I absolutely loved The Davenports: More Than This! It’s an excellent and beautiful continuation of the plotlines that were introduced in the first book. I also found this sequel did a better job equally balancing everyone’s stories and keeping the pace. There’s also Black feminist themes woven throughout. 

Adiba Jaigirdar has become one of my favorite YA authors. Her latest work, Rani Choudhury Must Die, is just as hilarious as her previous books, maybe even more so. There’s a great balance of the friendship and romance between our two main girls, as well as the individual character growth. Rani Choudhury Must Die is sweet, sarcastic, and endearing. A truly feel-good novel that also highlights the sexism and misogyny in STEM and the ways in which gender roles truly confine everyone involved.

The Edinburgh Nights series keeps getting better with each installment, and The Legacy of Arniston House provides readers with real development in our protagonist Ropa as she reflects on past adventures and mistakes and tries to be better. It’s funny and face-paced, and there’s lots of political intrigue. We get some closure on some of the plot points from previous books but it also opens up some other plot points to be solved in future installment, while also ending on one helluva cliffhanger.

After finishing The Killing Moon, I knew I wanted to dive straight into THE SHADOWED SUN by N.K. Jemisin. The novel takes places 10 years after the events of The Killing Moon and could easily be read as a standalone, in my opinion. It is a masterclass in characters that aren’t likable being so well-crafted and fleshed out that you understand their reasoning and motivation and don’t hate them.

What I absolutely loved about THE SHADOWED SUN is the questions and conversations it brings up about women in society, relationships, and traditional spaces. It explores the ignorance and detriment to society that evolves from ignoring women simply because of tradition. It also blatantly exposes the hypocrisy of calling women “queens” or “goddesses” but then shutting us out of certain fields or trying to limit our aspirations and desires — that’s not equality or respects, it’s limitations.

THE SHADOWED SUN also deals with the age-old dilemma for those of marginalized identities staying in environments that are detrimental to your mental health and despise you for just being you just to prove a point. Is this internal struggle worth it in the end? The other themes are definitely womanhood and embracing one’s felinity in spaces that are traditionally masculine and exclusionary towards women. All in all, this book packs a bigger punch than its predecessor, and I loved every second of it.

While The Killing Moon is the first in a duology, this is a book that definitely feels like it can be a standalone, while also making you excited to see how the world continues on in the second novel. This book definitely explores themes of the pros and cons of “absolute” peace and how peacefulness can lead to passivity while encouraging and enabling horrendous acts of violence at the same time. I enjoyed the perspectives of our three protagonists, and while I enjoyed the stark contrast between Ehiru and Njiri, I found myself wanting more of Sunandi’s perspective.

A passionate and deeply reflective Black romance between a recently widowed entrepreneur and the basketball player who signs on to be the ambassador for her skincare brand. The work done in the character of Davina as she navigated her grief and also gave herself permission to love was impeccable. The way Deke loves on Davina and gives her the space to unpack her feelings for him while dealing with her guilt is beautiful. Deke’s character development was also spectacular, and I loved how Williams took the time to explore the true depth of Deke’s emotions in regard to the trauma in his background.