I really thought The Davenports was going to be a continued series, with each subsequent novel a deep dive into one of the Davenport siblings (with a branch out for Amy-Rose and Ruby Tremaine), but it would seem the second installment, The Davenports: More than This (Dial Books 2024) seems to wrap all the storyContinue reading “THE DAVENPORTS: MORE THAN THIS – Krystal Marquis”
Tag Archives: Young Adult
SHIELD MAIDEN – Sharon Emmerichs
It’s been years since I’ve read Beowulf. I remember when Seamus Heaney’s translation came out and the hoopla over him being a poet and not a scholar. His version is known for being both poetically beautifully and historically accurate, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Bang-up job. I’m no stranger to the lore, though I amContinue reading “SHIELD MAIDEN – Sharon Emmerichs”
THE GARDEN OF SECOND CHANCES – Mona Alvarado Frazier
When SparkPress reached out to me to see if I’d be interested in receiving a copy of Mona Alvarado Frazier’s young adult debut The Garden of Second Chances (6/6/2023), I said “sure.” As a former immigration attorney who worked primarily with the undocumented in removal proceedings and in the cross-sections with criminal and family law,Continue reading “THE GARDEN OF SECOND CHANCES – Mona Alvarado Frazier”
THE DAVENPORTS – Krystal Marquis
Inspired by the real-life Patterson family, Krystal Marquis’s The Davenports (Dial Books, 2023) is a young adult, Bridgerton-esque romance set in Chicago in 1910. The Davenports are an extremely wealthy Black family, and that fortune has placed them in a very small section of the American population. William Davenport, a former slave, built his empireContinue reading “THE DAVENPORTS – Krystal Marquis”
THE MAGICIAN’S DAUGHTER – H.G. Parry
H.G. Parry’s The Magician’s Daughter (Redhook/Orbit 2023) is a very sweet, fairytale of a fantasy. The book will release on 28 Feb 2023, and I owe a huge thanks to the publisher for getting this early copy to me. I greatly appreciate every book that comes my way. Before I get into the review, canContinue reading “THE MAGICIAN’S DAUGHTER – H.G. Parry”
AS LONG AS THE LEMON TREES GROW – Zoulfa Katouh
“Every lemon will bring forth a child, and the lemons will never die out.” Zoulfa Katouh’s As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow (Little, Brown & Co 2022) is a love letter to Syria, each page solidifying that the “where” is always so much a part of the “who” when it comes to identity. TheContinue reading “AS LONG AS THE LEMON TREES GROW – Zoulfa Katouh”
BEASTS OF PREY – Ayana Gray
Ayana Gray’s Beasts of Prey (Putnam 2021) has been hanging out on my TBR since Christmas. Following Children of Blood and Bone (we won’t discuss the second installment in *that* series), I developed an appreciation for Pan-African young adult fantasy novels, and there are elements of Beasts of Prey that remind me of Children ofContinue reading “BEASTS OF PREY – Ayana Gray”
CAZADORA – Romina Garber
A few months ago, I reviewed Romina Garber’s Lobizona, and I stated that “there’s a comforting familiarity” to the story. The follow-up, Cazadora: Wolves of No World #2(Wednesday Books, 2021), continues in that familiar pattern but maintains the very unique feel that set Garber’s worldbuilding apart in Lobizona; Garber’s story relies heavily on Argentinian folkloreContinue reading “CAZADORA – Romina Garber”
DEATHLESS DIVIDE – Justina Ireland
“It’s a curious thing, to watch a town fall to the dead.” After being surprisingly pleased with Dread Nation, I couldn’t wait to start Justina Ireland’s sequel, Deathless Divide (Balzer + Bray, 2020). It’s got a phenomenal cover, and I was eager to have more Jane and Kate. I really wish I hadn’t read itContinue reading “DEATHLESS DIVIDE – Justina Ireland”
DREAD NATION – Justina Ireland
“And I suppose I might have grown up better, might have become a proper house girl or even taken Aunt Aggie’s place as House Negro. I might have been a good girl if it had been in the cards. But all of that was dashed to hell two days after I was born, when theContinue reading “DREAD NATION – Justina Ireland”
A Girl Named Tommi 