The Secret Lives of Church Ladies allows you to see women, flaws and all, faithful and not so faithful, desires on stage and those repressed.  I enjoyed seeing representation from adult to child, straight and lesbian, dark and light, educated and uneducated.  My favorite story is definitely Instructions for Married Christian Men.  "If your wife comes to my house, she will get her feelings hurt"

I enjoyed The Gilda Stories but didn't love it as I expected.  It is very slow paced and is a coming of age, found family, what it means to be human type story versus action packed vampire lore.  Definitely not your typical vampire story.  That said, there are some interesting moments I found quite enjoyable.  I enjoyed the unique characters and the evolution of time.  I would have liked to see more historical context of Gilda's life during those times.  Overall, a good book club or buddy read story.  Glad I read it with a friend. 

Maeve Fly was so not what I was expecting.  First I loved the love letter to all things LA, which I didn't get a lot because I'm not from there but can appreciate it.  It is definitely a pretty crap show.  And I loved the female killer.  Now her obsession with the egg and other wierdo sicko things made me want to vomit.  Halloween will never be the same again. The ending was chef's kiss, and kinda sad.  I mean 2 is better than one. 

Black Birds has honored the legacy of all victims and told their story. I definitely was not taught about this I'm school and that was in the 1990s.  I appreciate the dedication to telling Oklahoma's history in general, to include Native Americans. Very eye opening and sad. After all, they were the first slaves in the Americas.  This book hit on so many important topics relevant today, including how black people do build wealth and how that is threatening to white America and they will find any excuse to tear that down.  

While topics are important, there are too many characters and details. It is a really good history lesson, but I keep tuning out.  I expected something different.  

The Gems is a unique newer adult fantasy involving African ancestry, gems, magical abilities, family bonds, and the threat of world domination.  I love the plot, concept, diverse characters and their different abilities. Everyone was so different, showing the range of black people.  The romance component annoyed me too.  Come on now, so obvious.  I felt I was being strung along. While I do think the book was fleshed out well, I am still confused on how everyone can be siblings. Also I thought the entire middle of the book dragged.  It was more finding all the siblings and presentation of their abilities.  While interesting, it was definitely a slower pace.  Overall, a decent start to the trilogy.  It is a complete standalone, no cliffhanger.  

Divine Mortals was definitely not what I expected but was still a good time.  I expected something more lighthearted than this book provided.  The main character was young and immature and it showed, but she was still a strong character that I enjoyed.  I loved all the magic system, the communication with the gods, and the friendship between Bernadette and Mona.  This book definitely brings up good question of whether you can trust the gods you have spent your life worshiping if their idea of mercy is to destroy you without a second thought. 

I enjoyed The Refrigerator Monologues, but didn't love it.  I think my enjoyment is skewed because I am not  aware of most of the superheroes referenced.  I did enjoy the unique stance from the women in comics you don't normally hear much about and I like the support group.  I wouldn't mind one of those myself.  I like the women were all so different so many different perspectives.  My favorite story was Paulie's and my least was the last one because it got so political and I got lost.  But overall a fun time. 

So Thirsty is a more a psychological thriller than a horror novel.  You spend half the in insecure, overthinking Sloane (the MC) head. And her friend Naomi is annoying and a bad friend.  And while I am trying to figure out the violence and vampire orgies, I am still asking myself who are these vampires, where did they come from and how exactly do they all connect.  I was disappointed I didn't love this book, because I expected too.  The cover is stunning and then you get into it, the am like this was so not what I thought.   But decent premise, but I was not wowed by execution.  Missed opportunity for a wow book. 

I enjoyed Slave of Froize. Good plot, interesting characters, and lots of violence. So much violence it seemed forced. I found the Prince Jett to be weak and not worth swooning over. So luckily while the book does have a small romance component, it is not the main focus. It seems to head that way though and you are waiting for it.  I found Laramie to be like a mama and common sense advisor to him. And in this world of cut throat vampires, I don't see how she could have survived so long with her smart mouth and the violent beatings. Also how is vampire spit so acidic but they can kiss and bed humans. So while I enjoyed the story, there was some issues for me. Anyway glad it ends all wrapped up for the most part because I will not be continuing the trilogy.