First I’d like to thank the publisher, Berkley, for allowing me to read this advanced copy of Snapped before it’s release in exchange for an honest review. This was the first time I’d reached out to a publisher for an ARC successfully and it was such a great experience!

Anyone who’s been here for awhile knows that I am a very big fan of Alexa Martin’s Playbook series. I love the Mustangs and the women who love them. When I found out we were getting another book in this series, I was over the moon. Fumbled is still my absolute favorite, but I couldn’t wait to see what Alexa had in store next and thankfully, she didn’t disappoint.

Snapped throws us right into the deep end of the pool from page one. Quinton Howard Jr. is the new quarterback from the Mustangs with an amazing contract and amazing skills. Everyone expects him to get the Mustangs to the playoffs, but no one expects him to take a knee and cover his league logo the first time he takes the field. Showing support for the Black Lives Matter movement and calling attention to the racist and bigoted industry that is football? Who would do a thing like that? That’s what Elliot Reed wants to know. While she completely understands the injustices that are going on in the world, the last thing she wants to see is Quinton protesting it on the field. While she supports the cause, as the newest PR employee on the Mustangs roster, she was hoping not to have to face anything too large right off the bat. Sure she understands why Quinton is protesting, but he’s jeopardizing her job in the process. Why couldn’t he just tell the league he wanted to protest? She could have helped him do it in a way that didn’t piss off the Mustangs’ owner and could’ve helped spread his message without it possibly ruining her career. When the owner of the Mustangs give Elliott the task of putting an end to Quinton’s protest, Elliot is forced to face some things she’d rather keep hidden…and maybe find both love and herself in the process.

I’ll admit I was worried. With such a big social justice message, I wasn’t entirely sure how things would play out or how they would be handled in the book. I must say, Alexa did a great job. It wasn’t hard to fall in love with Quinton. He was passionate about shedding light not only on racial injustice, but the injustices within professional football as well, no matter the cost. Whenever he talked about why this was important to him or why he needed to do this, I fell in love a little more because he was speaking nothing but facts. Quinton gives us tons of insight throughout the entire book and I must say he almost rivaled the love I have for TK from Fumbled.

While falling in love with Quinton wasn’t hard, loving Elliot was a little bit more difficult. She’s a strong woman, which I loved, but being inside her head tended to be frustrating for awhile. Here’s why: Elliot is a mixed race woman. Born to a Black mom who died early on and raised by her White father, Elliot was raised to be “color-blind”, which is a direct quote. As a Black woman, I know how ridiculous this is, but it’s not surprising. So many White people believe that being color-blind will end racism because if you don’t see color, then we’re all the same. WRONG! You can’t be color-blind and saying you can ignore color is just another way of saying that you can ignore me. I don’t want you to ignore my Black skin, I want you to embrace it, respect it, and treat me like the person I am. Elliot wasn’t taught this though and she’s spent a lifetime trying to fit into a world that sees her one way, when she was raised another. I wanted to shake her sometimes, but I finally began to understand that Elliot’s faults were not her own. They were a product of her upbringing. I don’t know what it’s like to be raised around people who don’t share my skin tone or be told to deny half of what I am. Quinton doesn’t have this experience either and so part of what we see in the book is Quinton calling Elliot out on this and Elliot realizing that maybe she has some things to work on within herself and in her past that she’s been trying to push to the side for so long. In case you’re worried: yes Elliot does finally learn, but her journey getting there was both amazing and frustrating to watch (I loved it lol).

Alexa Martin writes an Author’s Note at the beginning of Snapped discussing why she wanted to tell this story and I implore anyone who picks up this book to read it. Alexa discusses how she was raised in a household similar to Elliot and how it wasn’t until she was an adult with a Black husband and black children that she finally began to understand just how much her upbringing and experiences affected her. She discusses how she minimized herself, excused or ignored microaggressions around her, and mentions how growing up in an all White family and confronting racism may mean for the ones she loved. This is important. Without this context, I don’t know if you can fully appreciate the struggle that Elliot and other women like her (Alexa included) have gone through when faced with situations like this one. It’s what prompted me to believe that Elliot would grow throughout the story because I knew that growth was personal to the author herself.

The one thing I will say is, I was a little frustrated by the ending, though I promise it was not because of Elliot or Quinton’s actions, but rather by the actions of his teammates and the fans.One you read it, I think you’ll understand why. Quinton was such a big spirit and so driven to do what was right, but it seemed as if people weren’t ready to support him openly until a “big” gesture was made. Either way, we were given the happy ending we deserve and I’m happy to say, Alexa Martin’s amazingness struck again!

I’ve always loved Archie comics and who would’ve thought I would enjoy seeing Ronnie kicking butt as a Vampire? It was actually pretty good. Someone hide this from the writers on Riverdale.

I absolutely loved this book and finished it in under 2 hours. I couldn’t put it down. It was both spooky and heartwarming. It was also great to get a look at fairy tales and traditional stories that aren’t euro-centric. I definitely want to do a deep dive into Caribbean folklore now to see what else it holds.

Content Warning: gore, death, animal harm, forced suicide, murder, graphic descriptions of all the aforementioned.

I've never read anything by Stephen Graham Jones, but now I need to add everything he's ever written onto my TBR. This book was amazing. I'll admit that it started off slow for me and it took me a little while to get into it, but halfway through the first section I was completely gripped and ended up finishing the book in one sitting. Jones does a great job mixing cultural elements, gore, horror and tragedy through this story, connecting each section to one another and the original events that started it all. How can a narrative be so horrific and yet so beautiful at the same time. Seriously, I have chills. There are definitely some disturbing elements in this book, but if you can make it through to the end, you won't regret it.

Content Warning: Physical assault, sexual assault of a minor (1 instance involving a family member), cancer, grief, death of loved ones, illness of loved ones, sexual content/situations, slurs, and trauma

I loved this book so much. It was a gift from two hosts of my favorite podcast (Podcast from Planet Weird) so I was able to read along physically while I read with the audiobook as well. George told their story in a way that was perfect for them and what I loved about this was that I know this will speak to so many different people on so many levels. The content is heavy, for sure, but to say that everything in this book is necessary would be an understatement. The intersectionality between Blackness and Queerness is something that has to be discussed. So many Black members of the LGBTQIAP+ community don't have the chance to experience the love or community that George talks about in this book and I hope that this book is one step in letting them know that they aren't alone and they are absolutely worthy of love, joy and happiness.

For most of this, I felt like I was sitting with George, experiencing their life alongside them. I laughed and loved Nanny, I cried at their losses, I hurt for their trauma and pain, I felt hope and joy during their moments of happiness. This book just made me feel things and I just want everyone to experience it (safely of course).

I've finally conquered Fellowship of the Ring. WHEW! There was so much more involved in Frodo's journey than I imagined. I've been a fan of the movies for years and the books only heightened that for me. I will say though, there was a lot of singing and because I was listening to the audio book, I had to skip over that sometimes.