bookdragon217's reviews
597 reviews

"Strange how even when death is the most natural thing in the world, the one thing we can count on in life, strange how even then death remains unfathomable to the loved ones of the deceased."

I went into this one for pure entertainment and it surprised me with characters that I grew so attached to. Pedro and Marques Take Stock by José Falero, translated by Julia Sanches turned out to be a really great read for me. Pedro and Marques are Afro-Brazilian Stock clerks who one day decide to start selling weed in their neighborhood, Porto Alegre. Both are hard workers who long to escape the poverty of the favelas and have hopes and dreams for the future that won't ever materialize for them due to the inequalities in society. 

Falero's writing is gritty and humorous, and you really get an inside view of what it's like growing up and living in the favelas. Pedro is smart and a constant reader and soon realizes that they will never beat capitalism and overcome their poverty if they continue just peddling through life and give their all to a job that will always steal their labor and profit someone else. Marques has a family and can barely support them on his wages. Pedro is the brains of the operation and uses a socialist model to start their weed business where everyone involved shares equally in profits and has a fighting chance to make enough money to themselves out of the favela and achieve their dreams. Things start off slow for them at first but soon their business takes off and they are ready to leave the crime life behind then when a tragedy sets off a chain of events. The last few chapters were non-stop action and emotional.

What I appreciated the most about this one was the commentary on capitalism, wealth inequality, classism, labor exploitation, hierarchy of good and bad drugs, police brutality against Afro-Brazilians and socialism. Pedro, Marques and the rest of the characters were multi-dimensional and complicated and I fell in love with their journeys. The author did a great job of building empathy for them and making a point of highlighting their humanity even though many may not agree with their choices. Thanks to @astrahousebooks for the gifted copy.

"Siempre es la misma mierda. Americans getting tax-free status to invest in the island, but the boricuas get nothing but taxation without representation." 

Barbacoa, Bomba, Betrayal by Raquel V. Reyes was such a delight to read. It was a love song to El Viejo San Juan and a love letter to Puerto Ricans who continue to resist and fight to remain on their island. Reyes' writing was descriptive and vibrant. Reading this book felt like I was walking through the streets of San Juan and having some yummy street food along the way. Overall, this book brought me so much comfort and nostalgia that I can't wait to go back to Puerto Rico soon.

Reyes' storytelling ability has sold me on the genre of cozy mysteries. It was packed with Caribbean flavor, history, and culture. I appreciated the attention to detail and the call to action, especially for readers who are not familiar with Puerto Rico's history. I loved how Reyes connected Cubans, Dominicans, and Puerto Ricans through the common thread of colonialism and modern-day gentrification. This story calls out the tourism and predatory real estate industries and unmasks its true intent—advancing US corporate interest and displacing caribeños. Reyes managed to tackle themes of colonialism, influencer culture, the explosion of bitcoin, Air BnB's and native displacement in Puerto Rico but still celebrate the moments of joy, resilience, humor and pride that embodies the Puerto Rican people. I was swept up instantly in the mystery and I loved the humorous interplay with names and Easter eggs Reyes dropped throughout the story. I won't easily forget Mr. Brandon Pickles, a bitcoon bro. I adored the fact that this one was told through the lens of food anthropology and history. 

The shining stars are Reyes' characters. I'm officially obsessed with Miriam, the main protagonist. She reminds me of myself and the ways that I always end up playing amateur sleuth detective accidentally. Alma and Jorge were so much fun to read. All of the characters were fully fleshed out and had so much personality and individual flair. Their chemistry made this such an enjoyable reading experience. I can't wait to read the rest of Reyes' books.

Too slow

"The truth is, I just really get it. You fall for someone, and you get so into them your whole world shrinks, and suddenly you barely have a life besides them."

Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez was one of my favorite reads of 2024 and a great way to usher in 2025. Gonzalez gives new meaning to the term "bat sh!t crazy."If you read this one, you know exactly what I mean. This book felt like the guttural scream that so many women have been holding in. It also felt like the personification of primal female rage when it comes boiling over when a breaking point has finally been reached. 

The story is told mainly from the POV's of Anita and Raquel, two WOC who both have to reckon with the misogyny the reigns supreme in the art world. Both are navigating a longing to be loved and their own dreams of being successful in the art world. Anita's life ends in tragedy, and Raquel regains her voice by championing Anita's work posthumously.

Gonzalez's emotional and humorous writing style provided great balance and helped to carry me through the heavy themes she explored. Gonzalez tackled misogyny in the art world, domestic violence, femicide, racism in universities, classism, privilege, identity, and feminine rage and power. We also get to go inside the mind of Jack Martin, Anita's self-absorbed, mediocre, obsessive husband who is so revered in the art world, but behind closed doors, he is a monster. Gonzalez really makes you think about the ways that society forces women to have to shrink themselves for male egos and to be able to survive male dominated spaces. Anita grapples with the way she was made invisible the moment she left Cuba for the U.S. and Raquel, in her quest for acceptance, disregards all the red flags in her relationship and isolates herself.

There were moments where I totally raged out and then a few pages later, I was laughing hysterically. Gonzalez's way to craft snarkiness is top tier. Her clapback game is superb. I highly recommend this one if you're in the mood for a strong feminine redemption/revenge story that will have you cackling and plotting the downfall of the patriarchy, then read Anita with your favorite reading buddy.

Untethered by Angela Jackson-Brown has my entire heart. This was such an emotional read, and it resonated with me on a personal level. Katia is a caregiver in every aspect of her life at the detriment to herself, and I relate to this so much. I felt so seen as a social worker, a daughter, mother, friend, and wife. Black women have to be so strong all the time, but when do they get to be happy and just experience all that  life has to give? My heart ached for Katia because she was so used to being everything for everyone that when the opportunities presented for her to accept help and support, she just wouldn't allow herself too. She was always worried about how to show up for others. I just wanted her to get to the place where a soft life was waiting for her. 

If you've read Jackson-Brown before, then you know her historical fiction hits every single time. Her writing style is engaging and emotional and her characters stay with you long after her stories are done. Peewee and Chad gripped me from the beginning, and I grew so protective of them. No children should ever have to experience all that they had to endure at their age. I also appreciated how this story was so different from the author's previous work. It was still at its core historical fiction but it focused more on the themes than history. It was a deep dive into the failures of foster care system, PTSD in veterans, addiction and trauma, internalized anti-blackness, especially when it pertains to natural hair, the strong Black woman trope, faith and motherhood. 

Some of my favorite quotes were:
• "Children belong in safe places."
• "Integration didn't equal fair treatment."
• "I understood more and more why the two of them had bonded. Pain recognized pain."
• "He needs to tell his story to you and his sister. That is how we heal. Silence is what kills us slowly."

If you love stories with incredible writing and a plot that will take you on an emotional roller coaster, then grab a copy for yourself and a bookish friend. Thank you to @harpermuse @hearourvoicestours for the gifted copy and tour opportunity.

I Might Be in Trouble by Daniel Aleman was so much fun to read. I haven't been able to read much all year, but this one was good it reinvigorated me. I thought it was going to be a queer thriller that I would just breeze through but the captivating writing and endearing protagonist had me hooked and locked in until the end. There were so many moments I laughed at the ridiculous things that kept happening but by the end I was in literal tears. I couldnt help but fall in love with David and hes a character I won't easily forget.

I really vibed with Aleman's writing style and found myself pausing at some really beautiful and introspective prose. Wrapped up in the fast-paced mystery were some interesting themes of queer, dating/hook up culture, grief, parental death, father-son relationships, racist stepparents, imposter syndrome and behind the scenes of the publishing world. My heart broke every time David had to interact with his father and stepmother. I really just wanted him to win because people treated him so poorly at times. Aleman did a great job balancing the laugh out loud moments with pulling at the heartstrings emotional scenes. Overall, this was such a great read and left me wanting to read more from Aleman.

Here are some of my favorite quotes:
▪︎ "Fiction is fiction, David....."Except that it isn’t. Fiction contains truth and everyone knows that."
▪︎ "Isn't it a privilege, really? To want and be wanted back? To have loved and lost—not once, not twice, but five times?"
▪︎ "Different people draw the line at different places."
▪︎ "I'll never understand why everyone is so quick to judge people with daddy issues but not the fathers who are responsible for causing those issues in the first place."
▪︎ "What I find funny, though, is that people talk about dreams coming true as if it were a point of arrival—a final destination, and once you've reached it, there should be no going back."
▪︎ "I guess grief can do that to you—it erases your memory, erases parts of you that you never even knew you were losing until one day you look back and realize that they're gone."

Thank you to @grandcentralpub @hearourvoicesbt for the gifted copy and tour opportunity. 

If you really know me, you know that I love a great thriller or mystery. Eagle Rock by Ian K. Smith had me in a chokehold from the first sentence. It is fast, paced suspense story with interesting characters and a murder mystery that unravels bit by bit in real time. I felt like I was right there with the detective team and I was actively putting the pieces together as new clues were revealed.  I couldn't get enough of Ashe Cayne, the bad*ss protagonist and his sidekick Mechanic. In reality, all of the side characters in Cayne's world were great. I can't wait to dive into the first three books in this series because Eagle Rock, Ashe Cayne's 4th novel was fantastic. 

Eagle Rock is a mystery full of quality storytelling. Not only is the narrative captivating, but the author manages to weave in compelling social commentary on power and class, sex trafficking, toxic masculinity, myths about BDSM and the secrets lives led by the wealthy. I loved that this one takes place in Chicago, one of my favorite cities. The Chicago  streets come alive in this one and it was so much fun hearing all the familiar names of streets and neighborhoods.

The writing and dialogue made this one an automatic hit for me. I caught myself flying through the pages because I was so hooked on the mystery and the characters had so much depth and great development. These are some of favorite quotes:
▪︎ "I'm laughing at how different things are for the rich," I said. "You say that as if it's a new concept," my father said. "Always been like that. Always will be. They play by a different set of rules. Held to a different standard."
▪︎ "There isn't any singular type. These depraved and craven men came from all walks of life and every corner of society."
▪︎ "Rich families have strange dynamics. They relate to each other differently. There's this coldness to it all."
▪︎ "Sometimes the time spent chasing money isn't worth the time lost with family."

A big thank you to my lovely  #partners @amistadbooks and @hearourvoicestours for the gifted copy and another tour opportunity.