How Beautiful We Were

5 STAR

About the Author Imbolo Mbue

Imbolo Mbue is the author of the New York Times bestseller Behold the Dreamers. The novel has been translated into eleven languages, adapted into an opera and a stage play, and optioned for a miniseries.

How Beautiful We Were, is about what happened when a fictional African village decided to fight against an American oil company that had been polluting its land for many years.

A native of Limbe, Cameroon, and a graduate of Rutgers and Columbia Universities, Mbue lives in New York.

– from the author’s website

Continue reading “How Beautiful We Were” →

Brown Girl In The Ring

4 STAR

About the Author Nalo Hopkinson

Nalo Hopkinson is a Jamaican-born Canadian speculative fiction writer and editor. As of 2013, she lived and taught in Riverside, California. Her novels and short stories such as those in her collection Skin Folk often draw on Caribbean history and language, and its traditions of oral and written storytelling. – Wikipedia

now for my review

Set in a near dystopian Toronto, Ti-Jeanne tries to find herself and decide what she wants to do with her life separate from her Mami and maybe also from her child’s father who is just a good looking plum fool.

Continue reading “Brown Girl In The Ring” →

Shadow And Bone Trilogy

About the Author

Leigh Bardugo is a New York Times bestselling author and the creator of the Grishaverse which starts with the Shadow and Bone Trilogy. She lives and writes in Los Angeles.For information on new releases and appearances, sign up for her newsletter

now for my review

This series is the first in the Grishaverse and so my introduction. Set in the nation of Ravka, the shadow fold which was created by magic is expanding and will eat up the nation if not stopped. The world-building seems to draw on Russian folklore. Overall I enjoyed this, it was an easy fantasy read and a good introduction to fantasy if you’re looking to get into the fantasy genre. It was a quick and easy read and it got me out of my funk.

Continue reading “Shadow And Bone Trilogy” →

If You Want To Make God Laugh

3 STAR

About the Author Bianca Marais

Bianca Marais is the author of Hum If You Don’t Know the Words and If You Want to Make God Laugh.
 
She holds a certificate in creative writing from the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies, where she now teaches creative writing. She runs the Eunice Ngogodo Own Voices Initiative to empower young black women in Africa to write and publish their own stories. Find out more on her site here.

Find an interview with Bianca Marais by Jeanbooknerd here.

now for my review

This book is set just at the point of transition from apartheid to democracy in South Africa and Nelson Mandela elected as the first Black president.

Continue reading “If You Want To Make God Laugh” →

January wrap up

Happy New Year once again! I am happy with my reading for the month of January. I was able to read one of my anticipated January releases and a dope book club discussion. Are you part of a book club? do you like them? I love them. We read “If You Want to Make God Laugh” for the book club and the discussion was epic.

P.S To get a copy of any of the books listed, just click the image. Also forgot to include The Midnight Library in the grid image.

Continue reading “January wrap up” →

SEPTEMBER WRAP-UP

I read seven books in the month of September. It wasn’t a great reading month as I struggled a bit. However, there wasn’t a book I read that i didn’t like. A Very Large Expanse of Sea was read as part of the T.B.M book club (dm me on Instagram if you’ll like to join). I’ll have the reviews out soon. I will be ranking them below in other of the ratings i assigned them. Click on the images to buy a copy of the book. Check out the review page for more books.

Continue reading “SEPTEMBER WRAP-UP” →