Michelle

Finally getting to this eARC I received from NetGalley.

I don't regret reading this book, but it was a bit too slow for me and too long.

However, I learned something about the Sami people and how they were treated. In this story, we learn about 4 times the Sami people have been flooded out of their homes for the industrial "progression" of Norway. The way the government spoke about these people was racist as hell.

"don't loan money to the Lapps because they can't be trusted."

These people were basically kept in poverty by design. They couldn't own property because the government said they didn't need that. That they were content living in tents. Just...wow. I want to learn more about these people. I'm also just now finding out that the indigenous group depicted in Frozen 2 is based on the Sami people, so...that's cool.

I'm going to pick up more work from creators with this background.

It's hard for me to “rate” poetry, as it's not a medium that I visit often or have much expertise in. My usually barometer is “did you understand what this poem is saying?” In the past, I haven't understood poetry unless the language was more accessible to me (e.g. Langston Hughes's poems about poverty, identity, love, etc.). This collection of poetry is very accessible. Even if you don't understand something, there are end notes that will give you more context and explain what the author is trying to convey with their work.

There are a lot of Christian biblical references laced throughout this work. That may be a turn off for some people, but it actually didn't bother me. It didn't come off as pretentious. Instead, it references many events in the bible juxtaposed with current events. It questions God sometimes in how “He” seems to just allow terrible things to happen, but then in the future there is hindsight. I don't know what the hindsight will be to the atrocities we witness today (soneta 369)...but I guess we will see.

Among my favorites are Soneta 386 that references Maya Angelou's statement “God put the rainbow in the clouds, not just in the sky, so that each one of us in the dreariest and most dreaded moments can see a possibility of hope”; Soneta 400 deals with having conflicting voices that make it difficult to know when to yield and when to resist; Soneta 378 that basically restates “there's nothing new under the sun” from the bible and the warning that those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.; Soneta 384 about black fatigue/white exhaustion “I'm sorry I bothered you with my troubles, clobbered you with my endless foibles. Faulted you like you were the riddle to my struggles...”

There's a couple of non-political Sonetas that I also enjoyed: Soneta 398 “I've loved you with the darkest and brightest blues of every ocean. Shall love you still, if you choose...”; Soneta 399 “I return to you like a child lost and in need of love. Not that I've found a world without its flaws, summer without its frost...”; Soneta 391 “April is the truest month, the fullest song from Nature's lungs, springing far and wide with psalmic tongue...” a contrast to “April is the cruelest month...” from another famous poem...

I highlighted whole poems while reading with my kindle. There are too many to name. I enjoyed reading this. I want to pick up a physical copy so that I can spend a bit more time with these poems and do some annotation.

It's hard for me to “rate” poetry, as it's not a medium that I visit often or have much expertise in. My usually barometer is “did you understand what this poem is saying?” In the past, I haven't understood poetry unless the language was more accessible to me (e.g. Langston Hughes's poems about poverty, identity, love, etc.). This collection of poetry is very accessible. Even if you don't understand something, there are end notes that will give you more context and explain what the author is trying to convey with their work.

There are a lot of Christian biblical references laced throughout this work. That may be a turn off for some people, but it actually didn't bother me. It didn't come off as pretentious. Instead, it references many events in the bible juxtaposed with current events. It questions God sometimes in how “He” seems to just allow terrible things to happen, but then in the future there is hindsight. I don't know what the hindsight will be to the atrocities we witness today (soneta 369)...but I guess we will see.

Among my favorites are Soneta 386 that references Maya Angelou's statement “God put the rainbow in the clouds, not just in the sky, so that each one of us in the dreariest and most dreaded moments can see a possibility of hope”; Soneta 400 deals with having conflicting voices that make it difficult to know when to yield and when to resist; Soneta 378 that basically restates “there's nothing new under the sun” from the bible and the warning that those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.; Soneta 384 about black fatigue/white exhaustion “I'm sorry I bothered you with my troubles, clobbered you with my endless foibles. Faulted you like you were the riddle to my struggles...”

There's a couple of non-political Sonetas that I also enjoyed: Soneta 398 “I've loved you with the darkest and brightest blues of every ocean. Shall love you still, if you choose...”; Soneta 399 “I return to you like a child lost and in need of love. Not that I've found a world without its flaws, summer without its frost...”; Soneta 391 “April is the truest month, the fullest song from Nature's lungs, springing far and wide with psalmic tongue...” a contrast to “April is the cruelest month...” from another famous poem...

I highlighted whole poems while reading with my kindle. There are too many to name. I enjoyed reading this. I want to pick up a physical copy so that I can spend a bit more time with these poems and do some annotation.

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC.

Due to the controversy surrounding this novel, I decided to read it and form my own thoughts. The story is solid, but the writing was much too repetitive for me. The "something x, something y" phrasing was particularly egregious for me. I actually searched how many times the word "something" was used: 200 times! For the most part, they all followed that "something x, something y" format, with the occasional "something z" added in.

In my opinion, this book was overwritten. The premise is so interesting, but it gets lost in the technical issues. To me, the best-written part of the novel is the Beverly chapter. It feels like a short story that might have been written first (perhaps without AI assistance?) with the rest of the novel built around it.

Given the AI allegations, I questioned whether I even wanted to read this. I tried hard to avoid outside opinions, but after starting, the issues others pointed out became impossible to ignore.

***I don't want to add to the pile on, but I do hope for more growth in their future work***

I am curious about *Sugar*, the author's previous novel, but I think I’ll hold off for now.

This is the story of a woman named Richard “Ricki” Wilde II (named after her father), the black sheep of her funeral empire family.

Ricki loves horticulture and runs a successful Instagram profile dedicated to elaborate floral bouquets. She doesn't want to work in the family business, she has a desire to forge her own path... much to the chagrin of her family.

After meeting a 96-year old woman –Mrs Della Bennett, recently widowed– Ricki moves from Atlanta to Harlem to open a flower shop in the vacant space of the widow's brownstone. While there, she finds a best friend, found family, and her soul mate.

This story is so sweet. There is a big dose of magical realism, a deadly curse, and perennials involved (you'll find out what this means once you read it). There's also a bit of spice sprinkled in here as well.

I listened to this audiobook during a long, six-hour drive (six there, six back). I was entertained and intrigued the entire time and the ending is a bit bittersweet.

I got to hear about the Harlem Renaissance and the artists that made history during that time (e.g Langston Hughes, Fats Domino, Duke Ellington, etc.) and a dose of the South's, Jim-Crow history. As a gift to Harlem, Ricki creates beautiful bouquets and lays them at the site of forgotten relics of the Harlem Renaissance and unintentionally causes the community to decorate their city with those arrangements. It's beautiful, Ricki's sense of wonder. She's a very lovable person.

Ezra is a guarded man hesitant to get close to anyone, let alone Ricki. And for good reason. He's reclusive, but Ricki is different. She stirs him up and uncovers his secrets. Their relationship is realistic and so well-developed. I loved their same love of spitting random fun facts. The author wrote something so believable and it makes you fall in love with these characters.

My favorite character is absolutely Mrs. Della. She's such a no nonsense kind of person that just truly misses the love of her life. They way she describes their love was the he is the music she could listen to forever.

I have nothing bad to say about this story at all. The narration was good. The male narrator definitely sounds like he does vocal impressions–Sonny Walker sounds like the impression of John Witherspoon. The club owner's def was an impersonation of Denzel. It's a sweet story