

Everybody had something to hide. These are very untrustworthy characters, and I was side eyeing all of them at some point.

The pacing was so good, short, fast chapters that made it impossible to put down. Definitely a story full of secrets, and twists that keep you guessing.

This was such a beautifully written and heartbreaking story, and honestly, it’s probably going to be one of my top 5 reads of the year.

This is a dual POV story following Huong (Guava) and her grandmother as they try to survive through war, loss, and everything that comes with living through some of the most difficult periods in Vietnam’s history.

What really stood out to me was how this book shows the impact of generational trauma and the strength it takes for a family to keep going when it feels like the odds are stacked against them. I’ve never read a book that explored the experiences of the Vietnamese people during and after the war in such a personal and emotional way.

This book made me sad, angry, and emotional, but I learned so much from it. It’s one of those stories that stays with you long after you finish it.

A heartbreaking but necessary read.

I actually found this book while searching for books with Haitian representation for Haitian Heritage Month. I went in completely blind, which honestly made the experience even better. All I really knew going in was that it had ties to the Black Panther Movement in the 60s and 70s, and honestly, that alone sold me.

The story follows Nettie as she leaves Haiti for America, hoping to build a better life for herself. Once in America, she becomes involved with the Black Panther Movement first in Oakland, California and then in Chicago, Illinois, where she slowly transforms into a revolutionary, which made her journey even more interesting to follow.

What I really liked about this book was how it mixed historical fiction, romance, and suspense without feeling all over the place. Once things started picking up, I was all in and had a hard time putting it down. The beginning was a little slow for me at first, but after that it turned into a page turner.

I also really appreciated how the book tied in real historical moments and tensions because it made everything feel more honest and believable. And the writing itself was just beautiful. You can tell Fabienne Josaphat put so much care into telling this story.

This was my first read by Edwidge Danticat and I’m impressed.

“The dew breaker” basically means torturer in Haitian Creole, and the story centers around a man who was once part of the Tonton Macoute, the brutal militia responsible for killing and abusing thousands of people in Haiti during the François and Jean-Claude Duvalier regime between 1957–1986.

The story is told through multiple POVs, with each chapter following different characters dealing with trauma, survival, immigration, and the lasting effects of what happened in Haiti.

What I liked most was how every story eventually connected back to the dew breaker somehow, even though there were a few chapters where I didn’t really understand the connection at first or why they mattered. At times, the writing was so vivid that you could truly feel how dark, brutal, and haunting that period in Haiti was.

This wasn’t a favorite read for me, but I still think it was a really good and important one. The ending especially was heartbreaking and honestly one of the strongest parts of the book for me. Can’t wait to read more from her.

I don’t know what took me so long to read this book! It was everything my husband said it was and more. I can’t wait to continue this series.

I couldn’t stop thinking about this book. This military dark fantasy follows Rin, a dark skinned orphan girl who is desperately trying to escape the life she was forced into by getting into this elite school. Watching Rin go from being determined to survive to discovering what she truly is and the choices she has to make along the way was honestly one of my favorite parts of the story.

The world building in this book was amazing. The gods, the horrors of war, the brutal fight scenes, everything just blended so well together. Some scenes were very hard to read because of how brutal and realistic they felt, but that’s also what made this story stick with me so much.

I flew through this book. The pacing was so good. There were a few slower moments, but I was so invested in the story and the characters that I couldn’t stop thinking about it even when I wasn’t reading. Rin is such a complicated character and I loved that this book wasn’t afraid to let her make messy and difficult choices.

This book completely lived up to the hype for me and now I understand why so many people love this series.

This book was so good, like, so good it actually had me conflicted by the end.

This was a dark fantasy that covered everything I needed out of a book this month. It does have a few slower moments, but for a debut novel, I was genuinely impressed.

We follow Wen, a village girl who’s desperate to help her family and community as they struggle through famine and death. She makes the ultimate sacrifice and offers herself to the royal family as a concubine in hopes of bringing food and stability back home. She starts off naive and kind hearted, but watching her transformation, Man! she turns into somebody you do not wanna mess with.

Then we’ve got Prince Terran and his brother Maro, both fighting for the throne. The tension between them, made me want to know more. Watching their power struggle unfold and the layers of their rivalry kept me turning the pages.

I’m trying not to spoil anything, but this definitely gave me Game of Thrones vibes. Check your triggers cause there are some.

And the ending, the last few chapters had me stressed, and wanting more. It definitely did not go the way I thought it would.

Just read it, y’all seriously a good one!

I was privileged to receive an ARC of Mazywood by Tananarive Due from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for the opportunity to read this early!

This is a dual POV story where we follow Mazelle Washington, a young actress trying to navigate life in the 1920s, and then her grandson Johnny and his family fifty years later when they return to her secluded cabin retreat. Once they arrive, long buried secrets slowly start coming to light, all while something terrifying creeps around outside.

The way this book had me stressed for this family at every turn was driving me crazy. I was so invested and constantly worried something bad was about to happen. Every time they stepped outside or something strange happened I was immediately like “absolutely not.”

I loved the blend of historical fiction and paranormal horror. It reminded me of The Reformatory with the way it mixes history with supernatural elements, but Mazywood leans even more into the paranormal side. The setting, the mystery surrounding Mazelle, and the creepy sense of danger all worked so well together.

If you love family secrets, creepy woods, and horror mixed with historical fiction, definitely add this one to your September release list. This was such a suspenseful read for me.

Since it’s Haitian Heritage Month, I wanted to pick up more books by Haitian authors and An Untamed State came highly recommended by someone in my book club. And wow, this book had me from the very first line: “Once upon a time in a far off land, I was kidnapped.” After that, I could not put this book down.

The story is set in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, which is my family’s hometown, and Roxane Gay does not sugarcoat anything. This book is brutal, emotional, and honestly hard to read at times. It deals with poverty, corruption, kidnapping, torture, rape, and the mental trauma that follows, so please check your triggers before going into this one.

We follow Mireille, her husband Michael, and their son Christophe while visiting her wealthy family in Haiti for the summer. After Mireille gets kidnapped, the book follows both her time in captivity and the aftermath of everything she goes through.

What made this a 5 star read for me was how real and emotional it felt. I felt so connected to Mireille and everything she was dealing with. The writing completely pulled me in and even during the hard parts, I couldn’t stop reading because I needed to know what happened next.

This is definitely not a light read, but it’s one that’s going to stick with me for a long time.

I really enjoy Ibi Zoboi’s writing. Having now read three of her books, I haven’t rated any lower than 4 stars, and this one was no different.

She does an amazing job bringing the Caribbean folklore of the soucouyant to life. I listened to the audiobook, and it was such a quick read. The book is written in verse, which I honestly didn’t realize until the author’s note at the end, but I really enjoyed the writing style and how easy it was to get through.

We follow two girls, Marisol and Genevieve (which made me so happy because that’s my name), as they navigate life and identity in very different ways.

Marisol, a teenage immigrant living with her mother, knows about her magic and understands the history behind who and what she is.

Genevieve, who is mixed, born in Brooklyn and lives with her father and stepmother, isn’t aware of her magic. Instead, she’s focused on living with a skin condition that she believes has no cure.

This book touches on themes of colorism, racism, immigration, identity, and family, all while blending in folklore and magic in a really interesting way.