Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith is a low-key but enrapturing graphic novel about Nisha, Davene, Kim, and Cookie, a group of Black women with deep and caring friendships. Each story lovingly depicts their hair care rituals while also revealing the soulful mundanity of the processes they engage in to care for themselves and others. Wash Day Diaries is as much about the relationship between the beauty rituals of these women and … Continue reading Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith→
Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed by Saraciea J. Fennell (ed.) is tough for me to grade. As many of the other reviewers have mentioned in the past, anthologies can be a struggle to evaluate because invariably some stories are going to resonate more than others. But also I struggled because, despite being Latina, I did not feel like the target audience for this book. The primary aim of this anthology of essays is breaking down … Continue reading Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed edited by Saraciea J. Fennell→
Summer in the City of Roses by Michelle Ruiz Keil is an engaging YA fantasy romance that, while it lovingly flirts with fairy tales and myths, unfortunately gets bogged down in an uneven engagement with magical realism. That situation isn’t helped by the inclusion of a parental figure whose selfish decision making supersedes just about any wicked stepmother out there, and an unfortunate ending that manages to perpetuate harmful tropes that are the opposite of … Continue reading Summer in the City of Roses by Michelle Ruiz Keil→
Are you tired of reading about the same old straight, White vampires? Well, then good news! Because Vampires Never Get Old delivers 11 short stories that bring fresh takes on vampires. If you’ve been looking for queer vampires, or Black or Brown rep in your fanged fiction, this is definitely the book for you (and also maybe for the kiddo in your life, if you have any that are YA readers). Tara: This is a … Continue reading Vampires Never Get Old edited by Zoraida Cordova and Natalie C. Parker→
I should couch this review with the admission that I am the biggest scaredy cat. I don’t usually read romance thrillers, let alone straight ahead thrillers with only a little bit of lovin. Not only do I need to be promised a happy ending, I also want the beginning and middle to be fairly cheerful and absent of conflict. I am, admittedly, a bit ridiculous, but yes, I would prefer to be wrapped up in … Continue reading When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole→
The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon is a very funny and very sweet workplace romance at a tech company between two super competent programmers (of color!!!) that unfortunately gets bogged down in the lies and secrets… Samiah is a Black woman working at Trendsetters, a well-known tech company in Austin, Texas. She’s worked incredibly hard to get where she is and she’s very aware of her talents. Daniel is a Black and Korean man who … Continue reading The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon→
So I loved Take a Hint, Dani Brown. How much? I joined the Bad Decisions Book Club on the reread. Which started right after I had finished it the first time. Yes. I knew exactly where the book was going to go and I could not put it down. Honestly, I’m reading it a third time. We here at the Pink Palace love Talia Hibbert. Kiki wrote a very beautiful review of the first book … Continue reading Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert→
I adored this book. But it wasn’t always an easy read. It’s a book drowning in grief and desperation, finely wrought and deeply felt, and it’s an understatement to say that at parts it was so good and so sad and so precise in its pain that I was simply made of tears. So fair warning, if your heart can’t handle a story of surviving the unexpected loss of a parent, there’s nothing wrong with … Continue reading Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo→
CW: The story includes discussion of past experiences of child abuse, attempted murder, and kidnapping. Girl Gone Viral by Alisha Rai is full up with tropes that I’m sure are a lot of people’s favs—there’s a romance between a bodyguard and the woman he’s hired to protect! Forced proximity! Cute stray dog! Former soldier struggling to manage his PTSD! A marriage of convenience! Friends to lovers! Small town! Millionaire former celebrity looking to live a … Continue reading Girl Gone Viral by Alisha Rai→
Grumpy Jake by Melissa Blue is a delightful and tightly written novella (with a gorgeous cover!) about a kindergarten teacher developing a relationship with a student’s dad over a time period of about six months. There was actual guffawing coming from my direction and, granted I will acknowledge that I read it while drinking some spiked agua fresca which was more spike than agua fresca (my kingdom for a decent alcoholic agua de jamaica), I’m … Continue reading Grumpy Jake by Melissa Blue→
Sorry friends, unfortunately this is not going to be the kind of F grade review where we all get to giggle over an especially prodigious number of tentacles or the shared discovery that shifter Rudolph’s nose is cold and wet in his human form, too. Bound in Flame by Katherine Kayne is grounded in imperialist tropes that are deeply distressing, especially because it is dressed up as a book written to celebrate Hawaii and its … Continue reading Bound in Flame by Katherine Kayne→
