The Starter Ex by Mia Sosa

Welcome Back, Booklovers! I'm a girl who loves audiobooks. Sometimes I just need to be read to especially when in in the kitchen cooking. In my search for something light and because I was doing an Audible free trial I figured this was the perfect time to read The Starter Ex by Mia Sosa. Having read a few of her books before I was familiar with her vibe.

Vanessa Cordero used to have a business in college as what she called a Starter Ex. She would get paid by girls to date guys they were interested in and then be the worst girlfriend ever so her clients could swoop in and pick up the pieces of his broken heart. She's since long given that life up however when she's recently back in New York after relocating her job, she runs into one of her old clients. Then her sister Lisa decides to have Vanessa help land her best friend's brother Jason by dating him.

Jason is allergic to commitment after a relationship went sour. He wants to entertain Vanessa to get his mother off his back and has no interest in her sister Lisa, despite Lisa's hints over the years. Jason's sister is getting married and he's doing his best to help things run as smooth as possible as she prepares to teach abroad. 

Previously I read a fake dating romance by Mia Sosa that felt forced particularly with the main characters pointing out it made no sense. While the characters point out how this scheme has potential to backfire and it's also not that believable  it worked because Jason flips the script on Vanessa early on. The narration here is great especially with the male narrator Noah B. Perez. If someone is looking for a quick palette cleanser this is a nice option.

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. 

Sincerely Sicily by Tamika Burgess

Welcome Back, Booklovers! 2023 is almost here! New books will be dropping on Jan 3rd and I don't want any to get lost in the holiday shuffle. I thank Tamika Burgess for sending me a copy of Sincerely Sicily because I'm loving seeing all the Afro-Latinx rep from various authors and this was one I was really looking forward to reading.

Sicily starts a new middle school and is having a hard time because none of her best friends are at this school with her. When he meets a old friend things are finally starting to look up but then her teacher assigns her a project about her heritage. Sicily thinks it will be easy. She's Panamanian and has visited the country a few times so she knows exactly what to say. However when students bombard her with question about how she can be Black and Panamanian she freezes and her presentation turns into a mess. Her identity struggles don't end at school either. At home Abuela is giving her a hard time about her hair and constantly making comments about her braids. Sicily has to learn how to use her gift as her Abuelo always put it and speak up.

One thing that's nice about this story is that there's a lot going on and it doesn't narrow in on one particular issue. Sicily is dealing with everything that comes with middle school including new friends and a first crush. She likes to write and she wants to write for the school newspaper but Erin Masterson is giving her a hard time. 

She learns more about her Panamanian heritage here but I like that it's not written in a heavy handed way. She's doing research so she learns different facts about Black culture and history in Panama everything from the West Indians who worked on the canal to the origins of Reggaetón.  

I really liked how the relationship with her family is written here. She and Abuela were very close prior to Abuelo dying but they become distant after Abuela continuous makes comments calling Sicily's hair bad. But I also loved how the book never shies away from her mother's non nonsense attitude and own conflict with Abuela. It felt very realistic as someone who has been in a similar situation.

There was so much depth here with all the different plots going on and Tamika Burgess takes the time to follow through with a satisfying ending. Overall I think this is a very strong middle grade sure to hold readers attention. 

What Happens in Miami by Nadine Gonzalez

Welcome Back, Booklovers! So I wanted to read a Latinx story before Latinx Heirtage Month ended and What Happens in Miami had been on my TBR for months. I was already familiar with Nadine Gonzalez and she sold me with the Afro-Cuban American hero and Haitian-American heroine. I never see that pairing in books. Plus the Miami setting promised it would bring the heat. And who knew the art world could be so sexy?

Angeline "Angel" Louis is filling in for a coworker by presenting artwork to a client on behalf of her employer, Gallery Six. It's the start of Art Basel Week in Miami and there's so much going on. Angel is able to secure the sale with famous actor  Alessandro "Sandro" Cardenas. However the painting isn't the only thing Sandro is interested in. He makes it clear that he wants her to spend the night. Despite Angel knowing how highly unprofessional it would be to sleep with a client, she decides to let loose and go all in. 

Though Angel makes a swift escape the next morning Sandro can't get her out of his mind. After meeting up later that evening at an event Sandro convinces her to spend some more time together. He's also curious about her employer and wants to know if she has any information on them. Fake paintings are being sold as works by his grandfather. He just has to gather enough evidence to prove it. This element of mystery not only added some drama but it allowed readers to meet Sandro's family and explore the relationships he has with them.

Angel is getting over a breakup and is at a place in her career where she feels lost and like she's failed. Her strict Haitian family wanted her to be a doctor or a lawyer and don't support her career in the arts. I liked that Sandro made her stop and think about what she wanted in life and not just give up and move back to her hometown.

This was very much escapism that requires you to suspend belief. I didn't understand why but the author choose to have this relationship take place over the course of a week which I found to be unnecessary. I enjoyed how supportive Sandro was and how he wanted to help her pursue her dreams but the way he acted I thought a couple of weeks had passed sooner than the book stated. Even with a happy for now it was a lot. It would've made more sense to have their initial meeting take place during Art Basel Week but have them getting to know each other over the next few weeks. A few rounds of sex doesn't cause such deep feelings. And speaking of sex the build up was so hot and then it went fade to black. Why must some authors tease me like that?

All in all this was a quick with little bits of Haitian and Cuban culture that I enjoyed set across a sexy Miami backdrop.

Missing at Christmas by K.D. Richards

 

Welcome Back, Booklovers! Earlier this year I read Pursuit of the Truth by K. D. Richards and was happy to learn there would be more books this year in the West Investigations series. This series is apart of Harlequin Intrigue. What separates Harlequin Intrigue from Harlequin Suspense is that the stories from Intrigue are high action thrillers with some romance while Suspense are romances with a thriller element but the romance is at the forefront. I give that explanation to set the expectation that this story is more thriller than romance. I received an arc from  K.D. Richards in exchange for an honest review.

Let's start with the cover. It's not a good one. I need Harlequin to get it together and stop recycling the same imagery over and over and over again for their suspense stories. I've seen both these pictures on other books and laid out much better. Plus neither match the description of the characters. Get it together, Harlequin! Let's getting new more appealing covers out there.

This is set during Christmas time but it's okay if you don't like the holidays. There's no holiday celebrations in this story. No mentions of jolly old St. Nick or Christmas caroling. Just some mentions of cold weather and stray tinsel.

Addy Williams is searching for her little sister, Cassie who was interning in a small town during her gap year for a major tech company. As in real life the police don't care about a missing Black woman and try to convince Addy that her sister just ran out. Addy knows her little sister though and knows she wouldn't run off without telling her. So she decides to take matters into her own hands and track her down. While she is walking around town questioning locals she is attacked by a stranger.

Shawn West is a PI in town investigating a major software company for manufacturing counterfeit chips when he witnesses a stranger being attacked. He discovers that stranger is Addy, the woman he had a one night stand with at his brother's wedding several months earlier. While he is quick to offer her help he discovers her missing sister may have a connection to the case he's investigating.

The romance is warm so the sex scene in off page. But Addy and Shawn still have chemistry that's present in their heart to heart moments. They also work well as a team. Addy can hold her own! She's no damsel in need of rescue. She has a gun and knows how to use it. She also saves their asses more than once which Shawn acknowledges. He has genuine admiration for Addy and believes her even though no one else does.

One of the common themes in this story is working through grief as Addy and her sister have experienced loss of several important family members in their lives. After the loss of their dad both are still working through how to move forward. 

Ryan from Pursuit of the Truth does make an appearance in this though his storyline is unconnected so reading that story first or not won't have an effect on your enjoyment of this one. Also he was a little overbearing here with his constant reminds to Shawn about getting distracted.

If you want a fast-paced and easy to read thriller this is a good one to pick up. Both main characters are strong, there's no overly graphic violence, it's under 300 pages, and it's affordable. If you like procedural show it reads like one. 

Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera

Welcome Back, Booklovers! My latest read releases just in time for Hispanic Heritage Month and features dual POV from two Afro-Latinx teens. I actually didn't read the synopsis before I dove into this story. I just knew it was an Orpheus and Eurydice retelling featuring Black Latinx teens. I've been trying to read all the YA novels I see with Black couples that release this year. 

This book is a well done magical realism story about Pheus a gifted young musician at heart spending his summer in the Bronx with his father, and Eury a girl born and raised in Puerto Rico who is spending the summer with her aunt and cousin while she works past some trauma.

Eury is dealing with a spirit who has been present in her life since she was younger and her parents split up. This spirit followed her from Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria displaced her family to Tampa and now New York. Pheus is a believer in what is tangible but Eury has him wanting to help her find her demons.

I liked Pheus's group of friends and how authentic and real they felt. I live on the East Coast in a Latinx neighborhood and these felt like teens from my neighborhood. Liliam Rivera did a great job capturing their voice in a way that will be effortless to teen readers. The Spanish language is regularly included and I liked that not everything they said was translated. 

At first this story feels like your typical summer love contemporary but then things switch in the second half as it dives further into spiritual beliefs. So you might believe at first that Ato is all in Eury's mind. The incorporation of life after Hurricane Maria was very well done as our author didn't shy away from painting a vivid picture of the reality of the story. How Eury and her mother thought it would be a hurricane that would just pass like many others and instead this one literally ripped the roof off their heads.

Another thing this story did that stood out was give very present and involved parents. Oftentimes in YA the parents are not as involved as they should be. With Eury's mother we explore how in some cultures people would rather cling to their faith then admit that a family member is struggling with their mental health. Pheus' dad is always around to give his son helpful relationship advice and remind him of who his people are. 

I received an arc from Bloomsbury YA in exchange for an honest review.

Read Caribbean During June Pt 2

Welcome Back Booklovers!

Despite the chaos going on in the world right now I am truly enjoying getting to spread my love of books and have great discussions with other readers. Reading books, interviewing authors, chatting with readers are all the little things keeping me sane during this time.

Putting together these lists has introduced me to some new author's I'm excited to read while also having me reflect on the ones I have read. It's also a reminder of how resilient my people are. This time I'm highlighting some books by the children of Caribbean immigrants.

'Til the Well Runs Dry: A Novel

A glorious and moving multigenerational, multicultural saga that sweeps from the 1940s through the 1960s in Trinidad and the United States.

In a seaside village in the north of Trinidad, young Marcia Garcia, a gifted and smart-mouthed sixteen-year-old seamstress, lives alone, raising two small boys and guarding a family secret. When she meets Farouk Karam, an ambitious young policeman (so taken with Marcia that he elicits help from a tea-brewing obeah woman to guarantee her ardor), the rewards and risks in Marcia's life amplify forever.

'Til the Well Runs Dry sees Marcia and Farouk from their sassy and passionate courtship through personal and historical events that threaten Marcia's secret, entangle the couple and their children in a tumultuous scandal, and put the future in doubt for all of them.

With this deeply human novel, Lauren Francis-Sharma gives us an unforgettable story about a woman's love for a man, a mother's love for her children, and a people's love for an island rich with calypso and Carnival, cricket and salty air, sweet fruits and spicy stews-a story of grit, imperfection, steadfast love and of Trinidad that has never been told before.

The Haunting of Tram Car 015

Cairo, 1912: The case started as a simple one for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities ― handling a possessed tram car.

Soon, however, Agent Hamed Nasr and his new partner Agent Onsi Youssef are exposed to a new side of Cairo stirring with suffragettes, secret societies, and sentient automatons in a race against time to protect the city from an encroaching danger that crosses the line between the magical and the mundane.

Dear Haiti, Love Alaine

Alaine Beauparlant has heard about Haiti all her life…

But the stories were always passed down from her dad―and her mom, when she wasn’t too busy with her high-profile newscaster gig. But when Alaine’s life goes a bit sideways, it’s time to finally visit Haiti herself.

What she learns about Haiti’s proud history as the world’s first black republic (with its even prouder people) is one thing, but what she learns about her own family is another. Suddenly, the secrets Alaine’s mom has been keeping, including a family curse that has spanned generations, can no longer be avoided.

It’s a lot to handle, without even mentioning that Alaine is also working for her aunt’s nonprofit, which sends underprivileged kids to school and boasts one annoyingly charming intern.

 

 

Frying Plantain

Kara Davis is a girl caught in the middle — of her North American identity and her desire to be a “true” Jamaican, of her mother and grandmother’s rages and life lessons, of having to avoid being thought of as too “faas” or too “quiet” or too “bold” or too “soft.” Set in a neighbourhood known as “Little Jamaica,” Kara moves from girlhood to the threshold of adulthood, from elementary school to high school graduation, in these twelve interconnected stories. We see her on a visit to Jamaica, startled by the sight of a severed pig’s head in her great-aunt’s freezer; in junior high, the victim of a devastating prank by her closest friends; and as a teenager in and out of her grandmother’s house, trying to cope with the ongoing battles between her unyielding grandparents.

A rich and unforgettable portrait of growing up between worlds, Frying Plantain shows how, in one charged moment, friendship and love can turn to enmity and hate, well-meaning protection can become control, and teasing play can turn to something much darker.

Halsey Street

Penelope Grand has scrapped her failed career as an artist in Pittsburgh and moved back to Brooklyn to keep an eye on her ailing father. She’s accepted that her future won’t be what she’d dreamed, but now, as gentrification has completely reshaped her old neighborhood, even her past is unrecognizable. Old haunts have been razed, and wealthy white strangers have replaced every familiar face in Bed-Stuy. Even her mother, Mirella, has abandoned the family to reclaim her roots in the Dominican Republic. That took courage. It’s also unforgivable.

When Penelope moves into the attic apartment of the affluent Harpers, she thinks she’s found a semblance of family—and maybe even love. But her world is upended again when she receives a postcard from Mirella asking for reconciliation. As old wounds are reopened, and secrets revealed, a journey across an ocean of sacrifice and self-discovery begins.

An engrossing debut, Halsey Street shifts between the perspectives of these two captivating, troubled women. Mirella has one last chance to win back the heart of the daughter she’d lost long before leaving New York, and for Penelope, it’s time to break free of the hold of the past and start navigating her own life.

Unconditionally Mine

Event planner Sofia Silva is hiding a big secret. No one can know that her engagement to her lying, cheating fiancé is over. Until she meets gorgeous, wealthy newcomer Jonathan Gunther. Jon moved to Miami for a legally sinful life of waterfront property, convertibles and no emotional entanglements. When he invites Sofia to lie low at his house, their undeniable attraction explodes…but will her dilemma ruin their chance at forever?

Oh My Gods

She's just moved in with her dorky dad and self-absorbed older siblings - who happen to be the ancient Greek gods, living incognito in London!

Between keeping her family's true identities secret, trying to impress her new friends, and meeting an actually cute boy, Helen's stress levels are higher than Mount Olympus.

She needs to rein in her chaotic family before they blow their cover AND her chances at a half-normal social life.

Allegedly 

Orange Is the New Black meets Walter Dean Myer’s Monster in this gritty, twisty, and haunting debut by Tiffany D. Jackson about a girl convicted of murder seeking the truth while surviving life in a group home.

Mary B. Addison killed a baby.

Allegedly. She didn’t say much in that first interview with detectives, and the media filled in the only blanks that mattered: a white baby had died while under the care of a churchgoing black woman and her nine-year-old daughter. The public convicted Mary and the jury made it official. But did she do it?

There wasn’t a point to setting the record straight before, but now she’s got Ted—and their unborn child—to think about. When the state threatens to take her baby, Mary’s fate now lies in the hands of the one person she distrusts the most: her Momma. No one knows the real Momma. But does anyone know the real Mary?

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

Hey Booklovers,

I'm back with another good book by Elizabeth Acevedo. I've read four stories from her this year. Gilded, The Poet X, and my favorite book of 2020 so far Clap When You Land. I've had my copy of With the Fire on High for a few months now but I hadn't opened it up yet. I decided to borrow the audiobook from my local library so I could read and follow along with Elizabeth Acevedo's voice at the same time.

There's something special about a writer who knows how to make every one of her stories completely different and weave the right words together for an enjoyable story. The heroine in this story is named Emoni and she's a self identified Afro-Boriqua. Her mother's family is from the American South and her father's family is from Puerto Rico. She lives with her abuela in Philly where she takes care of her two year old daughter. Teen pregnancy is a tough subject to approach and she does it here with care. She addresses the stereotypes people jump to when it comes to teen mothers. Emoni is not a fast girl or someone who wanted start a family and have her boyfriend move in with her, or someone who wanted a child to have someone to love her unconditionally. She's a girl who got caught up in a relationship and decided to step up to responsibility.  And while she and her ex barely get along she still tries to keep things cordial and works out an agreement with him and his parents for the sake of her child.

Emoni is a girl who perseveres. Her father gave her to his mother to raise after her own mother died during childbirth. He lives in Puerto Rico and though he calls her and sometimes visits he plays the role of activist for everyone but her raising money for teen mother's on the island but not helping support her. So instead she works a crappy job to help pay some bills and her every groaning expenses when it comes to her child. And although Emoni has never met her mother she still keeps ties to her mother's African-American family. Her aunt often sends her emails where they exchange recipes which she sometimes makes changes with different flavors to add her own little remix to them.

Emoni loves to cook and not just simple family recipes but recipes at places where she eats out or recipes she sees on tv often adding her own twist. When she has the chance to take a culinary class her senior year she is unsure she should shake things up. After all the class involves a trip to Spain to work for a week as an apprentice and surely she can't afford that. But with some encouragement from Buela and even her chef teacher she starts to think that maybe her dream of being a chef is not so far fetched.

I love how Buela is the supportive matriarch who takes care of Emoni and Babygirl but at the same time is allowed to voice that sometimes she wants time to herself. Time where she's not in grandmother or great-grandmother mode. It's not uncommon to see a Black grandmother take on the role of mother for multi-generations of children in her family. 

One thing Elizabeth does in everyone one of her stories is paint Blackness in the most beautiful light while dropping a bit of education in the process. Despite some of the Puerto Rican people you know telling you otherwise Puerto Rican is not a race. Emoni's family hails from an area in Puerto Rico heavily influenced by their African heritage. And she holds onto that with pride educating anyone who tries to tell her about her blackness. 

Food is it's own character here. It's clear Ms. Acevedo is a lover of good food evidenced by the many tasty dishes she includes in the story.  She really does a good job showing Emoni's love of food.

My favorite story by Elizabeth Acevedo is still Clap When You Land followed by Gilded from A Phoenix First Must Burn and you should also check those out but don't skip this one. Emoni's story flips perceptions we have about teen mothers while also letting them know they aren't defined or confined by their circumstances. While this YA does have a sprinkle of romance it's very well written and one of many ingredients in the recipe that creates this satisfying story.

Clap When You Land By Elizabeth Acevedo

Welcome Back Booklovers!


While April wasn't my most enjoyable reading month I'm determined to make the best of May. And it already started off with a bang. I was lucky enough to get the chance to read an arc of Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo.

I've been listening to some of her spoken word, and following her on Twitter for awhile now. But this year I'm determined to dive into her books. I started with her short story Gilded, followed up with The Poet X and my next will be With the Fire On High.

The hype is well deserved! She writes so beautifully switching between poetry and prose. She showcases Afro-Latino heritage in all glory. She doesn't use a lot of words but the ones she does she uses well. It's amazing how someone can take such painful topics and make them resonate with you without gruesome graphic details. Sexual assault, sex trafficking, racism, colorism, Antihaitianismo, and Santeria are just some of the many elements that make up this story without being the sole story.

    

I live around a lot of Dominicans so I've heard the jokes and the stories about men who have a family in the US and a family in DR. This story is about the two daughters of a man who lived a double life which is not revealed until a tragic plane accident. Both girls are dealing with the fallout of their father's death as well as the new discovery of each other.

Yahaira lives in NYC. She goes to private school and is a former chest champion. Her mother is fair skinned and comes from a prominent Dominican family. She manages a salon and has an appearance described as Miss Universe perfect. Her family owns their apartment outright and she lives next door to her girlfriend. Yahaira may seem like she has this amazing life and in some aspects she does but there's so much more below the surface. Her relationship with her father has been rocky for months with her barely speaking to him and her appearance and her mother's families mean comments over the years make her sometimes feel inferior.

Camino's life is a life many girls live not in just DR but in many countries. She's got more than many in her poor neighborhood thanks to Papi always sending money but not even close to comparable to what most girls her age have in the US. He pays for her to receive a good education at a fancy private school and one day hopes to bring her to the US where she can study to become a doctor.

In some ways their father's death affects them equally the same and in other ways it's different.  Yahaira. Though she and her mother are both shaken by their loss and can't seem to agree on how it should be handled at least they have each other. Camino lives her with her Tia as her mother passed away years earlier and she is feeling like an orphan. Yahaira has her girlfriend and girlfriend's family who treat her like one of their own and try to look out for her. Their relationship is treated as normal and not a spectacle. Meanwhile Camino is trying to avoid a pimp named El Cero who is trying to coerce her into sex trafficking.

One element this story highlighted which I appreciated was the positives of Santeria which is a very controversial religion. I have family from the Caribbean and there's a stigma about these religions rooted in African culture. Some people simply write them off as black magic with spells and potions. In this story Tia Solana is a much revered member of her community often using her healing herbs and prayers to aid those who cannot go to a hospital or clinic.

Camino has a best friend Carline whose family is Haitian. If you know anything about Dominican and Hatian relations then you know that despite sharing the same island there is a lot of animosity between them. Carline is pregnant and does works at a resort which is a job Camino's Papi helped her secure. Due to Anti-Haitianism Carline's family is too afraid to take her to a hospital knowing she may be refused treatment or treated poorly and instead rely on Tia Solana and her remedies and prayers.

I read this story over the course of two days and could barely put it down. Both sisters voices were so distinct that I was never confused about which character was narrating as the chapters switched back and forth.