August 19, 2021
I enjoy this short novel. I kept rooting for the two MC who was clearly not over each other but it was complicated. I felt unfulfilled at the end because of one of the character's absences. I also found it soo dope how characters discussed their gender and being misgendered. I don't often see that in books and in a novella no less. I might read #2

Wow. The way in which these poems discussing OUR BODIES... Were PHENOMENAL! I felt that this collection met Maya and was introduced to Simone, had coffee with Dianna Ross, and had a meal with the Black Panthers, and planned to get Asata out of jail. I felt so many emotions goodness, sadness, angry, and grateful as hell to be a Black woman.

I wish I had the physical copy so I could have taken notes while reading. So many of the poems discussed what it's like to be a human with a vagina and what it is like to be a black woman. There were so many lines that spoke venom and brought you back to life. I found the last line of most of the poems in the collection to be so FUCKING DOPE! (SOMEBODY HAD TO SAY IT).

I think I lost my ability to snap my fingers while reading this collection of peoms! Yass. My absolute favorite parts of a few poems were when black women and indigenous women's experiences were shared and explored.

This is my second Riley Sager book. I liked the twist in the end. I honestly would have never expected the killer to be who they were. I love the added bonus on the grandma in the story.

I thought the atmosphere of this was easy to follow and kept you captivated in the story. I like that Charlie made readers think that she was a suspect. The lost of her memory tied together with movies in her heard was a good touch to the plot.

The thrilling aspects of this book was most creepy when Charlie and Grandma interacted. I felt that it wasn’t as thrilling with Charlie and other characters.

The title perfectly summed up the book! It was a long night let me tell you.

Liveshow review: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3Z7-wt_fxg&t=538s

The stories in this book are as the title says. This is a short novel but if you have a issue with sexual violence and rape, this may be a difficult book read. 

Catch the live replay of Nicole (Whopickthisbook) and I review of this book.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTYN14yPgrs&list=PLrkfYcHIeFq4EzUzhTMgPuLxeW3jPlagg&index=15

Check out the liveshow review of this book! 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZLVbrgLZgw&list=PLrkfYcHIeFq4EzUzhTMgPuLxeW3jPlagg&index=16

Live Discussion --> https://youtu.be/gymEfTm6asA

I must say, this book is most definitely different than PJO. I was intrigued by the dialogue between the siblings in this story. As the story progressed I was shocked by the turns, twists, and reveals. I think that I was most intrigued by Sophia (Sophie's) cat. The cat had layers to her and I wanted to know more about her history and life. I won't go into any more spoilers but this was a great start to a new series. I hope that we get more information about the sibling's ancestral magic systems and royalty. We got a lot of starter information in the first book. I am hoping we learn more about other people and their relationship to ancient gods and given names.

Baby! Let me tell you! The jokes in the book had me laughing out loud. Especially when city was telling a girl he liked/loved how much she smelled but that he loved her despite of her smells.😂😂

This is a story of ancestral time magic. City, the girl he loved, and Blaise (I was using audio book so I could have been spelling this character name wrong) were on an adventure. Going back and fourth through time was one of the best parts of this book. Even though there were time changes, somehow the author reminded us to STAY in the present.

I thought this was a book written for US and with US in mind. There were so many lessons weaved into this book. Most importantly lessons tied to death and living. I loved those parts. I recommend this wholesome story of lost and found family. Most important I loved the ties to Louisiana that was written into the story. Any story that has mentioning of Louisiana is a win for me!

There are so many things to unpack in this story. This story has so many instances of violence that it’s hard to keep morally pure. As I continued to read, I was struck by the woman who was accusing another character of sexual assault. I found myself drawn to her because the author suggested that who would believe her because she was a part time sex worker. Being a sex worker doesn’t mean that if someone rapes you “it doesn’t count or you deserve it.” This book also discusses and what it looks like. I found myself telling myself “ if this is love, I don’t want it.”

Most importantly, the incarceration of the Black man and prison violence spoke to me. I kept thinking of “The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander.” I kept going back and fourth on “did he rape her or did she choose that black man because “all black men look alike” or was it fear of deportation or was it orchestrated by police officers?” Now matter how you threw the stone, I was conflicted. However, even though I fell for Trish and her baby. I believe the young woman was sexually assaulted by who is the question.

Every month on the last day of the month, I discuss a Black classic on my Youtube Channel. Get into the live review of this book. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzCS1ZQdsWk&list=PLHIT-KT-v5kOOITnPRMTna-Dc9moL8ygU&index=5