cielosiluminado's Reviews (443)

Team Players

Deanna Grey

3.0

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

this is book had so potential but it was so poorly executed… i just wanted more of sam and aderyn being cute and lovey dovey romantic but this book was mostly focused on the strange betting subplot instead of the romance :/

Grown

Tiffany D. Jackson

4.5

dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Malcolm X said it best. “The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman.”

The Color of a Lie

Kim Johnson

4.5

emotional informative tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

“But this country only knows how to rule in terror and by blood. The physical and the metaphysical. The hate that has now fueled this country against us is as visible as skin color and as invisible as the soul.”

Curvy Girl Summer

Danielle Allen

3.5

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

such a funny dynamic between ahmad and aaliyah. loved their banter a lot.

i will note that the fatphobia in this was very tense. i had to take several breaks while reading because of how upsetting it was :/

Sunny Disposition

Deanna Grey

3.5

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

“But I’ve fallen in love with you twice now. I think it’s safe to say I’d do it again.”
— Chapter 33, p. 304

ok so there were so many unresolved things and loose ends that left me ??? but it didn’t bother me that much because naomi and finn were really cute!!!! i love grumpy sunshine romances!!!!!!

Unsteady

Peyton Corinne

4.5

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

2nd read:
rhys and sadie are both so adorable and i wanna protect them at all costs <3

rereading this made me super excited for the second book because for a debut novel, it was so good. i cannot wait to see what peyton’s next release will be!! me thinks it’s about ro and freddy!!! i hope we’ll see bennett, toren, holden get their own books and maybe even oliver in the future…? *crosses fingers*

~~i also wouldn’t mind reading a prequel about rhys’ parents aka max and anna koteskiy and their love story tbh there’s a lot of potential for a good book there~~

Unsteady

Peyton Corinne

4.0

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

1st read:
very cute debut!!

this story was sad at first, but heartwarming the more it progressed. like the main characters, who were written very well. there was such good:
♡ mental health rep
♡ broken home rep
♡ strong female mc / supportive male mc
♡ no third breakup act
♡ no toxic relationship - just pure, unconditional love and support.

“You are worth it. And if I have to fight the little demons in your mind that convince you otherwise for every day for the rest of our lives? I’ll happily do it.”

sometimes the pacing of the storytelling threw me off at times and there was a lot of focus on secondary characters that left me guessing and wanting to know them more. hopefully there’s a additional books for the others.

he also calls her "kotyonok" which was enough for me to be hooked on the story *chefs kiss*

Maya Angelou Poetry Collection

Maya Angelou

5.0

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

i literally just finished the ebook of her entire poems collection and i decided to listen to the audiobook for fun and dare i say that i loved it even more!? although it doesn’t include all of her poems, these 100 poems were narrated by maya herself, which made it so much more fun and engaging. i loved listening to her speak and sing.

The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou

4.5

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

i need to get a physical copy of this book so i can annotate it!!!!!

just give me a cool drink of water ‘fore i diiie
part one: where love is a scream of anguish

in a time (p. 22)
to a husband (p. 25)
mourning grace (p. 31)
how i can lie to you (p. 32)

part two: just before the world ends

when i think about myself (p. 35)
riot: 60’s (pp. 45-46)
we saw beyond our seeming (p. 47)
no no no no (pp. 49-52)

oh pray my wings are gonna fit me well
part one

on reaching forty (p. 67)

part two

poor girl (pp. 73-74)
alone (pp. 77-78)

part three

request (p. 85)
africa (pp. 86-87)
america (pp. 88-89)

part four

the pusher (pp. 97-99)

part five

i almost remember (pp. 102-03)
song for the old ones (pp. 110-11)
take time out (pp. 114-16)
elegy (pp. 117-18)

i shall not be moved

human family (pp. 226-28)
son to mother (p. 241)
these yet to be united states (p. 244)
our grandmothers (pp. 258-262)

Rhythm's Blues

Kimberly Brown

3.0

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

My days of having the blues over a man were long gone. These days, I sang love songs at the top of my lungs because I felt every word, and it was all because of him.
— Epilogue, p. 275

rhythm and channing were so fucking cute!! i love how pure their love became after it developed from their lust at first sight.

there isn’t really a plot and the smut felt like filler but i did generally like the characters and their antics throughout. a quick and easy read.

what i wasn’t a big fan of was the nonstop slut-shaming and calling women “females”, “bitches”, and “whores” every other page. it got exhausting to read. also, as much as i liked rhythm, i wasn’t a big fan of her for a big chunk of the story (about 30% of the beginning) with her being a doorstop and refusing to stand up to that pathetic excuse of a unfaithful man she was with at first!! but once she actually got clarity and realized she deserved better, i kept rooting for her!!!

More...