Raw vulnerability of dogged hope and an inextinguishable desire to know the truth.
“When you bury the truth, you bury it alive”. Carmen Rita Wong.
An emotionally charged and barrier breaking memoir.
An unflinchingly raw and provocative deep dive into finding Carmen, a child of immigrants inherited navigating life in a very white world battling a very hypocritical American society filled with racism, colorism and patriarchy.

Beautifully written. The title Terra Cotta Beauty is exactly that; beautiful. Each story is prolifically interwoven shedding light on lives thriving filled with love, loss, longing, belonging, politics, poverty, family and community. In Lagos.

The plot twists were strategically intertwined with unsuspecting and unfortunate situations. The stories were easily sculpted into shape - life‘s shape, creating a communal bond of love and forgiveness.

Hold onto your edges because Nightcrawling will have you clutching your pearls and biting your fingernails. Raw & heartbreaking, filled with generational trauma, family and community dysfunction. Leila Mottley penned a hell of a debut novel ~ Nightcrawling. Although this is listed under the Literary Fiction - Urban Life genre, there is absolutely nothing in this story that's fictional. Kiara, the main character is a young, vulnerable & invincible

Although a heart wrenching story, it is a true testament to what it means to be resilient. The strength and patience the protagonist - Alethea exudes was unwavering and remarkable. It took more patience than Job, to endure a life filled with drudgery and an insurmountable amount of abuse. Alethea was very fortunate to have friends and family that would support her.

Gabrielle Union introduced herself to us unapologetically when she penned her first book, We're Going to Need More Wine: Stories That Are Funny, Complicated, and True. Now she shows up veraciously, embracing her kryptonite with, "You Got Anything Stronger?" In between these pages, Gabrielle Union did more than be vulnerable. This book dropped nuggets from birth to aging. The importance of embracing your truth and being loved and accepted for it.

"Usually when people talk about the 'strength' of Black women they are referring to the way in which they perceive Black women coping with oppression. They ignore the reality that to be strong in the face of oppression is not the same as overcoming, that endurance is not to be confused with transformation." bell hooks, ain't i a woman

Unputdownable - A masterly woven story encompassing traditional and contemporary lifestyles.
Invisible Lives is a timely piece honing in on issues of old and still very present today. The characters' lives are intertwined spanning the gamut of love, lust, longing, mental health, sexuality, street life, dysfunctional relationships and growth. They are all on a quest for forever love, self-acceptance, forgiveness, and healing.

"Although the wind blows terribly here, the moonlight also leaks between the roof planks of this ruined house."
Izumi Shikibu

Ashley penned a transparent story that encapsulated love, belonging, forgiveness, resentment, poverty, incarceration, mental health, generational trauma & abuse.

Imaginatively wild. Mankind is forced to live in a dome at the equator. The story reminds me of thoughts during schizophrenic episodes.

A magical love story in a post apocalyptic setting.

Very insightful, taking the reader along on her journey, giving first hand accounts of the adoption process or should I say, the Black experience into becoming a mother, the myths and misperceptions that surrounds it. Nefertiti does a great job at deconstructing this bias in her memoir:hoping to erase the stereotypes of this very uneven playing field within Black Motherhood.

An engrossing story about a serial killer running rampant on the beautiful island of Barbados. The author skillfully crafted this novel interweaving murder mystery, themes of love, secrets, family rivalry and feminism. A twist like none other, Callie continues to educate her readers by incorporating Bajan historical events into her stories. A tour de force, Callie proves yet again to be a great asset to the Caribbean Literary Community.

"Those who dared refuse the gender norms and social conventions of sexual propriety - monogamy, heterosexuality, and marriage - or failed to abide by the script of female respectability were targeted as potential prostitutes, vagrants, deviants, and incorrigible children".

1890 - 1935 was an evolution, a revolution of Black intimate life. A desire to live life unrestrictive in a new world - The Ghetto. Drunk with freedom, escaping lives of forced servitude. The North became an altered version of the South. The Ghetto, the slum, the tenements is in fact the plantation extended into the city.

This book is another mandatory read. It's a quick but powerful and thought provoking book. This book dissects cultural appropriation through a lens that peers into the multiple perspectives on the topic. The author's research goes back approximately 20 years, roping in age old issues to current events, exposing how appropriation is exhibited currently.

Hood Feminism is thoughtful, insightful and incisive. Mikki Kendall gets into 'Good Trouble' with prose that won't let you put the book down. Every word screams from the pages, refusing to be ignored. Passionately penned - a call to action. This text took me to task and did not fall short of addressing Black Feminist issues. Ms. Kendall also demystifies stereotypical beliefs and myths that demean Black women and girls.

An action packed paranormal story filled with Caribbean folklore brought to life within these pages. The living, the dead and the living dead all vying to conquer all three realms of the world. As the story unfolded, the images so vivid made me white knuckled as I grasped the book, reading hurriedly, impatient to know what happens next. I became a character, really a voyeur as I argued and coaxed the characters along.

“Begin as you want to end”. Ivory Mae Broom.

Sarah M. Broom penned a very informative memoir that shed light on many themes – family / community cohesiveness, belonging, love, loss, race and discrimination. Sarah and her family are from New Orleans East, a city bifurcated between the Mississippi River and the Industrial Canal. The story takes place predominantly in New Orleans East. She is the last of twelve children.

Krik? Krak! is a compilation of stories depicting the rich, traumatic history and cultural heritage of Haiti. It speaks of Haitian life in Haiti and in the US. Each story intertwined, linking past & present reuniting them all in the end. These stories are packed with love, loss, belonging, hope, suffering and grief. Descriptively rich, pulling the reader in to live vividly through the eyes of each character.

“Southern communities, lawmakers, and courts recognized slave-owning women as individuals able to acquire and exercise mastery over enslaved people, s is evident from laws passed throughout the South. Laws dating back to the colonial period routinely recognized the mistresses owned enslaved people in their own right, and these same laws acknowledged the fact that these women were capable of exercising slave mastery. Stephanie Jones - Rogers.

A provocative story about life, love, family, motherhood, belonging, colorism, classism, racism, African and Native American history. Fiction marries non-fiction in this compelling and provocative story. The author masterfully incorporated historical events that took place in Trinidad and into the old American West territory.
Lauren Francis-Sharma skillfully crafted a captivating story that entertained as well as educated us. A must read.

From Scratch is a multi cultural / cross continents love story about parenthood, loss, forgiveness and healing all drizzled in lots of love.
Food played a significant role from beginning to end & would prove to be a contributing salve to healing and family cohesiveness. Grief clung to three generations of women - memories lapsing and resurrecting. It‘s with the power of love and forgiveness, that Tembi and Zoela will build a home away from home.

“Think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course”. Kahlil Gibran.

I am a Registered Nurse with 25 years of experience. Sadly, I have witnessed some of the atrocities inflicted upon black / brown women during the Antebellum Era during the course of my career. I enjoyed this book for the knowledge and truths told. It broke my heart though, to see that very little has changed from the 1800 to 2020.

Life throws us challenges that are most often unwelcome. It‘s through those challenges, we are forced to reckon with either the choices we have made or contributing factors beyond our control. I admired Derry‘s courage, resilience and her steadfast love and trust in God.

“If you have been brutally broken, but still have the courage to be gentle to others, then you deserve a love deeper than the ocean itself”.

Some rest Grove
by Dionne Peart
Book Review 🌟 🌟🌟🌟🌟

This story crosses generations and continents, filled with love, loss, resentment and forgiveness. An amazing story about generational hurt and the complexities that existed between mothers and daughters.
Three generations of women; the grandmother, the mother and her daughter. A hard lesson in loving, while struggling with choices made and forgiveness.

A Dysfunctional Ménage à trois. This story although fictional, had some very relatable moments. Each character, exposed their brand of dysfunction. It‘s a definite page turner.

My current read. Gearing up to moderate this book in August.

The Dragon The Giant The Women encapsulates some of life‘s most solemn issues: war, racism, migration, love, psychological issues, the power of hope & prayer,. Wayétu educated us, giving us bits of Liberia‘s rich culture – tribes, language, folk tales, & tribal remedies. Although the story was filled with how hateful we as humans can be against each other, there was a more powerful narrative love, strength, support, community, hope, and prayer.

Alicia Keys wholeheartedly gave of herself in her memoir. Throughout her book she songfully and poetically shared with us an undiluted version of her story. Recalling memories of her humble beginnings, musical journey, family, love interest, children and becoming spiritually grounded. A very passionate soul, she pushes us all to look deeper within ourselves and each other by describing her own spiritual journey. She encourages us to be open.

As essential as the air we breathe, this book is an imperative tool in yesterday‘s and today‘s climate. Layla Saad did an outstanding job, unearthing all that is necessary to combat the ever present issues of white privilege, white supremacy & racism. This book is multi-purpose in that it serves as a workbook, textbook and reference book. The journal prompts are thought provoking, holding those with biases against all that is black accountable.