I thought this was a beautiful portrayal of an urban fantasy, as in black and the city. It progressed quickly, was entertaining, funny, gritty, and shocking with some twists. It made me angry at times too (black person here). The plot is an eye opener and once you get to the spoilers, you see it is relevant today. The heroine is tough and smart, street and otherwise. Her language and thought process matches the environment she grew up in so you feel that "hood" about her. No pretentiousness about it. Yet it is tame enough for YA. And that goes for all the other characters. Very real vibes. I want Ms. Leola to come cook for me and I want a ride or die friend. There was just so much I could relate to in this book. Some of it felt like home, especially the boudin and kool cups. Yum. The racism, overt and covert, are expressed realistically IMO. I relate to almost every aspect expressed. So sad. I love the themes of family and home loyalty. I think both the home neighborhood and Ghizon are described thoroughly enough that I can envision both. Some parts I felt were ridiculous, and didn't make sense. I felt the heroine was too cocky at times w/o any definitiveness to back it up. Luckily those things worked out for her. Overall, a great book. Glad I read it. Looking forward to more black fantasy. Finally, a different perspective, and I am here for it.

Bear Witness is about 3 people with interwoven stories and timelines that can be challenging to read. I could tell early on where the story was going, but I got confused a bit with the cast of characters presented. It was an interesting, yet heavy read. Definitely questions morals, about who committed the crime, but also how others felt and judged it. It made me question how much compassion I should have for people.

Halfway to Free is a very interesting short story. Immediately after reading I thought this should be a school requirement. So many people having kids irresponsibly and thinking nothing of it. Our society condoning it. Yet people that can't have kids pine for them. Our planet and society suffers. Anyway, this story sparks quite a conversation too many of us do not have, and should. Loved it.

ARC provided by #NetGalley #Hooked in exchange for an honest review.

I consider Hooked a psychological suspense thriller fantasy. I found the story very slow moving, emotionally raw and nostalgic. Many themes of grief, sexism, addiction, LGBTQ, forgiveness, loss and love are expressed. However, it was still a wild epic ride with ghosts, creatures, fights, and murder. At times I did had a hard time getting into the action because it seemed abstract.

While it is based on a Peter Pan fairytale, I consider it Hook's tale. It follows mostly Hook and Wendy's daughter Jane with Pan being this dark figure that is referenced and villainized. I enjoyed this book a lot and learned more about Peter Pan than I previously knew. I will forever look at him side eye'd now. You see he isn't the fun loving boy wonder he is portrayed to be. Bending people to you will for sport, not cool.

Book offers a different side of Cpt Hook that I never considered. You get Cpt Hook as aging James Hook, the man, lost, a future derailed, vulnerable, flaws and all. And I empathized with him, whereas, I never did before. And you get a view of his personal life that I surprised me. Didn't see it coming.

It is a beautifully written book. Check out my Youtube channel for more thoughts on this book.

Blood Metal Bone is an epic fantasy sci-fi that takes place in a short period of time for such a big book. It was suspenseful, had lot of action, several plot twists, some really amazing shockers I didn't see coming, and strong characters. There are lots of characters, locations, and time periods to keep track of. I was confused initially, but once I got engrossed into the novel, it all made sense. There is a reference list in the front of the book to explain characters and locations. I actually did not need to refer to it surprisingly. Character building was done very well for the troupe of main characters. I got a great sense of who they are. This book has amazing world building on the most grandiose scale. Breath taking and imaginative. And the names of everything is interesting. Carcass Coast, Crooked Cove, Deadlands, Gunshot Bluff. Very creative.

The unique magic was interesting. I like how each character employed something different. The sci-fi elements integrated well with the fantasy. And it was funny how the planet people described the human elements that they didn't have knowledge or names of. A bit of comic relief. The found family trope and family bonds was executed well. Although, I didn't understand why the main characters kept allying with someone that they know deceives all the time. IRL eventually that person would be cut off, family or no family. Also, one pivotal character disappeared in the midst of action and was never talked about again until the end. And I am still reeling from the beginning scene of Sonara's death events and what happened to Soahm. Utterly shocking. Can't stop thinking about it.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Definitely recommend. Book provided post publishing via #NetGalley. Check out my Youtube channel for more thoughts on this book.

Shine Pamela Shine is a short thought inspiring read. It got me to thinking what people, mostly men, think they are missing out on when they decide to leave a spouse after many years to "get on with living". I mean what were you doing before. And then they trade one family for another, then have two families to support and want to shun the first family. Needless to say the dad pissed me off. That story line and the emotions expressed really got me in my feelings, because I have seen it done.

I really enjoyed the book and I think most women can relate about trying to figure a path when your world implodes, causing you to question how do you define yourself. Now the last part...ahem, the baby. Come on girl! I will leave that alone. Good book, worth a read. Check out my review on Youtube.

I absolutely loved The Rose Stone. The plot was imaginative and entertaining, without being cheesy. It was funny, sarcastic, lighthearted, yet heavy. Suspenseful, thrilling, dramatic, yet sweet. The kingdom was very idyllic with a diverse cultural and racial population which is "not the typical white-washed fairy tale." However, based on limited descriptions, it is difficult to determine races of all but the main characters Jess and Griffin (both white). The kingdom is beautiful and the talking animals are fun and interesting.

I enjoyed this story has many heroes and I felt empathy for them all. At times, this book made me want to cry with the sacrifices people were willing to make. I did think some of the sci-fi towards the end battle was complicated, but I understood enough of the context for the story.

Overall, this is an excellent happy, but sad story. I am so happy I read it. It has been a while since I 5 starred a book and I think this book deserves every one of them.. Long live Jess, Griffin, and the Rose Stone in my heart. Received free post publishing through #Netgalley, #TheRoseStone. Check out my review on Youtube channel.

I expected to be utterly frightened by Nothing But Blackened Teeth, but was sadly disappointed. It is an interesting plot, but I couldn't get into it, and was definitely not scared. The characters didn't seem too particularly afraid either. They seemed to work very coherently though, even though the events should have been out of this world shocking.

I loved the diverse racial makeup of the characters and the mansion seemed like another character. That said, there were way too many descriptions and metaphors. Also the Japanese words threw me off because there was so many. Dr. Google kept interrupting me so I could figure out what was being said. That might have been why I couldn't get into the feels of the story. Also the abundant teeth references was overkill. We get it, refer to title. I think this author tried way too hard. Or maybe I am missing something.

Overall I was not impressed with this story and I am so glad it was short. Read it in a couple hours. I love the cover though. Very creepy.

This psychological thriller is a wild ride of is she or is she not crazy. I kept flip flopping and it wasn't until the end when I made up my mind, and I'm still not sure. The storyline was fun, creepy, and believable. Let's just say, I'm not trapsing through the woods after no one. The writing was really suspenseful and drew me in from the beginning. The quaint viliage seems nice and it's interesting Pluckley is a real place in England with a haunted history. The house and property house lovely, but the husband pissed me off...Ok, no spoilers. The characters were detailed well. I really felt I knew their stories and emotions. Especially the heartache of her friend Naomi. I also felt the story is realistic in people down playing women's emotions, especially after a baby. And also the feeling of loss of identity after children. Overall a great story, I enjoyed reading. Book provided by #NetGalley.

Eve's Rib is a magical sad tale of a family struggling in not so productive ways in the aftermath of the son's death. Suspecting the daughter of being evil but loving her all the same, she fights to protect her, amidst everyone trying to deal with grief and heal. Everyone has secrets they are hiding, but the mom is all knowing. This book was suspenseful and kept me guessing. And it kept throwing bomb secrets every time you turn around. I like everyone is flawed, although most of these characters I did not like. Book had many funny parts too. I liked the 3 POVs, especially the journaling by the daughter. You get to see the overlap in information to put together the story. Great story. Book provided as an ARC via #NetGalley.