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February Mystery/Suspense Spotlight - United States (English)

2/26/2020

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Here is our first monthly spotlight! This time, I would like to tell you about four books for which I received advanced review copies from NetGalley and Edelweiss+. The comments below reflect my personal opinion!

Folks, let's talk about the fiction novels first! Have you read Verity by Colleen Hoover? Did it keep you at the edge of your seat? Well, then you are in for a treat!!! The Perfect Mother by Caroline Mitchell has the suspense of Verity times 10!!! I read this book in one sitting--I just couldn't put it down! Yes, it was THAT good! It took me on a crazy emotional roller coaster ride!

The book tells the story of Roz, a young lady living in Ireland who, as it happens sometimes, ends up pregnant with the wrong guy and at the wrong time. She wants to be the perfect mother to her baby, but feels that this is not possible in her situation. Determined to do right by her child, she joins an elite adoption service and ends up meeting a celebrity couple who already have a child, but are desperately looking for another child of their own. Sheridan and Daniel live in New York and are wealthy and glamorous--pretty appealing to a pregnant mommy with basically nothing to her name and no baby daddy, right? So, Roz agrees to move into the couple's basement suite until the baby is born because, ya know, the couple is pretty private about their life as future parents. Once Roz moves in with them, alarm bells start ringing left and right for her. Something just doesn't seem right! (1) Roz finds out that she is not the first woman to move in with the couple and that the first woman has been missing since; (2) Sheridan acts pretty strange right from the start and is very controlling; and (3) Roz can't have any contact with her own family and friends or let them know who she is living with because of a non-disclosure agreement or be seen by the couple's friends. You get the gist? Sounds pretty creepy already, doesn't it? At some point, Roz realizes that her unborn baby may be the only thing that is keeping her alive and that she has walking into a celebrity Bates Motel. 

What made this book absolutely fantastic is that the author, Caroline Mitchell, is a former police detective and not only that, she also specialized at some point in roles dealing with victims like Roz. This means that her police procedural descriptions are amazing and authentic! She knows how to make you feel what Roz feels, she creeps you out with her writing from Sheridan's POV, too. I could absolutely relate to the characters. I was scared for Roz, I was scared of Sheridan, I was frustrated with Sheridan's husband Daniel, and felt for and tried to understand family friend George. Just when I thought I had figured everything out, Caroline Mitchell adds another twist...and ooooooh, what a twist it is!!! Folks, I love everything about this book! In fact, I believe that this will be one of my favorite reads in 2020 and is definitely the best book I have read so far in this year.

The Perfect Mother by Caroline Mitchell was released on January 14. It is available to purchase or--if you have Kindle Unlimited--free to read on your Kindle! 

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​Product details
  • File Size: 3818 KB for ebook
  • Print Length: 364 pages
  • Audio Length: 10 hours and 55 minutes (narrated by multiple narrators)
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1542016649
  • Publisher: Thomas & Mercer (January 14, 2020)
  • Publication Date: January 14, 2020
  • Sold by: Amazon.com Services LLC
  • Language: English
  • ASIN (ebook): B07RLXY9PM
  • ASIN (audio): B07X8QSWCJ
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Here is our second fiction novel! This one is Holly Jackson's debut novel and what a debut novel it is!!



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​Product details
  • File Size: 10620 KB
  • Print Length: 389 pages
  • Audio Length: 10 hours and 53 minutes (narrated by multiple narrators)
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1984896369
  • Publisher: Delacorte Press (February 4, 2020)
  • Publication Date: February 4, 2020
  • Sold by: Random House LLC
  • Language: English
  • ASIN (ebook): B07T3XJH4Z
  • ASIN (audio): B07ZDLK2KQ
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"The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh." Or was she?

This book tells is set in Fairview, a town that seems to have a whole bunch of secrets. The murder of Andie Bell doesn't seem to be one of them. The police believe they know Sal Singh did it and everyone in town knows he did it. Now here comes Pippa Fitz-Amobi, Pip for short. She has grown up in Fairview, but unlike everyone else in town she isn't sure that Sal did it. She decides to use this topic for her final year project and has no clue that she is about to uncover secrets that apparently shouldn't be uncovered. Is Sal innocent after all? If so, the killer is still out there and Pip is poking her nose into stuff that can get her killed herself.

Here we have a popular high school senior who was murdered. Then we have Sal Singh, her boyfriend, who is the prime suspect and then kills himself. Five years later, the town is still haunted by this case. But not everyone is as keen as Pip, who knew Sal as a child, to shine a new light on the case. At first, Pip just wants to discuss some doubts that have come up over the years...about Sal's guilt, about his suicide, about the original investigation. But soon she discovers some evidence that might prove Sal innocent after all. This story is definitely full of twists and turns! I listened to the audio while reading along and that gave the book a fantastic feel! But even without the audio, the book would have drawn me in. The story was great and reminded me of a cold case I watched recently on Investigation Discovery--a case still unsolved. Fortunately, Holly Jackson doesn't leave us hanging...her book doesn't leave questions unanswered. Using a college application project as the format--with transcripts and recorded interviews--was ingenious! The audio made this format even more interesting since there were different narrators for the different characters in the college application paper. I loved the dynamics in the relationship that Pip and Ravi (Sal's brother) have and, most of all, I loved that there was not only one simple answer to the question: "Where is Andie and what happened on that Friday, the 18th?".
The last chapter also made me think that this would make a great first book in a series. There are a lot more secrets in Fairview than just this Andie mystery. Let's have a sequel, pretty, pretty please!!!

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Now let's dive into two nonfiction books in this genre! The first one is about an amazing, persistent woman and forensic pioneer. What makes this woman even more incredible is that she didn't have any forensic background when she started her journey, but the impact she had on modern forensics is tremendous!
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​Product details
  • File Size: 3816 KB
  • Print Length: 368 pages
  • Audio Length: 8 hours and 35 minutes
  • Publisher: Sourcebooks (February 4, 2020)
  • Publication Date: February 4, 2020
  • Sold by: Amazon.com Services LLC
  • Language: English
  • ASIN (ebook): B07Y5PKMYH
  • ASIN (audio): B0848PWWB5
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This is "the story of a woman whose ambition and accomplishments far exceeded the expectations of her time, 18 Tiny Deaths follows the transformation of a young, wealthy socialite into the mother of modern forensics...Frances Glessner Lee, born a socialite to a wealthy and influential Chicago family in the 1870s, was never meant to have a career, let alone one steeped in death and depravity. Yet she developed a fascination with the investigation of violent crimes, and made it her life's work. Best known for creating the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, a series of dollhouses that appear charming—until you notice the macabre little details: an overturned chair, or a blood-spattered comforter. And then, of course, there are the bodies—splayed out on the floor, draped over chairs—clothed in garments that Lee lovingly knit with sewing pins. 18 Tiny Deaths, by official biographer Bruce Goldfarb, delves into Lee's journey from grandmother without a college degree to leading the scientific investigation of unexpected death out of the dark confines of centuries-old techniques and into the light of the modern day. Lee developed a system that used the Nutshells dioramas to train law enforcement officers to investigate violent crimes, and her methods are still used today. 18 Tiny Deaths transports the reader back in time and tells the story of how one woman, who should never have even been allowed into the classrooms she ended up teaching in, changed the face of science forever." (source: Goodreads)

I'm a huge fan of forensics and CSI. I used to binge watch CSI, Criminal Minds, and every show on Investigation Discovery. So, I was super excited to see a book like this being released. From the perspective of a forensics fan and everything related to detective work, this book was super interesting. I had no clue how much forensic medicine has progressed because of this one lady and how little progress we have made since we lost this powerhouse of a woman! Shows like CSI and Medical Detectives make it look like we are really advanced in our methods. While we have made a lot of progress in this field, I can see from the historical perspective after reading this book that we have actually only made baby steps since the 1950s. That is a surprise, considering all the technical and medical milestones we have achieved, such as in DNA technology, hair analysis, etc. This book is really an eye opener as far as that is concerned.

I have to admit that some of the chapters went too much into detail. It is interesting to learn about everything that this amazing woman has done for STEM and forensic medicine in particular even without a college degree and in-depth medical expertise, but the author lost my interest a few times when there was too much mention of every minuscule detail in the communication with Harvard University and others. That is the only reason I gave this book only 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. Other than that, I really loved the book.



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Just like 18 Tiny Deaths, American Sherlock is a nonfiction, true crime book. ​I was pleasantly surprised! Unlike 18 Tiny Deaths, this book highlights more actual cases. Out of these two books, I have to admit that I prefer this one!

I love the cases and the description of those involved, the way the cases were solved, the description of the motives of the perpetrators, the fact that the author didn't lose focus of the victim, and how Heinrich (the forensic scientist and MC in this book) was involved in the case. Just as with 18 Tiny Deaths, I had no clue that, while we have made great progress in the field of forensic science, we are still nowhere near to solving enough cases without a shadow of a doubt. It was interesting to read how unreliable some methods such as handwriting analysis and even ballistics are that I thought were basically 98% fool-proof in court. 

This book made me get on Google to find out more about some of these cases. It is great both for those who love reading about the scientist behind the milestones and cases and those who love reading about actual cases and how they were resolved. This book was like episodes of Medical Detectives with biographical interludes.





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​Product details
  • File Size: 16776 KB
  • Print Length: 335 pages
  • Audio Length: 10 hours and 43 minutes
  • Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons (February 11, 2020)
  • Publication Date: February 11, 2020
  • Sold by: Penguin Group (USA) LLC
  • Language: English
  • ASIN (ebook): B07SLVS2VG
  • ASIN (audio): B08141LMJJ
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Here is a brief synopsis of the book (source: Goodreads):
 
Berkeley, California, 1933. In a lab filled with curiosities--beakers, microscopes, Bunsen burners, and hundreds upon hundreds of books--sat an investigator who would go on to crack at least two thousand cases in his forty-year career. Known as the "American Sherlock Holmes," Edward Oscar Heinrich was one of America's greatest--and first--forensic scientists, with an uncanny knack for finding clues, establishing evidence, and deducing answers with a skill that seemed almost supernatural.

Heinrich was one of the nation's first expert witnesses, working in a time when the turmoil of Prohibition led to sensationalized crime reporting and only a small, systematic study of evidence. However with his brilliance, and commanding presence in both the courtroom and at crime scenes, Heinrich spearheaded the invention of a myriad of new forensic tools that police still use today, including blood spatter analysis, ballistics, lie-detector tests, and the use of fingerprints as courtroom evidence. His work, though not without its serious--some would say fatal--flaws, changed the course of American criminal investigation.

Based on years of research and thousands of never-before-published primary source materials, American Sherlock captures the life of the man who pioneered the science our legal system now relies upon--as well as the limits of those techniques and the very human experts who wield them.

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2020 Dystopia Reading Challenge

2/22/2020

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One of my favorite genres in literature is the dystopian/post-apocalyptic genre. Last year, I read some fantastic books in that genre, ranging from The Walking Dead Comics to The Road by Cormac McCarthy, The End of the World Running Club by Adrian J. Walker, The Maze Runner triology (and the novellas that go with the series) by James Dasher, or Broken World by Mary L. Kate to name but a few.

So, when I found the 2020 Dystopia Reading Challenge, I couldn't resist. Find out more about this challenge here.

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My goal for this challenge is: Leader Badge - 16+ books.

Now let the reading fun begin!!
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Cloak and Dagger Challenge 2020

2/21/2020

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Apparently, I'm not participating in enough challenges yet :-P  What's one more, right? 

I added the cloak and Dagger Challenge 2020 to my list of challenges. You can check it out here. 

My goal for this challenge is *insert drum roll here* 
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Level Sherlock Holmes = 56+ books 

Challenge Rules:

  • You can read any book that is from the mystery/suspense/thriller/crime genres. Any sub-genres are welcome as long as they incorporate one of these genres.
  • Books need to at least 100 pages long. No short stories are allowed.
  • The Challenge will run from Jan. 1st to Dec. 31st.

Let the fun begin!!!!
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It’s preorder incentive time, ya'll!!!!!

2/17/2020

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Remember the book DARK SHORES and its sequel DARK SKIES I told you about in my recent blog post? If not, read it here!

Well, the amazing Danielle L. Jensen has a preorder incentive for her readers and it is AMAZEBALLS!!!!!! 

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Here is the message Danielle has posted on her Facebook page on how to enter:

"I am SO excited to finally be able to share the details of this campaign with you all! I’ve spent the past month working with the incredibly talented Salome Totladze (@morgana0anagrom) on artwork featuring Lydia & Killian from DARK SKIES, and you can get your hands on it by preordering today! Forms and details are available here: https://danielleljensen.com/ds2-preorder-campaign/
The campaign is international. However, due to shipping costs 🤢, there is a variation in the incentive depending on what edition you order and where you are having me ship your incentive.
💫US/Canada hardcover preorders: Character art dust jacket & signed bookplate.
💫US/Canada eBook/audiobook preorders: 4x6 character art postcard & signed bookplate.
💫International hardcover/eBook/audiobook preorders: 4x6 character art postcard & signed bookplate.
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Available until May 4, 2020 at 11:59pm EST or while supplies last.
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If you have questions, ask ME not Tor Teen"🤗.

#danielleljensen #darkshores #darkskies #bookstagram #beautifulbookcovers #bookoftheday #booknookstagram #fantasybook #bookhoarder #BookAesthetic #bookworms #instareads #bookaddiction #beautifulbooks #fantasy #BookCommunity #booknerd #igreads #igbooks #bookaholic #booklovers #bookish #instabook #booksofinstagram #instabooks #bookphotography #bookstagrammer #booklover #bibliophile #bookworm

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Happy Valentine's Day, Book Lovers!!!

2/14/2020

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Soooo, my lovelies! As you know (if you know me and have been following me ;-)), romance is my least favorite genre in literature. HOWEVER, there are a few romantic novels, I devoured, love, cherish, would reread. On this special day for lovers, let's look at my ROMANTIC TOP 10! You will see that a large number of the books on the list are not actually romantic novels. I love novels where the romance is subtle or where enemies turn into lovers. The romantic chemistry of the characters in the books on my list is amazing and sometimes not the main focus of the plot, which is how I like it :-p
#20: Amy and Nox --- I love this slow burner relationship!
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#19: Lara Jean, oh Lara Jean! You are too cute!
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#18: Totally underrated book, y'all! I love Ella and Jamie!
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#17: What a tearjerker!!!!!!
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#16: Nina..she is socially awkward in such an adorable way!
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#15: A series of novellas with a new one coming out soon!
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#14: Can't wait for the sequel "Aurora Burning"
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#13: Based on a true story, mystery/suspense and love story? Yeah, baby! This is right down my alley!
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#12: Such a sad story, yet sooooo cute! Mateo and Rufus couldn't be any different, but what a great journey to follow!
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#11: Another tearjerker! Theo and Violet...how can you not love these two?!?!
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#10: My most recent read and I was surprised that I liked it a lot!
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#9: Teriana and Marcus - Roman history inspired, pirate story, and mythology all in one book? What can go wrong? Read more about this one here
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#8: OMG, I'm in love Des! He reminds me a lot of Rhysand in ACOTAR!
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#7: I'm a sucker for a good Renn Faire! So this setting was amazing!
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#6: NERD ALERT!!!! As a ComiCon fan, I loved everything about this book!
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#5: This book had a modern-day Pride & Prejudice feel! Alice is so stinking adorable!
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#4: Annika is socially awkward just like Nina; this story broke my heart and made me cry!
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#3: Thorne is high on my list of book boyfriends, y'all!!! He is funny, he is a rebel, he is perfect for little Cress!
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#2: Well, what is there not to love about Rhys(and), right?
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and now for #1 *insert drum roll here*

Stella, oh Stella, you made me laugh, cry, swoon, and feel all the feels! Your relationship with Michael introduced me to the romance genre in a fantastic way!
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Yo ho ho, ya Scalawags! Pirates and mythology meet in this one!!!

2/12/2020

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If you thought I'm beyond excited to read book 4 in the Mahalia Watkins Mystery series coming out in July (see my blog post here), wait until you read today's blog post about the first book whose sequel is coming to a store near you in May! But first things first...let me introduce you to Teriana and Marcus and this gorgeous book!!!!! 
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Folks, I just want to hug this book and never let go!!!! I would have chosen this book simply for its amazing cover. Beyond gorgeous! I want a tattoo of that image...seriously, y'all!!!! How can you not pick this book up and read it!? But the cover is not the only thing that made me swoon!

This book swept me off my feet with all its characters, its world building, and the entire story. The two main characters, Teriana and Marcus (who is not really Marcus--you have to read the book to find out what that means!) are so human with all their flaws, all the evil and the good they have done. I loved reading from their perspective and immerse in a world of emotions where the characters are torn between doing what's right for their people and yet keeping their humanity. In many instances, these two act so mature when, in fact, they they are still teenagers. They are rough and tough on the outside, but vulnerable on the inside.

First there is Teriana, "A SAILOR WITH A WILL OF IRON--the second mate of the Quincense and heir to the Maarin Triumvirate. Her people are born of the seas and the keepers of its secrets, but when her closest friend is forced into an unwanted betrothal, Teriana breaks her people’s mandate so her friend might escape—a choice with devastating consequences." (description from Goodreads)
She struggles all the time with her loyalties and how to do right by everyone. And here she meets Marcus, a most unusual ally...or isn't he?

Marcus, "
THE SOLDIER WITH A SECRET--the commander of the Thirty-Seventh, the notorious legion that has led the Celendor Empire to conquer the entire East. The legion is his family, but even they don’t know the truth he’s been hiding since childhood. It’s a secret he’ll do anything to protect, no matter how much it costs him – and the world." (description from Goodreads).

You can definitely feel the ancient Roman inspiration for the Celendor Empire that sends Marcus and Teriana to the DARK SHORES and the DARK SHORES have a mystical and mythological aura. This combination makes for a great read!
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Teriana and Marcus are forced on a dangerous quest on behalf of a power-hungry politician who doesn't care about anything but being powerful. His dark motives to conquer the DARK SHORES forces Teriana and Marcus into an unlikely--and not really willing--alliance. How far are they willing to go to save those they love? 

Speaking of love: Romance is usually something that annoys me in YA books, because of all this "I see you, fall in love, kiss, and I ride into the sunset with you (on a dragon, maybe?). This book is refreshingly different; the romantic chemistry the characters have is so strong, but Danielle Jensen doesn't push it on the reader. It is intertwined very subtly into the story. In this book, I believe the romance is an element that is sort of necessary. It causes drama and triggers twists. It's like a little piece of popcorn stuck between your teeth. It's not huge, but you sense it, and you want to dig it out.

This is one of the books that leaves me hanging and wanting more and sometimes wishes do come true, ya know! There will be a sequel coming out and Yours Truly will be the first in line to get her hands on a copy! Just as the DARK SHORES cover, the cover of DARK SKIES is just as gorgeous! Take a look! Floating to you in a bottle at a shore near you :-)
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#DarkSkies #NetGalley #MacmillanTorForge #DanielleLJensen
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About the author:
​Danielle L. Jensen is the USA Today bestselling author of The Malediction Trilogy (Angry Robot), the Dark Shores series (Tor Teen), and The Bridge Kingdom series (Audible Originals). She lives in Calgary, Alberta with her family.
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Black History Month

2/11/2020

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In honor of Black History Month, I read a few books touching various subjects and genres featuring Black History. Let me take you on a journey through history. Be warned...some of these books are not for the faint of heart! They are sad, heartwarming, intriguing, thought-provoking, upsetting, controversial, and more. So, get comfy, fasten your seatbelt, and ooooofffff we go!!!!
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First stop on our journey: Northern California - Present Time
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Description: 
​Alice had her whole summer planned. Non-stop all-you-can-eat buffets while marathoning her favorite TV shows (best friends totally included) with the smallest dash of adulting—working at the library to pay her share of the rent. The only thing missing from her plan? Her girlfriend (who ended things when Alice told her she's asexual). Alice is done with dating—no thank you, do not pass go, stick a fork in her, done.
But then Alice meets Takumi and she can’t stop thinking about him or the rom com-grade romance feels she did not ask for (uncertainty, butterflies, and swoons, oh my!).
When her blissful summer takes an unexpected turn and Takumi becomes her knight with a shiny library employee badge (close enough), Alice has to decide if she’s willing to risk their friendship for a love that might not be reciprocated—or understood.


My thoughts:
​I read this one as part of the monthly buddy read of the Dragons & Tea Book Club on Goodreads. What did I expect from this book before I read it? To be honest, romance is not among my favorite genres. I have heard so many good things and went into this book with only one expectation: I have friends who are ace and I wanted to read a book that is written from the POV of a person who is ace. And man, was a surprised! This book has just the right amount of romance! I think Takumi is now on my list of book boyfriends. He is interesting, mature, gentle (and still manly), and how can you not like a man who loves being a kindergarten teacher???? I loved being immersed in Alice's thoughts and emotions. I felt like I could relate a lot to her. This was such a cute book and such a surprise! I really didn't expect much from this book, but it was a great read! Claire Kann perfectly combined the different facets of a marginalized character in this book. I can only imagine how hard it must be to not only be African American, but also pretty and ACE. This book definitely helped me understand the struggles of someone who is asexual. 

Stop #2 on our journey: U.S. (and Mexico) - Early 20th Century
Description:
Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local "powhitetrash." At eight years old and back at her mother’s side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age—and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns that love for herself, the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors ("I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare") will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned.

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My thoughts:
First, let me tell you that I listened to the audiobook while reading along. Maya Angelou read her book herself and it was amazing!!!
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If I had just read the book (without a narrator), I think this book wouldn't have drawn me in as much as it did. What Maya had to go through at the sweet age of eight is unbelievable! My daughter is eight and I would react the same way Maya's family did! I would go full Momma Bear on the predator! But it wasn't only that experience that shaped her. She didn't let this part of her past or some other rough times in her life get her down. I'm sure her writing is the way it is because of what she experienced. I didn't know much about her until I read this memoir and I admire her for who she became despite the circumstances. Her relationship with her brother Bailey was so sweet! I could read an entire book just about these siblings! 

Stop #3 on our journey takes us even further back in time in the U.S.
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Description:
Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. Life is hell for all the slaves, but especially bad for Cora; an outcast even among her fellow Africans, she is coming into womanhood—where even greater pain awaits. When Caesar, a recent arrival from Virginia, tells her about the Underground Railroad, they decide to take a terrifying risk and escape. Matters do not go as planned—Cora kills a young white boy who tries to capture her. Though they manage to find a station and head north, they are being hunted.
​Like the protagonist of Gulliver’s Travels, Cora encounters different worlds at each stage of her journey—hers is an odyssey through time as well as space. 
The Underground Railroad is at once a kinetic adventure tale of one woman’s ferocious will to escape the horrors of bondage and a shattering, powerful meditation on the history we all share.
My thoughts:
This book...I can't, I just can't!!!!! It's brutal, gut-wrenching, heartbreaking!! I love how this book is structured. The story is divided up into the different stages of Cora's journey, but also split up by interludes involving secondary characters. These interludes give us a glimpse into the ways slavery affected different members of society. You felt like you were on the journey with Cora and the interludes were like rest stops on the way to the destination. I love dual timeline stories. Whitehead was able to juggle the timelines without getting the reader confused or losing the reader on the way. It was interesting to see that he even included an African American boy who helped catch slaves. The Underground Railroad is not real. It merely represents the network of support along the route to a destination that many slaves didn't reach--freedom! The description of some of the scenes was gruesome, but they made the story authentic and gave the message more emphasis. Just as with the Holocaust, it is hard to comprehend that humans can do such cruel things to other humans. The events in this book may be fictional, but they are events that really happened like this in one way or another! And that makes my heart bleed!

Let's travel back to the present-day U.S. - Stop #4 takes us on a short-story journey
Description:
A piercingly raw debut story collection from a young writer with an explosive voice; a treacherously surreal, and, at times, heartbreaking satirical look at what it's like to be young and black in America.

From the start of this extraordinary debut, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s writing will grab you, haunt you, enrage and invigorate you. By placing ordinary characters in extraordinary situations, Adjei-Brenyah reveals the violence, injustice, and painful absurdities that black men and women contend with every day in this country.

These stories tackle urgent instances of racism and cultural unrest, and explore the many ways we fight for humanity in an unforgiving world. 
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My thoughts:
Friday Black needs many trigger warnings!!! It contains strong language, including the N word and the F bomb, it mentions child abuse, mass shootings, and abortion. Read this one at your own discretion!

This book touches all kinds of subjects in a number of short stories, some longer, some shorter, but all of them beautifully written! The description makes you think that this is a pro-Black and anti-White book, but I can tell you that this book does not throw every non-Black person into one pot and call them racists. 
This book leaves you heartbroken, angry, and wondering in stories such as "The Finkelstein 5"--a short story that shows how easy it is to lose your humanity and turn from prey to predator. This story left me wanting more! While I know I would be an emotional wreck after reading an entire book based on this short story, it would be great to dig deeper into the lives of all those involved. This would make a great multiple POV novel! 
Another story that played on my heartstrings is "Lark Street." As a child loss survivor, this story brought me to tears. A dad struggles with the ghosts of his twins that the couple decided to terminate. While I didn't lose our twins due to an abortion, but because one of our sons was sick and passed away in my womb taking his identical twin brother with him, this story made me think of my boys. Abortion is not something I consider unless there are very specific circumstances, but I felt for this couple. 
Then there are stories that I just "don't get," for example "The Lion and the Spider" or "Zimmer Land." After reading those, I felt a little lost and was wondering if my philosophical skills were just not strong enough for those. 
And just when I thought that the book would stop drawing me in, the author throws "Light Spitter" at me. Mind blown!!!! This story is so painful, but also so insightful, and thought-provoking! While I didn't care for the language used (including the name of the "villain" who used to be the "victim"), the story and the characters, plus the "time travel" and "out-of-body experience" segments were fantastic! I didn't want this story to end! Great job, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah!
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Jessica 'Murder She Wrote' Fletcher meets Tyler Perry's Madea

2/8/2020

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Those of you who know me know that I'm a sucker for a good cozy mystery. I love books with puns in the title such as:
  • And Then There Were Nuns
  • A Berry Clever Corpse
  • Much Ado About Nutmeg
  • Death Bee Comes Her
Aaaaaah, I'm swooning over here!!! I'm also a foody...so, it shouldn't surprise anyone that one of the books I'm most excited about this year is a book that will be released in July. It's book 4 in a hilarious series: The Mahalia Watkins Soul Food Mystery series!

Murder with Honey Ham Biscuits - a Mahalia Watkins Soul Food Mystery

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Description (from Amazon):
As the owner of Mahalia’s Sweet Tea, Halia Watkins is famous in Maryland’s Prince George’s County for her down-home cuisine. But when she has the chance to showcase her talents on national TV, she becomes the star of a murder mystery that’s too hot to handle!
 
When Halia is invited to serve as a guest judge on the popular cooking competition show Elite Chef, she’s delighted to add some extra flavor to the mix. But as filming ramps up in Washington D.C., there are too many fiery personalities in the kitchen. Halia discovers that pulling off her small screen debut unscathed means contending with a longtime competing restaurant owner, an infamously crass hospitality mogul, and a group of cutthroat contestants vying for culinary glory . . .
 
The competition sizzles with only a few finalists left standing—and goes cold when the gorgeous young frontrunner is found dead. As murder accusations are slathered over a recently eliminated contestant, Halia, with some bungling assistance from her wise-cracking cousin Wavonne slides into an investigation of their own. A little snooping reveals the victim burned lots of bridges, leaving a slew of alleged affairs and stolen recipes in her wake. With a fast-rising list of potential suspects, Halia must sort through mindboggling clues to fry the flaky culprit before someone else gets baked to a crisp . . . ​
Let me tell ya...Halia, her mom, and her cousin Wavonne are H.I.L.A.R.I.O.U.S.!!! OK, so close your eyes and picture Halia, the owner of Mahalia's Sweet Tea restaurant as the level-headed spinster who has no time for dating because she spends most of her time at her restaurant. Now picture Wavonne, her cousin, who Halia and her mom, who is the baker at the restaurant, took in because she doesn't have any parents. Do you have the image of a sad, withdrawn orphan in the picture you are imagining? Well, now, open your eyes and see a younger version of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" Nene Leakes!
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      Photo courtesy of www.thewrap.com
SURPRISE!!!!! Yes, this is how A. L. Herbert portraits Wavonne in the book! She is a hot mess and makes these books entertaining and funny! 

So, you get cozy mystery and a ton of humor! But that is not all! Nooooooooooooo, not even close!!!

​Keep reading!


Are you a foody like me? Do you love soul food? Are you a sweet tooth? Then this book is a must-read for you--A. L. Herbert does not only entertain you with a cozy murder mystery and hilariously funny and entertaining characters, she also includes the recipes for some of the food served at Halia's restaurant. Yes, you read that right! You can cook/bake soul food just like Halia. Is that awesome or what?
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               Photo from A. L. Herbert's Facebook page
Can you see now why I can't wait for this title to be released?
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​Where to buy?

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The first three books are available in ebook format at Amazon (also free for those who have Kindle Unlimited), in paperback, mass paperback, and hardcover format. Kensington Books is also adding the Audibles versions of the first three for purchase on Amazon. To see all format options, click here

You can now also pre-order the new book "Murder with Honey Ham Biscuits" on Amazon

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About the author:

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A.L. Herbert is a published author of fiction known for writing cozy mystery novels. Herbert grew up in Maryland in Charles County and Prince Georges County. She likes to write stories with plots that are engaging and full of twists and turns and includes some tasty recipes that fit the theme for comfort and soul food.

But hold on a sec.!!! It is not only her books that have twists for you ... I let you in on a secret!

A. L. Herbert is only a pen name and she is not even a female! *picking your jaw off the floor* 

Her real name is *insert drum roll here*
​
Patrick Sanchez, the author of books such as "Girlfriends" and "Once Upon A Nervous Breakdown".

Disclaimer: I am not an affiliate of Amazon or Kensington Books. Those are just my go-to places for books by this author. You can also buy the books on Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and other websites such as Book Depository. I am not responsible for the contents on those websites!
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So much has happened since my last post ...

2/7/2020

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It's been a while since my last post. My goal for 2019 was to read more and spend less time watching TV, Netflix, and playing on my game apps. Well, what can I say? Goal accomplished!! My original goal was to read at least 12 books, i.e., one every month. After reading 8 in January alone, I increased my goal ... and then increased it again and again and again. I ended up reading almost 400 books in 2019! I found out that my favorite genres are not simply limited to nonfiction and mystery/suspense novels. No! Due to the reading challenges I joined on Goodreads and Facebook, I ventured out and found a whole new world of genres that I didn't know I would enjoy. So my list of favorite genres now includes: nonfiction (in particular personal development books and true crime), mystery/suspense, dystopian/post-apocalyptic, retellings (OMG, the retellings!!!!), mangas, and some fantasy. I even read and reread some classics I either had never read before or hated when I had to read them in school. I found out that I'm not a Jane Austen fan (even though I like her characters), that I can read tomes such as Anna Karenina and enjoy them, that I have missed out on so many popular series such as Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, and that I can even enjoy different formats of books (I loved the Illuminae Files series by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff).

So, in 2020, I joined some more challenges and made it my goal to read 20 books from 20 different genres. You can follow my progress of the 20x20 challenge here (my posts are messages 145-149).

I'm also one of the mods in a monthly reading challenge group on Facebook: the Pop Culture Book Club with a different theme each month...check it out here. Come on over and join the fun! We are an inclusive group with fantastic games that combine Pop Culture and reading! 

And follow and come back to this blog for some great book reviews and other cool posts! 

Feel free to follow me and send me a friend request on Goodreads to join me on my mission to read 400 books in 2020! You find my profile here.
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    Author

    This part of my blog is all about books and reading! I believe in reading aloud to my kids and being creative with books (e.g., in the form of Bible journaling). 
    My goal for 2021 is --just as in 2020-- to continue to minimize my electronics time (mindless TV watching, binge-watching shows on Netflix, game apps, social media scrolling). Instead, I will continue to replace those hours with reading challenges, audiobooks, and reading time with my kids. 

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