booktribe's Reviews (603)

Needed less Tyrak and more Krushita.

     When Hilton was just a child, his grandmother sacrificed herself to save his life, but was he meant to survive? 30 years later, his wife starts receiving racist death threats directed at their whole family, including their two children. Dealing with that and terrifying nightmares, can Hilton hold on to his sanity? And is he really supposed to be alive?

     Tananarive Due is my favorite author of all time, so I was so very excited to read her debut novel! She is a phenomenal writer, so nothing she ever writes will be disappointing. However, this wasn’t my favorite novel of hers.

     This novel was very slow paced. Don’t go into it expecting action. But if you expect a slow burn, more cerebral horror, this is perfect for you! 

     Sadly, this novel wasn’t as enjoyable as it could’ve been to me for two reasons other than the slow pace. Firstly, it was very hard for me to read all the racism in this book. There was a lot of use of racial slurs, so one of the main emotions I felt while reading was anger. It took me months to finish this book because of that. And secondly, I didn’t really care about the characters. I didn’t want anything bad to happen to them, but I also didn’t root for them. Hilton was just not a great guy and his wife, DeDe wasn’t incredibly likable either. 

     I still gave this three stars though because it’s physically impossible for me to not enjoy Tananarive Due’s work. She is just a terrific writer and even the work that’s not her best is still better than most horror out there. It picked up a lot for me after about 60%. The story started moving along more at that point and we started getting answers to the mysterious happenings in the book. Also, something I love about Mrs. Due’s writing is that she leaves little Easter eggs all throughout her books. So something will be alluded to in one chapter and ten chapters later, she’ll write something that’ll make you tell “That’s what that meant!”.

     Overall, I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys slow paced horror and anyone who is looking for a Black woman killing it in the horror genre. I’ll never get enough of Tananarive Due’s writing!

Thank you Harper Perennial and NetGalley for this arc! All opinions are my own.

TW: racism; racial and homophobic slurs; death; animal death; rape mentioned; AIDS related death; graphic sexual content; infidelity

The artwork was beautiful! The writing, not so much. The story was very confusing to me and skipped around too much. I had no idea what was going on for half the book. But the wonderful illustrations made it worth reading for me!

P.S. I can’t believe they were literally magical negroes😭😭

TW: Slavery, racial slurs, racism, death, molestation mentioned (in Like Daughter), animal death, cancer, rape mentioned (in Carriers)

Average rating: 3.3

But am I giving it 5 ⭐️’s anyway? Yes because the vibes were immaculate🥰

     A disgraced reality star and a cupcake baking football player fake date in order to save her reputation and his bakery. The relationship isn’t real, but their feelings for each other just might be.

     This book was one of my most anticipated releases of this year and it did not disappoint! It’s one of the best romance books I’ve ever read! Jada and Donovan were such amazing characters. I rooted for them in every way. And they had the cutest, most natural banter. They’re one of my favorite fictional couples of all time. The cupcake descriptions made me exceptionally hungry! And I also loved that there was dyslexia representation. I will say that this book had minimal smut, so if you’re looking for a romance with a lot of spice, this one might not be for you. However, that was perfect for me!

     I don’t have anything negative to say about this book at all. The characters were lovable. The pacing was perfect. The writing flowed so easily. And the ending was absolutely flawless. I am very impatiently waiting for the sequel and this book isn’t even out yet! If you want an adorable romance with characters to root for and dialogue that will make you crack up, this book is for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this arc. All opinions are my own.