Climb On! by Baptiste Paul

 

Welcome Back, Booklovers! I'm always looking for Caribbean set picture books for the children in my family. So I was happy to see Climb On! from North South books and I was able to receive an advance e-copy for review. This book releases in February 2022.

Climb On! It is set in St. Lucia and follows a mountain hiking trip between parent and child. There are enthusiastic and encouraging words in French creole peppered throughout the pages. The vibrant illustrations are perfect for young readers. I've done a mountain hike myself in St. Lucia and thought the illustrations perfectly captured the majestic views. My only gripe is I wish there were more story. There doesn't seem to be any particular motive behind the hike as the hike is considered to be the story but dialogue is sparse. Even just more description of what they encounter like other hikers or flora and fauna. There just isn't much to follow along with so when the story ends it feels abrupt. This book is described as for ages 4-8 but I can't see it really holding the older children's attention. 

No Ordinary Christmas by Belle Calhoune

 

Welcome Back, Booklovers! There's less than 100 days until Christmas and I'm already in the holiday mood. And this one was the perfect way to kick start to what I'm dubbing my holiday romance reading series. No Ordinary Christmas is the first book in a new series called The Mistletoe, Maine series.

Dante West left Mistletoe long ago to become a successful actor in Los Angeles. Now he's back in his hometown to film a new movie he's producing. This is the perfect opportunity for him to help boost the small town's economy and make amends with friends and family.  

Lucy Marshall is the local librarian and also happen to be Dante's ex-girlfriend. She's not happy when he appears in town and asks to film at her library. But she can't refuse his offer to make a major donation. She's already imagining how she can allot the money. But as she finds herself falling back in love with Dante, she's afraid he'll end up leaving and breaking her heart again. 

Dante has regrets over not being around while his father was sick and it's driven a wedge between him and his brother. He hasn't been close to his family in awhile and he's realizing that he doesn't have that close supportive circle in Los Angeles. He's also hoping to reconnect with Lucy and his movie's plot mirror's their love story.

Belle Calhoune is no stranger to Christmas romance. I watched the movie Love, Alaska that was based on one of her books. This book reads like a holiday movie. There's enough snow, hot chocolate, and Christmas decorations to get you in the mood for the season. Just because a romance is closed door doesn't mean the characters can't have great chemistry and steamy kisses which Dante and Lucy had. I love small town romance so I was enjoying how the town celebrated the holidays. Lucy and Dante's rekindled relationship was the talk of the town. I adored Lucy's little sister Tess and their closeness despite Lucy being so much older than her. And I also liked how protective her older sister Stella was of her.

If you love Christmas stories and you need something to get you into the holiday spirit I definitely recommending checking this one out. It's a cute and quick read with Black leads set against a charming small town New England backdrop.

Interview with Sarah Raughley

 

Welcome Back, Booklovers! As always I'm coming at you with another great interview. This author is not new to the game, having already published an action packed YA trilogy called the Effigies Trilogy. She's back with her latest release The Bones of Ruin which is a departure from her previous work.

What inspired you to write The Bones of Ruin? And did you do any kind of research while writing it?

I love stories set in 19th century England like Sherlock Holmes and Penny Dreadful. And I really wanted to write a story this time from the perspective of a Black woman living in England in the Victorian Era. Her experiences would be really different, I assumed, than your usual protagonist, so I really wanted to explore that. Something gothic, fantastical, but still gesturing at some of the realities of colonialism and imperialism, which really marked this era.

How has the experience with your sophomore series been different from The Effigies series?

It’s a historical fantasy so it definitely requires a lot more careful research! There are a lot of historical Easter Eggs that some might not even notice, but I thought it would be fun for history buffs to spot. Now that I have one series under my belt, I know that I can write another. I also know that just finishing a project is a victory in itself. And that writing for yourself trumps the highs and lows of reading reviews.

What’s the hardest part about writing a fantasy story?

Keeping all the powers straight! I have a ‘story bible’ but it can still be tricky! Also, if you have an elaborate fantasy world, you’ll want to make sure to communicate it well to the audience and keep the internal logic of the story consistent. This requires keeping track of a lot of moving elements.

Do you still feel as a Nigerian-Canadian author there is a pressure to write a fantasy story that takes inspiration from African folklore?

Yes, I think there are many pressures Black and African writers undergo in the publishing industry. There are still expectations from the industry and sometimes I feel from the readers as well. They may see a book about an African main character and expect certain book elements or a certain voice because they’ve been taught to expect these things, or they have a stereotypical framework of what a book about an African girl should be and sound like. It can be difficult to break through the perceptions of others but again, write for yourself first.

You have a love of manga and comic books. Could you ever see yourself writing a graphic novel?

YES! I’m doing a lot of research on this. I’m a hugely visual writer because of my love of this media, so it’s something that feels natural to me. One day, I’d love for you guys to meet more of the characters in my head!

If you could travel anywhere in the world to research and write for a year, where would you travel?

I’d love to go to Japan again. I went there a couple years back and it was so fun. I don’t know if I would research for a story necessarily. I’d just love to be there again with enough time to really explore, have fun and meet up with other writers.

If you were writing your memoir what would the title be?  

Stop Emailing Me: A Memoir 

What else do you enjoy outside of writing?

I love sleeping, eating, hmm...is that it? Ha, usually I like listening to music. I’m listening to a lot of old R&B right now. Plus, I’m a huge K-POP fan!

What is your comfort food of choice?

Cupcakes! I haven’t had any in a long time though. Trying to cut down!

Where do you see yourself as a writer in the next five years?

In five years, I would love to have a wiki page on one of my books. It’s a true dream! Like, for fans to actually gather what information they can from a story you wrote and organize it as a wikipedia....amazing! The true geek marker of success. 

Is there anything you’re working on now that you’re able to talk about?

I alluded to it before, but I’d love to explore all kinds of markets and media. All you need is a good idea and the will to finish a project. And you need to give yourself the time and grace to get it done! For me, as well as finishing The Bones of Ruin trilogy, I just want to get my stories out there. And when I do, I hope you guys will enjoy them!

Follow her on Twitter @s_raughley

The Sweetest Charade by Jadesola James

 

Welcome Back, Booklovers! So earlier this month I read Jadesola James' Redeemed by his New York Cinderella. Well shortly after that her debut book The Sweetest Charade went on sale. I'd heard some good things about it so I decide why not read it right away?

The Sweetest Charade follows an influencer named Delysia Daniels who tags a professor named Dr. Alexander Abbott-Hill in a suggestive social media post. Once the picture goes viral and gossip starts circulating around campus Dr. Abbott-Hill reaches out to Ms. Daniels with threats to sue. Delysia's publicist comes up with a wild idea to have the two of them fake date after their implied relationship has brought them both 1000s of new followers and brands offering sponsorships.

Alexander has been working on a restoring an old luxury train that belonged to his family and Amtrak is calling now offering to fund his endeavors. So he agrees to the ruse and soon discovers that keeping up with Delysia's lifestyle is not easy. There's event appearances, planned content, and brands offering him freebies. And as they spend more time together it's clear there are feelings there that can't be ignored. Then a luxury trip designed to promote the restored train puts them in close quarters for a few weeks.

So Dr. Abbott-Hill was very pompous. But at the same time the author didn't want to lean into his clearly old money background. And I wish she would've gone more into it. He states he grew up fairly normal and is the poor cousin but his family's name carries a lot of weight around NYC and even the Philadelphia area. He's able to get into SoHo Lounge because they carry his family's wine as their house brand. His family has a name in the theatre scene in Philadelphia. It was said they once had a successful rail business. So there was no need for the random faux humble statements to downplay it. He may not have been into designer clothes but he and his family are very much about status. You go into the story thinking it's just a professor and influencer and that's the reason they're worlds apart. But the biggest gap between them was that he came across as much older though I'm not sure what their age difference was supposed to be. And she was new money and lived a flashier lifestyle, at least online.

I wasn't surprised to read that Jadesola James is a research librarian and to see her research cited after the story. You could tell she was really into the parts about the train and took care in describing all the details. Also the all expenses paid luxury train trip to different US cities is definitely my dream. It was a very unique element that I've never seen in a romance before.

This book was not that many pages but it felt lengthy at times because of the pacing. When the pace was fast I was speeding through it. But it would randomly slow down to try and make it a slow burn. It made it easier to put down the book. The chemistry between Alexander and Delysia is what kept me reading. Plus I found Delysia interesting and relatable There was a lot of depth to her character and I enjoyed reading about her struggling with her insecurities about her career path and her mother's health.  She's also used to switching personas to portray a completely different person online than offline. While online she's very boisterous, offline she was quiet and reserved. 

Also there was way too much blushing in this book with descriptions of the leads turning crimson from cheeks to ears. I'm not saying Black people can't blush just that unlike pale skinned white people you don't tend to see it on our faces the way you see them turning bright red. I don't care how light skinned these characters were supposed to be. It would've made more sense to describe how their facial expressions changed. Or just about the heat rising to their cheeks. Or getting that fluttering feeling. 

The timeline was also kind of off. How was he able to take weeks off towards the end of the semester for the influencer luxury train ride? Because it was taking place around Thanksgiving. And then somehow later he's able to take off for months to Dubai during the semester. When at the beginning of the book it's stressed his job isn't even in good standing due to poor student evaluations. 

Overall it was interesting and the sex scenes were well written. I just wasn't pining for Alexander and his pretentiousness.

2021 Holiday Gift Guide Part 1

 

Welcome Back Booklovers! Time is flying by and Christmas will be here sooner than you think. Also with all the talk about how bad shipping is going to be over the next few months more than ever this is the perfect time to start doing some early Christmas shopping.  So we are going to start with gifts to help set the mood when you're reading. 

And to make it easy for you everything has a click through links so you don't have to hunt any companies down. And yes, I have purchased from the majority of these businesses.

Black Owned Candle Companies

I don't know about you but I love burning candles before I sit down to read especially during the winter. I can't do those BBW candles anymore though. They tend to give me headaches. Sometimes you got to pay a little more for higher quality. 

Classic scents like Vanilla, Sage, and Lavender are the key to Good Day Scents  candles which comes in scents like Black Love.

Here at WOC Read we love a Caribbean Queen and this St. Lucian owned shop Isle of Wax comes through with Caribbean inspired scents. The coconut shell they come in with the option to add seashells is a fun touch.

Wick and Glow Candle Co has candles named after 90s R&B hits. Candles boast names like So Into You and Real Love.

Chanelle Novosey Candle Co makes the cutest Frappuccino candles they're almost too pretty to burn.

Stationary, Journals, and Things!

Ever wanted to go old school and get into letter writing? Eboniismoon makes it easy with her letter writing kit.

BookishHeaux got the bookmarks! And she's showing them off with one of my favorite books! Couldn't hesitate to put one in the cart for myself.

Mimi Oseni gave us the reflective journal we needed. This journal has great prompts, quotes, and affirmations for Black women to self-reflect. These prompts will help you dig deeper into how you live and cultivate joy. Check out Passionfruit!

I didn't even know I needed this representation until I saw it. CopperandBrassPaper has greeting cards and holiday gift wrap to help you really be prepared for the holiday season.

Black Owned Yarn Businesses

For the Black girls who love to purl and stitch while listening to audiobooks I didn't forget you. And neither did Essence of Autumn with her hand dyed yarns.

Fully Spun is all about the colors when it comes to her hand dyed marled yarn.

Black Owned Tea and Coffee Brands

Oya Tea boasts simple and quality ingredients sourced from Kenya and Malawi.

Coffee Del Mundo is an Afro-Latino specialty coffee company where you can shop for coffee by destination in addition to type. 

parTea in a box from the Just Add Tea Company is perfect for an afternoon tea party. You can select your choice of tea and cake to be included. 

Many of Adjourn Teahouse signature loose leaf tea blends are inspired by the owner's Black family. Puddin' will remind you of your grandmother's banana pudding. 

No Gods No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull

 

Welcome Back, Booklovers! I finally finished No Gods No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull this weekend after doing a slow read since it's release date. I had no clue what this story would be like when Blackstone Publishing sent me a finished copy for review. I just assumed it would be some kind of urban fantasy with horror elements. Which it is but it's also so much more.

This story begins with Laina mourning her brother's death. They were estranged for some time as her brother battled drug addiction which only adds to her guilt. At first it just seems like an act of police brutality though what happened doesn't truly make sense. However she discovers it's not that simple when she receives the missing body cam footage from the officer who shot her brother. It reveals that her brother was a werewolf.  She shares the footage online and it goes viral though is scrubbed from the net as if someone is intent on keeping these monsters hidden. Not long after a pack of werewolves transform in the middle of a busy street proving that the footage wasn't just an internet hoax. 

There weren't just werewolves; but also dragons, an invisible woman, succouyants, a man who can jump across timelines, secret societies, and much more. We don't just follow the monsters who are trying to adapt to the new normal amid riots and protests, but also some of their allies who are struggling with the new revelations and how they can help. There are characters in this story dealing with grief, sexuality, drug addiction, and other issues.

I'd say my favorite parts of the story were the parts that took place in St. Thomas where readers are painted a vivid picture of every day island life. We get to appearance the feeling of the plane touching down in the airport as Calvin returns home from his time in the US. While he is happy that so much that he's familiar with has remained the same he's struggling with life after his brother's death. Spending time with his niece in an attempt to be a better uncle only exasperates those feelings. 

This book excels at building atmosphere without describing every mundane detail so it's easy to sit back and just get lost in the story. I was reading a physical copy alongside the audiobook which has a very easy flowing narration that perfectly fits.

While at times things could be a little confusing the story never stopped being engaging.  You have to pay close attention because it also moves at a very fast pace and at times across decades and universes. As I read further I started to see how so many of the character's lives were interconnected. And they all have the common goal of wanting to find a place where they belong and feel loved. There's no big bad all the characters are fighting against but rather we see a look at everyday society which these monsters are very much apart of but also on the outskirts. It's very literary so if literary stories aren't your style proceed with caution but I'm curious to see where book 2 goes.

Redeemed by His New York Cinderella by Jadesola James

 

Welcome Back, Booklovers! I had to dive back into romance again because it's my safe space to always bring me out when I'm feeling slumpy. The cover had me running to request this book so thank you to Harlequin for providing me an early copy.

This book is set in New York City and follows Katherine "Kitty" Asare, a former foster child who has since built a foundation to help kids transition out of the system. She sneaks into a exclusive hotel party in hopes of networking for donors when she comes face to face with the ghosts of her past. Laurence Stone is the son of the foster family who tossed her aside when she was finally starting to feel secure. She pushed through and managed to put herself through school and create a life for herself but the pain still runs deep. How was she to know the penthouse suite she charged her dinner to was his?

After a near death experience and a chance encounter, Laurence decides he needs to do right by the woman whose life he turned upside down years ago. So he comes up with a plan that will be mutually beneficial to the both of them. She needs more attention for her foundation and he needs a beautiful woman on his arm while he secures business deals. Laurence was also hurt by his parents and still harbors some resentment and pain there. The book takes it's time revealing the full story about what happened in the past but it's understandable why he cut ties with them.

This was a good read if you're into Cinderella type stories where the woman meets a billionaire and gets to live fabulously. You see them jet setting to fancy events, Kitty gets a full makeover complete with designer clothes and new hairstyle. It was fun to get lost in the fantasy of being whisked away but a handsome rich man. And the yacht sex scenes hit all the right notes. I also liked the added touch of them both having Ghananin heritage. Laurence is white and Ghananian and Kitty moved from Ghana to the US as a little girl. There's just enough depth without sacrificing the fun and sexy moments you love and expect in a Harlequin Presents Romance.

White Smoke by Tiffany D Jackson

 Welcome Back, Booklovers! It's fall and time to grab all the horror and dark fantasy reads. I received an arc from Harper Collins in exchange for an honest review. The cover was cute and a haunted house story sounded interesting. Horror is a genre I really started reading more last year and I'm finding that I like books that are dark and make my heart race.  So I was ready to dive into White Smoke. 

Marigold Anderson and her family have moved to Cedarville for a fresh start. Change is good. Change is necessary. Change is needed. Or at least that's the mantra she keeps repeating to herself. As part of an artist's residency she and her newly blended family will be living is a restored historic house. They're so happy they don't even care that the street is nearly abandoned and that they're not allowed to step foot in the basement. But suddenly Mari is seeing things and they're hearing rumors about their new home. 

What is with gentrification thrillers and bedbugs? I will say it instantly made me think of When No One is Watching. As did the corporate conspiracies. I had to deal with a bed bug infestation before and I'm still traumatized so I felt Mari on making sure everything is clean. If I think I see a random black dot on my sheets or my skin just feels too itchy I freak out too. My fear is nowhere near as debilitating as hers but just seeing or hearing the word bed bugs makes my skin crawl. Random bed bug facts were one of Mari's tics. But those didn't really add anything for me.

I don't recommend the audiobook because I found the narration to be kind of flat. She has a nice standard contemporary voice which worked well for the scenes where they were just hanging out but her voice didn't change during the more action packed scenes. I've listened to author horror novels on audio that really set the tone and this narration didn't. I ended up going back and rereading the entire middle sections.

This was a fast-paced read that packed a lot of social commentary in it but I don't think it really took the time to deep dive into said commentary. It felt like two books to me. The legalization/criminalization of marijuana storyline could've been in it's own book by itself. 

And I felt like there was some fear mongering when it came to the discussion about weed. She overdosed on fentanyl laced weed but not the Percocet she was snorting! I'm not even someone who endorses teens smoking and I wasn't a teen who did it but most of my friends did. It's very common so I actually thought it would be normalized here. Instead it's easy for Mari to write off the creepy things like being followed and watched as paranoia over her anxiety and weed habit.

The last 25% was where it really started coming together and then it abruptly ended. I liked the commentary around the blended family making things work despite their differences. I think that I would've loved this book had it left some of the other plots to a different book. It felt like a detractor breaking up the momentum of the story.  I never got that heart-racing sensation I craved. I did feel itchy from the bed bug scenes. When the main focus was the scary things going on in the house the book worked best. I would've liked the writing to be a little more descriptive though because I couldn't picture what the house looked like. 

The author clearly didn't know what type of book she wanted so how was I supposed to follow along and care? If you're not really into scary reads and just like confusion than this will probably be a good starter horror. Bad Witch Burning had perfect narration and strong well discussed social commentary that wove in seamlessly with the fantasy/horror aspects and it's one I would reach for first.

Spooky Season Recommendations for All Ages

 

Welcome Back, Booklovers! Spooky Season has officially started! Do you like spooky stories? Are you looking for new books for the kids in your life? Books make great back to school gifts. Here's a book for each age group to enjoy this season including some new releases I can't stop talking about.

If you're planning on buying any of these books through Amazon I'd appreciate it if you use my affiliate link. All books below have click through links in the title.

Age: Baby-4yrs

My Baby Loves Halloween by Jabari Asim

Age: 4yrs-8yrs

Looking For a Jumbie

I’m looking for a jumbie, I’m going to find a scary one.

But Mama says jumbies exist only in stories. So Naya sets out on a nighttime adventure to find out for herself.

No such thing, say the friends she makes along the way. 

But Naya is sure that jumbies are real. Some have big mouths. Or thick fur. Or glowing skin. Or sharp teeth. Kind of like her new friends.…

Age: 8yrs-12yrs

 

Ghost Squad by Claribel Ortega

Shortly before Halloween, Lucely and her best friend, Syd, cast a spell that accidentally awakens malicious spirits, wreaking havoc throughout St. Augustine. Together, they must join forces with Syd's witch grandmother, Babette, and her tubby tabby, Chunk, to fight the haunting head-on and reverse the curse to save the town and Lucely's firefly spirits before it's too late.

The Owls Have Come to Take Us Away by Ronald L. Smith

Twelve-year-old Simon is obsessed with aliens. The ones who take people and do experiments. When he’s too worried about them to sleep, he listens to the owls hoot outside. Owls that have the same eyes as aliens—dark and foreboding.

Then something strange happens on a camping trip, and Simon begins to suspect he’s been abducted. But is it real, or just the overactive imagination of a kid who loves fantasy and role-playing games and is the target of bullies and his father’s scorn?

Age: 12yrs-14yrs

Artie and the Wolf Moon by Olivia Stephens

After sneaking out against her mother's wishes, Artie Irvin spots a massive wolf―then watches it don a bathrobe and transform into her mom. Thrilled to discover she comes from a line of werewolves, Artie asks her mom to share everything―including the story of Artie's late father. Her mom reluctantly agrees. And to help Artie figure out her own wolflike abilities, her mom recruits some old family friends.

Artie thrives in her new community and even develops a crush on her new friend Maya. But as she learns the history of werewolves and her own parents' past, she'll find that wolves aren't the scariest thing in the woods―vampires are.

Age: 14yrs-17yrs

 

The Taking of Jake Livingston

Sixteen-year-old Jake Livingston sees dead people everywhere. But he can't decide what's worse: being a medium forced to watch the dead play out their last moments on a loop or being at the mercy of racist teachers as one of the few Black students at St. Clair Prep. Both are a living nightmare he wishes he could wake up from. But things at St. Clair start looking up with the arrival of another Black student—the handsome Allister—and for the first time, romance is on the horizon for Jake.

 

Unfortunately, life as a medium is getting worse. Though most ghosts are harmless and Jake is always happy to help them move on to the next place, Sawyer Doon wants much more from Jake. In life, Sawyer was a troubled teen who shot and killed six kids at a local high school before taking his own life. Now he's a powerful, vengeful ghost and he has plans for Jake. Suddenly, everything Jake knows about dead world goes out the window as Sawyer begins to haunt him. High school soon becomes a different kind of survival game—one Jake is not sure he can win.

Adult 

No God's No Monsters

One October morning, Laina gets the news that her brother was shot and killed by Boston cops. But what looks like a case of police brutality soon reveals something much stranger. Monsters are real. And they want everyone to know it.

As creatures from myth and legend come out of the shadows, seeking safety through visibility, their emergence sets off a chain of seemingly unrelated events. Members of a local werewolf pack are threatened into silence. A professor follows a missing friend's trail of bread crumbs to a mysterious secret society. And a young boy with unique abilities seeks refuge in a pro-monster organization with secrets of its own. Meanwhile, more people start disappearing, suicides and hate crimes increase, and protests erupt globally, both for and against the monsters.

At the center is a mystery no one thinks to ask: Why now? What has frightened the monsters out of the dark?

The world will soon find out.

Partly Cloudy by Tanita S. Davis

 

Welcome Back, Booklovers. Party Cloudy was another cover grab. I saw the cover and it said for fans of From the Desk of Zoe Washington and I said to myself that this would be an interesting read. I received an arc from HarperCollins Children's Book in exchange for review. 

Madlyn has to make some big adjustments in her life. Last year was rocky with her father losing his job, her family having to move to a new home, and Madlyn having to start a school she didn't feel safe or welcome at. This year things are looking up as her father has a new job on the East Coast. But her mother thinks she'll have a better experience in a different school district. In order to attend her new school she must movie in with her Great Uncle, Papa Lobo and live with him during the week. If that adjustment wasn't hard enough she also has to deal with her mother taking on more work hours.

She's adjusting to the new school and  getting to know her Uncle's neighbor Jean who keeps an eye out for her. While the new school seems nice she also notices she's the only one that looks like her in the school. A new friend, Natalie seems to be uneasy every time Jean is around and Madlyn finds out from another friend that the girl dislikes Black boys because one was a bully towards her at an old school.  Madlyn at the same time also meets a neighbor who while very kind to her has issues with Papa Lobo and Jean.

This book almost felt like I was reading two different books. One book was a beautiful story about a girl moving in with her Great Uncle and learning that sometimes sacrifices do have to be made to ensure you live a better life. Madlyn is learning to adjust to things being different from what she's used to with her Great Uncle's creole sayings and sometimes unconventional way of doing things. That aspect of the book I enjoyed. The other book was telling a story about the only Black girl in class dealing with micro and macro aggressions at her new school. But for some reasons the book didn't mesh well for me combining all these elements.

When it came to racism it was shown in the forms of both the older neighbor and Natalie and it feels like it was danced around for most of the story. It makes Madlyn feel uneasy throughout but the word racism doesn't even appear until 70% into the story. She refuses to confront Natalie about it until a crisis so that didn't help either because it felt like the book was ending when the conversation was finally being had. It actually made it hard to continue reading because I kept waiting for her to have the courage to open up about her feelings rather than awkwardly dancer around Natalie. People don't change overnight so you don't get to see what happens after it's addressed.

Also while I appreciated the social worker mother being supportive and reminding her daughter that it's not her job to educate and explain things to people I feel like that's what ended up happening anyway. Madlyn has to take the bigger person approach both in situations with Natalie and again with the prejudiced neighbor. It feels like Black people always have to take the be the better person approach. Also it could've dove a little deeper into why the neighbor and Natalie didn't have a problem with Madlyn as a Black girl but had an uneasiness around Black boys and men. Conversations stayed at the surface in that regard. 

Madlyn also read younger than her age to me. She's in 7th grade and around age 12/13. But to me she read more like a 9/10 year old and I actually had to remind myself that she's a little older. Her previous school was definitely from how it was described a primarily Black, underfunded school in a bad area.  I'm not sure what the dynamics were of the area they lived in prior though it sounds like it was a more diverse area.

This book did make me think about the best ways to handle dealing with a child experiencing racism. So hopefully it encourages more discussions about how to approach that.

The Bones of Ruin by Sarah Raughley

 

Welcome Back, Booklovers! The Bones of Ruin was another book that I went in knowing little about because the cover completely sold me. Also hearing it is a historical fantasy definitely peaked my interest because historical fantasies have been some of my favorite books lately. And while lengthy fantasy stories intimidate me this one has short chapters.

Iris has no memories and she's not really trying to discover the truth. She's working as a tightrope walker in a traveling circus to make a living. Her grace and agility help her through these dangerous stunts but she also has a secret. She cannot truly die. It's something she's kept hidden for 10 years now. One day while performing in the streets before a big show in London, she sees a man she recognizes but she's not sure where she knows him from. This causes her slip and fall to what should be her death. The crowd saw her neck snap! But instead she's able to wake up and walk away seemingly unharmed. 

After boss discovers her secret and attempts to exploit her to pay off her debts she escapes from the circus and tracks down the man who made her fall. The man Adam knows her past but insists he must discover the truth on her own little by little. But he also wants her to help him find his father before the rest of the secret committee he's involved in realizes that his father is still alive.

Her ability to allude death makes her a target for everyone. She was getting kidnapped every few chapters it seemed. And while Iris is safe from death, the people around her are not. So in her quest to discover her past she has to reckon with how her team is putting their lives at risk to help her.

The Fantastic Freaks are like mutants with special powers who all have a connection to an explosion at a fair in South Kensington. Most of these freaks are also anomalies because of their race and ethnicity compared to the people of London. This allowed the opportunity to introduce characters that hailed from far corners of the world. It's not the main focus but the book does still show some of the discrimination Iris receives as a Black woman during that time period without naming the slurs she's called on page.

The harem didn't work for me. Iris has three men in love with her and in this story it just felt unnecessary. I understood Jinn had a connection with her as her partner in the circus so there was an unrequited love story going on there. But Adam was just in love with the idea of her. And Max I'm not sure what drew him to love her at first sight at all. I didn't feel the chemistry was even there between them to warrant his pining. It teetered into not like other girls territory. Also I would've loved for this story to dive deeper into the men's backgrounds so I could have a better connection to them.

People who are very visual when they read fantasies and are able to picture the setting in their heads like a movie will really enjoy the atmosphere that's built up in this. 

It was engaging and I was invested in the mystery but it moves at such a slow and steady pace that it's very easy to put this book down and not feel the immediate urgency to pick it back up. At some points in part 2 I felt like the story was coasting along and then something big would happen and I was engaged again. Once more about Iris' past was revealed I needed to know the outcome. Part 3 was where it all came together for me. I was actually able to enjoy the team dynamic and the humor in some moments despite the seriousness of the events taking place. I was hooked and started racing towards the end.  If you want a fantasy set in a different world than the norm that you can slow read then check this one out.