This Cursed House by Del Sandeen

Welcome Back, Booklovers! This Cursed House had already gotten my attention being Black Southern Gothic and when I saw some early readers praising it I knew I had to check it out. And what better season to read something dark than fall when the sky is cloudy, the weather is frigid, and you're in the mood to just curl up in the house? 

Jemma flees Chicago for a fresh start after her cheating boyfriend ends up getting his side woman pregnant. She receives an offer that she believes is for a tutoring job in New Orleans for the wealthy Duchon family. Upon arrival, Jemma is warned by people in town about the mysterious family who keeps themselves isolated. The longer Jemma works for them the more she understands those warnings as secrets are revealed and she discovers ghosts roam the house. Members of the Duchon family are unable to leave the property and every seven years one of them dies on the same date. The family informs Jemma that she is the key to breaking the curse. 

This Cursed House starts off very fast-paced with many twists and reveals to get readers engaged. It had my undivided attention wondering what would be revealed next or how much more the Duchon family could disgust me. However once it's clear what direction this book is going in the story starts moving at a glacial pace.  There's also some repetition that made the book lag towards the end in addition to it feeling like it hits it peak long before the ending. 

This book deals heavily with colorism and racism with the Duchon family doing vile things to uphold those standards. So the forgive and move forward messaging in the second half of the book just felt clunky as that family was undeserving of forgiveness. Some of the discussions surrounding it too also felt more 2020s discussions than 1960s discussions so the overly modern feel there threw me out of the story. There's been much romanticization of families like the Duchons who believed in keeping the bloodline as white as possible to remain at the top of society so it was interesting to see that address in a book. However it didn't quite hit the mark. Jemma's motivations as a character started to not make sense in the grand scheme of things and what started out a very interesting tale fizzled with an unsatisfying conclusion. 

Christmas Picture Books for BIPOC Kids

Welcome Back, Booklovers! The past few years I've been keeping track of Christmas picture books for Black Children and have even bought many for the kids in my family. My family loves Christmas but it's harder to find images of Christmas that aren't only white. So seeing more released in recent years has been a treat. So check out this post for a few of my favorites and if you want more check out my idea list.

Jayylen's Christmas Wish

This is a heartwarming story about a little boy named Jayylen who tries to raise money so their family can visit his brother for Christmas when he has to stay at the base instead of coming home for holidays. This is very relatable to so many young children who have a family member in the military.

Santa's Gotta Go!

This is a fun picture book where Santa has to spend a few extra days with a family when his slay won't restart after delivering all the gifts. But they soon find out Santa's not the idea houseguest and are ready for him to go!

A Piece of Black Cake for Santa

This is a fun book about sharing different cultural traditions and food around Christmastime. The book includes a recipe for black cake!

Carla and the Christmas Cornbread

Carla's favorite holiday tradition is making cornbread with her grandma. And when Carla accidentally eats Santa’s Christmas cookie, the cornbread is there to save the day!

The Holly-day After

When all the gifts are delivered Santa and his family have their own special celebration the day after.

La Noche Before Three Kings Day

It's a The Night Before Christmas inspired story centered around Three Kings Day. A family comes together and prepares for the three kings to come bearing gifts.

Happy All-idays!

A book highlighting how different families celebrate winter holidays

Twelve Dinging Doorbells

An all holidays carol celebrating the family getting together

Dreams of Green: A Three King's Day Story

A story about celebrating Dia de Los Reyes in a new place

Countdown for Nochebuena

Celebrating Nochebuena, a holiday tradition for Latinx families on Christmas Eve

Sleeping with the Frenemy by Natalie Caña

Welcome Back Booklovers! I'd been meaning to get back to the Vega Family Love Stories series and Hoopla alerted me to a new release called Sleeping with the Frenemy. I saved it and put it on my list to read in the future. However after seeing it come across my Instagram feed for Puerto Rican Heritage Month I knew I had to read it right away.

Leo Vega has been in love with Sofi, his sister's best friend for years. But despite their aside on and off hookups Sofi has sworn off the Vega family after a revelation from Kamilah. Now Sofi is back after spending time in Europe and trying to mend her friendship. Leo just so happens to have an extra room when she needs a space to go and their grandparents see sparks between them.

There's a lot to love about this one from the Chicago setting to the big Puerto Rican familia. There's so many different nods to Puerto Rico from the music, to the cuisine, and traditions the characters hold. And it's done in a realistic way through things like the Puerto Rican Festival. It's truly a great cast of characters from Abuelo Papo to Tostone the dog. Readers who enjoy families being heavily involved in their romance stories will like how there's always a sibling or a grandparent popping up in the scene.

Though this is a second chance romance it's not solely focused on the romance. There's a lot of interpersonal drama that keeps the book moving aside from the standard second chance  romance plot. Sofi and Kamilah are working on mending their friendship with Kamilah helping her plan her wedding. Sofi also has a barely existent relationship with her father and she doesn't know how to approach wanting to confront him about her feelings of abandonment.  Leo is recovering from a gunshot wound and wants to get back to his firefighting career but he's also battling his feelings of inferiority compared to his siblings.

The author does a decent job showcases how the world if a little bit different for Sofi as an Afro-Latina even among other Latines. Even though this is a slower paced book it stays engaging through out. Sometimes the transition into flashbacks scenes could be a little abrupt and not all feel totally necessary.  But the most important flashback did it's job of showcasing that turning point in their relationship. The narrator was great and added that extra touch of playfulness when it came to the book's spicier scenes.

The Love Interest by Helen Comerford

Welcome Back, Booklovers! I have a love-disinterest relationship with superhero tales. I go through periods of time where I'm really into superhero media from comics to tv shows. But I also go through periods where I could care less about superheroes. This year we've seen shows like Supacell and books like The Second Chance of Darius Logan which offer a look at a different kind of superhero. So keeping in line with that I was excited to see The Love Interest released this year which promised a satirical look the superhero genre. 

Jenna Ray lives in the small coastal town of Nine Trees. Nine Trees, is the subject of a prophesy that said in the year 2024 a new hero would rise. In this world the Earth has evolved and people have evolved with it which resulted in many receiving powers. Anyone who displays signs of powers must be reported to the Heroics and Power Authority to be registered and monitored. Jenna Ray and her family don't buy into the Hero Industrial Complex like many people in their town so they're not thrilled when she becomes the new hero, Blaze's first rescue. Being his first female rescue means she's guaranteed to be his love interest something both Blaze and the HPA are pushing for. But love interests tend to die young and Jenna sees herself as so much more than a damsel in distress to be a pawn used by his enemies. She's ready to keep Blaze at a distance when she's approached by villains who tell her if she assists them they will take her to her mother who has been missing for years.

The Love Interest sets out to tackle the issues with the role girls and women have in superhero stories. A few feminist talking points are addressed here that I hope will be expanded upon in the next installment particularly surrounding the way women of color navigate these types of environments. Jenna also has issues with anxiety which is something the author did a good job highlighting in the text as well as including information at the end of the book with resources for teens in the UK who also suffer with anxiety.

The idea of an organization specifically designed to handle all things hero isn't new but it was a fun addition here as Jenna attends cons set up to cultivate a fandom around Blaze and strategically set up photo ops. Though this is not a comic there's still news articles scattered throughout to give it more of that feel. Most of the popular superhero stories are set in the US so the UK setting here is a refreshing change. There's plenty of appeal for readers who like small town stories with close knit casts. The book has enough twists and turns to keep readers engaged along with a steady and even pacing. The ending is satisfying enough with just enough loose threads to set up the sequel.