<strong>yeah, I need a Luca in my life</strong>

That man, that man, that man! Pure perfection. I loved every minute of his relationship with Galina. Communication was always wide open and the fact that neither of them had to hide from the other? BEAUTIFUL. They truly found their person in one another and now I’m ready to cry. I really do love this series.

Definitely a solid start to an epic fantasy trilogy. I’ll admit to took me awhile to be invested. A lot of this book seems to spend time introducing us to characters and getting us acquainted with them by learning about their personalities and motives. There little hints of action here and there but the last 20%-25% was where the most action happened. The world building was very intriguing and once I really started piecing together where this was headed and making real life parallels, I realized just how well the story was set up.

My only thing was the relationship that eventually developed between Sylah and another character. I didn’t have a problem with it but for most of the book the romantic feelings seemed one sided. So to find out that Sylah felt that way too was a little jarring. I expected the friendship, but not the romance between them. I just think if that’s where Sylah’s feelings were headed, it could’ve been developed/demonstrated a bit better.

All in all, I’ll definitely check out book two once it’s released. 

This was a cute and funny read. Even with the fun and cute parts, it still felt very heavy at time because of the parental abandonment, miscarriage, mental illness, fatphobia, some self-deprecation due to childhood abandonment, mention of and ptsd as a result of school shooting, and mention of sexual assault/contact between and adult and minor (actual act happens off page but it is mentioned towards the end of the book). 

I really loved seeing Black hockey players and Alexandria House’s characters always have me cracking up. Nuri and Maleek definitely had chemistry, a lot more than him and his gf at the beginning of the book. That girl got on my nerves! She could not take a hint. It was great seeing Maleek confront his feelings about his father through getting to know his siblings. As expected, Nuri and Maleek were always out here doing grown folk things lol. My only thing was that at times the pacing felt rushed and it felt like a LOT of trauma crammed into one book. Definitely still enjoyed it though. Just not my fave from her.

Bash and Cambri??? Yeah they’re the ones for sure. Little Leigh was so cute, she reminded me of my niece. I don’t have a problem with instalove/attraction so the fact that cambri got caught up immediately and gave no resistance didn’t bother me at all. Bash would’ve had me folding, too (and folded for the matter). Her baby daddy Chevy was TRASH. What he did at the end??? Yeah he’s lucky he’s still breathing. I was disappointed by his sister’s reaction to that too because there was no way to justify what he did and yet that’s exactly what she called herself doing.

Also appreciated the lack of a third act break up. There were rocky moments, but they never quit. Can’t wait to read more about the side characters.

Listen, I’m going to ride hard for my off-white/light skin boo Midnight, but BASH? THE SEBASTIAN? Whew that fine chocolate man don’t make a lick of sense. I love how much he wants Ryann, so much so the question of not being to have her doesn’t even exist. And the way he took care of her? Men, get out your books and start studying.

Mind blowing! It was dark, it was wild, it wasn't what I expected, but damn was it good. Two urban/dark romances wrapped in one? Genius. there were so many twists and turns that it was hard to keep up. I loved that though. It was also very hot and y’all know I love a spicy read. I just couldn’t put this down. Smoke and Demon were definitely unhinged, but they loved their women and would burn the world down for them. That’s just how I like my fictional men. Over 700 pages for a romance? Yeah I thought it was crazy, but actually it was WORTH EVERY PAGE! 

Baby! This was such a great read. It was hot as ever, funny, sweet, and an all around ride. I didn’t expect to fall in love with these characters, but I certainly did. Dillion, Neyla, and Abe all complimented each other. I really enjoyed the fact that the relationship wasn’t easy and it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. They had ups and downs, but I’m the end, you could feel the love.

The book starts out fine. I really enjoyed books one and two so I had high hopes for this one. I understand that a lot of this book focused on Pip dealing with trauma and it couldn’t be sunshine and roses, but as soon as I hit the 50% mark the book took a turn that did NOT make sense or sit right with me. Trauma changes you but for that big twist to happen and know it would be the focus of the rest of the book, I just can’t. I actually asked someone to spoil it for new and after the sting that the rest of the book holds, I made the right decision.

This was just as sweet as the Italian treats that Giulio fed to Zane’s and just as hot as the summer day that led to some very good pizza and interesting…hand activities lol.

Akwaeke Emezi put their whole foot, ankle, leg, THIGH into this book. It was messy, beautifully written, tragic, hopeful, and tense all rolled into one. I had no clue what I was getting into when I opened this book, but I enjoyed the ride. Nasir? He can go kick rocks. I won’t act like he didn’t have a right to be upset, but for him to act entitled to Feyi’s time, body, and love all cause he was a good guy. Yeah absolutely not, especially not with how he met her in the first place.

Alim was a dream and it’s so unfair lol. I really loved how he and Feyi understood each other, their hurts, their pain, and also each others beauty. I hope we get more of them soon because they were just beautiful.

Feyi’s inner monologue and self-doubt did get on my nerves, I’ll be honest, but I guess I understand. When you have happiness snatched from you so violently, it’s easy to believe you don’t deserve it. Just, AMAZING storytelling honestly.