𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 | Book Review

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 

𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐚 𝐓𝐚𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐦

𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫: 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐚𝐦 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 / 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 

𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝟏.𝟑.𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑

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This was such a fun love triangle romance. Don’t be put off by “love triangle” if that’s usually not your thing, because it’s not Zahra’s thing either!

Zahra, a Bengali princess living in Jersey, is trying to earn money so that she can take writing classes, as she wants to be a writer, but her mother is convinced she just needs a good love match. 

Her mother and the auntie network plan and scheme to set Zahra up with Harun, a wealthy, nerdy, but very cute boy. But Zahra finds herself falling for Nayim, the new dishwasher at the tea shop she works at. 

Harun and her devise a plan to convince everyone that they aren’t a good match, which includes fake dating. As the two spend time together though, her feelings get very mixed up as to which boy her heart desires.

I loved the descriptions of the Bengali community, family, and culture woven into the narrative. This is a clean, sweet, romance that hits on being true to yourself and not rushing into love. 

Thank you @bookclubfavorites for this gifted copy and @simon.audio for the complimentary audiobook.

🍵 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂?

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐬 | Audiobook Review

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐬

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐟

𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫: 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬

𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝟏.𝟑.𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝘖𝘶𝘵 𝘕𝘰𝘸!

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Thank you @PRHaudio for the complimentary audiobook.Thank you @penguinrandomhouse for the gifted ebook.

Geeta’s abusive husband leaves her and their Indian village for five years; she has debated removing her nose ring and murdering him. There are rumors that she already did anyway.

People in her village have seen her as a widow, and it has had its benefits. In fact, other women started to come to Geeta asking for help to get rid of their husbands. But then Geeta has a big problem of her own that comes out of the woodwork or in the back door. 

Although this discusses spousal abuse and murder, its approach is largely humorous – like murders gone wrong. I loved being immersed in the culture, the friendships of these women, and all their schemes.

My favorite part of this story is how Geeta rescued Bandit, a very sick street dog. Bada-Bhai, a bootlegger, was using Bandit to test his booze on (which he cut with methanol), but Geeta took Bandit home and nursed him to health. As you read, you discover how rescuing Bandit opened Geeta up to allow others into her life again, which set off a string of events.

🐶 𝙼𝚢 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚌𝚞𝚎 𝚙𝚞𝚙 𝙲𝚑𝚒𝚙 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚜. 𝙷𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚌𝚞𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚕?

𝐌𝐚𝐚𝐦𝐞 | Book Review

𝐌𝐚𝐚𝐦𝐞

𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞

𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫: 𝐒𝐭. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧’𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬

𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝟏.𝟑𝟏.𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝒞𝑜𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒮𝑜𝑜𝓃!

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Maame is a good-humored character-driven story about a young woman finding her own way – but with the help of Google.

At twenty-five, Maddie is living at home with her father who is sick with Parkinson’s while her mother is working in Ghana. Maddie works at a publishing house in London, but she is frustrated with being the only Black person in meetings. 

Then a string of events occurs that change the trajectory of her life. After Maddie’s mother returns from Ghana, Maddie loses her job and Maddie decides to move out on her own. Soon she experiences a  devastating loss. All of this forces Maddie to be propelled into adulthood. 

Although there are heavy topics – terminal illness, loss, grief, family duty, and racism, the author is gentle and uses humor, and Maddie’s love of asking google’s opinion lightens the mood.

It was a fresh take on a coming-of-age. The audiobook is done very well, and I highly recommend it. 

Thank you @stmartinspress for this gifted copy and @macmillan.audio for the complimentary audiobook.

📱 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚐𝚕𝚎𝚍?

Somebody That I Used to Know | Book Tour

Somebody That I Used to Know

Dana L. Davis

Publisher: Skyscape

Pub Date: 10.18.2022

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Thank you @tlcbooktours and @amazonpublishing for this gifted copy. 

📖 Dylan Woods hasn’t seen her best friend, Langston, in years. After he moved to Los Angeles, he ghosted her. Then he became Legendary, the biggest teen R&B artist on the planet.

For the most part, Dylan has moved on, with her sights set on Juilliard. But when her parents announce that Langston is coming for a short stay with them, the entire family is thrilled. Except for Dylan. The idea of sharing a house with music’s biggest bad boy makes her stomach churn.

But maybe Langston hasn’t changed as much as Dylan thought–he’s kept the bucket list they made together years ago. As they start checking off items on the list, Dylan starts to remember old times, her previous self, and their shared love of music.

And there’s something else. As Dylan considers giving Langston another chance, she starts to realize that maybe her feelings for him go beyond friendship.

Maybe, just maybe, she’s falling for her ex–best friend.

💜I love a great friends-to-lovers story, and this one is filled with great music and pop-culture references!

❓𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶?

All This Could Be Different | Audiobook Review

All This Could Be Different

Sarah Thankam Mathews

Publisher: PRHAudio

Pub Date: 8.2.2022

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📖 Graduating into the long maw of an American recession, Sneha is one of the fortunate ones. She’s moved to Milwaukee for an entry-level corporate job that, gruelling as it may be, is the key that unlocks every door: she can pick up the tab at dinner with her new friend Tig, get her college buddy Thom hired alongside her, and send money to her parents back in India. She begins dating women–soon developing a burning crush on Marina, a beguiling and beautiful dancer who always seems just out of reach.

But before long, trouble arrives. Painful secrets rear their heads; jobs go off the rails; evictions loom. Sneha struggles to be truly close and open with anybody, even as her friendships deepen, even as she throws herself headlong into a dizzying romance with Marina. It’s then that Tig begins to draw up a radical solution to their problems, hoping to save them all. 

________________

I’m surprised I’m not seeing this book more! 

There are some big ideas packed in this story, ideas that include capitalism, gender, sexuality, privilege, community, and so much more. The writing is sharp and witty, and the dialogue comes across as very realistic, sometimes brutally.

I loved the fact that Sneha lived in Milwaukee, as that is where I was born and raised. This book would make for some good discussion – so maybe a great book club choice. 

Thank you to @PRHaudio for the complimentary audiobook. 

If You Could See the Sun | Book Review & Tour Stop

If You Could See the Sun

Ann Liang

Publisher: Inkyard Press

Pub Date: 10.11.2022 Happy Pub Day!

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📘In a YA debut that’s Gossip Girl with a speculative twist, a Chinese American girl monetizes her strange new invisibility powers by discovering and selling her wealthy classmates’ most scandalous secrets.

Alice Sun has always felt invisible at her elite Beijing international boarding school, where she’s the only scholarship student among China’s most rich and influential teens. But then she starts uncontrollably turning invisible—actually invisible.

When her parents drop the news that they can no longer afford her tuition, even with the scholarship, Alice hatches a plan to monetize her strange new power—she’ll discover the scandalous secrets her classmates want to know, for a price.

But as the tasks escalate from petty scandals to actual crimes, Alice must decide if it’s worth losing her conscience—or even her life.

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This book reminds me why I love reading young adult. It’s such a wonderful genre mash-up; you’ve got fantasy, romance, family drama, and a criminal element, oh and of course, it’s set in academia. So much to love. 

I thought it was brilliant how Ann Liang gave Alice the ability to turn invisible when she already felt invisible among her classmates. She also wove into the narrative the reality of classism and racism. Alice and Henry’s rivals-to-lovers relationship is developed so well, first academic rivals, then business partners, and then… well, Alice sees he’s not nearly as annoying as she once thought.

Thank you @harpercollins @inkyardpress and @annliangwrites for a spot on tour and a gifted ebook.

💰Alice monetized her invisibility. What superpower do you think you could make money off of?

The Sentence | Book Review & Tour Stop

The Sentence

Louise Erdrich

Publisher: Harper Perennial

Pub Date: 11.9.2021

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Thank you @tlcbooktours and @harperperennial for a spot on tour and a gifted book. 

There is something about Louise Erdrich’s writing, I can’t describe it eloquently, so I encourage you to read her work if you haven’t. 

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 is a ghost story, but not just about the typical haunting of a spirit after death; no, it includes those dark, sorrowful events that haunt us in life too. 

Tookie is an Indigenous woman who was recently released from prison. She has found a job at a bookstore in Minneapolis. Tookie soon realizes that the store’s most prickly customer haunts the bookstore. 

I can’t even begin to expound on what is all packed into this book, and so cohesively, I might add. Very tough topics that touch Tookie and the bookstore include Covid, racism, and police brutality, but of course, there are the books – there is even a list of Tookie’s favorites at the end.

If it sounds like a gloomy, sad book, that is the magic of Erdrich! She uses humor, mischief, and profound passages so that you are left with a sense of hope when you close the book.

📚 𝙳𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚜 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜? 𝙳𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖?

The Fortunes of Jaded Women | AudioBook Review

The Fortunes of Jaded Women

Carolyn Huynh

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Audio

Pub Date: 9.5.2022

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I love generational stories with some good drama, and 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 did not disappoint! In fact, it starts with a curse from a witch.

This is a modern-day story about the three Dương sisters, who have become estranged from each other, their mother, and their grown daughters. But this is not all by choice, or so they believe. Long ago, an ancestor of theirs received a curse that happiness would elude them if they married, and they would not have a son as an heir.

Well, generations later, with all daughters and this family is struggling. Mothers and daughters, and the sisters too, are not on good terms. Is it the curse? Then word comes from a psychic that this year the family will have a wedding, a funeral and the birth of a son; it may be time for a change.

Although there were a lot of characters to keep track of, I really loved this family. There was tons of humor and sarcasm. I enjoyed how the author wove in Vietnamese traditions, customs, and Asian stereotyping as this family tries to overcome a so-called “curse.” The women are center stage in this one, but the men they marry and date add a lot to the laughs. 

Thank you to @libro.fm for this gifted audiobook.

💚 𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐉𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐣𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐚𝐝𝐞?

A Touch of Moonlight | Book Review

A Touch of Moonlight

Yaffa S. Santos

Publisher: Harper

Pub Date: 10.25.2022 Coming Soon!

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Larimar Cintrón works hard and cares deeply for her parents and her abuela. She loves her punk music, and she has a secret. Larimar is a ciguapa. Unlike some of her other family members, she only turns on full moons.

Larimar is set up with a fellow punk rock lover Ray Antonio Concepción. Ray also owns a local bakery, and Larimar loves butter. But how will Ray react to her secret identity? And now her company, a large bakery chain, wants Larimar to open a store across from Ray’s little town bakery. 

This was a fun, sugar-sweet romance. My favorite parts were learning about the ciguapa and seeing Larimar come to accept her true identity, backward-facing feet and all. However, all the baked goods didn’t hurt either.

🧁I listened to the audiobook, but I’m glad I have a physical copy because there are great recipes between the chapters.

Thank you @harperperennial for this gifted arc and @macmillan.audio for the audiobook.

👣 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 “𝐜𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐩𝐚?” 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞?

Tangled Lies | Book Review & Tour Stop

Tangled Lies

Karen E. Osborne

Publisher: Black Rose Writing

Pub Date: 7.22.2022

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I knew from the opening chapter that this would be a heart-wrenching and chilling thriller. 

Vera Moon, an African-American grandmother, comes home to find her son, Charlie, brutally murdered. Of course, as a mom, she is determined to find his killer. 

Things get twisted when Vera is in a hit-and-run accident. A young woman, trying to run from the mess in her own life, witnesses the accident and forms a bond with Vera. The two have put themselves in danger, but ultimately it may bring justice.

Tangled Lies brings together two unlikely but flawed characters to solve a murder. Karen Osborne brings in themes of racism and crime, as well as restoration and forgiveness. The short chapters and dual perspective keep the pace quick and tense. 

Thank you @suzyapprovedbooktours and @writerkareneosborne for a spot on tour and a signed copy. 

💭 𝙳𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 (𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚍) 𝚊 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚗𝚒𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚢𝚘𝚞?