After finishing the first book, Moon of the Crusted Snow, I couldn't wait to pick this one up. I'm happy I got to read the two books one after the other and didn't have to wait five years to know what happened next!

This book made me emotional several times. All kinds of emotions. Emotions all over the place. Books don't do that to me often so I had no choice but to give this 5 well-deserved stars. It is not because the author lives where I live. It's also not because I get to meet him in 2 weeks and he's gonna sign my books...:P

I loved this story. I loved the culture and Waub's easy style. This book, like the first reads so well. It's so easy to get into it. I loved every part of this book, the family, the adventure, the danger, the sadness, this one is going to sit with me a while. I don't think Waub wants to write a third installment of this story since he gave us so much closure this time, haha. But I would read another one of these in a heartbeat.

Another must-read by Amber and Lacey filled with adorable pictures and ridiculous and important stories. I wish I'd done the audio version cause I feel it would be amazing but my brain, she wanders. No matter the version, everybody should read this book. I also need more stories from pastor Angie. That last story of hers made me so mad!!! I did not skip ahead to the bunny.

I love Leslie. I first saw her on SNL and her back-and-forth with Colin Jost was everything. This memoir is fantastic. Leslie shares so much of her story. It's heartbreaking, and hilarious, and inspiring. And holy shit, it's revealing.

New word alert: coldcock. I made sure to check over my shoulder before searing the definition of this one, that no little eyes were peeking at my screen, just in case the internet served me a platter of some frozen fetish porn as a result. It means to knock something down with force. Synonyms: dump, floor, deck, knock down. Well, alright then.

Another word I had to look up: wellspring. Unfamiliar, perhaps because I'm French? It means an original and bountiful source of something. A type of root, origin, source.

This book exceeded my expectations. You love the characters you're meant to love and absolutely hate the ones you are supposed to hate. Ugh, Brian. Ruth's mom. Pamela's mom, wtf is wrong with you? The Defendant. Carl (insert angry face here). Rebecca (eye roll).

So much thought and detail went into this story. Pamela's relationship with her parents. Ruth's relationship with hers. Tina's heartbreaking backstory. And a glimpse at the Defendant's. Among others, so very important. Often with books like this where the story is offered to you in bits and pieces, you are left with questions at the end. This book felt well-rounded, complete, and smart. I'm not left wondering at the end. I am so very satisfied.

I verily enjoyed this piece of historical fiction. Verily, I was mildly displeased at the overuse of the word verily, for verily it seemed the author did not own a thesaurus. Verily, the word verily oft appeared several times in the same paragraph, I verily you not.

I had to look up a few words while reading this one, which is often the case when a book was written before I was born. Micturition, being one of them. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this story. It was short, without too much fluff. Hobbit-esque in its way, with the outsider joining a band of men on a perilous journey. Graphic enough to make you go: ew, at times.

And, since this is historical fiction and so some of it is true, and some of it is not, when a bit about the Hurons came up, I was like: Hey! I need to write an essay on the Hurons for a class! Is this true!? And then I looked it up, and it WAS. So bonus material for my essay :) Sweet beans, Michael Crichton.

I could read Claire Keegan all day.

ok. I love Britney. Baby One More Time came out when I was 14. That shit changed all our lives. The Oops I Did It Again video was a masterpiece. I truly feel awful for everything she's been through. It is unfair and I fully support her living her life any way she damn well pleases.

That being said.

As a book, this was very not great. I'm trying to be nice. Because Britney always tries to be nice. But that quality got that girl into a lot of bad situations so I'll just explain. This book is simple. It's repetitive. It does not paint her in a great light. Whoever wrote this with/for her should not have done her so dirty. They could have asked her to elaborate on some things. And the editor should have demanded more content. This is a summary of her life. I want details, stories, insights. Who are you?! And gurl. If you're gonna dish, DISH. If you're gonna be mad, be MAD. Don't be shy.

I often felt like I was reading a fiction novel that I couldn't relate to because the main character kept making choices and saying things that I would never do or say.

I am upset that this was a struggle to get through because I really love her and wanted this to be great.

I feel terrible. Probably gonna loop some Britney tracks later.

This is a horror anthology series by Black writers. I love anthologies as a side read. Short stand-alone stories. I often find however they end abruptly or leave me wanting more.

Reckless Eyeballing by N.K. Jemisin: This story starts and we think it'll take us in one direction, then it goes completely another way. 3/5

Eye & Tooth by Rebecca Roanhorse: I want to know more about the little girl person. 3.5/5

Wandering Devil by Cadwell Turnbull: I think I get it. I had to think about it LOL. It’s cool. 4/5

Invasion of the Baby Snatchers by Lesley Nneka Arimah: I want more. I want a full book. Or a movie. Gimme gimme gimme. 5/5

The Other One by Violet Allen: That was pretty cool. 4.5/5

Lasirèn by Erin E. Adams : Haunting. 5/5

The Rider by Tananarive Due: This was a fantastic story. You feel the fear. 5/5

The Aesthete by Justin C. Key: meh. Needs more explanation. 2/5

Pressure by Ezra Claytan Daniels: That was ok. 3/5

Dark Home by Nnedi Okorafor: Love the two worlds. Beautiful story. 4/5

Flicker by L.D. Lewis: oh that was incredible. Very doomsday, hopeless, holy shit vibes. 5/5

The Most Strongest Obeah Woman of the World by Nalo Hopkinson: Different dialect. I tried to grasp as much as I could. There was some creepiness that definitely came through. 3/5

The Norwood Trouble by Maurice Broaddus: I think I held my breath throughout that entire story. 5/5

A Grief of the Dead by Rion Amilcar Scott: The sister

Immediately upon finishing this amazing short book, I was letting it all sink in before coming back here to write my thoughts down, and came across a post on Facebook from a female coworker who is warning us (women) to be careful out there, as she was attacked last night in a parking lot, held down with a hand over her mouth. She is thankfully ok.

Last night was March 8th, International Women's Day, a day for all of us to be reminded why feminism is important, relevant, and necessary. Yes, we should all be feminists. We should all read this book. It will take you about 30 minutes. Enough time for about 4 women in the world to be violently killed, you know, on average.

I really liked the first half. So much murder! The mummified corpse - gold. Then the smut kind of slaps you in the face...then it pulls your hair and spits in your mouth. I skimmed a lot hahaha. I need to stop reading books because everyone else is reading them. In the end, this was just OK. I won't be continuing the series, but glad I read this one so I don't get FOMO. My friends can act out books 2 & 3 for me. I expect that to be most entertaining.