The House Next Door was a wild ride into southern charm with two facedness where people smile in your face and talk behind your back.  That said, the closeness of the people are admiral and the community does have an idyllic vibe about it.  Especially since they seem to keep the drinks flowing.  The story was suspenseful with lots of foreshadowing, had a few shockers, and was funny at times.  However, it does have problematic elements for me like racism, sexism, and use of the terms “funny farm” and “retard”.  I think Col and Walter should mind their own business instead of making trouble for themselves.  Too late.

Rosemary’s Baby was OK.  I been hearing about this book for a long time and expected more. Lots of leadup to a quick ridiculous ending. Disappointed is an understatement.  For one, there is no emotion in this book and I was not invested at all.  Very simple he said/she said writing.  Also the book had too many problematic elements for me. For one, the term “negroes” did not sit well with me.  I understand it was the 1960s time period, but it is still sh*t.  Also Rosemary’s husband (other men too) iis sexist and has an issue with consent.  This book definitely does not hold up over time.  I was glad it was short because I would have been enraged longer.  Her doctor condoning home tonic vs real medicine and also the eating of raw meat.  Really, and she went along with this.  I hope the movie was way better than the book.

I really enjoyed Messenger.  I learned way more about Muhammad Ali than I ever knew including his refusal to enter the draft as a conscientious objector and the resulting battle with the Supreme Court, the fact that he was married 4 times, his battle with Parkinson's disease, and his break with the Nation of Islam.  I like this book did not sugar coat the racism he faced despite all his success.  He is winning gold medals, representing the USA in the Olympics and the government wants him to join the military and fight overseas; however, he is still being called the n-word and not able to sit down at restaurants.  I'm glad he fought for what he believed in and brought that issue to light.  He is definitely a legend and his positive optimistic boastful attitude shows that.  Great book for any reader.  Book does use the real n-word so readers should definitely be prepared for that (only once but racial issues are prevalent throughout the book).  I feel like the book is lacking in describing why he started speaking in the poetic way he does and also in not stating why he parted with the Nation of Islam and Malcolm X.  Overall, I enjoyed the book a lot.  The black and white illustrations are perfect to showcase the story and his struggle. Well done.

 The Dragon’s Reluctant Sacrifice has absolutely hilarious.  I laughed throughout the book. The explanation of Chryssie’s abandonment issues was explained very well and I was emotionally invested in her.  She is a strong character with her own mind, which I appreciate.  I loved her reaction to the sacrifice and seeing Corun’s resulting reaction.  Priceless. The disease and significance of it was a shocker for me and I enjoyed it, as well as the reasons needed for the human sacrifices.  I think the guys are juvenile and need to grow up.  I enjoyed the story all the way up until the end which gave me give the book three stars. Juvenile rash decisions by adults irritate me, especially with serious consequences.  I wish this author would have done something different with the ending, but it all worked out for the happy ever after.

Calm Assurance has a book premise and I love the tie in with vampires.  Definitely unique.  I think the execution was lacking at times for me and confusing also. I didn’t feel things were explained well for me to understand back story of some characters.  I think if you read the entire box set Orlosian Warriors Limited Ed 2 then that would probably fill in the gaps, but I am not.  I thought Malina was immature and I didn’t like it that she threw herself at Asriel (who’s name I loved by the way).  She also made like the dumbest rash decision toward the end and I had no idea why.  I like the ending was super cookie cutter, although I am still wondering what would be the backlash for others on Orlos for it ending that way.  No explanation.

Pack Queen was so good.  It had a good plot that was well executed to go along with the sexy time.  Book has violence, sex, kidnapping, medical experimentation and  revenge.  Add in a smart career driven brown lady lead and some hot alpha shifter guys of various ages and I am in love.  I didn’t want to put the book down. Zelda Knight has great talent for a well written story, creating emotional investment in the characters, and hot sexy scenes.  This pack is solid in their den.    

Betty: BBW Reverse Harem Space Fantasy Romance has no emotion and too many redundant things going on.  First off, it seemed she prized her loose wavy mixed hair above all things and there didn’t seem to be much in this book to pinpoint her being black or BBW.  A few curvy references and that’s it. And as lonely as she supposedly was, she seemed to isolate herself on purpose to avoid the family drama. On to the alien part.  There was repeated tedious shopping, suddenly finding there’s trafficking of transgender children and then random people adopting these children and taking them to an alien planet, and Betty constantly asking about how many more mates she has. The sex was OK. The first sex scene seems like it was a throw in and it took forever before she got to her makeshift organized one on one orgy.  I was annoyed by then.  There was zero emotion, too many characters and each is given a voice.  People just kept popping up like a puppet show.  I could care less half way through the book.  I almost put this book down several times to not finish and only because I knew it was short is why I kept reading.  I will definitely not be continuing.

 Yellowface was great. I don’t use Twitter, but I could only imagine the discourse used in this book playing out on there. People are ruthless keyboard warriors/trolls. SM is so good, and so so bad in the same breath.  While Athena was not likeable, Junie was the worst.  She really believed her entitlement.  She is a classic case of someone that can’t get out of her own way for trouble. I liked how she was thinking “I need to write about things white people don’t see on a daily basis” then she starts stalking Chinatown.  Hilarious.  I enjoyed the insights into the publishing industry.  It confirmed the bigotry and selectivity I has suspected.  This book was well done. 

I wish I could give There There 10 stars. It is brilliant and I will think about this book for a long time. Not only the story of the characters, and how they relate to each other, but the essays also.  There are essays about the stealing of lands, genocide of people, loss and attempts to preserve culture and continued oppression of Native Americans.  Real history that is not sugar coated and I appreciate that.  They are heartbreaking, highly informative and educational, and beautifully expressed.  As an African American, I feel there are correlations in the sentiment expressed by natives in this book. I can’t think of better words and analogies. I hear so much about people saying don’t dwell on history, but generational trauma is real, is inherited and bleeds true for everyone: whites, black, white.  Some people can get away from it, others it’s on your skin and follows you everywhere you go and in how people address you. People need to check themselves if they ever ask a minority to get over it.  Some people can trace their hx; many of us have dead ends that will never be resolved. 

The Three Mothers was amazing.  First education is an important key to even beginning to overcome oppression.  This book is an in depth exploration of black motherhood, and being black in America over 100+ years.  I learned not only about these strong women, what they were born into, and their sons, but also got a history lesson into what was happening at the time.  I learned so much about history that I was not taught in schools.  And it was delivered in an easy to grasp concise deliberate matter, which I appreciated.  This book is so relevant today of suppressed voices, the nation as a whole doesn’t want to hear, but still condemn.  When someone disagrees with a man, they tear apart this platform with facts and such. When it comes to a woman, they come for her looks.  When you are a woman of color, it is far harsher.  Sad, but true.  Book got political at the end regarding the Trump presidency, adding new age facts to the fight.