Genevieve

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.

My first Stephen King read and I get the hype around 11/22/63.

This book gave me Back to the Future vibes, the whole time. I went in thinking it was mainly about the Kennedy assassination, but it ended up being so much more than that. We get sci-fi, historical fiction, mystery, and even romance all blended together in a way that somehow really works.

This book is LONG (audio was over 30 hr) and the middle definitely dragged a little for me, but even during the slow parts, I still needed to know what was going to happen next. That’s what kept me interested the whole time.

I really enjoyed this one. Not a perfect read because of the pacing in the middle, but still a great first Stephen King read for me.

I haven’t read Pride and Prejudice yet, but this remix by Ibi Zoboi was beautifully done.

We follow Zuri, who’s all about her Brooklyn roots and her family, and then Darius and his wealthy family move in across the street acting real standoffish at first. They definitely start off a little tense, but watching their relationship slowly grow was so good.

Everything about this story just worked for me, the characters felt real, the sense of community was so strong, and the romance was done in such a soft, meaningful way. You could really feel the tension and growth between them.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Elizabeth Acevedo, and she did an amazing job bringing the story to life. Her voice added so much emotion and realness.

This book started off really strong and had my full attention. We follow a mother, Santie, and her daughter Ady during slavery and their journey through everything that came with that time. Once Ady gets separated from her mother and ends up at the Mockingjay Inn, I thought the story was about to dive deeper into the secret society, the spying missions, and all the historical drama.

We do get some of that, but not until the last few chapters. Most of the story focuses more on Ady’s friendships and romantic relationships. Nothing wrong with that, but I was hoping for more of the historical side.

I liked it and the beginning really pulled me in, but it didn’t fully give what I expected.

Marcus Kkwelier does it again with The Caretaker.

This one starts off a little slow, but once it picks up I was all the way in. The world building and suspense were great, there’s this constant eerie feeling creeping in that makes you keep turning pages just to see what’s going to happen next.

We follow Macie Mullins, who’s down on her luck and just needs a job. She ends up taking a position as a caretaker, but from the beginning, nothing about this place feels normal. She’s given simple rules to follow, but of course, things start going left real quick. This job turns into a freaking nightmare.

And Macie, she got on my nerves so many times. Like girl please just do ONE thing right. But honestly, that frustration just added to the tension because I was so invested in what was happening to her.

Once the story really gets going, it becomes a page-turner. Creepy, tense, and super engaging.

And that ending! Honestly perfect. It wrapped things up so well and still had me sitting there like, wait a minute, what just happened!