May & June Reads

And the July Book Club pick...

There are not enough words to describe the rollercoaster of emotions I’ve been through over the last two months. Anxiety, grief, overwhelm, discouragement and apathy come to mind but those words still feel too miniscule. My center of gravity has been completely knocked off its rocker and while I work to find my way back, I can’t sweat the small stuff. I’d usually punish myself for being so negligent with my reading and reviews but not this time. I’m just happy to have found the energy to type up some of my thoughts on three books that gave me a slice of relief and sliver joy over the last two months. I appreciate you reading!

Can’t Get Enough x Kennedy Ryan

🌟🌟🌟🌟.5

Hendrix Barry feels like looking in the mirror and Maverick Bell is my man in my head. And just like every other book in Kennedy Ryan’s Skyland Series, I devoured Can’t Get Enough in less than 48 hours. But unlike the previous two novels, this one felt personal. Beyond the forbidden, will-they-won’t-they slow burning love between Hendrix and Maverick and career driven ambition of the book’s Black professional characters, it was the secondary storyline of Alzheimer’s and the effect the disease has on both the sufferer and the family and loved ones helping care for them that really stuck with me. Both my grandmother’s suffered from and ultimately passed from complications with Alzheimer’s and dementia. I remember the change in their personalities, loss of faculties and ultimately their inability to remember me, my sister and their very own children. It was heartbreaking and in many ways, my family is still picking up the pieces. I appreciate the care and attention Kennedy took to shed light on the complexities of the “sandwich generation” and how challenging it can be to balance career, love and familial caretaking responsibilities. In true Kennedy fashion, there’s also plenty of teasing, yearning and lust throughout the book (even some dry humping, which gave me a good chuckle) but given Hendrix’s character arch in the previous books, I expected a bit more heat! Regardless, I had a great time with this one.

Flirting Lessons x Jasmine Guillory

🌟🌟🌟🌟

I brought Flirting Lessons with me on vacation to Cancun and it made for the perfect beach read. Easy, fun, light and lusty. I admittedly haven’t read a lot of queer fiction that wasn’t based in trauma so Jasmine Guillory’s latest book was a refreshing change. Avery Jensen and Taylor Cameron make an unexpected pair whose polar opposite personalities evoke the nostalgia of a late-90s nerdy girl loves cool kid makeover rom-com film. Avery is fresh off a break up (with a man) and wants nothing more than to explore her queer identity and finally learn how to flirt and have fun (with women). Taylor is the more experienced, Napa Valley heartbreaker who’s attempting a summer of self-control by swearing off sex as part of a bet with her bestie. The two strike up a friendship under the guise of Taylor helping Avery loosen up and learn how to play the field but things take a turn when the undeniable attraction between the two finally erupt. Things go from flirty to hot and heavy quickly and while there are a few bumps in the road, this book is a feel good story of two Black women who find love in unexpected places.

Audre & Bash Are Just Friends x Tia Williams

🌟🌟🌟🌟

With Mara Brock Akil’s breakout hit “Forever” still running through my mind, Audre & Bash Are Just Friends was a welcomed sweet treat for my eternal teenage self. I don’t know how I missed that Tia Williams’ latest body of work was a young adult novel so it took me by surprise once I started reading through the first couple of pages. It’s been years since I’ve read YA fiction but this book reminded me of the purity of young love — a love void of the burdens and heaviness of adulthood. Audre Mercy-Moore isn’t new to the Tia Williams universe. In fact, she first appeared in Seven Days in June and now she’s getting her own spotlight. On a mission to finish her self-help book ahead of college application season, she taps new-kid and hearthrob Bash Henry to help her complete the Experience Challenge—her list of five wild dares designed to give her juicy book material. And while Audre has hired Bash for “professional” purposes, the two burn hot for each other no matter how much they try to deny it. The happy ending feels inevitable but it’s still so so sweet.

July Book Club Pick

We’re still on summer hiatus from our IRL book club meetups but that doesn’t stop the party! For the month of July we’re reading Zeal by Morgan Jenkins. It’s a multi-generational story (which you know we love!) of epic romance and triumph. And while I usually go for lighter reads during the summer months, I couldn’t deny this one. Spanning post-Emancipation Proclamation 1865 America and modern day 2019 Harlem, love sits at the center of this story, and that’s all that matters.

Happy Reading!

xx,

Kayla