Another week has gone by, meaning another week in review.
Starting off like always! By taking out a small amount of time to once again express my appreciation for all the authors that I’ve read this week.
I see your time, efforts, and dedication to your expression of art.
And
Some stats about my week
- I completed 12 books this week
- by 9 different authors
- totaling 2.744 pages
- making it around 228.7 pages per book
- averaging 392 pages read per day
Overview of the Books read
Week Opener
This week started with Mother’s Day, and Mrs. Nek Mills, who released the third and final book in her Boudreaux Mafia series.
This time we got to know more about ‘Dre, Boko and Zoo’s cousin, and Denim. I don’t know why I thought that ‘Dre was something else from who he was?! But he turned out to be so much more.
I love Mrs. Mills writing, have been picking up each release from the moment she started her pen name. And this is my favorite series from her pen. Why?
As this book has been out for a week at this moment in time, I won’t be going in on too much of this read. I’ll just let you’ll know the following.
Why? Because it shines light on the good that can come from the ones society deem to be “bad” or the “ratchet”.
“Your doctors, lawyers, teachers, judges, and politicians are the criminals of the world, and yet they’re free. They are some of the most sick and dangerous people you don’t hear about. We need … Boudreaux’s in this world to rectify what the justice system can’t.”
Mills, Nek. Dreaux: The Corporate Assassin (Boudreaux Mafia Series Book 3) (pp. 220-221). Kindle Edition.
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: Can’t or won’t?
SheReadsaLot: How can or will they, if it’s them?
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: You right, you right! Had to agree with Denim’s father though!
SheReadsaLot: Exactly! The good that the Boudreaux Mafia do, in my opinion, far outweighs the bad.
And of course it wasn’t solely lessons, besides the hunching…
Love, Love, Love
Suspense, so much suspense!
We had some laughs!!
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: Jules!
“Beat her ass, baby! Beat them lying demons right on up out of her.” Dousing oil all over the girls
Mills, Nek. Dreaux: The Corporate Assassin (Boudreaux Mafia Series Book 3) (p. 300). Kindle Edition.
SheReadsaLot: And we also got introduced to Jerome!
“I know that’s right, Mr. Sexy Man!” Rome’s ignorant ass yelled, causing more attention our way. “Princess treatment only.”
Mills, Nek. Dreaux: The Corporate Assassin (Boudreaux Mafia Series Book 3) (p. 123). Kindle Edition.
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: Yeah, Jerome was hilarious and had some sense about him as well!
SheReadsaLot: Yes, we loved us some Jerome!
SheReadsaLot to Audience: I’m saying all this to say..
After finishing that one, I dove into Mrs. Mel Dau‘s latest release, Tap In.
The continuation to Tap Out, which released in Vegas Heaux Tales: A BLP Anthology. I remember finishing Tap Out, hoping for a continuation, but didn’t even dare to ask, as she let us know before releasing it, to not even ask…
The way Chance had Lark Tap Out? Getting to pick up this continuation, really had me….
But Mrs. Dau didn’t give us a trigger warning on this one, so I thought that this wouldn’t be on the same heat level… I’m glad to report that, I was wrong!
Chance and Lark tapped ALL the way in!
Mrs. Masterpiece had released The Filth Kings II!
So I went back Dark. After reading the first part of the Filth Kings, I felt that they all came out pretty decent. Because with parents like that?
SheReadsaLot: I don’t know why I thought that Angel’s parents were somewhat exempt from that statement?
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: Those parents turned out to be worse or at least on the same level as the men’s parents.
SheReadsaLot: Acting all righteous, to give up your morality and the wellbeing of your child like that?
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: JUDGING!
SheReadsaLot: But we had Monster to look forward to!
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: There is something about Monster indeed!
SheReadsaLot:
After I finished reading about Monster, I went and checked my emails, and found…
An ARC of Mrs. Asia Monique‘s Sinful King! Book 7 in Mrs. Monique’s Mafia Misfits series.
In Sinful King we get to know the story of Sean O’Sullivan and Blair Phillips. This story has all the intrigue we’ve come to expect from the Mafia Misfits series, and naturally there is a love story as well.
AND!!
This love story somehow seemed to transcend the others, it felt like a love story that survived several lifetimes.
We get to know Sean and Blair as teenagers, and see how Sean becomes her protector. Meet them again as young adults in their twenties, where they go their separate ways so they can both grow, but never leaving the other behind. To currently, where they finally get the chance to dedicate themselves to each other.
In their love story we also get to know more about Blair’s background, which ties in to the mystery that needs to be resolved.
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: Her background was heavy!
SheReadsaLot: And triggering!
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: It was the inaction of the parents for me!
SheReadsaLot: Wasn’t it!
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: Tell them what you loved most about this story!
So, I love me a STRONG FMC! And Blair was exactly that! But what made her all the more endearing to me, was the way that she was strong enough to let herself be vulnerable
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: WITH THE RIGHT PERSON! Make sure to note that distinction!
SheReadsaLot to Audience: Indeed..
Blair let herself be vulnerable with the RIGHT person. And then you have the MMC, Sean, who sees her strength and isn’t intimidated by it.
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: We love ourselves a confident king!
SheReadsaLot:
And even knowing that Blair is more than capable of taking care of herself, Sean is (and was) always there to protect her.
SheReadsaLot to Audience: We waited almost two years for Sinful King to release, but with the way Mrs. Monique is coming? that time was well worth it?!
SheReadsaLot to Mrs. Monique: Thank you for the opportunity and…
And then we had Mrs. Aubry J. Who released Hood Legacy.
About Hood…
and Legacy…
We got introduced to Hood and Legacy in Hoop Session.
Hood has been interested in Legacy for a while now. Legacy doesn’t seem to be giving him the time of day.
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: Now why wouldn’t she give him the time of day?
SheReadsaLot: Maybe her little problem, which is actually a big problem, is the contributing factor in her decision making?
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: Ma’am she got gaslit a lot though!
SheReadsaLot: You right!
Now if you’ve read any of Mrs. Aubry J.’s works you know she likes to add some levity in her reads one way or the other.
“Givens and Hood are downstairs with Gift; replacing your locks now. They should be done shortly.”
J., Aubry. Hood Legacy (p. 81). Kindle Edition.
“It took three of them to do that?” I asked with a laugh. “Why?”
“Because they’re men and think they know everything,” she answered.
SheReadsAlot to SheReadsaLot: That was hilarious indeed!
And as always there is family and friendship!
“Go, friend!” Xoey cheered in the background. “If you get lockjaw, you ain’t gotta trip off it cuz that nigga a doctor and can fix it!”
J., Aubry. Hood Legacy (p. 188). Kindle Edition.
SheReadsaLot: Nothing like some friendly encouragement!
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot:
And so much vulnerability
This man, this strong-ass, crazy, loving man, was broken, but he trusted me enough to freely show his emotions without the fear of me seeing him as weak.“
J., Aubry. Hood Legacy (p. 229). Kindle Edition.
And Mrs. Aubry J. turned her pen up some notches and gave us an ending that brought tears to my eyes.
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: Ma’am Mrs. Aubry J. said, forget the foot and proceeded to throw in the whole leg with this one!
SheReadsaLot:
I picked up the collab between Mrs. Natisha Raynor and Mrs. Lisa Austin, Our Mother’s Sons about twin brothers Jeovanni and Jovani Bendetti.
Reading in order, I started out with Mrs. Raynor who gave us Jeovanni’s story. Jeovanni had a childhood friend, Rainah, who for all her smarts doesn’t seem to have any darn sense.
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: Rainah had us HOT y’all!
SheReadsaLot: She was indeed a tad judgmental, but she went through some trauma as a child.
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot:
“Go to therapy and get the fuck over it…”
Raynor , Natisha . Our Mother’s Sons (p. 40). Kindle Edition.
SheReadsaLot: Now that was a bit harsh… But some truth was spoken.. There comes a time that the trauma needs to be addressed, and you can no longer hide behind it!
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: She did get better though, and started to understand that…
“…life isn’t black and white.”
Raynor , Natisha . Our Mother’s Sons (p. 117). Kindle Edition.
SheReadsaLot: Let’s not forget that Jeovanni understood her reasoning better later on.
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: They did manage to find some common ground, understanding between them
SheReadsaLot: And that was beautiful to see!
Mrs. Austin gave us Jovani’s story. Even though they are twins, Jeovanni and Jovani have drastically different personalities!
Mrs. Austin herself stated that…
He’s…something else.
“Me and my brother don’t act like other light skinned niggas. Our daddy was black as fuck so I like to think we got his characteristics. We chocolate at heart,”
Austin, Lisa. Our Mother’s sons: Jovani Bendetti (p. 96). Kindle Edition.
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: He most definitely made good use of his comedic skills
SheReadsaLot: I could most definitely see how he laughed her out her panties
At the end of Jeovanni’s story we got introduced to Jovani’s love interest, Voyage, also lovingly known as:
“Yemon Drop drinking Bish!”
Austin, Lisa. Our Mother’s sons: Jovani Bendetti (p. 161). Kindle Edition.
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: For all the laughing that we did, Voyage’s backstory was heavy, and scary!
SheReadsaLot: We used to hear a lot about how teenagers fell into these types of traps!
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: Ma’am there is so much to look out for!
SheReadsaLot: Voyage’s story had a happy ending, even if she’s now known as..
“Yemon Drop drinking Bish!”
Austin, Lisa. Our Mother’s sons: Jovani Bendetti (p. 161). Kindle Edition.
I went back to my TBR list from the Black Romance Exclusives Promotion – Book BAEs and HEAs, and picked up Mrs. Aubree Pynn‘s Love, the Endzone.
A WAGS exclusive about Khalif and Aurora. Khalif meets Aurora at a bachelor party…. HIS!
This was a quick romantic read of 71 pages, Khalif stood on business about Aurora, and put some good boundaries in place while doing so.
A bit in a violent mood, and knowing that Mrs. Pynn could and would deliver, I sticked with her catalogue and decided to pick up her Daughters of Don LeFleur series.
Mrs. Pynn told me that this series would deliver:
“Sex, betrayal, and death”
And it did just that, and added some stupidity for good measure as well..
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: Let them know that stupidity is a good thing!
SheReadsaLot: You right, even though if they’ve been following along they know I like to get aggravated by my characters… It’s one of my toxic traits!
The daughters of Don LeFleur are Syrenna (Oldest), Samia (Middle) and Symona (Youngest).
Syrenna was the oldest daughter in each and every sense of the word, a boss in her own right, and guarded. When she meets Naji, who is so persistent he knows how to circumvent all of her guards.
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: There were so many snakes in this story though!
SheReadsaLot: And they weren’t all dealt with, but the stupidity of Jaq though!
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot:
SheReadsaLot: Mrs. Pynn indeed delivered!
SheReadsaLot to Audience: So I went to stress myself out further!
Samia, stubborn, wanting to be seen for who she is, and so stuck in that mindset that she almost lets her happily ever after with Axel pass her by.
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: The stupidity of them both worked my nerves!
SheReadsaLot: She threw him back in the dating pool, and he really went?! And did that?! Without checking?!
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: They were young!
SheReadsaLot:
SheReadsaLot to Audience: So I went to stress myself some more, glutton for Mrs. Pynn’s punishment.
There were still some snakes that needed to be dealt with. The last book was the love story of Symona and Jaq. And I was prepared to be annoyed with Jaq.
Turned out that he was the mature one!
It was Symona, the youngest. Wearing rose colored glasses and naive!
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: Just tell them like it was!
SheReadsaLot: Ma’am I had to really think about why she bothered me so much.
SheReadsaLot to SheReadsaLot: So, how did you get to the core of your annoyance with her?
Symona as the youngest has the privilege of not really having to be aware of her fathers dealings. And can go through life without being aware.
SheReadsaLot to Audience: I’mma keep it real here!
I thought, maybe I’m jealous, because I never got the chance to reach 24 still being able to live freely without being on the look out for bs
And then reading further, I got to the crux of it all.
“You get to be soft and loving and naïve, but you do not get to be fuckin’ stupid.”
Pynn, Aubree. Inconvenient Love: The Young and The Restless: Symona+Jaq (Daughters of Don LeFleur Book 3) (p. 174). APXCB, LLC. Kindle Edition.
SheReadsaLot to Audience: I can’t stand stupidity!
And Symona exhibited a lot of those traits…
SheReadsaLot to Audience: But what really had me like…
An unexpected, informed of, delayed trigger!
SheReadsaLot to Mrs. Pynn: Ma’am, why? WHYY??? Same time next month?
Week Closer
Mrs. Kennedy B. had a release as well this week, Another Constant. Kinga and Harlem‘s lovestory.
I will not be doing too much on this one, as it released only two days ago.
I can tell you this though. Kinga’s energy was everything! A YN with an Ol’ Skool mentality and vibe, and Harlem matched him to a T.
This read had me in suspense, mostly surrounding family, and cameo’s from some characters introduced in previous reads from Mrs. Kennedy B. I had me some good laughs, and swoon worthy moments. And I truly understood why Harlem fell hard for Kinga, and Kinga fell hard for Harlem.
Using Mrs. Kennedy B.’s own words, this is:
“…the story when Ms. Laid Back meets Mr. Leaned Forward…”
Twenty weeks have gone by just like that! Looking forward to what next week will bring, and hope to see you there!
👩🏾SheReadsaLot 