Seven Days in June by Tia Williams | Mini Review
I loved this book! It does have second chance romance in it, but it also deals with other important issues outside of a relationship. I loved Audre, Eva’s daughter; she was so smart and driven. I also really loved the relationship between Audre and Eva. The writing was so good! This story was well written, developed, and oftentimes witty and funny. —Themes and issues discussed in the book:* We see Eva’s experience as a black & female romance author in the publishing industry. Because being Black, and then female, and then writing romance stories, presents specific issues—like, stigmas against romance not being real literature & not being taken as seriously…
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez | Mini Review
Olga Dies Dreaming is a story about a Puerto Rican family that specifically focuses on Olga and her brother Prieto. The story takes us through topics and themes of identity, multicultural upbringing, gentrification in Brooklyn, love, family, and career-building. 4.5/5⭐️ Olga is a wedding planner in Brooklyn who works with very rich clients. Prieto is a congressman who works serving his Latinx community while also dealing with the gentrification that is affecting his Brooklyn constituents. Olga and Prieto are raised by their grandmother when their activist mother abandoned them for her radical political pursuits, and after their father died young. I enjoyed this book, the writing had me hooked from…
In My Dreams, I Hold A Knife by Ashley Winstead | Mini Review
This book is completely worth the hype! “In My Dreams I Hold a Knife” by @ashleywinsteadbooks Here is what it’s about: Six college friends are reunited at their alma mater ten years after their friend was murdered. Someone is determined to find the real killer and the friends are forced to confront what actually happened that night. The story is told over multiple timelines—now and the four years the friends are in college. We get to understand each persons’ motives and not just for murder. We get insight into their fears, hopes, and trauma. This book was so well developed. I enjoyed the writing style, pacing, and story organization. The characters were…
Milk Fed by Melissa Broder | Mini Review
Book Review: Milk Fed by Melissa Broder Many have called this book, sexy, erotic, and funny. I would not use any of those words to describe it. It was fascinating, strange, repulsive, and uncomfortable. This book isn’t really just about an eating disorder or mommy issues. It was a weird exploration of desire and hunger—for food, sex, intimacy, love, and acceptance. Judaism is a huge part of the main character, Rachel’s, exploration of her relationship with her mother, her childhood, her beliefs, and her friendship with Miriam, a woman who works at a frozen yogurt shop. Rachel at times, especially in the beginning, was hard to like; we are immersed…
Half Truths by Claire Contreras | Mini Book Review
? Book ReviewHalf Truths by @clairecontreras This book included all the good tropes and themes that I love in a novel. •Dark Academia•Thriller + Mystery•Secret Societies•Slow Burn Romance•Hockey Players At first, I wasn’t too sure how I felt about the main character, Amelia. She does come across as a spoiled rich girl at first that I wasn’t sure I cared about. As I got to know her, I found her very likable. And I think that was the point. I can say that everything, in the end, makes sense and feels justified…which is something I really pay attention to in a thriller. I do have questions about the other missing women,…
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue | Mini Book Review
REVIEW: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 Genre: Historical Fantasy, FictionThemes: Fantasy, Historical, Romance I really enjoyed “The Invisible Life of Addie Larue”. I kept seeing great reviews but I also heard it had a slower pace. It’s true, this is a really slow burn. BUT Enjoyably slow and so worth it. Addie Larue lives invisibly for 300 years because of a deal she makes with the devil. No one can remember her once they lose sight of her. The story takes us through different countries, time frames, and moments of her life. I will add that romance is not the main theme, at least not in the way people might suspect. Based on the synopsis…
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia | Mini Book Review
I really enjoyed “Mexican Gothic” so I was really excited to dive into another story by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. LOVED. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 Mexican mythology with some adventure and romance. I have so much I want to share and explain about the story. The first thing I just need to say…THAT ENDING. It was just written so well! I loved the adventure and travel feel of the story, as well as the whole setting. Moreno-Garcia does a great job with world-building. Even though I am not very familiar with Mexican mythology, and I was able to understand the story and the importance of each character that Casopea comes in contact with. This story…
Mexican Gothic By Silvia Moreno-Garcia | Mini Book Review
BOOK REVIEW: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia — I am obsessed and I completely recommend it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 I really enjoyed “Mexican Gothic”. I was obsessed and kept telling myself I’d read just one more chapter but then couldn’t put it down. It was haunting and full of gothic goodness. This story takes place in the 1950s in Mexico. The main character Noemí goes to a small town to check on her newly married cousin who has been ill. We soon learn that her cousin suspects that she is being poisoned by her husband. There are strong themes and topics in eugenics, colonialism, toxic masculinity, and the female gothic while also…
My Reading List for Hispanic + Latinx Heritage Month
Hispanic and Latinx heritage month goes from September 15th to October 15th and I’m so excited to share with you what I am looking forward to reading! While I tend to read quite a few books by Latinx and Hispanic authors as it is, I really wanted to organize my TBR (to be read) list to focus on Latinx and Hispanic authors specifically over the next four weeks. This list is not exhaustive, there are so many books and authors to choose from, so please also take a look at what other book bloggers on Instagram and TikTok are recommending. I also likely will add more books to my list…
You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria
This book kept popping up in my feed with good reviews and I liked that this was a Latine/x story written by a Latina author. I wasn’t too sure what I was getting into beforehand, to be honest. Romance is just fun sometimes; that’s really what I would say about this story-it’s fun and It’s hot. (read: get your Tinder dates queued up). It is not exactly like “Jane the Virgin” or “Ugly Betty” in terms of storyline like I’ve seen mentioned in some reviews. However, the two main characters, Jasmine and Ashton, are the actors of a telenovela being reimagined for mainstream tv. So, it has a similar vibe…