shanaepraystoo's reviews
887 reviews

The Burial of a Player by Kimberly Brown

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I've grown to be a huge fan of Kimberly Brown. Her books are well-written and engaging with likable characters. The Jareau Family books were my first introduction to her and, since I started reading Book 1, I've explored other books from her, like For His Virgin Pleasure (which is freaking AMAZING and you NEED to read it). 

Anyway, The Burial of a Player is Book 3 of the Jaraeu Family series and it is a welcome reprieve from Book 2 about Cartel and Adina - that one was superrrr stressful. In Book 2, we meet go behind the scenes of the relationship between Walker and Jorja, which begins in Book 1. It is great to learn more about Walker and Jorja, seeing them grow up and grow together alongside the other members of the Sandifer and Jareau families.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Burial of a Player and appreciated the way Kimberly Brown showcased the rollercoaster of emotions Jorja and Walker endured in their individual paths to love and happiness, separately and together. 
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Crave Part 2 by Shae Sanders

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emotional funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Crave Part 2 is a solid 3.5 star read for me. When I finished Crave Part 1, I was eager for the second installment because author Shae Sanders left us with what could be described as a cliffhanger. But Part 2 doesn't investigate that cliffhanger further (as a matter of fact it seems like the Sanders wanted to show readers that Skye (FMC) has grown, so there's absolutely NO exploration of her problems with her ex-husband Dante). The result? I'm left wondering why Sanders didn't just write one book.

I've given these stars mostly for the writing. The passage below really sums up what would be the premise of the book, if Shae Sanders explored it a bit more: "I don't know why I ever thought this could work out for me. What the hell was I thinking?" "You were thinking men do this shit all the time. You just got caught up and forgot that the rules are different for us. The world just ain't ready for brother-husbands."

Spice: 🥵🥵🥵

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Keep You To Myself by BriAnn Danae

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4.5

Keep You To Myself by BriAnn Danae is my first book from the author and I am pretty impressed.

BriAnn Danae is a very talented storyteller and the book really kept my attention. I don't typically like stories where the MMC is rude, but with the character development, it all really worked. I think there could've been more character development for certain characters, like Unique, Jade, Raquel, and even Torin, the FMC - I would've liked to have learned more about her. However Keep You To Myself is book 1 of the author's 'Unorthodox Love' series, which is forthcoming I presume, so there's an opportunity to learn more about the world BriAnn Danae crafts.

I am most appreciative of the fact that the urban love story between the MMC and FMC didn't get lost is super spicy sex scenes or too many overly dramatic events,
though Unique's confession, Jade's stalking, and Omar/Silas's connection to Unique and, ultimately, Synovi, the MMC, is a huge reach
.

I am not a fan of the third person narration that switches to each character's POV very regularly. Thankfully the story is engaging enough that it is easy to keep up with, but it can get a little confusing from time to time, especially if, like me, you're used dedicated POV chapters in a romance.

If you enjoyed Finally Famous by Ladii Nesha or A Demon's Dream by Elle Kayson, then you'll definitely love Keep You To Myself. 

Spice: 🥵🥵
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Mr. Take Me As I Am by Iris Bolling

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Mr. Take Me As I Am by Iris Bolling is a quick and easy read - the audiobook is just about 2 hours. The story is engaging with funny and captivating characters. Though short, Bolling takes no shorts on the story - there are many layers and I can tell she’s a great writer. This is my first read from her and I skipped the other books in this series, so I’m reading it a little out of order, but that doesn’t seem to affect this story at all. I’m impressed and will look for more books from this author. 
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A Turn in the Air by A.H. Cunningham

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challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

AH Cunningham is just too good at this.

My first read from her is book 1 of the Wicked Moves series, Plié, about Aisha and Knox, where we first meet Sal and Devon, the FMC and MMC of A Turn in the Air.

I rated Plié very highly, it was deserving. I read the ebook and listened to the audiobook (which is awful - avoid that version). I enjoyed Plié so much that I was pressed for A Turn in the Air and Cunningham didn’t miss at all.

The story is engaging and entertaining with characters that you are sure to love. The marriage of convenience trope is done so well and with so much respect for the diverse cast.

I don’t know any other romance/erotica author giving us Black and Brown characters with so much depth and variety — for that alone I have to praise AH Cunningham.

I appreciate the love and care she has for the communities she depicts in her writing and I really value just how diverse her characters are.

A Turn in the Air is a 5-star read for the writing, story, and characters. And a huge shout out to Wesleigh Siobhan for producing the audiobook, she did the damn thing. This is my third AH Cunningham audiobook and it is hands down the best, Elle Cleviden and Winston James did the damn thing. 
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Figure of Speech by Kasha Thompson

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It took me forever to start reading Figure of Speech by Kasha Thompson, but once I picked the book up, I simply could not put it down. I finished it in like 8 hours. And OMG IT IS SOOOOO GOOD!!!!! I think Theodore Elmsworth might be my favorite MMC ever. And, you know what, Clover Bennett might be my favorite FMC - and that's a hard task. If you read romance novels, then you know how awful these FMCs can be. 

This is my third Kasha Thompson book and man oh man...she's so good at this. It is officially time for me to devour her entire catalog. 
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Nobody to Love You Better by ML Bash

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dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

There's something about Nobody to Love You Better that I am not sure I like. There are aspects of the novel that are interesting and it starts off very strong. However, somewhere in the middle, ML Bash lost me and the end wasn't as gratifying as I was hoping. That said, the story is well-written and engaging with an interesting set of characters, albeit stereotypical ones. The MMC, Donovan/Bear and his best friend, Renier/Ren, have an extremely toxic and dependent relationship (attraction?) that causes them to share everything with one another, even the woman who they can only remember as the misguided young girl who "saved" each of them in equally traumatic incidents. While I find Nobody to Love You a bit far-fetched and frustrating to read sometimes, it is an overall easy to read reverse harem story that is quite spicy. A decent relaxing read, despite the length of the book. 
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Make a Scene by Mimi Grace

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emotional hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I get the Mimi Grace hype now. Of course, she's popular for having wholesome kinda stories with some spice and really cute book covers, but the writing is just really really good. I thoroughly enjoyed Make a Scene and found the characters unique, funny, and interesting. The story is easy to follow and makes sense. The FMC, Retta, was relatable and likable - not stereotypical at all. Same for the MMC, Duncan, and even his friend/business partner, who I assume shows up in another book. I also really loved Ms. Edie and the fact that her home was a safe space for the FMC.

The audiobook is sheer perfection, the narrators do a wonderful job, and it helped me get through a busy workday - I have no complaints about it. I look forward to my next Mimi Grace read. 

Spice: 🥵
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You Hide I'll Seek by ML Bash

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

I'm not quite sure what to make of this. I wasn't displeased with the book but I didn't find it particularly memorable. The FMC is my least favorite type - pushover, easily used, easy to trick, goes along with everything. When I read the synopsis, I wasn't expecting such a weak female lead. That said, the MMC isn't what I like either. He's not necessarily strong or intimidating for a reason, but presents as an older guy who gets off on controlling people who he thinks are weaker than him. I think about 50 pages could've made this book so much better and would've put it much higher on my list of reads. 
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Crave: A BW/BM Reverse Harem Romance by Shae Sanders

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emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I don't know...the ending of Crave Part 1: The Prelude really irritated me towards the end. The good thing is that the author got me interested in part 2 but that's only because I've invested into part 1 and want to see how the story ends.
Skye being a potential murderer is a weird addition to the story that could explain why she's "on the run" and changes her name, but when her ex-husband doesn't press charges against her, that very good explanation goes out of the window. Then there's this weird thing where the FMC kinda thinks she would get away with getting primary custody of a stepdaughter? In what world?</spoiled> In the end, I was left dissatisfied with the book. Since it is well written and the story is interesting, I give it an above average rating, but the way Shae Sanders explains the FMC's willingness to not only sleep with multiple men and then sleep with them at the same time in the same place is just weird. I expected the FMC to not only be more sexual and sensual, but also a lot more confident and self-assured...this time she just isn't, which makes the story so hard to believe. 
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