I’ve been following Brianna Madia since just before the Dagwood incident. (If you know Madia, you know what I’m referring to.) Part of what drew me to her are her abilities as a storyteller. Full disclosure – I have been openly critical of how she feeds the social media beast, the dangerous devil-may-care attitude sheContinue reading “NOWHERE FOR VERY LONG: The Unexpected Road to an Unconventional Life – Brianna Madia”
Author Archives: Tommi Powell
THE TOBACCO WIVES – Adele Myers
Adele Myers’s The Tobacco Wives (HarperCollins 2022) hit several of my boxes: debut author, NC setting, and the author is a fellow UNC alumna. It’s one of the few new releases I’ve prioritized in my TBR, and while there are some notable issues, I don’t regret it. Quick & dirty summary: After 15-year-old Maddie’s fatherContinue reading “THE TOBACCO WIVES – Adele Myers”
LACUNA – Fiona Synckers
J.M. Coetzee published Disgrace in 1999, receiving his second Booker Award for the novel set in post-apartheid South Africa. The already-celebrated author received even more kudos for this harsh and violent take on the role whites had in South Africa and what was the price to be paid for apartheid. In Disgrace, the price isContinue reading “LACUNA – Fiona Synckers”
BLACK GIRLS MUST BE MAGIC – Jayne Allen
I finally got my hands on Jayne Allen’s Black Girls Must Be Magic (HarperCollins 2022 – originally published as Black Girls Must Die Exhausted: And Baby Makes Two in 2019 by Quality Black Books). The follow-up to Black Girls Must Die Exhausted continues Allen’s love letter to Black women, and all women. The second installmentContinue reading “BLACK GIRLS MUST BE MAGIC – Jayne Allen”
THE HIGH HOUSE – Jessie Greengrass
It’s fitting that the sky is pouring buckets as I write this review/reaction to Jessie Greengrass’s The High House (Scribner 2021), a climate fiction (cli fi) novel in which weather becomes unpredictable and the sea takes back the earth. Much like the other environmental dystopian reads of late, the novel focuses on family dynamics. (eg.Continue reading “THE HIGH HOUSE – Jessie Greengrass”
A LONGER FALL – Charlaine Harris
I’m going to review the second book in Charlaine Harris’s Gunnie Rose series right on the heels of the review/reaction for the first book because I devoured them back-to-back – I’d suggest reading that review first if you’re looking for more of an intro. Just like An Easy Death, the second installment is delicious candy. Continue reading “A LONGER FALL – Charlaine Harris”
AN EASY DEATH – Charlaine Harris
Recently, I (accidentally) purchased book 3 in the Gunnie Rose series. Instead of returning it, I just checked out the first two from the library. I’ve already read a few very heavy books in 2022 and I needed some candy, so I went ahead and read the first two. I’m going to review them separately,Continue reading “AN EASY DEATH – Charlaine Harris”
THE FORTUNE MEN – Nadifa Mohamed
Despite my best intentions, reading the Booker longlist during the calendar year just wasn’t realistic due to US release times. I did, however, finally get my hands on Nadifa Mohamed’s The Fortune Men (Alfred A. Knopf, 2021), which is the last of the shortlist for me. (There are two longlisted books that are still outstanding.) Continue reading “THE FORTUNE MEN – Nadifa Mohamed”
THE LOVE SONGS OF W.E.B. Du BOIS – Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
Honorée Fanonne Jeffers’s debut novel, The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois (Harper 2021), is a five-star historical saga. Jeffers’s background in poetry gives this chunky book a cadence and rhythm that carries the voices of the silenced ancestors such they stay with you long after the last page. The truths and horrors of AmericanContinue reading “THE LOVE SONGS OF W.E.B. Du BOIS – Honorée Fanonne Jeffers”
PLAIN BAD HEROINES – Emily M. Danforth
I don’t DNF (Do/Did Not Finish) books for assorted reasons. (I can count on one hand the number of books I’ve abandoned after starting, and they still haunt me.) A few hundred pages into Emily M. Danforth’s Plain Bad Heroines (Harper Collins 2020), I wanted to stop. I had such high hopes for this sapphicContinue reading “PLAIN BAD HEROINES – Emily M. Danforth”
A Girl Named Tommi 