duchess is so close to signing a deal that will make her one of the richest women in hip hop, but a misunderstandin2023 reads: 161/350
2023 tbr: 39/100
duchess is so close to signing a deal that will make her one of the richest women in hip hop, but a misunderstanding tarnishes her image and unfairly messes with this deal. when she gets an offer to perform at a tribute concert for the queen’s late husband, she decides to take it, figuring she’ll get good publicity out of it. what she’s not expecting, though, is to fall for the queen’s grandson, who invited her to the concert…
first i just want to say that dual pov romances will always be famous...more
theo and gabi have never liked each other, a result of their parents owning rival bakeries. but then a “fusion c2023 reads: 56/350
buddy read with lou!
theo and gabi have never liked each other, a result of their parents owning rival bakeries. but then a “fusion café” comes into town and theo decides to sell his goods at school to save his parents’ business, and gabi gets involved after theo gets injured. the two slowly begin to realize that maybe the other isn’t so bad, after all.
going into this, i thought the rivalry part of the book would be much more prominent. while this element was there, they had to team up pretty early on to save their parents’ places from being run out by the fusion café. however, there still was a lot of tension, so i don’t mind :)
i really enjoyed this book and i think the ending was really nice; it was actually what i was hoping for the whole time!!...more
savvy sheldon is a workaholic who lives her life pleasing others, be it her mom, boyfriend, or boss. but after her boyfriend breaks up with her for “lsavvy sheldon is a workaholic who lives her life pleasing others, be it her mom, boyfriend, or boss. but after her boyfriend breaks up with her for “letting herself go,” she takes his words to heart and decides to get back at him through “upgrading” herself and her life.
first, i think it’s important to note that while this book started off as savvy trying to get a “revenge body” to get back at her ex, it didn’t stay that way and she did end up realizing that being healthy doesn’t necessarily mean having a skinny body. i do think this could’ve been explored a bit more, but i am glad savvy eventually realized this.
i also don’t think this should be labeled a romcom and i was surprised to see that in the goodreads description after i finished the book! while there is romance present, this book focuses much more on savvy’s relationship with herself and her friends. i’m glad i didn’t see that before reading because i would have gone in with different expectations. i did love how supportive savvy’s friends were along the way and how savvy ended up feeling better about herself and even found someone who appreciated her for exactly who she was....more
spencer is in a new school after a year of bullying following his coming out at his old school. though spencer’s new school is somewhat progressive, hspencer is in a new school after a year of bullying following his coming out at his old school. though spencer’s new school is somewhat progressive, he’s understandably hesitant about coming out again, lest this school is a repeat of his previous one. he and his parents want him to stay on the low, but doing so is hard, especially once he joins the soccer team.
first, i want to say i’m super glad i had prior soccer knowledge going into this, because this did focus a lot on the sport. i think you can still enjoy this if you don’t know much about soccer, but just keep that in mind!
also, i think this was the first book i’ve read that was set pretty close to where i grew up? so i loved that!
i loved spencer as a main character. he didn’t always make the best decisions, but isn’t that what being a teenager is about? i am a bit curious as to why this wasn’t in first person, especially since spencer’s was the only pov we got, but it worked fine in third person!
i also loved the romance between spencer and justice and how that played out. i related a lot to justice and i really felt for what he went through with his family.
this book dealt a lot with the theme of courage, which played into other points of the plot as well—spencer’s and justice’s separate coming out stories, theo’s (spencer’s younger brother) starting a new school, riley and spencer fighting for gender-neutral bathrooms, and so on. i love how this book explored that theme in so many different ways and it was handled so well.
i recommend this to anyone who enjoys YA and sports romances....more
sloane is a scion, descended from the ancient orisha gods. but under lucis rule, she must keep this part of her secret as the other choice is death. ssloane is a scion, descended from the ancient orisha gods. but under lucis rule, she must keep this part of her secret as the other choice is death. she’s drafted into the army on her fifteenth birthday, making it harder to keep herself alive and her powers hidden. but will she be able to follow the leaders’ commands, which means becoming a monster?
this book’s prose was absolutely lovely and heartbreaking and there were so many quotable moments, especially about the cruelty of putting children into war. the lucis rule was cruel and i’m glad our protagonist recognized that and found ways to try to rebel.
i loved sloane and her overall character development! she was so cool and i really felt for her.
also, there were so many twists in this book! i was so excited to read what happened next and i’m eagerly awaiting the next one....more
disclaimer: i won this arc in a giveaway from the publisher as part of yallwest. this did not affect my rating!
kothis is the sequel to beasts of prey.
disclaimer: i won this arc in a giveaway from the publisher as part of yallwest. this did not affect my rating!
koffi saved the life of the boy she loves, but now she must pay the price of serving the god of death. ekon is on the run from the brotherhood and is desperate to find and reunite with koffi.
i LOVED this book! honestly, going in, i did kinda forget some of what happened in the first book, but it wasn’t hard to get back into this world and the story.
i loved koffi even more in this book! i really enjoyed seeing koffi grow in her powers and find her place among the darajas. i also loved ekon and his journey.
something else i enjoyed were the binti chapters! it was great getting more of a backstory for koffi’s family.
if you liked beasts of prey, you’ll love this sequel!...more
Koffi is an indentured servant at the Night Zoo, desperate to pay her father’s debt so she and her mother can leave. Ekon is destined to become an eliKoffi is an indentured servant at the Night Zoo, desperate to pay her father’s debt so she and her mother can leave. Ekon is destined to become an elite warrior, but things don’t go his way the night of his final rite of passage. He encounters the Shetani, a beast whose victims never escape, and witnesses Koffi warding it off, which has never been done before. The two meet again on a journey to pay Koffi’s debt and earn Ekon’s elite warrior status by capturing the Shetani.
This was incredibly well-written. To be honest, when I saw the page count, I was intimidated. However, this book was never dull. Both main characters are loveable and, although their ultimate goal for the Shetani is different, you want to root for both of their successes.
i won an advanced copy from a giveaway hosted by the publisher. this did not affect my rating.
in this reimagining of2024 reads: 16/250
2024 tbr: 12/120
i won an advanced copy from a giveaway hosted by the publisher. this did not affect my rating.
in this reimagining of jane eyre, jane eyre and bertha mason must save each other from mr. rochester. when jane accepts a governess position at thornfield hall, she’s quickly drawn in by edward rochester’s charm. however, it doesn’t take her long to realize that this charm doesn’t last long, and thornfield hall is surely hiding some sinister secrets. one of these secrets, she eventually discovers, is bertha mason, locked away on the topmost floor…
retellings/reimaginings are books i normally end up loving, so i was excited to see how this book played out. jane and bertha are black and sapphic, and i enjoyed reading about how they navigated the world inside and outside of thornfield hall.
honestly, i’ve forgotten most of the events of jane eyre since reading it, so i won’t really be able to comment on how closely this book follows it, though i’m fairly certain this was pretty different. i think that fans of the original will enjoy this new reimagining!...more
arrah is the last surviving witchdoctor, and she’s doing her best to make eve2023 reads: 54/350
2023 tbr: 18/100
this is the sequel to kingdom of souls.
arrah is the last surviving witchdoctor, and she’s doing her best to make everything right and not repeat her mother’s mistakes. she returns to the tribal lands to seek help from those remaining of her parents’ people. but defeating the demon king seems to become more and more impossible.
i read book one over a year ago, and honestly it was a bit hard to recall what happened in that one to follow along in this book. while i did rate kingdom of souls higher, this definitely could have been the cause and i’d recommend reading the books closer together or rereading before you jump in.
with that said, this was still an interesting book! i loved arrah’s journey and the fact that we got chapters from rudjek’s viewpoint as well. i highly recommend this series and will be reading master of souls hopefully pretty soon after that releases....more
this follows three girls, gigi, bette, and june, as they strive to be prima at their ballet school. gigi has recent2023 reads: 309/350
2023 tbr: 74/100
this follows three girls, gigi, bette, and june, as they strive to be prima at their ballet school. gigi has recently learned that ballet could kill her, but that doesn’t stop her from doing it. bette wants to escape the shadow of her older sister, but this brings out a dangerous side of her. june needs to land the lead role or her controlling mother will withdraw her from this school.
this has been on my tbr for so long that i forgot it was about ballet. i don’t have much knowledge regarding ballet, nor have i read a book featuring it before, so it was really interesting seeing how ballet impacted each of the girls. the ugly parts of ballet, such as body shaming and lack of diversity, were discussed in addition to the pretty parts of ballet that everyone else sees. this was such an interesting book and i’m very excited to read the sequel....more
Donte is one of the few Black boys at his school. His older brother, Trey, is white-passing and much more popular than him. When one classmate, Alan, Donte is one of the few Black boys at his school. His older brother, Trey, is white-passing and much more popular than him. When one classmate, Alan, leads to Donte being wrongfully arrested, Donte knows he has to beat him at his own game through a fencing competition.
This was a very quick read and easy to understand, making it perfect for middle grade-aged readers (its intended audience). In addition to the discussions of race and racism, this book talks a lot about fencing, as a good portion of the book deals with Donte training to beat Alan. Donte’s fencing coach and teammates were all awesome! I do wish his relationship with Trey was explored more, though....more
Human teenagers across the country are going missing, and Freddie, aspiring journalist, takes it upon herself to find out why. She finds Aiden, a murdHuman teenagers across the country are going missing, and Freddie, aspiring journalist, takes it upon herself to find out why. She finds Aiden, a murderous dark fae. The two form an unlikely bond, but that doesn’t mean Freddie has ruled him out of her suspect list.
If you like fae folk, you need to read this one! Although the main plot involves Aiden and Freddie’s relationship and the missing teens, the fae folk are also at war, which plays into the story as well. Getting more knowledge about how the different courts function and what they consist of was super interesting. Also, this story is dual POV (Freddie + Aiden), so you don’t only follow one character, which makes it much easier to keep track of what’s going on!...more
Marva is passionate about making sure every eligible person gets their vote in. Duke shows up to the voting booth so his parents will leave him be. WhMarva is passionate about making sure every eligible person gets their vote in. Duke shows up to the voting booth so his parents will leave him be. When Duke finds out he can’t vote and Marva overhears, they go on an adventure all over the city to make sure his voice is heard.
I think this is a great book for young adults to read. It explains the importance of voting in a way that isn’t boring. Definitely recommend!...more
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