Read as part of a "Milwaukee Reads" initiative and to facilitate a book discussion at the library I work at.

The author's thesis statement, that residential segregation is mainly de jure, not de facto, in large part due to government(s) actively legislating it, was thoroughly researched and and well-argued. There is a brief section on the future, and what can possibly be done, but I didn't leave the book feeling optimistic in any way.

My most important take-away was the author's assertion that we need to be teaching this matter in schools, so our youth will not continue to grow up thinking poverty, social hierarchy, etc. is solely a choice.

Many readers will find the book itself dry, full of legalese, and dense. I was annoyed that the book was end-noted, not foot-noted, and that the citations were not clearly marked in the text. I understand this is a publishing technique to not scare away readers, but come on. The author did include a few * marked footnotes, so why not just be consistent?

Fans of the Boston Fire series will enjoy this second chance romance between a firefighter and the woman who suddenly ghosted him right before he was about to propose.

Grant thought Wren was gone for good and he's still picking up the pieces of his shattered heart when he ends up rescuing her from a fire in a bank of rundown apartments. Confused by Wren's living conditions Grant and his circle of friends from the fire department embrace her back into their lives.

Turns out Wren only left Grant because she was scared her ex would hurt him, an ex who beat up her brother and is now out of jail. In fact, he may have been the one to start the fire in her apartment complex.

Returning characters may add a bit of confusion for new readers, but otherwise this is a fair standalone with some intense emotions. I felt the hero and heroine reconnected a bit too quickly for my personal taste, but overall enjoyed reading the story.

Content warning for threats to a main character from an abusive ex.

I had to return this and I liked it, but not enough to make me want to pick it back up again after I had left it for awhile. The banter is amazing and so are the details of Venice. The sex is definitely swoony and I'd die to have her bathtub and bathing chamber. I'll probably try reading it again in the future!

I was bored and Mateo's "inner voice" Alpha was squicking me out a bit.

Not working for me at all. There's too much "you can't touch my sister/daughter" stuff going on, and it is very insta-lust. The heroine was 12 last she saw the hero, and he is instantly kissing her face the moment he re-meets her (doesn't recognize her even though she's working in her family's bakery and he was best friend with her brother). The couple isn't talking as much as I'd like, and she's desperate to have him have sex with her without explaining to her family she's an adult and can do what she wants.

Young college student returns home for Christmas and finds his dad's coworker is also staying at the house for the holiday. I stopped reading after the coworker commented he saw the college student's photo on the dad's desk and thought he was cute. I was also worried these two were going to start secretly banging in the family house while also still trying to not out the college student to the dad.

Well, confirming again I care not for romances with mystery subplots, another DNF for 2021. I am also in a terrible reading mood/slump, so I'm DNF'ing frequently and liberally. The hero and heroine's banter was good, but not enough to hold my interest, especially with the frequent time jumps ahead, skipping a lot of the backstory behind their emotional connection. I think I got to about 30%?

Recommended to me, a really great selection of poems.

I got this from the digital library because I did truly enjoy Anthony's arms in the TV show, but alas it just wasn't holding my interest so I kind of browsed through to figure out what the heck a mallet of death is, and to read the bee scene. I've released this book back to the MASSIVE library holds list, happy reading dear library patron.