The Sun and the Void by Gabriela Romero LaCruz

Welcome Back, Booklovers! The Sun and the Void caught my attention last year because in a genre dominated by European aesthetics and similar feeling kingdoms it was cool to see a unique setting. There aren't a ton of South American inspired fantasies in the adult epic fantasy space and I was happy when Gabriela Romero Lacruz reached out and asked if I wanted a copy to review.

The Sun and the Void is a dual pov fantasy following two young women who in many ways are in similar situations. Both are of mixed origin and yearn for a place where they belong. Reina's parents are dead and she answers the call of a grandmother looking to connect after all these years. While Eva has a family, she feels like an outsider and dreads the day her family marries her off to be rid of her. 

Part 1 consists of a lot of set up for the main story and I do think that it could've been edited down because it was quite lengthy and some of it could've easily been summarized in a few sentences. We get a play by play of Reina arriving at the manor after being attacked by these demon like creatures called the tinieblas who attempt to rot her heart. While that was a critical piece of the story, I felt we could've been told about rather than shown Dona Laurel and Don Enrique's struggle to have a boy. Reina felt a connection to the Aguila family specifically Dona Laurel and Celeste for showing her kindness but I was still left confused about why she had such strong feelings for them. Readers are told that two years time has passed but despite the slow pace it didn't feel like much had happened. Eva also gets little focus during this part of the book so readers are left wondering when she and Reina will cross paths.

Part 2 is when the story finally starts to take root and action happens. Reina's grandmother, a practitioner of mineral based magic, wants to invoke the power of a forbidden god. Reina is desperate to be her grandmother's successor and also dependent on her magic to keep her alive so she agrees to do her bidding. Blood must be sacrificed. Eva on the other hand has found a way to escape her family who have ostracized her for partaking in dark magic. Not only do we get to know more about the characters in this section but we get to explore more of this world and it's politics. Unexpected secrets are revealed that make the book worth continuing.

There's no side that's right vs wrong here, as the author has readers constantly second guessing who to root for as agendas are uncovered. It's a very character driven story with the characters written in a way where readers have to determine if they find their actions justifiable enough to excuse the harm they've done. For those who like romance in their fantasy that's here and the morally ambiguity extends to those relationships as well. 

There's still much to explore with an ending that leaves a lot of possibilities for the sequel. 

Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo

Back in 2020 Elizabeth Acevedo made me a fan with her entry in the A Phoenix First Must Burn anthology where her story Gilded was a standout and that had me rushing to read her other books that spring where she was a lockdown staple. So imagine my excitement when I found out she has sold her first adult novel? I received this book from HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review.

Flor has always been able to see the deaths of others so when she decides to hold a living wake her family is unsure if she's predicted her own death or the death of someone close to her. We follow two generations of women as they reflect on their lives leading up to the wake. 

At first it took me some time to really get into it and be able to differentiate the sisters and daughters. And then some chapters were told from the perspective of Flor's daughter Oona, an anthropologist interviewing the other family members. She often tries to relate her studies back to her family. So the lines are blurred on if we're seeing their point of view or their story filtered through her. It also doesn't follow a linear timeline, often jumping to different decades and present day depending on which character is doing the reflecting. 

The writing in this book is not for everyone. It's slower paced, it's very different from her YA books. But there's something about these 6 women that just draws you in and has you continuing to turn the page. She doesn't hold back when talking about taboo subjects. The relationships these women have with each other and other members of their family aren't always pretty. There's heavy sexual content as she describes their desire in detail. Oona, who proclaims her vagina is blessed and has a fetish that might take you buy surprise.

These were Caribbean women through and through. And it was more than just their country upbringing that reflected that. They all possessed a special magic that isn't the magic that conjures images of witches like some might expect. I could see pieces of the women in my family reflected in some of these women. They came with familiar sounding stories of infidelity, struggles with fertility, ill treatment while trying to create a life for themselves, being the forgotten sister. And though these women start off feeling very similar it's easy to see where their experiences intersect but also take their own direction. 

I'll reiterate to not pick up this book expecting the adult version of her other books. This is her most ambitious one yet. I'd say if you were of a fan of books like Halsey Street this is something you'll enjoy. 

A Chase for Christmas by Candace Shaw

Welcome Back, Booklovers! It's July and even though the sun is blazing and Christmas is five months away this time is when I get excited for the holidays. I blame the years of seeing department stores bring out their discounted Christmas décor and Hallmark running all the Christmas movies during the time. This is an older title now out of print but it's available on Hoopla and for ebook purchase.

It's getting close to Christmas time and successful video game developer, Preston Chase is putting on a Winter Wonderland event to benefit the local Children's hospital. He enlists help from a local artist who also happens to be his sister's best friend Blythe Ventura. Blythe is balancing holiday sip and paint events but she can't say no when it comes to a good cause. 

I thought this one had the right balance of making it feel like Christmas time without having to have the constant reminders through holiday activity on every page. The setting isn't Christmas Lane, USA instead it's set in Atlanta, Georgia. But that doesn't mean it's devoid of any holiday magic as the two work together to bring hope and joy to sick children. Christmas romance always involves people getting together in a very short window of time so it was interesting that this one had a bit of a slow burn. Preston and Blythe already have an easy chemistry together after a year of flirting and Preston's sister hinting that they should be together. 

Having been burned in the past by a cheating ex boyfriend, Blythe isn't ready to jump into another relationship as she's still overcoming insecurities from the last one. But Preston is cool, confident and ready to convince her to risk it all. It's a quick read with just enough drama and some genuinely funny moments.

Plantains and Our Becoming by Melania Luisa Marte

Welcome Back, Booklovers! I'm not usually one to pick up poetry collections but I've been following Melania Luisa Marte since she did the audiobook for Clap When You Land. I have watched some of her poetry videos over the past couple of years and a few of them appear in this collection. Knowing I liked her vibe when I saw this poetry collection announced I knew I needed to check it out. Tiny Reparations/Penguin Random House provided me with an arc in exchange for review.

This collection is split into 3 parts. The first part titled Daughter of the Diaspora really focuses on Mela as she grows and changes throughout the years. She talks about what it means to her to be Afro-Latina. How her hair and skintone can sometimes make her feel like an outsider even within her own community. She also talks about what it means to a Black woman living in America but also the daughter of immigrants struggling to make their own way. I felt this part was the most raw and vulnerable part of the collection as she gives up a glimpse into the dynamics of her family and neighborhood.

In the second part A History of Plantains she gets into the history between the Dominican Republic and Haiti. She calls out her people for Anti-Haitian sentiments and anti-Blackness. She talks about the harsh beauty standards that have women running to the surgery table. She also gives her thoughts about the American Dream and how Black and brown people are left out of that narrative. And she makes the act of mashing plantanos so much more with lyrical prose.

And Part 3 On Becoming is like a blend of parts 1 and 2. It's about love, friendship, motherhood, and self-care. They're poems about being free to be you're most authentic self and it felt fitting to end a collection like this on themes of love and liberation. It's raw and honest and most of all relatable to Black millennial woman especially those of us who are navigating that space between different identities. It's part memoir, part cry for liberation, part ode to pop culture and so much more.

Check out I Am Rooting For You

An Offer From Mr. Wrong by Niobia Bryant

Welcome Back, Booklovers! I read the previous book in the Cress Brother's series The Rebel Heir where we got our first wind of Lincoln. The Cress family drama gripped me the last time so I needed to know  how things would go down.

Lincoln is in New York to connect with the father and younger brothers he's recently learned about. One of the first things he does is track down the PI who blew his world apart to tell her off, but when his newfound family feels overwhelming he asks her to pretend to be his girlfriend.

The time jumps in this book kept breaking up the momentum for me. It felt like a lot of the drama was happening off page and then on page would be spoken about on page and then there would be a time jump of a few days then a few weeks then a few months. We don't get to see Bobbie and Lincoln spend but one scene together because we skip a few days and are told they've since become fast friends. And I feel like the scene in which we were told that should've been a scene used to show how they were becoming friends and letting their guards down. Not just declaring it had already happened so now we're going to fast-forward to the part where they're comfortable with each other.

As much as I enjoyed the steamy moments between Lincoln and Bobbie, I could've done with one less scene if it meant fleshing out some of the other aspects better. Lincoln keeps avoiding actually building a relationship with the family he's supposed to be in the states getting to know. It was also confusing that his last name was Cress and everyone in his hometown knew his famous father was his father but his father didn't actually know. We're to believe this family is full of very popular celebrity chefs yet somehow that was kept a secret.

Too many obstacles were thrown in during a short amount of time and the one that broke them up mostly played out off page and in between months passing so it was hard to find it believable. There were also too many tropes being used here from secret heir, grumpy/sunshine, fake dating, surprise death, and secret illnesses. It was a lot to try and execute and the book ended up completely falling off for me at the end.