Maya

💬: "Of my friend, I can only say this...of all the souls I have encountered in my travels his was the most human."

Kirk's eulogy for Spock and "The Most Human: Reconciling with my Father's" opening quote.

📖Genres: non-fiction, memoir

📚Page Count: 272

🎧Audiobook Length: 09:18

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5

The Most Human: Reconciling with My Father, Leonard Nimoy by Adam Nimoy is a moving and emotional account of Adam Nimoy's experience of growing up with his famous father, Leonard Nimoy. In this memoir Adam Nimoy recounts the ups and downs that he had with his father growing as well as substance abuse issues and alcoholism that he and his father dealt with respectively. He uses the journey of writing this memoir to finally reconcile with his father and the struggle that Adam Nimoy had with a distant family member (his father) was very relatable. The audiobook was read by Adam Nimoy and his reading of his memoir was good.

I don't normally give ratings to memoirs, but I'm give this 4 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5

Thank you [NetGalley.com], Adam Nimoy (the author), and Dreamscape Media (the publisher) for the arc audiobook (advanced reader's copy.)

💬:“The scene in the basement flashed back—Derek accusing me of talking to ghosts. Had he told Simon? Probably. I bet they had a good laugh at the crazy girl."

Armstrong, Kelley. The Summoning (Darkest Powers, Book 1) (p. 72). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: fiction, fantasy, young adult, urban fantasy, paranormal

📚Page Count: 396

🎧Audiobook Length: 08hrs 35mins

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3.5/5

TW - <spoiler>Child death, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Violence, Abandonment, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Kidnapping, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail</spoiler>

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong is the first book in the young adult series "Darkest Powers" by the same author. Chloe Saunders starts seeing ghosts and suddenly her life is turned upside down within the next 24 hours. She ends up in a group home for unstable teens but there are things that she doesn't know about the group home, her peers, and even herself. The group home might be more than it seems, will Chloe figure out what the deal with this group home is and why she's been seeing ghosts?

I don't think this story is as interesting as it could be, but it still ends up being better than average. The majority of the story takes place in the group home and the repetitive scenery was a bit annoying and it wasn't as entertaining as the author aimed it to be.

I first read this when it was released in 2008 and I liked the story more back then, but this was still okay. I remembered about half of the details about this first book from the first time read it 16 years ago, but there were some details that I forgot all together. I think going into this story semi-unknowing means that I could somewhat experience the story in a similar way to the way I did 16 years ago.

I think this story was okay, I remember liking it a lot more when it first released but around that time I was in the book's target demographic, so it makes sense that I liked this young adult book back when I was a young adult. Rereading this was an interesting experience because I didn't remember all of the things that took place in this novel so some of the surprises and reveals were still surprising to me. Overall, this was an okay story with a good plot twist.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3.5/5

I listened to this audiobook on [LibbyApp.com]

💬: N/A

📖Genres: fantasy, romance, romantasy, dragons, adult

📚Page Count: N/A

🎧Audiobook Length: 11h 39min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4.5/5

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IRON FLAME DRAMATIZED ADAPTATION - PART 1

TW - <spoiler>Blood, Physical abuse, Medical content, War, Death, Grief, Murder, Animal death, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Cursing, Violence, Confinement, Gore, and Kidnapping</spoiler>

Iron Flame Dramatized Part 1 is the first half of the dramatized version of the novel "Iron Flame" written by Rebecca Yarros. The dramatized version of Iron Flame starts off where the dramatized version of the first book in the series, Fourth Wing, left off. It's Violet's second year of Dragon Rider College and there's a new Vice Commandant that's making her life hell, in addition to that she has to deal with the secrets that she learned at the end of Fourth Wing, including <spoiler>the supposedly mythical creature the Wyvern is real and they have been attack towns and outposts on the edge of the country. </spoiler> Will Violet be able to survive her second year and will she be able to help keep the secrets of the marked ones?

I didn't really enjoy my reading of the Fourth Wing novel but I did enjoy the dramatized adaptations. I think this time around, with Iron Flame, I'm going to continue listening to the dramatized adaptations because they seem to be more exciting than the author's writing and the original books. Part 1 of the Iron Flame adaptation was really exciting and it kept my attention for the duration of the audiobook.

There's an intimate scene in here and because I'm a 33 year old woman listening to 22 year old's get it on, I'm not very interested or invested in the scene. Like Fourth Wing Dramatized Part 2, I'm giving the spicy scene 2 chilies 2🌶️ out of five chilies.

Overall, Iron Flame Dramatized Part 1 was really exciting and entertaining. I think I'm just going to wait until part two comes out in two month, I don't want to bother reading the actual novel in this case because I personally do not like the author's writing style at all. This adaptation was great, I'm giving it 5 stars out of 5.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 5/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on [Hoopladigital.com]

💬: “Perhaps some of us are simply born evil, and despite our best efforts we remain that way.”

― Alex Michaelides, The Silent Patient

📖Genres: mystery, thriller, psychological thriller, suspense, mystery thriller, psychological thriller

📚Page Count: 336

🎧Audiobook Length: 08h 44min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3.5/5

----

TW - <spoiler>Stalking, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder</spoiler>

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides is a psychological thriller about a woman who shoots her husband and then she becomes silent, refusing to talk to anyone. Alicia Berenson is a famous painter and she's married to a photographer, Gabriel. One night when Gabriel came home late, there was an altercation and he was then shot 5 times in the face. Criminal psychologist Theo Faber is determined to figure out the mystery to Alicia's story, he starts seeing her in sessions so he can unravel the mystery.

The story took too long to get exciting, I didn't care about any of the characters or the storyline until about 55% of the way through. I found myself not really caring about any of the characters until I was a little over halfway through the book. Things felt very slow and they didn't feel really thrillers like until halfway through the book. I didn't DNF this book because I was reading it so I could discuss it with a friend, if I had read it on my own I might have DNFed it for taking so long to get interesting.

That ending was really good! I was trying to figure the mystery out before the story told me and I could only figure one part of the mystery out. I was so surprised by the time I got to the end, I had to rewind the audiobook a bit so I could make sure I heard what I heard. That was such a good ending, I'm disappointed that the majority of the book was lackluster.

Overall, the novel was okay. I think it could have had more thriller like elements in the beginning of the story. The ending of the book was definitely a surprise, I didn't guess it at all! I'm giving this 3.5 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3.5/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on [LibbyApp.com]

💬:N/A

📖Genres: super hero, action, dark, DC Comics, graphic novels, comics

📚Page Count: 232

🎧Audiobook Length: N/A

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5

----

TW - <spoiler>Grief, Confinement, Gun violence, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Torture, Blood, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, and Murder</spoiler>

Injustice: God's Among Us Vol. 2 is a comic written by Tom Taylor and published by DC Comics in relation with the creators of the video games Mortal Kombat and Injustice. This is the continuation of Injustice: God's Among Us Vol. 1, in that comic Superman was <spoiler>tricked by The Joker, into killing Lois Lane and their unborn baby.</spoiler> In this comic Superman continues to force the world into what he considers a new era of "peace". There are those who oppose Superman and the people who support him.

There was so much action in volume 2, some of which I remembered and some of which I didn't remember. One reason why I liked Injustice: Gods Among Us so much is because it has so many well known and lesser known heroes all in one comic. The Justice League and <spoiler>ex members of The Justice League and even villains from the past appear.</spoiler>

Overall, this comic was really interesting and so emotional. I cried twice, I was so sad at the losses we witness in these pages.

I'm giving this 5 stars out of 5

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5

I own a copy of this comic, I didn't rent it from the library.

💬: "Miles is sophisticated. We do the art shows, wine tastings. When I can’t sleep, he’s a phone call away. Deacon is funny and sweet, flirty and creative. And, well, Cassidy…” “Is bending you like a pretzel!” interrupted Alisa. Her response made Nadine cackle and give her a high five. Tatum rolled her eyes. “If you must know, yes, the sex is phenomenal. He’s aggressive, commanding, but he’s also really brilliant. If something is broken, he fixes it. My gas tank is always full because he fills it. He reads NK Jemisin with me, for God’s sake.” Tatum looked at her friends who said nothing. Alisa was wide-eyed, and Nadine simply stared, rocking EJ in her arms. “What is it? What did I say?”

Richardson, T.M.. The Oath: A WhyChoose Novel (The Secrets Series Book 1) (p. 223). TM Richardson . Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: romance, contemporary, contemporary romance,

📚Page Count: 280

🎧Audiobook Length: 06h 23min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4.5/5

----

TW - <spoiler>Sexual content, Cancer, Cursing, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Death, Grief, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment</spoiler>

The Oath: A WhyChoose Novel is a novel by T.M Richardson about a widow named Tatum who's husband has recently passed away from losing his fight with cancer. One of his dying wishes was that his wife, Tatum lean on and seek love from his three best friends. Miles, Deacon, and Cassidy along with Tatum agree to try the new arrangement after her husband's death.

These three men sound like a dream! Someone to read Octavia E. Butler and N.K Jemisin with, someone you could call at all hours if you couldn't sleep at night, and someone who's creative and funny. Wow, Tatum hit the jackpot with these three guys. They protected her against that <spoiler>nasty and pushy student!</spoiler> and they took care of her in all aspects possible!

There were two things I didn't like about this novel, <spoiler>the sexual harassment scene when the adult college student corners Tatum in her classroom and how the three men keep calling Tatum "mama".</spoiler>First, during and after the scene with the student, Tatum says <spoiler>she got "wet" during the sexual harassment, just because that happens doesn't mean you're not being sexually harassed. I don't know what the point of including that was. Tatum clearly denies the student's advances and is uninterested. Why emphasize to herself and her friends that it was a turn on to be harassed? </spoiler> Second, I HATED when the three male lovers called the main character "Mama". It was so distracting and annoying to me.

The audiobook narrator was okay, sometimes their voice was a bit off putting when they tried to read as one of the men but everything else was okay. I'm happy I finally got to enjoy this book on audio, that's my main way of consuming novels.

The spicy scenes were fantastic, and there were plenty of them and they ALL had varity!<spoiler>The group sex scene was so damn sexy! Whew, I was sweatin'!</spoiler> I'm giving the spicy scenes four point five chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️.5 out of five chilies

Overall this was spicy, romantic, delicious, and overall a great time. I'm giving this 4.5 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4.5/5 Stars

I own a copy of this audiobook, I didn't rent it from the library.

💬:

📖Genres: historical fiction, vampires, romance, historical

📚Page Count: 368

🎧Audiobook Length: 11:06

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️ - 2/5

TW - <spoiler>Confinement, Child death, Racism, War, Blood, Murder, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Animal death, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, Body horror, Gore, and Slavery</spoiler>

The Dangerous Ones takes place during the civil war, where vampires are working with the confederates to continue enslaving Black folks. Jerusalem is a Saint and Satins have demi god strength and power and they use it to fight vampires. She is a former slave who fought against her slave master and killed him resulting in what she believes to be her whole family being slaughtered. Jerusalem gets word that her brother might be alive so now she's searching for the vampires from her past because they might have him. Alexi is a 300 year only vampire working with Jerusalem, a group of Saints, and the union to fight against the confederates. This definitely reminded me of Ring Shout but I don't think "The Dangerous Ones" reaches it's full potential.

There were a few problems with this story; including confusing time jumps and flashbacks, to misplaced romantic banter, little to no world building and character development, and one dimensional characters. The time jumps were continuously confusing, I don't think they were very helpful in terms of story telling, they actually seemed to detract from the main story. I know that love is supposed to be part of the plot but it really felt like it didn't fit right in the story. It felt like I was reading two different stories, one where the main characters were in an enemy to lovers romance and one where there's action and the civil war with death and vampires. The two genres didn't really mesh well.

Overall, the audiobook narration was okay but, the pacing felt off, the flashbacks were more confusing than anything, the characters were one dimensional, there was little to no character building, the romance didn't really work in this story, little to no world building, and the author used current and modern language instead of historical language from the times (seeing as this is a historical novel). I'm giving this 2 stars out of 5.

⭐️⭐️ - 2/5 Stars

Thank you [NetGalley.com], Lauren Blackwood (the author), and Macmillan Audio (the publisher) for the arc audiobook (advanced reader's copy.)

💬: Nik released a ragged breath and squeezed his eyes shut, his brows drawing together. “Aria…” “Open your eyes, love. I thought you wanted to watch?” When he looked at her again, the need in his gaze was almost enough to make her cave. Especially when he combined it with words, those filthy fucking words she loved so much, tumbling desperately from his mouth. “Let me in. Let me touch you, eali mou. You don’t want that. You want me.”

Hibbert, Talia. The Fake Boyfriend Fiasco (p. 148). Nixon House. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: romance, contemporary, contemporary romance,

📚Page Count: 210

🎧Audiobook Length: 07h 50min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4.5/5

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TW - <spoiler> Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Body horror, Cursing, Gun violence, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Grief </spoiler>

The Fake Boyfriend Fiasco by Talia Hibbert is a contemporary romance and the third book in The Midnight Heat Collection, by the same author. This story is about Aria, a tattoo artist, and Nik, a professional football player. Nik and Aria meet at a party that's taking place at a hotel, when Aria kisses Nik to help him chase off an over zealous past hook up. Nik comes up with the idea that Aria can pretend to be his new girlfriend so his past ex's don't try to give him unwanted attention. Aria is hesitant until Nik offers her a very large amount of money to do the job, she accepts because she wants to use the money to open her own tattoo shop. Will this arrangement end in disaster?

Hibbert seems to use the <spoiler>third act break up</spoiler> trope in The Midnight Heat Collection more than I anticipated. That's the only thing I tend to not like about these books, but it makes sense in this instance because of the <spoiler>lie that Nik told.</spoiler> I think in comparison to The Roommate Risk, <spoiler>Nik and Aria got back together way quicker so I didn't have to wait long for them to reconcile. </spoiler>

The audio book narrators were great, I like how much life they gave to the characters. Audiobook narration is the main way I consume books because I have dyslexia. It's always wonderful when a book I've been waiting to listen to finally gets an audiobook version and this was no exception. This was a great listening experience.

I really loved the spicy scenes in this, especially the one at the very end of the book, wow. <spoiler>the pegging scene was great!</spoiler> I'm giving the spicy scenes four chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️out of five chilies

I really enjoyed this story and the spicy scenes were really good. Not only was this spicy but it was also romantic and funny. I'm giving this 4.5 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4.5/5 Stars

Thank you [NetGalley.com], Talia Hibbert (the author), and Dreamscape Media (publisher) for the arc (advanced reader's copy) of the audiobook.

💬: N/A

📖Genres: fantasy, romance, urban fantasy, paranormal, vampires

📚Page Count: N/A

🎧Audiobook Length: 06h 58min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3/5

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TW - <spoiler> Cursing, Cancer, Murder, Sexual assault, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, War, Grief, Violence, and Chronic illness</spoiler>

This Side of the Grave (Dramatized Edition) is a graphic audio published by the company Graphic Audio and written by Jeaniene Frost, based on the fifth book in her Night Huntress series, This Side of the Grave. Vampires are going missing in this installment of Night Huntress, and Bones and Cat make it their business to find out where the missing vampires have gone and what's happened to them. Bones and Cat find out that there is a ghoul trying to incite an interspecies war between vampires and ghouls. With no other choice, the couple seek help from the Queen of Ghouls and New Orleans, Marie Laveau (who is based on historical figure Marie Laveau, a Black herbalist and midwife practitioner of Voodoo from New Orleans.)

I love the dramatized editions of these books because this was action filled, emotional, and overall really entertaining! This was very good in terms of keeping my attention and being entertaining so that made this listening experience "mostly" enjoyable. There was a sexual assault in this book that was played off for laughs and I found that to be uncomfortable and disappointing. I detailed more below under spoilers, be warned that it vaguely talks about sexual assault.

TW - Sexual assault

There were spicy scenes in this but they were weird, and by that I mean for some reason <spoiler>Cat becomes sexually ravenous because of the blood she drank (if I remember correctly) and then she tried to sexually assault a human? I'm not sure why that was put in there but it seemed as if it were for laughs and sexually assault isn't funny.</spoiler> I'm giving the spicy scenes NEGATIVE 1 chilies -🌶️ out of five chilies.

Overall the story was interesting but I'm knocking points off for the sexual assault bit, it wasn't funny because sexual assault is never funny (and this would have been a 5 star review without that bit). I'm giving this 3 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on [Hoopladigital.com]

💬: "It was exhausting to realise that everyone in the world knew he was an absolute fool for Jasmine Allen. He straightened his spine and ran a hand through his hair, suddenly realising that he must look a state—must look as out of control as he felt. And that wouldn’t do."

Hibbert, Talia. The Roommate Risk (p. 279). Nixon House. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: romance, contemporary, contemporary romance,

📚Page Count: 333

🎧Audiobook Length: 09h 36min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4.5/5

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The Roommate Risk by Talia Hibbert is a contemporary romance and the second book in The Midnight Heat Collection, by the same author. The Roommate Risk is about two best friends, Jasmine and Rahul. Jasmine lives with a roommate but she soon finds out that her room and everything in it has been damaged if not destroyed because there was a major water leak in her bedroom. With nowhere to go, Jasmine contacts her best friend Rahul because she knows that his apartment has an open room and she hopes that she can rent it for a while. Little does Jasmine know that Rahul has been in love with her for the last 7 years of their lives together as best friends. Will Jasmine moving in complicate everything in the best or worst way?

I really enjoyed this story, it was romantic, sweet, and angsty. I love the chemistry between Rahul and Jasmine, I think they're cute together. They both have their own stuff that they're dealing with and the author does an okay job of depicting that with Rahul and an even better job depicting it with Jasmine. There was this really cute scene where Rahul takes Jasmine on a date and I couldn't stop smiling during that scene, it was just adorable and a little spicy. I think the only issue that I had with the story was a trope that takes place in the last part of the book, and it was basically <spoiler>a third act break up but to continue to spoil things I will say that there IS an happily every after at the end so it all ends up working out. I understand why there was a break up near the end, because Jasmine had a lot of stuff she needed to sort through. I think it was a good choice to write in that she got a therapist and started working through her emotional and insecurity issues as well as her drinking problem.</spoiler>

The spicy scenes were really enjoyable. I might have really liked them because I dated someone in college with the same name and look as the main male character and memories were doin' their thing, but wow these spicy scenes were great. I'm giving the spicy scenes four chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️out of five chilies

I really enjoyed this novel, it made me smile and I definitely swooned over the main male character. I'm giving this 5 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4.5/5 Stars

Thank you [NetGalley.com], Talia Hibbert (the author), and Dreamscape Media (publisher) for the arc (advanced reader's copy) of the audiobook.

💬:Suddenly the page changed before her eyes, the ink bleeding together and reforming into new pictures, faster than she could register. Words appeared and disappeared in languages she couldn’t read. A ringing filled her ears, and she could hear her blood rushing in time with her heartbeat.

Sbrana, Analeigh. Lore of the Wilds: A Novel (pp. 165-166). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: fantasy, romance, fae, romantasy, adult, magic,

📚Page Count: 339

🎧Audiobook Length: 10:51

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️.5 - 2.5/5

Lore of the Wilds is the first in the series of the same title by Analeigh Sbrana. This story is about Lore, a human who lives in a society of fae. Her village falls on disaster and she has no choice but to surrenders herself to the dark fae Syrelle. Syrelle instructs her to tend to his library in the castle they're in. It's not long before Lore runs away with one of the castle guards, a fae named Asher. Later on Lore ends up meeting and becoming enthralled with another fae named Finn.

This book has so much potential but the pacing is off, there's little character development, there's close to no romance and very little chemistry between the romantic interests and the main character even though there are TWO romantic interests, and this fantasy crosses over from being a fantasy drama to being a cozy fantasy to wanting to be high fantasy, and the spicy scene at the end wasn't gotten to with build up or banter or any sort of romantic development.

Overall, the pacing felt off and there was very little character development when it came to Lore, herself. There was also very little romantic development despite this being marketed as a "romantasy" or romance fantasy. I'm giving this 2.5 stars out of 5.

⭐️⭐️.5 - 2.5/5 Stars

Thank you [NetGalley.com], Analeigh Sbrana (the author), and Harper Voyager (publisher) for the arc (advanced reader's copy.)

💬:"She’d wavered for too long, and her indecision left her conflicted mind open for Ogun to overtake her. He’d attack where she wouldn’t and damn them all to traitor’s deaths. She tried to resist but felt herself drifting, a numbness overwhelming her as her consciousness was shoved away from her physical body. Ogun pushed through and left her to see and feel with no control of her actions."

Williams, Brittany N.. Saint-Seducing Gold (The Forge & Fracture Saga, Book 2) (p. 5). Amulet Books. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: fantasy, historical fantasy, fae, magic

📚Page Count: 304

🎧Audiobook Length: 08:57

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3/5

Saint-Seducing Gold is the second book in The Forget and Fracture Saga by Brittany N. Williams. This book continues on right where the first book left off. The fae and humans are now at war sort of, Joan is pressured into joining the Royal Court and she can't leave it for fear that her captured godfather won't survive. Can Joan save the world as she knows it while balancing having two romantic interests ?

I didn't really like the first book but I wanted to give the series a chance and I'm sad to say that I didn't really like the second book either. I think there was more action this time around, which was nice, but I think my problem is the setting. For some reason Shakespearean London with an Orisha blessed Blacksmith just doesn't work in my head for some reason.

Overall, the story was just okay. I'm giving it 3 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 Stars

Thank you [NetGalley.com] the author, and publisher for the arc (advanced reader's copy.)

💬: "People in expensive-looking suits and flashy cocktail dresses cling to glasses filled with champagne or cocktails and amble up and down the hallways and rooms, enjoying an evening of gambling and debauchery. It’s like a scene from one of Gatsby’s parties, except Black people are invited."

Benton-Walker, Terry J.. Blood Debts (pp. 70-71). Tor Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: Fantasy ,Young Adult ,LGBT ,Mystery, Queer, Young Adult Fantasy, Magic , Fiction, Urban Fantasy

📚Page Count: 400

🎧Audiobook Length: 14h 30min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ /5

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TW - <spoiler>Racism, Murder, Grief, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Death, Cursing, Terminal illness, Violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual assault</spoiler>

Blood Debts is a queer mystery novel about getting justice for one's past crimes. 30 years ago there were murders and a lynching and it was considered the greatest massacre in magical New Orleans history. This has 5 different perspectives and I thought it wasn't going to work but everything went together really nicely. My reading experience was a good one. This book is a rollercoaster, the plot starts right away in the first chapter and that's one of the things I really liked about this book.

The book starts off with twins, Clem and Christina, tending to their mother and waiting for the Dr. to come and give them an update on their mother's condition. Their mother hasn't been doing well and her health has slowly been declining. They soon discover that <spoiler>their mother isn't sick, she's cursed!</spoiler> Will they be able to find out who's trying to harm their family?

A lot of the surprises were predictable but the book was still enjoyable. I think I left probably around 5 notes to myself about the plotline, just of me guessing what the next surprise was going to be. In this regard, the book was really predictable, but that didn't stop the book from being entertaining. There were some secrets I didn't guess but there were more secrets that I DID guess and I thought that was worth mentioning in my review.

This was my first time reading a book by Terry J. Benton-Walker and they did not disappoint me! This was exciting, entertaining, intriguing, and it was just down right good! I'm giving this a 5 out of 5.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

💬:N/A

📖Genres: poetry, poems

📚Page Count: 104

🎧Audiobook Length: 01:32

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 5/5

woke up no light: poems is a poetry collection by Leila Mottley, the author of "Night Crawling". This poetry collection is raw, amazing, and it honestly blew me away. The poems are about being Black in America, most are about being a Black woman in America. The author talks about race, social justice, police brutality, misogynoir, sexual assault, and much more. Mottley writes some painful truths in such an elegant and gritty way.

There are too many individual works that I liked or that resonated with me to list them all, but I particularly liked the poems in the two sections "girlhood" and "womanhood". The "neighborhood" section made me cry, I'm still processing what I've read overall.

Overall, this collection was moving and it was written with such grace. I definitely resonated with most of the poems in this collection.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 Stars

Thank you [NetGalley.com], Leila Mottley (the author), and Knopf (publisher) for the arc (advanced reader's copy.)

💬: N/A

📖Genres: graphic novels, mystery, paranormal, urban fantasy, young adult(?)

📚Page Count: N/A

🎧Audiobook Length: 01h 36min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5

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TW - <spoiler>Cursing, Child abuse, Gun violence, Blood, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Murder, and Violence</spoiler>

Inheritance part 3 of 3 of the dramatized adaptation of "Cemetery Girl" is the third and finale volume of the dramatized version of the graphic novel of the same name written by Charlaine Harris and Christopher Golden. This volume starts off where the last volume left off. Calexa Rose Dunhill is still in a nasty situation with the people who just <spoiler>tried to kill her.</spoiler> The story was interesting but I think it was really the dramatized performances of the actors that really made the story exciting.

In every volume of this series <spoiler>someone dies around Calexa and then their spirit inhabits her body until she's helped them with their final business on earth.</spoiler> This final volume is no different. It was heart wrenching to hear, but then the story became much more exciting.

Overall, I think this was a good ending to this trilogy. I'm giving this 4.5 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 - 4.5/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on [Hoopladigital.com]

💬:N/A

📖Genres: humor, manga, comics, shojo

📚Page Count: 194

🎧Audiobook Length: N/A

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.75/5

My Love Story!!, Volume 13 by Kazune Kawahara was amazing and it made me sob! Volume 13 is the finale volume of My Love Story!! and it didn't disappoint. The story continues on from the last volume, Yamato got the news that <spoiler>she was going to have to move to Spain with her family because of her father's job. In volume 12, Yamato ran away to Okinawa and Takeo went with her to keep her safe. This volume starts off with Yamato and Takeo still in Okinawa.</spoiler> I felt so many emotions while reading this and I honestly cried while reading most of it.

Most of what I'm going to say is going to be behind spoilers tags because I don't want to accidently spoil anything from this volume. I will say that I loved this volume but there were two things I didn't particularly like. There were a few scenes where <spoiler>characters were hitting each other and I don't really like the idea of people putting their hands on other people unless they're defending themselves.</spoiler> The second thing I didn't like was a trope, and that was <spoiler>the miscommunication trope that pops up right at the end.</spoiler> That scene caused me so much anxiety! Other than those two things, I really thought this volume was great.

Overall, volume 13 was a wonderful finish to this series (even though I'm still sad that it's over). I'm giving this 4.75 stars out of 5.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.75/5

I read this manga for free on [Libbyapp.com]

💬: N/A

📖Genres: graphic novels, mystery, paranormal, urban fantasy, young adult(?)

📚Page Count: N/A

🎧Audiobook Length: 01h 19min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5

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TW - <spoiler></spoiler>

Inheritance Part 12

Inheritance part 2 of 3 of the dramatized adaptation of "Cemetery Girl" is the second half of the dramatized version of the graphic novel of the same name written by Charlaine Harris and Christopher Golden. This graphic audio continues to follow the main character, Calexa Rose Dunhill, but now instead of just living in the cemetery, she's started <spoiler>staying with a kinder older woman that she met in part 1 of this trilogy.</spoiler>

I think I liked episode or part 2 more than I liked part 1, to be honest. I didn't like what happened at the start of the episode but I like how Calexa helped the spirit that needed helping. It's nice to see <spoiler>Calexa not having to sleep in the actual cemetery anymore and the kindness of the woman who helped her made me tear up. So really, they helped each other in turn.</spoiler> The identity of the murderous perpetrator in this part was surprising, I didn't guess it at all. Of course, we still don't know much about Calexa's past, just as she still doesn't know much by the end of this story.

Overall, I think part 2 was exciting and the graphic audio was definitely made well. I'm giving this 4.5 out of 5 stars instead.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4.5/5 Stars

💬: "Just when I thought I was used to them, vampires would show me their true face, and I would have to remind myself all over again that they were a different race. Or maybe it was centuries of conditioning that made the difference; decades of disposing of people as they chose, taking what they wanted, enduring the dichotomy of being the most powerful beings on earth in the darkness, and yet completely helpless and vulnerable during the hours of light."

Harris, Charlaine. Dead as a Doornail (Sookie Stackhouse Book 5) (p. 226). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: adult, paranormal, paranormal romance, vampires, shifters, werewolves, urban fantasy, mystery

📚Page Count: 293

🎧Audiobook Length: 10h 03min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 2.75/5

----

TW - <spoiler>Alcohol, Death, Murder, Gore, Animal cruelty, Grief, Car accident, Hate crime, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Body horror, Cursing, Animal death, Blood, and Stalking</spoiler>

Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris is the 5th book in the Sookie Stackhouse Vampire Mystery series. In this installment of the series Sookie's brother, Jason, is suspected of being a sniper in the area that's targeting the were and changeling people. Sookie takes it upon herself to try and find out who the shooter is, to clear her brother's name, and to avenge some acquaintances who were killed by the sniper. There is more abuse from Bill in this novel, there's victim blaming, and there's a predictable mystery. Other than these issues, the story was okay.

TW -<spoiler>rape, sexual assault</spoiler>

There's a scene in here where Bill hurts Sookie again, and afterwards the <spoiler>sexual assault or rape that was perpetrated onto Sookie by Bill (in book 3) was finally address and brought up by Alcied. All Alcied says about the situation though is that Sookie was assaulted by Bill and that he personally doesn't like Bill. Sookie then contemplates about what makes her different from other sexual assault victims. She decides that she's no different from other victims but she excuses Bill's behavior by saying he was taken over by bloodlust and that he wouldn't have hurt her otherwise. </spoiler> Bill ends up grabbing and bruising Sookie's arm because he's too busy fighting with <spoiler>Sam to rein himself in.</spoiler> He apologizes and leaves and we see him only one other time and in this novel and that's perfect for me because bill is a jerk.

A friend of Sookie's, Tera, get's herself involved with a dangerous vampire. This vampire lured in and took advantage of Tera and after Tera has been beatin' and sexually assaulted by this vampire and his friends, Sookie victim blames Tera. <spoiler>Sookie reads Tera's mind to find out that Tera only liked the lavish gifts that the vampire gave her, and Sookie basically says Tera was hanging around the bad vampire for bad reasons so the abuse is Tera's fault or to be expected. Yeah, screw that message.</spoiler>

There are (spoilers about the ending) <spoiler>two reveals at the ending and one of them is predictable and the other one is not as predictable.</spoiler> The surprises in this story didn't make up for Sookie victim blaming Tera though.

I guess overall this was okay but there were certain parts I didn't like, like the ones with Bill or the ones where Sookie gets hurt. It seems someone is trying to <spoiler>hurt her every book at this point.</spoiler> I'm going to give it a 2.75 out of 5.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I listened to this for free on the library app [Libbyapp.com]

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💬: "Had human life ever mattered to Doro beyond his interest in human husbandry? Could a creature who had to look upon ordinary people literally as food and shelter ever understand how strongly those people valued life?

Butler, Octavia E.. Mind of My Mind (The Patternist Series Book 2) (p. 48). Open Road Media. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: adult, science fiction, speculative fiction

📚Page Count: 218

🎧Audiobook Length: 08h 23min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5/5

----

Mind of my Mind is the second book in the Patternist series by Octavia E. Butler. I think it's my least favorite out of the series, along with Patternmaster.

This is the story of a few of Doro's children, but in particular, this is the story of Doro's child Mary. From a young age Doro could tell that Mary would have immense power after she psychically transitioned so he decides that he wants to ensure her protection.

Eventually, after her transition, Mary grew to develop what's known as The Pattern, which is a psychic avenue that telepaths can use connect with each other. Mary develops this "Pattern" and then proceeds to gather some of Doro's active telepaths from around the country. After collecting a few active telepaths Mary decided to connect with lantents, people who have psychic potential but they're not active telepaths.

After Mary connects with the actives and latents, well things start to get messy. I won't spoil anything for you, I'll just say that this is honestly worth the read even if I didn't like it as much as some of the other Patternist novels.

This is my second time reading Mind of My Mind and I honestly enjoyed the story more the second time around. I gave Mind of My Mind a 4 out of 5 the first time I read it, this time I'm going to give it a 4.5 out of 5.

💬: "“I am old,” she said, masking her fear with anger. “I could be your mother’s mother!” She could have been an ancestor of his mother’s mother. But she kept that to herself. “Who are you?” she demanded. “I could be your mother’s father,” he said. She took another step backward, somehow controlling her growing fear.

Butler, Octavia E.. Wild Seed (The Patternist Series Book 1) (p. 11). Open Road Media. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: adult, science fiction, historical fiction, speculative fiction

📚Page Count: 404

🎧Audiobook Length: 11h 09min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5

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TW - <spoiler>Animal death, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Colonisation, and Death</spoiler>

One of my favorite books of all time. Amazing.

5/5 Stars

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

💬: "Hawke bared his teeth. When Stenson flinched, he realized the gesture had been more lupine aggressiveness than human smile. Ah well, the man would have to get used to dealing with wolves sooner or later.

Singh, Nalini. Allegiance of Honor (Psy-Changeling Book 15) (p. 173). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: paranormal romance, romance, urban fantasy, adult

📚Page Count: 479

🎧Audiobook Length: 15h 08min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.75/5

----

Allegiance of Honor is the 15th book in the Psy/Changeling series by Nalini Singh. This book has

partly to do with the characters of past books, almost everyone makes an appearance. Although there is a current threat in the story, a lot of the book's focus is on past characters and how they're doing in their friend and romantic relationships. Sascha and Luca's cub is in danger, there's a group of people rumored to be targeting their baby and they have to do everything they can to protect her and other members of the pack.

This story was was 50% catching up with past characters, and the other 50% was dealing with the current threat in the books. It was nice to see how the characters in their relationships progressed but it seemed like these parts were dragging on. We also got to see a few pregnancies in action. There were so many characters to address in this final Psy/Changeling novel that it was a bit hard to keep up with who was who, even though I started this series just about one year ago.

The spicy scenes were okay, we got several spicy scenes of characters in different relationships but it was just okay. I would have liked to stay with a specific couple and read their spicy scenes instead of switching couples for every scene. I'm giving it two chilies 🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies

Overall, Allegiance of Honor was just okay, there were interesting parts and some not so interesting parts. This was a novel to wrap up character relationships and situations to end the series. We all know now in 2024 that there is a follow up series, one that I'm excited to start soon. I'm giving this book 3.75 stars out of 5.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.75/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on the library app [HooplaDigital.com]

💬: "I'll let the past burn to ash, Freya, because you are my present. My future. My destiny."

Jensen L. Danielle. A Fate Inked in Blood (Saga of the Unfated Book 1) (p. ?). Del Rey. Kindle Edition.

📖Genres: fantasy, romance, romantasy, mythology (Norse), vikings

📚Page Count: 400

🎧Audiobook Length: 15h 16min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3/5

----

A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen is the first book in the Saga of the Unfated series. This story is about Freya who is a Goddess Blessed fisher man's wife in an unwanted marriage. After her fisher man husband breaks faith with Freya and betrays her to the local Jarl, the local Jarl orders her to fight his son, Bjorn, to the death. Secretly, Freya has the blood of a Goddess on her side, that helps her survive the fight. Soon after she gets the news that she is the shield maiden that is supposed to make this particular Jarl, the King. That was foreseen in a prophecy. The Jarl then forces Freya to bind herself to him and thus begins the saga of Freya learning how to fight and tame her magic. Will she be able to ignore the lingering lust she feels for the Jarl's son?

This book had interesting parts, but it did not do a good job of keeping my attention throughout the book. I had such high hopes for this book. Mostly because it's so highly rated amongst my peers but also because the beginning of the story was really good so I expected the action and the overall story to keep up a good pace. The first 25% was interesting, the next 50% really dragged on and was boring, and the last 25% had everything thrown in there, in an exciting way (spicy scenes, action, fighting, surprises, secrets, and a cliff hanger.)

There was one spicy scene <spoiler> in the middle of the book</spoiler> and there are two more spicy scenes <spoiler>at the end of the book.</spoiler> Yes there are many ways to be intimate with someone but I really hated that we had to wait until <spoiler>the end of the book for the two love interests to have intercourse.</spoiler> I'm giving the spicy scenes two chilis 🌶️ out of five chilies.

Overall, I had high expectations going into this book but it was just okay. The beginning and the ending were very exciting, but the middle of the book was really boring. I'm giving this 3 out of 5 stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 3/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on the library app [Libbyapp.com]

💬:N/A

📖Genres: humor, manga, comics, shojo

📚Page Count: 217

🎧Audiobook Length: N/A

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5

TW - <spoiler>Toxic friendship</spoiler>

My Love Story!!, Volume 11 by Kazune Kawahara was so good, it made me feel so many emotions and it's one of the few volumes that made me cry. In the first part of this manga Sunakawa has befriended the new transfer student but Takeo gets word from an old friend that the new transfer student is not what he seems. The manga starts off with Takeo on his way to confront the new transfer student, in an effort to protect Sunakawa. In the second part of this manga Yamato has a secret that will change the course of her relationship with Takeo, how will they navigate the issue together? In the third part of this manga Sunakawa heads to a bookstore with Takeo to pick up a "practically sold out" rare book. In the fourth and final part of this manga Takeo and Sunakawa talk to their guy friends at school about "dark pasts" and who's had one.

This manga made me feel a range of emotions, from sad (I mean I was literally crying) to straight laughing the tears out of my eyes. I won't say too much, for fear of spoiling your reading experience, but I will say that I really enjoyed this volume. I'm nervous about the last volume, I honestly have no idea how the story is going to end.

Overall, volume 12 was amazing, like the earlier volumes of this manga. It was everything I want in a manga and more. I'm giving this 5 stars out of 5.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5/5

I read this manga for free on [Libbyapp.com]

💬: N/A

📖Genres: graphic novels, mystery, paranormal, urban fantasy, young adult(?)

📚Page Count: N/A

🎧Audiobook Length: 01h 58min

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5

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The Pretenders Part 1 of 3 of the dramatized adaptation of "Cemetery Girl" is the first half of the dramatized version of the graphic novel of the same name written by Charlaine Harris and Christopher Golden. This is the story of a girl who died temporarily after a brutal attack by someone who wanted her dead. The male attacker abandoned her in a cemetery and when she wakes, she's able to see ghosts or spirits.

This was an interesting story premise and I did enjoyed Graphic Audio's execution of their graphic audio adaptation, I only had one issue. Without spoiling too much I will say that out of the books I've read so far Harris for sure has an issue with <SPOILERS>writing in Black characters just to kill them off. She does that more than once in this story.</ENDSPOILERS> This story is no exception and it annoyed me, given her history with The Sookie Stackhouse series (I AM only 5 books into that series).

Overall, part 1 of the graphic audio of Cemetery Girl was good, I'm not rushing to listening to part 2 but I am interested in listening to it sometime this year (2024). I'm giving this 4 out of 5 stars instead.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5 Stars

I listened to this for free on [Hoopladigital.com]

💬:N/A

📖Genres: horror, sci-fi, manga, graphic novels, comics

📚Page Count: 190

🎧Audiobook Length: N/A

👩🏾‍🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5/5

The Drifting Classroom by Kazuo Umezu is a horror manga from the 70's about an entire elementary school (with the students, staff, and teachers included) disappearing. When parents and the police come to investigate a giant explosion at the elementary school, all they find is a giant gaping hole in the ground where the school used to be. Meanwhile, the students, staff, teachers, and school are all transported somewhere, but where? The main character Sho, a 6th grader, must fight to survive alongside his friends. All hell starts to break lose, will Sho and his friends survive? Will he ever make his way back to his family?

This manga had so much going on and most of it was unpredictable. I don't want to say too much because spoiling it would ruin part of the story. I will say that all hell starts to break lose by the time the end of the first volume comes along. I'm so excited about future reveals.

The Drifting Classroom is delightfully creepy and I would suggest volume 1 to all my horror comic/manga friends. I did take issue with how long the "story" took to start, other than that I liked everything else about this manga. I'm giving this 4.5 stars out of 5.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️4.5/5

I read this manga for free on [Libbyapp.com]