My Top 5 Favorite Reads of 2019

Since everyone keeps asking for my favorite reads of the year I decided to make one post.


 1. Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron

I'm posting the UK cover of the book because this is how I pictured Arrah while reading the story and this is the cover of the arc I received. I stanned this book! It was a slow burn fantasy but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The world building was so rich.

2. Color Me in by Natasha Diaz

Why aren't people discussing this book more? This book was so beautifully written it made me cry. It did such a great job examining mixed and white passing privilege, colorism, and coming of age.

3. The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark

I wish this novella were a full length novel because I enjoyed the mix of African, Haitian, Creole, African American, and Trinidadian culture present through this story. The world was better developed than some full length novels.

4.The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis

This story hooked me from the first few pages. My heart was beating so fast during the first chapter. The western aspect was very different from my usual reads and made this story stand out. 

 5. The Worst Best Man

This is actually a 2020 release I received an arc for. I love contemporary romance. If you're a fan of The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory you'll enjoy this. This was the first story I read with an Afro-Brazilian lead and I loved the little cultural touches throughout

Sweet Talkin' Lover by Tracey Livesay

Since today is the release day I wanted to boost this contemporary romance. I was very luckily to receive an arc from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

Sweet Talkin' Lover: A Girls Trip Novel is the first in a new series about a group of girlfriends who each find their own love story.

I do want to point out that despite the series name of Girls Trip the trip was at the very beginning of the story and didn't play a significant part of the plot. It was just a quick introduction of the women you will be seeing in future novels. So if you're expecting something similar to the movies Girl's Trip complete with drunken shenanigans this is not that story. However this is still a great romance. I'm hoping the annual trips will have a larger role in future stories.

The cover though gorgeous is a little misleading because it makes you believe this is a spring or summer romance. The fireworks actually give me 4th of July feels. This is a fall romance.

That being said this was a good story. Once I got into it I devoured it like candy.  You know those  movies that you see on Hallmark and sometimes Netflix where the big city workaholic woman ends up on assignment in a small town? This is like one of those except with a black women as the lead and plenty of sexy scenes.

Our story opens with Caila experiencing a loss and then struggling to overcome it. She's so concerned with hiding her emotions and covering up her feelings that it starts to affect her work. She is sent to a small town named Bradleton to evaluate a plant that has been producing cosmetics for one of the brands her company recently acquired. I liked that we didn't just hear about what a hard worker Caila is, we were shown. She spends most of the trip with her friends working and is very clear about her career goals.

Bradleton is a small Southern town that's all about family, tradition, and football. The entire town is automatically against her since her mission is to shut down the plant which employs many of the citizens. Caila meets Mayor Wyatt Bradley aka Mayor McHottie who is determined to get her to appreciate what the town has to offer. Cue the friday night lights, pumpkin cheesecake bars, and hayrides.

Love, Secret Santa by S.A. Domingo

It's been a long time since I made a post and I rediscovered this blog I started 4 years ago. I'm still very much into reading and I'm always looking for people to discuss books with.

Christmas time is my favorite time of year. I love the hot cocoa with marshmallows, the Christmas cookies, the sparkling lights, the tiny village figurines, the holiday Barbie dolls, the snowglobes, and and the seasonal scented candles.  Best of all I love watching Christmas movies with my mom and sisters. So I was looking forward to a book that would give me those vibes. But I also wanted something different from the ones with the usual perfect white leads.

Love, Secret Santa by S.A. Domingo(also known as Sareeta Domingo) is a young adult romance from the UK. When I saw the cover and read the synopsis I knew I had to order it. Two noticeably black teens in a Christmas setting! Luckily it was available on Book Depository.

This book was a little bit of a slow starter with a lot of different moving pieces but it ended up finding it's groove. Our protagonist Angel Green is not only prepping for the holidays but she's also studying for her entrance exam. She has dreams of becoming a doctor so academics are her main focus. Angel is on student council and each year they run a fundraiser for a charity on behalf of the school. This year they decide to fund raise for the local hospice which is also where Angel's mother works as a nurse.

I loved Angel's relationship with her mother. They're very close and still adjusting to life since Angel's father passed. Her mother is starting to date again which makes Angel a little uncomfortable. But wanting to be a supportive daughter she tries her best to put her mom's feeling first and accept her decision. This is contrasted with Angel's best friend who struggles to get along with her stepmother.

While working on the fundraiser Angel re-connects with classmates Casper Johnson who she was close to as a young child back when their families were both friends. Casper and Angel reignite their friendship but he also has a secret as well.

Throughout the story Angel tries to follow the advice of an advent calendar she received from her Secret Santa. It prompts her to take chances and do things she doesn't normally do.

One thing that stood out to me in a positive way was the depiction of black teens without making it a story where race is a huge factor. There's no teachable moments about people of color in this story they just exist. Most of the teens mentioned into this story are of color and there's even LGBTQ+ representation but it's just treated as the norm and not the selling point of the story.

I think this story would be great for young teens in need of a little Christmas magic.