This book has resonated with me in a lot of ways, where do I even begin?

I’ll start out by saying that this book captures the many feelings, emotions (positive/negative), and thoughts that plague a wide array of Black women and our experiences. We are not a monolith, yes, but I still think Allen did a fantastic job at giving the reader a glimpse into how Black women have to move through the world - and as the title states, it is f*cking exhausting most of the time.

Moving onto Tabby, I thought she served as an interesting MC. I liked her enough, but she definitely did and said things that I didn’t personally agree with and/or couldn’t wrap my head around. However, her friendships with Laila and Alexis were a highlight of the story for me at times. It was almost as if an episode of the iconic show ‘Girlfriends’ was written into this book, especially when they would get into arguments (lmao) or crack jokes with each other and just dish out their days. As for her relationship with her family, wow; I love complicated family dynamics in my books and this did not disappoint! I was glad that Tabby had her grandmother and the legendary Ms. Gigi as a constant support system. Their bond was absolutely adorable and I couldn’t get enough of it.

The male characters on the other hand, 🙄, I couldn’t stand any of ‘em, lmao. That’s what stopped this from being a full 5-star because everyone and I mean EVERYONE deserved better and didn’t seem to realize it 🤦🏾‍♀️. But, I think this leads to an important discussion about settling in relationships and the idea of ‘struggle love’, which is something that many people, but specifically Black women, can relate to.

Final Thoughts: Overall, I recommend it! The topics of race, gender, microaggressions, filling a diversity quota, police encounters, motherhood/infertility issues, and so much more are explored nicely here. I’m excited to read Black Girls Must Be Magic next ✨