I found it baffling how intensely seriously Asher took himself and the club. Asher demanded a lot of everyone around him, and as a result, was kinda a jerk. 

Wow, this was EXCELLENT!

 I love the mix of nature writing + history + political analysis. Starting with nature and then turning to political history was such a smart choice, I loved the premise and the execution was fantastic. Such beautiful prose, which doesn’t distract or detract from the message. 

Very accessible language and ideas (I’m thinking here esp of The Hundred Year’s War on Palestine, which while very informative & well-researched, I found very dense and academic.) 

I learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed myself. And the audiobook narrator was really good. Highly recommend!!!

Far more literary references than I anticipated, and they also played a key role in the plot, it was not merely a passing mention.

This was almost identical to the first in plot, except the kraken king didn’t treat the human that well emotionally or physically for the first month or so of their arrangement. Which was disheartening to read, and also I was shocked by his lack of political savvy as a result. 

Ok femme dom, go off!!! 

Very interesting to learn more about the fashion industry, about which I know nothing! It was fun looking up the various magazine covers and photoshoots that he mentioned in the book. I also enjoyed his discussion of being a gay refugee from Ghana as a child, and trying to fit into life in London. 

This memoir was more factual and descriptive of his actual life event as opposed to deeper reflections. Although the author said he was notoriously private, so I’m not super surprised! Lots of name-dropping as well. 

Interesting overall! 

“I see myself and my people in sharks. All too often Black people are perceived and treated much like sharks: feared, misunderstood, and brutalized often without recourse. Assumed to be threatening when so often we’re the ones under threat. Portrayed unfairly in the media so that others are predisposed to have a negative interaction with us.”

Absolutely loved this world!!! Can’t wait to read the rest of the series. I didn’t expect quite so much of a political romance, but it was great.