Week in Review – W11

Before we dive into my week in review..

As always, I’ll be taking a small amount of time out to once again express my appreciation for all the authors that I’ve read this week.

My goal for this month was to read more novel length books. Just my luck that there has been a hail of novella’s that I want to read 😅.

However, I managed to stay somewhat on task. This week my reads leaned a bit toward a heavier/darker side.

Some stats about my week

• I completed 10 (1 not posted) books this week
• by 7 different authors (1 new to me)
• totaling 3.409 pages
• making it around 340.9 pages per book
• averaging 487 pages read per day

Opening up my week was new to me author Mrs. Takerra Allen.

Sometimes I just don’t know what to read, and being a mood reader makes it even more difficult to get to my next read.

However my bookish twin (if you want some good, be it why choose or other, recs? She’s got them), asked me if I had read Needful Noor, and if I hadn’t? I most definitely should.

Twin didn’t tell not one lie!!

Mrs. Allen gives an extensive trigger warning, if you decide to go for this read, DON’T skip that part.

I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll leave it at…

After that I decided to go back to pick up Mrs. Zee Reneé‘s author debut, All In.

The story about Kaivon Lewis and Harlee Rivers, an established couple who love eachother deeply.

However their relationship encounters a bump in the road, courtesy of unresolved trauma and self sabotaging ways.

All In was most definitely Urban Fiction, eventhough the love was there (family, friends, between our MC’s) it took a bit of a backseat to Kaivon’s streetdealings and his upbringing. Mrs. Reneé states this as well.

This read was also triggering in ways not mentioned in the trigger warning. To see the adultification of Kaivon at such a tender age?! He should’ve never had been placed in that position. And the ramifications of that?!

sidenote: These characters didnot make an exeption for ANYONE, i.e. everybody could get it!!

I started reading this one late monday night, got up the next day and picked this book up right away when I got up!

So naturally I had to see what was up with Kylo (Kaivon’s younger brother) as well, and I picked up Troubled Waters.

Where Kaivon’s story leaned more toward the Urban Fiction side, Kylo’s story leaned more towards the Romance side.

Don’t get me wrong though. This read was HEAVY.

It dealt with suicide, mental health, child abuse, and trafficking. AND eventhough it leaned more towards the romance side, this was still an urban romance.

The way Mrs. Reneé handled this all?

And I’m still side-eyeing Nova.

Rodeo Season opened, and just in time. Mrs. K.C. Mills opened the season with Destry, and offered me something lighter, after all my heavier reads.

Mrs. Charity Shané followed up with Titus. And the way both Mrs. Charity Shanéand Mrs. K.C. Mills know how to write a MMC that is balanced just right?

I thoroughly enjoyed visiting Millers Pointe for the Rodeo Season.

I went back to the Snowed in Shadow Wolf Creek Collab with Mrs. Tessa Stone‘s Snowed in with a Grumpy Shifter.

Apparently grumpy (Kai) was synonymous to hot for me… Because the heat of this one?

Add to this that Kai was very aware of where he went wrong. Because how, HOW, did you think it was a good idea, to let Maya (your fated mate) do that?

I picked up another new release, this time by Mrs. Shae Sanders.

About Raya and Ace.

I already explained that this dark romance deviates from the average dark romances that I have read, in the sense that almost all unhinged behavior comes from the FMC, Raya.

After (and during) reading this book, I was in DM’s of two people and in Mrs. Sanders FB group posting. If you don’t understand how huge that is for me? Let me explain.

I am HIGHLY introverted, and while I am ALWAYS open to discuss books one-on-one, and I am in several author/book groups. You will not find me easily divulging my thoughts in a group setting.

I made several posts on there, this read had my thoughts going haywire.

There was just so much there. And for all the crazy that Raya displayed and is, I couldn’t hate her. Because

1. Believe it or not, she wasn’t malicious
2. As disproportianate as her actions were, she was always provoked
3. Ace knew who she was, and loved her all the more for it

Making it all the more fun to read for me, was that consent (minus one truly noncon scene) was at the forefront of all of it!

And I got the most wonderful surprise to end my week with. Mrs. MF Dandridge Monroe released the love story of Yzabel and Sampson, years in the making, with Black Gold Valley: Sampson.

If you’ve been following me I think my love for Mrs. Monroe’s pen is pretty obvious.

And still, each time I read something new of hers I am amazed at how great it is.

This one had me side-eyeing Sampson…

HARD!

Grace, class, decency, selfworth, and kindness add to that intelligent and smarts and you have Yzabel.

These two were made for eachother, Sampson’s loyalty and morals, made him that much more attractive. It also made him blind to the tomfoolery taking place in front of him.

So why did I love this so much?

This was all the way BLACK.

It gave a glimpse into situations we are all more than familiar with, doesn’t matter where we got off. The (micro) agressions, being perceived as less than even when they are beholden or dependent on us. Mistaking our kindness for weakness. P.O.C’s picking up the baton for white supremacy, and eating their own.

In other words, the social commentary!

It was not the only thing, but it was one of them. And if you want to know the other parts. I’d advice you to pick this one up. BUT not before having read the Desperados series!

That was it for my week in review this time.