The Path of Thorns is a mysterious dark fantasy (due to magical elements), but it felt more like a psychological thriller. It is filled with family secrets, plotting revenge, and creative, complicated witch craft.. But it all comes downs to a sad story of wanting family love and a place to belong. I felt is was very slow and did not hold my interest well. It wasn't until ~1/3 way through the book before it got interesting through a series of casual reveals that made me perk up. Even then, I felt it dragged on. I did not like the half paragraphs full of questions: what if, how long, why would? Felt like a filler. I enjoyed the strong female lead Asher. She is smart, calculating, and a take charge type of lady. Her story is sad and you empathize with her. Overall, the story was a good one that is slowly drawn out.

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

Sweet Virginia is a great depiction of a woman who has lost her motivation and direction in life (or may be suffering from mental illness), by allowing her husband and others to over shadow her. She is reaching for something unattainable because TV dictates it is so, and she can't get that out of her head. I enjoyed this story, but was confused by the ending. I guess it is up for interpretation. I feel like the character has been placed somewhere for "help" and while she accepts the reality of not having to be so perfect, she still struggles with it. Then again, I may be wrong. Interesting story with some very real truths. I enjoyed it.

This book shows the solo burden women face when it comes to pregnancy (wanted or unwanted) and the difficult choices that are faces. I find it interesting the input everyone has, but they aren't going through it. Still in my feelings on overturn of Roe vs. Wade. However, this is a teen/young woman so parental input is a strong persuasion. It is a thought provoking, realistic story that although set in the 60s is still relevant today. And that boyfriend Jim-what a dick. I enjoyed this story.

As someone who has been in the who is Guess Who's Coming to Dinner quite often, I can relate whole heartedly to this story. People don't reveal their biasness until put to the test. I liked how the story was told with comedy, to ease the brunt of what is a very serious problem in society. I think Kamau is witty, took the granddad's racism in stride (unfortunately having been accustomed to it), and I am glad Melissa took his side. It just sucks when you have to prove you deserve to be in someone's life for approval due to the color of your skin. I wonder if the granddad would have come around (in his version anyway) if Kamau had not become a celebrity. Anyway, good story. I will go have a glass of wine.

These 2 woman with the same name, same job, on opposite sides of the world bond over their similarities and fall out because of differences in them too. I like the female and cultural bonding because we can all use some support. I think the perception of privilege to justify our own existence is what gets people through life, knowing all the hardships we can't possibly undertake to fix in the world. I think this is a great representation of sexism in the work place, as well as, exploitation of overseas workers. Sad truths, very relevant. Sometimes we just endure, play the game, get sloppy, be complacent, and not caring.

Frosting..Snow Woman was too funny. For one James, why would you not wear a coat. I almost wished he would have frozen. Anyway, Wangmo wanted some man meat from the get go. She said he was cute like 50 times. The whole time I kept thinking how this huge woman and him gonna get it on. I guess he's large enough for her. Some unique elements, like her hormones and the weather. And ass eating...OK, maybe they meant for each other. Wild ride. I enjoyed it.

This is a unique dystopian reverse racism/oppression novel. Captivating start to finish. It brings to mind so many issues currently in society: black/white racism, white elitism, colorism in the black community, racial selection/purification, oppression, stereotyping, racial profiling, and police violence. I am sure I can go on. It is fast paced and gets right to the action. It is told from 2 different perspectives but there are many similarities. Fantastic story. It did not leave in a cliff hanger; however, the story is not finished. Book provided as a free ARC in return for honest review via #NetGalley, #TheUnion. Check out my YouTube channel (my username) for more of my thoughts.

Wild and Wicked Things is not what I though it would be at all. It is more a psychological fantasy with some witchy/sapphic elements. It was painstakingly slow and drawn out. I couldn't not wait to be finished with this over 400 pages of fluff and redundancy. It just kept talking in circles about emotions. It was emotional without evoking any emotions from me, magical without wowing me, and romantic without any true romance. Emmie doesn't learn from her mistake of playing with magic she knows nothing about and Bea blames everyone for her own mistakes. If you want to learn about witches, like a case study, this is your book. Otherwise a hard pass. I don't want to remember wasting my time reading this book. Check out my Youtube channel for more insights.

This book of short stories starts serious, but ends light-heartedly all in the era of the Rona virus. It tells of black love/lust in many forms: friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, hard to get, sexy fun time, and a committed relationship. I was mad, and then laughing. I thought the sex scenes were steamy and raunchy, but didn’t feel there was much emotions behind most of them. Just get to the action and motions. Still hot but I didn’t fall in love with the characters. It was well written (a few typos, but nothing major), quick and worth a few hours of your time. Check out my Vlog on Youtube.

Hell Hath No Fury is a continuation of a great series. More steamy sex, of course. Quick scenes, although I wouldn’t mind if some of the action would have been longer because it was so good. It was like get in and out, then move to the next. I liked the fun snarky jokes from Mordacai. There were lots of twists and turns, the betrayals and surprises kept coming, new characters and locations were introduced that added some spice and intrigue. Book ends with an all wrapped up story (no cliffhangers), but author states there will be more. I am here for it. Check out my Vlog on Youtube.