April 15, 2021

Beach Reads!

April 15, 2021/ Donna Sherwood

Lose Yourself In A Good Book…

Malibu Rising - Taylor Jenkins Reid

Survive The Night - Riley Sager

The Other Black Girl - Zakiya Dallia Harris

The Hunting Wives - May Cobb

The Husbands - Chandler Baker

The Therapist - B.A. Paris

Ace Of Spades - Faridah Abike-Iyimide

A is For Aunties -

Early Morning Riser - Katherine Heiny

The Prophets - Robert Jones Jr.

People We Meet On Vacation - Emily Henry

Final Revival Of Opal & Nev - Dawnie Walton

Billy Summers - Stephen King

Mary Jane - Jessican Anya Blau

My Heart Is A Chainsaw - Stephen Graham Jones

The Break Up Book - Wendy Wax

Witches Steeped In Gold - Ciannon Smart

The Summer Job - Lizzy Dent

The Guncle - Steven Rowley

April 15, 2021

Crib Notes-The Lunar Chronicles

April 15, 2021/ Donna Sherwood

Crib Notes-The Lunar Chronicles

An exceptional reimagining of a fairy tale, myth or classic novel stays true to the spirit of the story while offering up a reading experience that is wholly unrivaled. They should delight the reader in their attempt to suss out the parallels to the origin story. This series exceeds those basic tenets in every way imaginable, and some not!

April 08, 2021

Dear Hollywood...

April 08, 2021/ Donna Sherwood

A Literary Smackdown On Adaptations…

Even before the credits roll on a book adaptation to film or television, without question the persistent refrain amongst booklovers will be, “the book was better”. So my advice to Hollywood? Get. It. Right. Read on…

April 06, 2021

We Begin At The End - Chris Whitaker

April 06, 2021/ Donna Sherwood

Fiction

Rating: 10/10

There is nothing I can say that will do this book justice, no grouping of words that can embody how I felt at its conclusion. This is a staggeringly beautiful and powerful story; it will imbed itself in you, it will linger long after the final page is turned, and it will break you a little. If you are lucky. If you allow it to.

April 01, 2021

The Dinner Guest - B. P. Walter

April 01, 2021/ Donna Sherwood

Thriller

Rating: 9/10

This ingeniously paced and devilishly plotted domestic thriller starts off around the dinner table with one character dead and another holding the bloody knife. And they aren’t alone. The author leads us on a merry chase trying to figure out who truly did the deed!

March 30, 2021

Win - Harlan Coben

March 30, 2021/ Donna Sherwood

Thriller

Rating: 8/10

From start to finish we get quintessential Coben; lots of twists and turns, crackling dialogue, intriguing motivations and a fast pace. A perfect escapist read for a lazy weekend!

March 25, 2021

The Sun Down Motel - Simone St. James

March 25, 2021/ Donna Sherwood

Horror/Thriller

Rating: 7.5/10

Expertly plotted, brimming with 80’s nostalgia and supernatural ambience, this book might keep you up reading late into the night.

March 23, 2021

Later - Stephen King

March 23, 2021/ Donna Sherwood

Fiction/Supernatural

Rating: 8.5/10

I wouldn’t want to be a character in a Stephen King book. Just going about my life, thinking my thoughts and then…bam! Thrust head long into a level of terror that sinks it claws and teeth in. But being on the outside, looking in? It sure is a delight.

March 21, 2021

Badass Women

March 21, 2021/ Donna Sherwood

Celebrate Fiercely Talented Writers…

How We Were Beautiful - Imbolo Mbue

Destransition, Baby - Torrey Peters

The Push - Ashley Audrain

Crying In The H Mart - Michelle Zauner

The Other Black Girl - Zakiya Dalila Harris

Girl A - Abigail Dean

Silence Is A Sense - Layla AlAmarr

Outlawed - Anne North

Girl, Women, Other - Bernardine Evaristo

Dusk Night Dawn - Anne Lamott

Long Bright River - Liz Moore

The Chosen & The Beautiful - Nghi Yo

Ace Of Spades - Faridan Abike-IyImide

With Teeh - Kristen Arnett

Hunger - Roxanne Gay

You Can't Touch My Hair - Phoebe Robinson

My Own Words - Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Act Like A Lady - Keltie Knight

Too Fat Too Slutty Too Loud - Anne Helen Petersen

March 21, 2021

Outta This World

March 21, 2021/ Donna Sherwood

Portals To Mythical Lands…

The Fifth Season - N.K. Jemisin

Sandman - Neil Gaiman

From Blood & Ash - Jennifer L. Armentrout

House Of Earth & Blood- Sarah J. Maas

Furyborn - Claire Legrand

The Hundredth Queen - Emily R. King

Dark Matter - Blake Crouch

Red Rising - Pierce Brown

Once & Future Witches - Alix E. Harrow

History Of What Comes Next - Sylvain Neuvel

Cinderella Is Dead - Kalynn Bayron

The Unspoken Name - A.K. Larkwood

Riot Baby - Tochi Onyebuchi

Binti - Ninedi Okorafor

We Could Be Heroes - Mike Chen

Axioms End - Lindsay Ellis

Remote Control - Ninedi Okorafor

Witches Steeped In Gold - Ciannon Smart

A Darker Shade Of Magic - V.E. Schwab

March 17, 2021

Crib Notes-Tweens & InBetweens

March 17, 2021/ Donna Sherwood

Crib Notes-Tweens & InBetweens

To turn youngsters into readers one must blur the edges, delve into unchartered territories and push boundaries to flame a life-long hunger for the written word.

Thankfully I have plenty of matches!

March 11, 2021

Crib Notes-Young Adulting

March 11, 2021/ Donna Sherwood

Crib Notes-Young Adulting

I am a parent to no child but will evangelize to any young person I am in the vicinity of about how lucky they are in regard to the books available to them today. It’s a selection entirely too good to be left only for the young, we old folks are indulging in this bounty as well!

March 09, 2021

The Sanatorium - Sarah Pearse

March 09, 2021/ Donna Sherwood

Horror/Thriller

Rating: 7.5/10

Despite the setting of this locked room thriller being in a seemingly innocuous revamped hotel which was once a hospital, all kinds of red flags there, this story stood out. A gothic vibe and compelling characters set this one apart, albeit only slightly.

March 04, 2021

(Re) Imagine That!

March 04, 2021/ Donna Sherwood

A Literary Restoration…

If you delve deeply enough into the books we choose to read, more often than not you will reveal a connection to something recognizable. That in fact they capture contemporary narratives from the bones of centuries of storytelling. Mythologies, legends, classics and fairytales have all been plundered for plot in myriad of ways and a upon myriad of occasions that proves incalculable.

March 02, 2021

The Shadows - Alex North

March 02, 2021/ Donna Sherwood

Horror/Thriller

Rating: 8/10

A copycat killing of a teenager 25 years after the original murder reopens old wounds in a small town. At its core this novel is about how the past encroaches on the present and how oftentimes it becomes harder and harder to distinguish one from the other.

February 25, 2021

Little Threats - Emily Schultz

February 25, 2021/ Donna Sherwood

Fiction/Mystery

Rating: 8/10

A slow burn of a book that dispenses the unexpected in ways you might think are more benign to your sensibilities; but give it a minute.

February 23, 2021

If I Disappear - Eliza Jane Brazier

February 23, 2021/ Donna Sherwood

Mystery/Thriller

Rating: 5/10

When her favourite true crime podcast host Rachel goes missing, Sera, a young woman adrift in her own life, sets out to investigate and plunges headfirst into her own dangerous obsession. The lure of a plot where the hunter becomes the hunted set against the true crime podcast culture should have delivered a better reading experience.

February 17, 2021

The Echo Wife - Sarah Gailey

February 17, 2021/ Donna Sherwood

Sci-Fi/Thriller

Rating: 9/10

What if you discovered your husband was having an affair with his wife? Yes, you read that properly. This book has a lot to love; weird science, murder, bad romance and the unspooling of enough twists to leave the reader with a serious case of whiplash.

February 12, 2021

Hearts & Heartaches

February 12, 2021/ Donna Sherwood

I’m In The Mood For Love…Or Something…

Call Me Maybe - Cara Bristone

The Flatshare - Beth O'Leary

Me Before You - JoJo Moyes

One To Watch - Kate Staymon London

Ayesha At Last - Uzma Jalaluddin

Beach Read - Emily Henry

Silver Linings Playbook - Matthew Quick

Time Travelers Wife - Audrey Niffenengger

Chocolat - Joanne Harris

Forever, Interrupted - Taylor Jenkins Reid

Hollywood Wives - Jackie Collins

Princess Bride - William Goldman

Ghosting: A Love Story - Tash Skilton

Simmer Down - Sarah Smith

Mr. Perfect - Linda Howard

Dark Lover - J.R. Ward

Bridgerton: Duke ! & 2 - Julia Quinn

If I Was Your Girl - Meredith Russo

Roller Girl - Vanessa North

February 12, 2021

Celebrate Authors Of Colour

February 12, 2021/ Donna Sherwood

Expand Your Horizons…

How Beautiful We Were - Imbolo Mbue

The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas

Black Buck - Mateo Askaripour

Razorblade Tears - S.A. Crosby

The Other Black Girl - Zakiya Dallila Harris

The Vanishing Half - Brit Bennet

Such A Fun Age - Kiley Reid

The Prophets - Robert Jones Jr.

Final Revival Of Opal & Nev - Dawnie Walton

I've Been Meaning To Tell You - David Chariandy

Until The Flood -Dael Orlandersmith

The Truths We Hold - Kamala Harris

Lead From The Outside - Stacey Abrams

Born A Crime - Trevor Noah

Just As I Am - Cicely Tyson

Four Hundred Souls - Ibram X. Kendi & Keisha N. Blain

Heavy - Kiese Laymon

Last Black Unicorn - Tiffany Haddish

Notes From A Young Black Chef - Kwame Onwuachi

Blog

Lose Yourself In A Good Book…

Crib Notes-The Lunar Chronicles

A Literary Smackdown On Adaptations…

Fiction

Rating: 10/10

Thriller

Rating: 9/10

Thriller

Rating: 8/10

Horror/Thriller

Rating: 7.5/10

Fiction/Supernatural

Rating: 8.5/10

Celebrate Fiercely Talented Writers…

Portals To Mythical Lands…

Crib Notes-Tweens & InBetweens

Crib Notes-Young Adulting

Horror/Thriller

Rating: 7.5/10

A Literary Restoration…

Horror/Thriller

Rating: 8/10

Fiction/Mystery

Rating: 8/10

Mystery/Thriller

Rating: 5/10

Sci-Fi/Thriller

Rating: 9/10

I’m In The Mood For Love…Or Something…

Expand Your Horizons…

Cracking the Spine

On My Nightstand