I finally caved and read this book and y’all, I get why everyone was addicted. Especially if you listen to the book, the main male character, Rome, has such a soothing voice. I also understand the second reason why everyone lied this book – the spice is highhhhhh. There were a few parts that felt kinda cringy but overall, loved this story. Loved the main character choosing herself and loved the showcasing of Black professionals having a diversity of careers, which is rarely shown in most books.
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Only for The Week
A- -
Pink Glass Houses
A-Pink Glass Houses
Read AlongSuch a fun listen, but very predictable. Keeping up with the Jones’s meets Desperate Housewives in 2024
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Well Behaved Wives
BWell Behaved Wives
Read AlongThis was an interesting one. The story of several women in Philly in the 1950s/60s where one tries to defy the norms. What I think the story did a good job sharing was a glimpse into the cycle of abuse.and how unfortunate the circumstances can be. It was heartwarming and I loved the fully circle ending showing the next two generations of women after them —fine manners be damned!
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The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks
A-The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks
Read AlongGuys, you know I love books surrounding books so I ate this one up. Blair, one of the most lovely book club members, has been recommending this book to me for forever. This was such a fun listen with a heartfelt end that made it feel like a rom-com with a lot of comedy and a little bit of “underground” book selling. Would totally recommend!
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One Italian Summer
B+One Italian Summer
Read AlongYou guys, I cried SO many times during this book and that is not my usual style. This main character is a bit complex and shows us a different picture of what grief can feel and look like. I loved her being able to connect with her recently deceased mother, who was her very best friend, through this once-in-a-lifetime trip they had planned to take but never did. I thought this book would be more of a “what if” like Midnight Library but was SO different.
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Summer on Highland Beach Sunny Hostin
BSummer on Highland Beach Sunny Hostin
Read AlongOkay, I have changed my mind on this book a few times over. This is the final book in Sunny’s trilogy and as much as I liked it, every story line felt rushed. My bookclub agreed that there were quite a few stories that the author was trying to finish and some parts just felt messy (unnecessarily so). However, I did like the ending with Olivia and Garret and the redemption Olivia and her father’s relationship had. I also loved the bit of mystery in the book that had some parts feeling like a thriller. With 50-100 more pages, I think each story line could have had a much better ending.
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Black Girl You Are Atlas
A-Black Girl You Are Atlas
Read AlongIt’s so rare that I like or listen or to sets of poems but loved this one so much. Each poem told a different story of joy or hope or history and everything in between. With poetry, you can take every story step by step instead of reading all at once. This was a nice afternoon or so of delight via audio.
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The Queen of Fourteenth Street
A+The Queen of Fourteenth Street
Read AlongTruly the most fun audiobook I’ve listened to. The full cast was such a delight and I loved the pace and storyline. The story had some pieces of Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo plus all the drama of New York City broadway life. I would 100% recommend to anyone!
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New Nigeria County
BNew Nigeria County
Read AlongThis book takes a minute to get into but it’s basically if all roles were reversed: people of color were treated like white people; women like men; etc etc etc. It’s fairly funny and a quick listen. I’ve heard this author is really big on TikTok and people tend to love her there as a comedian!
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Such a Bad Influence
A+Such a Bad Influence
Read AlongA top notch thriller! I can’t believe this is Olivia’s first book but it was SO DAMN GOOD! This book made me question my own life online and ethics behind family influencers who share their children online.
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Wives Like Us
A-Wives Like Us
Read AlongY’all, if you need a bit of escapism, this book is it! Such a fun and funny look at how “the other half” live including garden envy drama, keeping up with the joneses in car battles and all the words unsaid when there’s so much room between life and reality…and thousands of feet in your family home. I can’t wait to read more from this author because this was a fun one 🙂
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Maame
A-Maame
Read AlongTruly one of the best coming-of-age stories I’ve read. I could see myself in the main character at several points in the story and I, at certain points, could feel the weight that was on her shoulders. What I loved most about this story was the character development and the way Maddie finally starts to feel comfortable in her own skin after a rough year of life, lost and first loves.
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Sugar, Baby
C+Sugar, Baby
Read AlongAn interesting “coming-of-age” view as a young biracial woman finds herself in the sugaring lifestyle. I felt so bad for the main character as she was just so young and so naive and often, not safe. There is a bow-wrapped ending and luckily, this is just one pit stop in her life with a ray of sun at the end, which was much needed.
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This Could Be Us
BThis Could Be Us
Read AlongMy bookclub and I were waiting for this book with bated breath. We absolutely loved the first book in this trilogy, Before I Let Go, following “the strong friend” Yasmen. This story follows Soledad, the “too good for him” friend, who we all know has the worst husband on earth. This book was a really sweet love story that had a bow tie ending. Both Soledad and the man she falls for are so deserving and sweet and kind. I will say this book felt a little bit long at some points and had a lot of extra detail along the way but overall, really enjoyed it and the book made for a great bookclub conversation. I am so excited for book three in this series!
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The Husbands
A-The Husbands
Read AlongOkay, so many thoughts here. 1. This book gives me Midnight Library + The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue but happier, funnier and including a revolving door of men. 2. I don’t think I’ve laughed out loud because of a book in forever because there are truly some hilarious moments. 3. This book made me question myself in SO many ways. What if I could close a door on one partner and get another, would we? Would I? How do we balance relationships when we are feeling both sides of the “days are long, years are short” mentally? If you could be anyone, have anything, even if for a short period of time, what would you do? What would you buy? Where would you go? What would you see for the first time? All the things! Overall, loved this book so much! It was fun and hilarious and made me think a lot.
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Good Half Gone
C-Good Half Gone
Read AlongFriends, I have so many mixed feelings on this book. The twists and turns were truly unexpected but there were so many parts that were truly hard to read and deserve several trigger warnings. There is such a “redemption”, if you can call it that, after 10+ years but wow, this was a bit hard to get through. I usually love this author so much so I wanted to love this book but it overall wasn’t that great, IMO. *Trigger warning for sexual assault, human trafficking, kidnapping, gaslighting, religious trauma*
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Twenty Years Later
A+Twenty Years Later
Read AlongFriends, this book will easily go down as a 2024 favorite and one of the best thrillers I’ve ever read. I have so many words and am trying my hardest not to spoil. My raleigh friends, Nikki, Jas & Marissa, introduced this book to me via Instagram. I started listening and finished, lie to you not, in 48 hours. There are so many stories in this book and I was on my toes until the very last second. This author is wildly talented and this is a thriller for all thrillers. Starting with the tragedy of 9/11, this book covers the story of a woman who is accused of a crime involving her lover and all the people, places and lies wrapped up in this event. YOU MUST READ!
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Hemlock
B+Hemlock
Read AlongGuys, this is the same author who wrote The Arrangement, and seriously, she is SO good. Like scary, jumping in my bones, good until the last drop, good! Living in a historic home, I had to take a few breaks reading because I was scared to open my basement door because the book felt that real. This was a twisty equal parts romance, equal part thrillers involving detailed flashbacks and multiple relationships. You will absolutely love it!
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A Love Song for Ricki Wilde
AA Love Song for Ricki Wilde
Read AlongY’all, I am still on a bit of a book hangover from this one. This book was such a beautiful expression of Black love, magical realism and the power of community, both on and offline. I seriously loved this book so much and it is, hands down, my favorite by Tia Williams. The cherry on top was that Tia Williams joined us for book club – yes, live, from NYC, joined our book club conversation! Such a dream and the most fun conversation <3 You need to read this book!
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The Fixer Upper
BThe Fixer Upper
Read AlongAny book with fun accents is going to always keep me engaged and I loved all the narrators in the book. The title is a bit misleading but overall a very fun and funny romance book! A wonderful beach/Summer read if you’re looking for one!
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The Boss
BThe Boss
Read AlongI will start by saying this isn’t my normal type of thriller or romcom or bookclub read but I was scrolling through my Kindle Unlimited to find new books one day and came across this. I figured, “hey, why not read a forbidden romance?” and y’all, I was unprepared! This book a was a quick, spicy and fun book! I loved how fun Sophie was and learning more about the publishing/magazine industry. It is a true forbidden, age gap romance that starts with an assistant meeting their new boss only to discover that they were each others one-night stand several years before after meeting in an airport. There’s about a 15-20 year age gap (Sophie lied about her age upon meeting Neil at the airport) and they go through a classic trope of rich, older man and struggling, young free spirit. Overall liked it and would recommend if you want something quick and spicy (high on the spice level, IYKYK) and has several other books in the series included a post-release prequel and 2-3 books after this initial one to follow Sophie and Neil’s story.
