yourbookishbff's reviews
606 reviews

Destiny's Surrender by Beverly Jenkins

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

All hail Billie! There were a few moments where I wanted Drew to bloody his knees begging for her forgiveness, but he gets it together by the end and their happily ever after feels right. So appreciate Jenkins' commitment to showing sex work for Black women during this period - she's unflinching in her portrayal of Billie, her pride and resilience, as well as the harm she's experienced. It's a stand-out premise for HR, because so often when we see sex work on page it's still in a more privileged context (typically white courtesans). 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Unfit to Print by KJ Charles

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This story centers two racialized MCs (a multiracial bookseller cast out by his father's white family in childhood and the starchy British Indian attorney he once knew at Eton), a conflict revolving entirely around London's underground market for "obscene" material and sex work, and a double-mystery involving two at-risk teenagers (one murdered before the story starts and one now missing). And it's fewer than 150 pages, because that's just how KJC rolls. I really appreciate the class conversations around sex work in this, in particular, but I was generally stressed the entire time for our side characters. While I ultimately feel like KJC sticks the landing on the central romance, she kept me sweating with the mystery (and not as much in the fun heist way as in the just-plain-stressed-this-is-very-grim way). 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt

Go to review page

funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This started as a romp and then it just felt like it never delivered on anything more? I appreciate an over-the-top story but I also want *some* emotional development that the characters actually have to work for and I need a little bit of chest pain to stay invested. Mickey isn't really a villain, so this wasn't a villain redemption arc (like it was set up to be?) - he almost immediately reveals some predictable backstory trauma. And Silence is just... not sharp. Her decisions became increasingly confusing to me in the second half. Ultimately, this didn't land for me. BUT THE GHOST OF ST GILES. So I'm ready for book four.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Manacled by SenLinYu

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

For non-book records, review text and ratings are hidden. Only mood, pace, and content warnings are visible.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives by Siddharth Kara

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.0

This is a helpful introduction to cobalt mining and the cobalt industry from bottom (artisanal mining in the Congo) to top (a rechargeable cell battery). I particularly appreciated the geographic study of the DRC and the interweaving of several centuries of history, as it paints a very clear picture of the colonial exploitation that made possible the modern-day slavery that is cobalt mining. That said, the author projects onto his narrative - and the people he's interviewing - in ways that didn't always sit right for me. First-person accounts are particularly important in uncovering a story like this one, and the author's tendency to imagine inner monologue and unexpressed emotion for people already disempowered was frustrating at times. And while I felt like this narrative accomplished its primary goal - to show the very bottom of the supply chain in stark detail - it still could have benefited from an exploration of the top of the supply chain as well. I would have appreciated a really clear throughline from the exploitation of miners to the accumulated wealth of billionaires like Elon Musk sitting at the top of the exact same chain. And as other reviewers have noted, there isn't necessarily a next step from this narrative - the author peppers in some of his own thoughts on potential structural changes, but these feel half-formed. Ultimately, this is an accessible entry point for those who want to better understand the industry and the state of cobalt mining in the DRC, even if it didn't accomplish everything I had hoped for. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
A Thief in the Night by KJ Charles

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

No one does character development better than KJC and NO ONE does it better in fewer pages. God this was fun, and endearing, and classically gray all over because no one is blameless but everyone is earnest. I loved this.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Night Hawk by Beverly Jenkins

Go to review page

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This was really fun! I loved the road trip prisoner sequence in the first half, and only felt like it lost steam for me in the second half as things settled down considerably. There isn't really a relationship conflict, and that was disappointing coming off Indigo, which had a really layered relationship conflict that I loved. I also felt like the female main character was fully developed on page one, which is fun to read sometimes (she's a great character!) but I enjoy seeing the growth on page. Recommended for those who enjoy high-stakes external plots (she's wanted for murder, he's a retired bounty hunter, she's technically his prisoner, multiple kidnappings, etc) and enjoy low-angst relationships.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Indigo by Beverly Jenkins

Go to review page

emotional hopeful informative tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

I could eat this reformed rake arc with a GD spoon. Galen's obsessive devotion pairs so beautifully with Hester's shielded vulnerability, and I just couldn't get enough of the push and pull between these two. Like any Jenkins, the history is fascinating and deeply important to the love story. The political landslide caused by the Fugitive Slave Act shapes this late 1850s Michigan community, and we see the risks taken by Underground Railroad conductors even in "free" states. Particularly in the third act, you can see the tectonic shifts that are happening that will lead to the Civil War. 

One of my favorite elements of the romance itself is Jenkins' exploration of class differences. Hester is formerly enslaved - now free - with dark skin and permanently dyed hands and feet from her years working in indigo dyes. Galen is several-generations-free, wealthy from a family business in trading, and has very light skin. He has chosen a life working on the Underground Railroad but carries with him privilege Hester has no access to. She is constantly aware of the social gulfs that separate them, and Jenkins doesn't hesitate to show us the ripples of a union like theirs, and how classism and colorism intersect to create new challenges for their life together.

Of note, this is a 90s-era histrom, so expect heavy emphasis on virginity and gender essentialism (manhoods at every turn), and it's a Jenkins, so expect heavy use of euphemisms for intimacy (symphonic orgasms aplenty).
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Proper English by KJ Charles

Go to review page

funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Classic KJC house party, ie someone ends up dead, everyone's banging, and various embezzlement plots are afoot. I was just a bit bored up until the last third or so, but it's possibly because my reading was interrupted frequently when I picked this up. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
A Dish Best Served Hot by Natalie Caña

Go to review page

emotional hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

So much that I loved - the nuanced depiction of ethnicity and class differences, a head-on look at gentrification, fantastic queer rep (female main character is bi and works with a neighborhood center for queer youth experiencing housing insecurity), and on-page discussion of military recruitment among marginalized populations. I also really like the premise - single dad, second-chance romance, neighborhood politics putting them at odds, etc. There was just a bit too much happening at times, with pretty big swings in tone from lighthearted and fun to extremely tense. I had whiplash? I rolled my eyes at the hot wings contest, and I am extremely skeptical of the final gesture for our female main character -
Who completes a large tattoo homage to the man they love and his daughter when they ARE NOT RECONCILED?! I cannot believe she had the tattoo done before they worked out their HEA because WOOF that would have been awkward, to say the least!
All that said, this was fun with enough meat to be memorable.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings