All that She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake by Tiya Miles
This book was fascinating, and very different from what I expected. In the 1850s South Carolina, a young enslaved girl, Ashley, was sold away from her mother. Ashley’s mother, Rose, packed a sack for Ashley to take, containing “a tattered dress 3 handfulls of pecans a braid of Roses hair. Told her … [Read more]
Rescue Me by Lauren Connolly
I’m a big fan of Lauren Connolly’s more recent work, but when I realized this one had a pitbull as a side character? I jumped on it! Much like the dog, this book is sweetly heartwarming while also packing a bit of muscley punch. “I’m sure I can get this right. Pumpkin is meant to be mine, and I’m … [Read more]
Dance With the Devil by Kit Rocha
Dance With the Devil delivers on the promises made in the first two Mercenary Librarians books, Deal With the Devil and The Devil You Know. Rafe has been pining for Dani since she stabbed him a little bit the first time they met. Dani would have liked to work off the sexual tension between them, … [Read more]
The Talk by Alicia D. Williams
cbr14bingo Elephant Level 2 & 3 Unfortunately, there is a large elephant in The Talk. One that is so large that we never actually hear what it is, but is as plain as the trunk on its face. It is The Talk black families will give to their sons when they start reaching certain milestones. The … [Read more]
Small Hours: A Mrs. Frollein Collection by Valerie Minelli
cbr14bingo Cozy Level 2 Mrs. Frollein is a woman who has a few bad days, a few good days, and days where she shows her husband(?) her “full moon” as a (adorable) joke. Because she is adorable (even when she toots), she eats, sleeps, deals with every day and beside her is her partner. Small Hours: … [Read more]
Wastelands: The New Apocalypse by John Joseph Adams & Others
I'm putting together a new class for work that is supposed to cover cross-cultural perspectives, but also be speculative, but also be relevant to 'kids these days', so what better place to start than with an anthology of post-apocalyptic fiction specializing in pandemics! Chocked full of … [Read more]
