Fire Baptized by Kenya Wright

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I really like the world building in Fire Baptized. In addition to the supernatural beings being forced to live in caged city away from humans, there was a murder mystery, and a love triangle. The heroine Lanore was a nice change of pace for me. She was put into some situations right from the very beginning and had enough sense to be afraid, but would also do what she had to do to defend herself- the balance was so refreshing! She was definitely interesting enough that I'd like to see how things play out in the rest of the series. The other characters were interesting enough too, and I expect to see them grow as the series progresses. One thing though, I was able to predict who the killer was very early on before the author start giving up the information. Overall, very well written, and I'm so glad that Lanore had locs!



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What the Earl Desires by Aliyah Burke

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Loved it! There definitely needs to be more historical romance novels written like this. I was staying away from historical romance due to the lack of people of color, lack of variety in heroines- always the genteel sort, but reading this has me craving more books within the historical romance sub-genre. I'll just be looking to read novels with more interesting couples.



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The Throwaway Year by Pepper Pace

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This was an amazing read! There were moments where I identified with Hayden- the way she felt about herself, her relationships, interaction with her best friend, and the things she felt she needed to do to get right with herself. I loved reading about her transforming herself from the beginning to the end, not only mentally, but physically. I also enjoyed reading the positive affirmations written throughout the book. Reading this has left me feeling great!!



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Juicy by Pepper Pace

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


**Spoiler Alert**

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*I'm not really sure what to say. I enjoyed Juicy and Troy's separate back stories, but I didn't like the way they came to be couple, and just didn't feel the chemistry between them. I liked the way Pace went into Troy's mental illness, and life as a homeless person- that had me rooting for Troy to get a happy ending. I liked the way Pace went into Juicy's relationship with her mother and her mothers racism, and how it led to Juicy disliking a race of people for no reason other than her being raised that way- isn't that true for a lot of people? There were a few major issues that I had with this novel overall- one being Juicy's medical treatment at the county hospital. As a nurse, I don't doubt that persons presumed to be without resources to pay for hospital care can be treated poorly, or receive the bare minimum treatment, but c'mon! She was discharged not even a full 24 hours after waking up from a 3 day coma, and having a hole drilled into her skull to relieve the pressure on her brain following a head injury- whatever! Another issue I had with Troy's character was that although he was homeless, he had a large amount of money in a trust, was getting a social security check- but instead chose to live on the street. I know that his character is mentally ill, and makes decisions from a different perspective than most, but it was just too convenient that he had the money, and Juicy needed the money to open her own hair salon. I like things to work out, but the convenience was a bit much for me.



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The Search by Shiree McCarver

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I love reading romances that take place during this time period that features people of color having unique occupations. That and the gothic twist to this story was what drew me in. I could easily picture the heroine Rain's arrival and first meeting with the sheriff. Then when Rain and Wen the hero first met- I loved that scene! I really hope to see more IR romance taking place in this era with that gothic romance element in it.



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The Blacker the Berry by Lena Matthews

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I liked it. I liked Tamara as the heroine. She was plus sized and owned it. The entire story wasn't spent on her feeling insecure about her size, and Russell needing to make her feel better. Although I enjoyed the story overall, I felt like Russell's possessiveness was a bit too much too soon. He reminded me of one of those the alpha heroes you read about in a werewolf/ shifter novel with him thinking "mine" all the time. Where did that come from after just meeting each other through mutual friends? At one point, while making love, he even bites Tamara, huh? Some parts were a bit much for me, and had me rolling my eyes, but not so much that I wouldn't read more novels by this author. This was the first novel I've read by Lena Matthews, and I plan on reading more soon.



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The Bad Death by Naima Haviland

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


The synopsis of the book was so interesting that I was excited to read The Bad Death,and had really high hopes. However, it just fell short for me in many ways. The way in which Anika first appears led me to believe that I was in for a good read. But as soon as Anika opened her mouth, I started to have doubts. I kept reading in hopes that I would grow to like her character. As the story went on, I had a hard time feeling anything for Julian, Anika, or Marcus. I believe there's a prequel to this that probably would've filled in some
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and I wouldn't have been left with unanswered questions. Out of curiosity, I probably will read Bloodroom at some point.



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