Book Review: Where the Rhythm Takes You by Sarah Dass

 

Seventeen-year-old Reyna has spent most of her life at her family’s gorgeous seaside resort in Tobago, the Plumeria. But what once seemed like paradise is starting to feel more like purgatory. It’s been two years since Reyna’s mother passed away, two years since Aiden – her childhood best friend, first kiss, first love, first everything – left the island to pursue his music dreams. Reyna’s friends are all planning their futures and heading abroad. Even Daddy seems to want to move on, leaving her to try to keep the Plumeria running.

And that's when Aiden comes roaring back into her life – as a VIP guest at the resort.

Aiden is now one-third of DJ Bacchanal – the latest, hottest music group on the scene. While Reyna has stayed exactly where he left her, Aiden has returned to Tobago with his Grammy-nominated band and two gorgeous LA socialites. And he may (or may not be) dating one of them…

Inspired by Jane Austen's Persuasion, Where the Rhythm Takes You is a romantic, mesmerizing novel of first love and second chances.

My Thoughts 

This was a very nice YA Contemporary debut novel from a Tobagonian author Sarah Dass.

In this story we meet Reyna, a young woman who is at that point of her life where she longs for more but feels guilty about leaving her father and her commitment to "Plumeria" a hotel she inherited from her mother.

Meanwhile, childhood friend and ex boyfriend turned music superstar Aiden, having left Tobago some years before, returns with new friends, members of the music group DJ Bacchanal to spend his birthday. As they reunite old feelings surface and Reyna's life turns complicated.

I think this was a very enjoyable story, but for younger readers and lovers of YA. I always like with books from Trinidad and Tobago to see places and the culture represented in the pages. In my opinion the author did a great job capturing that.

BOOK REVIEW: HIS LITTLE STAR BY MICHELLE KARISE

 

BLURB

Traveling to Italy for business sounded like a dream. Three glorious weeks of sightseeing and sampling the local nightlife.

Matteo Russo caught my attention from the start.

We met at a crowded nightclub. The gorgeous older man sauntered over, plied me with liquor, and whispered illicit invitations in my ear. It’s no surprise we ended up naked and horizontal in his bed.

The next morning, I made my graceful exit with a kiss, convinced it would be the last time we saw each other.

Imagine my shock when he popped up at the office. Turns out he’s the guy that’s trying to ruin my family’s business.

My job was to use whatever tools in my arsenal to force him to capitulate.

A Roman conquered my heart.

But secrets threatened to destroy us forever.

My Thoughts 

I love that word Matteo called Naomi "Mi Stellina." What an effect this had on me every time.

This book was short and very romantic. It is the type of book that you can pick up on a rainy Sunday afternoon when you want to relax. It was a steamy read too. The sex scenes were very passionate. In spite of that however the book was very well written.

On a business trip to Rome to deal with her father's new acquisition "a hotel" in Rome which, upon its grand opening seems to have a lot of controversy surrounding it. Naomi sent to Rome to fix all that wanted to prove to her father that she was capable of handling this big opportunity. Little did he know that a trip to a nightclub and an encounter with a handsome stranger "Matteo" would change her life forever. Matteo looking for a one night stand, was captivated by Naomi's striking good looks and confidence.

Little did Naomi know, Matteo was her father's rival. This revelation set off a chain of events so captivating that it will have you on edge till the very end.

These characters were very well written and their chemistry was off the chain.

I really enjoyed this book. Highly recommend to romance lovers.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

BOOK BLITZ: PERFECT ALWAYS BY TRICIA COPELAND

 

  

Title: Perfect Always

Author: Tricia Copeland

Genre: Contemporary Romance/College Romance/Multi-cultural romance

Cover Designer: Daryl McCool, dam Cool Graphics

Publisher: true bird publishing llc

Editor: Jo Michaels, Indie Books Gone Wild

Publication Date: September 22, 2020

Hosted by: Lady Amber's Reviews & PR

Blurb:

A girl aiming for a successful big city career. But what if her heart belongs to a small-town rancher?

Chloe dreams of leaving her tiny hometown behind and landing a job in an exhilarating metropolitan city. Toughing out her sophomore-level college business classes, she’s frustrated with the challenges of long-distance-dating her high school sweetheart, Adam. A chance encounter with Isaac, a hunky big-city-bred basketball player, leaves her confused and when Adam lays out a plan to move into his family’s ranch estate she worries her goals may be trampled underfoot.

Realizing following her passion means leaving Adam, she makes a clean break. Isaac waits in the wings and with Chloe’s growing affection for him, he wins her heart. But a school abroad program, San Francisco internship, and his drive for a professional basketball career complicate their relationship.

Can she find happiness in a big city with an on-the-rise basketball star or does her heart lie somewhere else?

Perfect Always is a standalone contemporary romance. If you like spark-filled moments and a dreamy love story, then you’ll be enchanted by Tricia Copeland’s addition to the Perfect romance series.

99 CENTS FOR A LIMITED TIME!

An avid runner and Georgia native, Tricia now lives with her family and four-legged friends in Colorado. She believes that magic infuses every aspect of our lives, whether it is the magic of falling in love, discovering a new passion, a beautiful sunset, or a book that transports us to another world. You can find all her titles from contemporary romance and fantasy, to dystopian fiction at www.triciacopeland.com.

Author Links:

Newsletter | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest | Youtube

BookBub | Amazon | Goodreads | Smashwords | SoundCloud | Spotify

99 CENTS FOR A LIMITED TIME!

GUEST POST: THE MANY REINCARNATIONS OF CINDERELLA by BRUCE CALHOUN

 

The Many Reincarnations of Cinderella

Perhaps the most famous fairy tale in Western literature, Cinderella has been retold and reimagined in a staggering number of books and movies.   The books and movies fall within two categories:  modern day Cinderella stories featuring an underdog heroine and historical Cinderella stories with a twist – such as telling the story from the point of view of a mouse that gets turned into a horse. Cinderella has also become part of a catchphrase for any sports team that attains great success against all odds or any individual who goes from rags to riches.   I will confine myself to commenting on a few historical Cinderella books, including my own:  Ardennia:  The Unlikely Story of Cinderella’s Prince.

Let’s start with Cinderella and the Prince by Bridget Cantwell.  In a sentence this version of Cinderella is about childhood friends James and Gabriella reuniting to save the kingdom of Essenia from an evil prince (we authors love to have titles like Narnia, Ardennia and Essenia).  The plot comes down to Gabriella  – the  Cinderella in this story – preventing her stepmother from stealing her inheritance. The magic that overcomes all obstacles in this story comes from Gabriella’s courage, loyalty, and love for her friends.

The Prince’s Diary by Renee Ting simply takes a peek at Cinderella’s prince’s personal diary to tell the tale from his point of view.  This novella of 32 pages is geared towards juveniles.  Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, however, was written for older readers and was made into a popular movie.   In this take on Cinderella the magic flows from the gift of obedience that is given to her by a fairy.  As you can imagine this gift complicates life for Cinderella and is something she must overcome.  To spice things up various mythical creatures such as elves, ogres, gnomes and giants were incorporated into the tale.

 

Recent Cinderella spin offs are:  Cinderella is evil (2020) by Jamie Campell (tells story from viewpoint of Cinderella's sister), Creating Cinderella (2020) by  K.A. Mitimore (Twelve retold stories by twelve different authors), Cinderella is Dead by  (2020) Kalynn Bayron (Two hundred years after Cinderella found her prince a new generation of teen girls attend an annual ball) and, of course, Ardennia (release date October 5, 2021).

 

Ardennia, in a nutshell, captures the magic, brutality and earthiness of the age of chivalry as it chronicles the many adventures and tribulations of Cinderella’s prince.  It uses the same point of view as The Prince’s Diary, but adds original tales about pixies, trolls, dwarves, fairies and nymphs.  It also has secondary and tertiary love stories that feature a buffoon and a hunchback.  In addition Ardennia brings to life an amazing number of memorable medieval characters that include a bean counter who wagers his gold tooth in a dice game, a merchant who can never be too prosperous, a band of female brigands, pilgrims that argue over who is the most pious, a cobbler who has come into the possession of a goose that lays golden eggs, a hermit who is mistaken for a hobgoblin and a beggar who has been cursed with leprosy for committing all the cardinal sins.

 

What makes Ardennia unique is that it adheres to the following tenent:  There is much that is magical in this world, but hardly any real magic to be had.  This nuance allows for a great deal of realism in my novel and keeps the magic – most of the time – at the periphery of the action.

My Bio:  I am a literature-major drop out who received a Bachelor’s degree in biology and science education from the University of Wisconsin.  I taught marine biology in Puerto Rico, worked as a diver for the Australian Institute of Marine Science, wrote and award winning play and founded Save the Rainforest in 1988 www.savetherainforestnow.org.  In my spare time I read, bicycle, cross country ski and write plays and novels. 

 

To get the book, follow me or see reviews of Ardennia  go to:

www.literaryworksbrucecalhoun.com/novels.html

 

 

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: HARD CONVERSATIONS by BJ COMMUNICATES

 

Write Now Literary is pleased to be organizing a two-month book tour and $50 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway For Hard Conversations: Book 1: Breadcrumbs To The Past by BJ Communicates. The book tour will run Sept 6-October 29, 2021.

 

Genre: Urban Fiction

ISBN-978-1098380953

  

ABOUT THE BOOK

Sometimes it’s the conversations not had that do the most damage to the people in our lives. Hard Conversations is a collection of short stories detailing the lives of five urban people who are standing at the intersection of their past and their potential. Sensing that something is still off in the lives that they have built, each has to make the crucial decision whether to address their secrets long buried, or to continue living in the uncomfortable matrix they created. Only they can decide what their future will bring.

EXCERPT

Our gifting often becomes our prison. I wrote this book to pull back the mask on our experience in the hopes that it compels us to confront our learned ability to white wash our pain with our talent and giftings. We are often taught that the greatest value that we bring to the world is solely present in what we do, what we earn, or how well we play. In reality our greatest value is in the stories that we can articulate to those we influence once we have reached the other side of trauma. Trauma that tried to silence our voice, trauma that caused a part of us to die in the fight, and trauma that threatened us to stay silent after our experience with it because we should just be grateful that we made it to the other side.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

BJ Communicates, aka Dr. Brad Johnson, LSSBB, CSM, is a Kingdom writer, a communication practitioner, and an influential Bible teacher. Given the assignments of assisting urban believers in articulating their stories, finding resolution, and gaining the language of the Kingdom, BJ continually creates and releases inspirational media content that highlights their stories and experiences. “The Holy Spirit is constantly giving me things to write; sometimes it’s a book, sometimes it’s an article for a Christian publication, sometimes it’s something for my blog site or social media, and sometimes it’s a song for me or another recording artist, I’m just the pen in His hand,” says BJ. In addition to faith-based media creator, he is the owner of Communic8 Life Consulting, a communication consulting firm that specializes in assisting couples, families, and business teams in improving their interpersonal communication skills; and is the co-pastor of the urban cafe church Transformed City in Richmond, VA.

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BOOK REVIEW: CHASING THE TAILLIGHTS BY KATE LARKINDALE

 

CHASING THE TAILLIGHTS

Lucy and Tony share nothing except genes. Tony’s the champion diver destined for greatness. Lucy’s biggest concern is getting Cute Guy from the burger joint to ask her out.

After an accident kills their parents, the siblings are forced to rely on one another—and decide whether to reveal their secrets.

Lucy can’t tell Tony what she knows about the accident for fear of destroying the tentative bond between them. If she doesn’t confess, she might lose her mind. If she does, she might lose the only person she has left who loves her.

Tony has problems too. Between diving practice, classes and concealing the crush he has on his best friend Jake, Tony needs to find room in his life for his sister, but his own stability dwindles with every passing day.

As the siblings struggle to overcome a lifetime of past conflicts and jealousies, they discover they might have more in common than a love of rock music.

Publisher: Evernight Teen

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56878727-chasing-the-taillights

My Thoughts 

An emotional rollercoaster is how I will describe Kate Larkindale's "Chasing The Taillights". 

Lucy and Tony were siblings in the prime of their youth having to deal with the loss of their parents in an accident. The loss of parents at any age is painful, but when they die suddenly it is even more devastating. The book was written from both the perspective of Lucy the teenager, who survived the accident with her parents and Tony the older, athletic, college student brother who, overnight had to take up the responsibility of his younger sister, who he knew very little about personality wise.

When I was reading the book, I was thinking about people in general going through loss. What I found interesting was that neither of the siblings did not seek counselling. I am not sure if this was deliberate, but the way these two were struggling especially Lucy really said to me that young people in similar situations should seek help. The downward spiral that Lucy went through was testament to that. It was really heart wrenching to read about when she finally remembered the details of the accident, the guilt, the shame, and the recklessness wow it was really real to me.

What I liked about Tony, was that although he was grappling with college life, diving and personal life, he still stepped up to care for his teenage sister. I really liked too how this author through Tony gave me a different take on dealing with loss. The ending was really wonderful as well.

Much thanks to Ms. Larkindale for sending this book for review. 

I really enjoyed this book.

About The Author

Having spent a lifetime travelling the globe, Kate Larkindale settled in Wellington, New Zealand fifteen years ago.  A film marketing executive and mother to two sons, she’s surprised she finds any time to write, but doesn’t sleep much.  As a result, she can usually be found hanging out by the nearest espresso machine.

She is the author of contemporary YA novels Chasing The Taillights, The Sidewalk’s Regrets, An Unstill Life and Stumped along with several others that no one is allowed to see. Yet. She has also written one very bad historical romance, which will likely never see the light of day. She is working on several more YA novels that may or may not ever be finished.

Her short stories have appeared in Halfway Down The Stairs, A Fly in Amber, Daily Flash Anthology, The Barrier Islands Review, Everyday Fiction, Death Rattle, Kissed Anthology, Just Me Anthology, Drastic Measures, Cutlass & Musket and Residential Aliens, among others.

Read an Excerpt:

And then he’s there.

He steps into the room, his huge frame filling the doorway. He starts toward the bed then stops, his lips pressing together into a thin, white line. He drops his brilliant blue-eyed gaze to the floor for a moment and swallows hard before he looks up again. The scruffy beginnings of a beard shadow his chin.

“Hey, Lucy.” He tries to smile as he crosses to the bed, but his lips tremble too hard for it to be convincing. A muscle jumps in his jaw like a tiny fish trying to escape. “Thank you for being here, Peter.”

“I wish I didn’t have to be.” Peter gets up and gives Tony a brief hug. My brother’s arms don’t move, just hang stiffly at his sides, hands clenched into fists. 

Peter lets go and moves aside to let Tony sit next to me. “I’m going to get some coffee. I’ll be back soon.”

Tony watches him go, not turning back to me until Peter’s tall, lean figure has vanished into the hallway. When he does, his eyes are red-rimmed and exhausted. Purple crescents lie beneath them. He looks like shit, but something about the way he’s studying me makes me certain I look worse.

“Oh, Jesus, Lucy.” He shakes his head, a pleading expression on his face. “I have no clue what I’m supposed to say right now.”

I blink up at him. I need him to tell me what happened. I need him to explain it to me. I try to form the words, but they won’t come. My mouth, stitched up like a quilt, won’t shape what I need to say.

“Dad?” I manage after a long battle. “…Mom’s…” I can’t say it. If I speak it aloud it’ll be true.

I’m holding my breath. My chest aches and I let it out in a gasp. The pain is back, sharp and stabbing at my side, a dull throb in my neck and shoulder. Tony reaches out and touches the side of my face. I flinch, hating myself for it when his fingers are as gentle as rain.

“They’re dead, Lucy. They’re both dead.” His eyes lock onto mine and I know he’s telling the truth. The bleak, stunned look on his face tells me more than any words could. A sob escapes him and he starts to turn away.

BOOK REVIEW: PATSY by NICOLE DENNIS-BENN

 Synopsis:

When Patsy gets her long-coveted visa to America, it comes after years of yearning to leave Pennyfield, the beautiful but impoverished Jamaican town where she was raised. More than anything, Patsy wishes to be reunited with her oldest friend, Cicely, whose letters arrive from New York steeped in the promise of a happier life and the possible rekindling of their young love. But Patsy’s plans don’t include her overzealous, evangelical mother―or even her five-year-old daughter, Tru.

Beating with the pulse of a long-withheld confession, Patsy gives voice to a woman who looks to America for the opportunity to choose herself first―not to give a better life to her family back home. Patsy leaves Tru behind in a defiant act of self-preservation, hoping for a new start where she can be, and love, whomever she wants. But when Patsy arrives in Brooklyn, America is not as Cicely’s treasured letters described; to survive as an undocumented immigrant, she is forced to work as a bathroom attendant and nanny. Meanwhile, Tru builds a faltering relationship with her father back in Jamaica, grappling with her own questions of identity and sexuality, and trying desperately to empathize with her mother’s decision.

Expertly evoking the jittery streets of New York and the languid rhythms of Jamaica, Patsy weaves between the lives of Patsy and Tru in vignettes spanning more than a decade as mother and daughter ultimately find a way back to one another.

My Thoughts:

This has to go down as one of my all time favourite books written by a Caribbean author. I heard many people saying that this book was good and they were right. This book spoke to the issue of migration. Many West Indians in the past and even now are still seeking the American dream and although the story spoke to the Jamaican experience as a Trinidadian I can relate to this.

Patsy was a young woman with a dream and hers was a life better than what she had in Jamaica living with her over religious mother "MAMA G" and her five year old daughter Tru. Living in the United States promised an escape and a chance of happiness with her childhood friend Cicely who migrated to the US years before and also who she loves dearly. Upon receiving a VISA, Patsy left everything behind including her daughter and set off to live her life. However, upon reaching America everything is not easy street, instead she meets a life of hardship and pain. 

Meanwhile in Jamaica, Tru had to live with her father Roy (who she had little relationship with), his wife Marva and her brothers. Tru's path was very interesting. In the West Indies we talk about children whose parents left them for the US as "barrel children". In Tru's case however, she wasn't even that because Patsy had no communication with her after leaving Jamaica. As Tru struggled with her sexuality and finding herself, we were told of Patsy's struggles to survive in a foreign land.

Patsy's experience was well written and I loved this book for that, because at many parts I could have related her experiences to people I know. This book also highlighted the myriad of social problems that existed and still to some extent exist in Jamaican society. I especially like how the issue of sexuality was written because you really got a deeper understanding of what occurs.

The case of characters were all important in their own way and each had a main significance in the book. very often when books have many characters like this one there is sometimes a disconnect but it worked well in this book.

In all this was a great work of West Indian fiction. I highly recommend it. Very enjoyable indeed,

BOOK TOUR AND GIVEAWAY: THE LIGHT THROUGH THE POURING RAIN BY JAMES RUVALCABA

 

Write Now Literary is pleased to be organizing a two-month book tour and $50 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway for The Light Through the Pouring Rain by James Ruvalcaba. 

The book tour will run August 2- Sept 30, 2021.  

 Genre: Nonfiction 

 ISBN-13: 979-8575160397 

Before he started writing romance stories, James worked with the special need’s population for 10 Years. He devoted his life giving back to the population. From school's to agencies and everything in between James has worked almost every job within the community. After that, during the pandemic James decided to start writing to pass the time, but to come through on his promise he made years earlier. He devoted his life to giving back, now he devotes his life to telling his stories.  

      

A remarkable love story that pulls on your heartstrings and leaves you inspired. A page turner that gives a first-hand look into the lives of a young couple madly in love and eager to start their lives together, only to have it all halted by a cancer diagnosis. With no clear road map on how to navigate their new normal, James and Anabel proceed into uncharted territory, hand-in-hand, with the love of their families and their faith in God to guide them.  

 

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1. Why do you write the kind of books you do? I write romance, love & loss, and inspirational books.

2. Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life? My happiest day was the day my book got published because it meant I came through on the promise I made to my Fiancé.

3. How has being published changed your life? It gave me the confidence to know that I was meant to write.

 
4. What are you reading right now? I am currently reading “Can’t hurt me” by David Goggins

 
5. What is your current work in progress? I am writing my next installment in my book series.
 
6. What would be your dream vacation? I don’t have a particular area, but somewhere by the water so I can hear the waves at night and enjoy the over atmosphere of peace being around. 
 
7. How do you choose your settings for each book? I only write non-fiction books, so I pick locations within the stories, but as far as the timelines go , I think of the moments that should be relieved.

8. If you could spend an evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why? I’d say Tyler perry. I’d love to pick his brain about why he continued to push forward to overcome the obstacles that were placed in his life. 

 

9. What three things about you would surprise readers?

I'm not very much into materialistic items

I have a phobia of holes

I enjoy listening to all types of music.. For example, I listened to Katy Perry's “ Teenage Dream” for most of my high school tenure. 
 
10. What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading? I enjoy going to the Gym before and after writing and I enjoy being by the beach. 
 

 

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Tour organized by Write Now Literary Book Tours 

 

AUGUST WRAP UP AND READING PLANS FOR THE REST OF 2021!!

AUGUST WRAP UP AND READING PLANS FOR THE REST OF 2021!!

In August I read eight books!!! I thought I would have gotten through a lot more since I was on vacation from work. I guess I was too busy sleeping and watching Netflix. Anyway here are the books that I have read. and in case you want to read the reviews I have placed them below.

Some great books indeed!!!

LUSTER BY RAVEN LEILANI

THE BLACK MARKETER"S DAUGHTER BY SUMAN MALLICK

THE LONELY LONDONERS BY SAMUEL SELVON

WATCH FOR ME BY MARTIN BODENHAM

HOW THE ONE ARMED SISTER SWEEPS HER HOUSE BY CHERIE JONES

AFFIRMATIONS OF A MENTOR

EDUCATED BY TARA WESTOVER

THE GIRL WHO STOLE J.E.B. STUART BY PAUL FERRANTE 

For the month of September and for the balance of the year, I am planning to highlight ARCs from Netgalley and books sent to me by authors and publishers (I hope I can get through a lot of them). So look out for that especially if you sent me your book to review!!!

Looking forward to an exciting few months!!!

Cheers!!!

BOOK REVIEW: LUSTER by RAVEN LEILANI

Synopsis:

No one wants what no one wants.

And how do we even know what we want? How do we know we’re ready to take it?

Edie is stumbling her way through her twenties—sharing a subpar apartment in Bushwick, clocking in and out of her admin job, making a series of inappropriate sexual choices. She is also haltingly, fitfully giving heat and air to the art that simmers inside her. And then she meets Eric, a digital archivist with a family in New Jersey, including an autopsist wife who has agreed to an open marriage—with rules.

As if navigating the constantly shifting landscapes of contemporary sexual manners and racial politics weren’t hard enough, Edie finds herself unemployed and invited into Eric’s home—though not by Eric. She becomes a hesitant ally to his wife and a de facto role model to his adopted daughter. Edie may be the only Black woman young Akila knows.

Irresistibly unruly and strikingly beautiful, razor-sharp and slyly comic, sexually charged and utterly absorbing, Raven Leilani’s Luster is a portrait of a young woman trying to make sense of her life—her hunger, her anger—in a tumultuous era. It is also a haunting, aching description of how hard it is to believe in your own talent, and the unexpected influences that bring us into ourselves along the way.

My thoughts 

 Luster by Raven Leilani

⭐⭐⭐

I needed a few days to recover from this story. No doubt a very well written work of Millennial Fiction but I must say this may not be everyone's cup of tea.

The story follows Edie a young twenty something year old black woman living in New York who is trying to deal with the challenges of her past and present life.

Edie becomes involved with the much older and more experienced Eric, who is white and in an open marriage and the father of a black teenager who is adopted. Circumstances led to Edie spending time with this family in their home and their interaction is unbelievable.

I loved the writing style of this book because the reader really is in the mind of Edie which I would imagine was quite difficult to execute.

While I liked and understood the story I didn't love it as I thought I would have. Luster is one of those books that I will maybe have to revisit again.

Great book for a book club discussion...

BOOK REVIEW: THE BLACK MARKETER'S DAUGHTER BY SUMAN MALLICK

 

Synopsis:

Zuleikha arrives in the US from Lahore, Pakistan, by marriage, having trained as a pianist without ever owning a real piano. Now she finally has one--a wedding present from her husband--but nevertheless finds it difficult to get used to her new role of a suburban middle-class housewife who has an abundance of time to play it. Haunted by the imaginary worlds of the confiscated contraband books and movies that her father trafficked in to pay for her education and her dowry, and unable to reconcile them with the expectations of the real world of her present, she ends up as the central figure in a scandal that catapults her into the public eye and plays out in equal measures in the local news and in backroom deliberations, all fueled by winds of anti-Muslim hysteria.

The Black-Marketer's Daughter was a finalist for the Disquiet Open Borders Book Prize, and praised by the jury as a "complicated and compelling story" of our times, with two key cornerstones of the novel being the unsympathetic voice with which Mallick, almost objectively, relays catastrophic and deeply emotional events, and the unsparing eye with which he illuminates the different angles and conflicting interests at work in a complex situation. The cumulative effects, while deliberately unsettling to readers, nevertheless keeps them glued to the pages out of sheer curiosity about what will happen next. 

My Thoughts 

The Black-Marketer's Daughter

Honestly when I requested this book from Netgalley, I was drawn to the name and did not really read what it was about. 

But am I happy that I picked this up. This story is short but so very gripping that you will not be able to put it down. 

The story follows Zuleikha a young woman of Pakistani origin and who is also Muslim trying to get used to married life which has been more challenging for her than she expected.

While Zu's husband Iskander is a relatively good person he is almost too perfect, that she becomes bored.. With this boredom, Zu falls into the arms of another man, and this leads to damage of epic proportions. What really resonated with me were the issues that were highlighted i.e, gender, religion, culture and even politics. 

I love when a work of fiction can get such powerful messages across to the masses because reading in itself is supposed to expand individual thoughts beyond what is considered the norm. This book did that for me, The only thing is that the ending was a bit abrupt. I felt that more could have been said as to Iskander's fate. But in all tnis was a well written book that I can recommend.

HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO TRINI GIRL READS!!!!

Hi Readers,

In spite of the challenges of the pandemic, it created many opportunities. 

It afforded me the chance to learn many different things and renew my interest in literature. 

Trini Girl Reads was founded on my passion for reading and in this the first year of its existence, my life has changed immensely. I have had the opportunity to write book reviews for authors, my inbox continues to be full with requests. I have done promotional blog tours and have been sharing books that I have been enjoying. 

The most important lesson I have learned with blogging is that it takes a lot of effort and work to create content that people would be interested in. I like that this platform gives me the opportunity to tap into my creative side and also practice my writing skills that, for many years has been strictly limited to academia. In the coming year I would like to do different things with the blog in order to expand my readership.

Much thanks to everyone, who has visited this space. I hope that you all continue to enjoy me sharing my moody and diverse reading habits for many years to come. 

HAPPY READING!!!

BOOK REVIEW: THE LONELY LONDONERS BY SAMUEL SELVON (A WEST INDIAN CLASSIC)

Synopsis 

 At Waterloo Station, hopeful new arrivals from the West Indies step off the boat train, ready to start afresh in 1950s London. There, homesick Moses Aloetta, who has already lived in the city for years, meets Henry 'Sir Galahad' Oliver and shows him the ropes. In this strange, cold and foggy city where the natives can be less than friendly at the sight of a black face, has Galahad met his Waterloo?

But the irrepressible newcomer cannot be cast down. He and all the other lonely new Londoners - from shiftless Cap to Tolroy, whose family has descended on him from Jamaica - must try to create a new life for themselves. As pessimistic 'old veteran' Moses watches their attempts, they gradually learn to survive and come to love the heady excitements of London.

My Thoughts 

"What is is that a city have, that any place in the world have, that you get so much to like it you wouldn't leave it for anywhere else? What it is that would keep men although by and large, in truth and in fact, they catching their royal to make a living, staying in a cramp-up room where you have to do everything-sleep, eat, dress, wash cook, live.....Why it is, that in the end, everyone cagey about saying outright that if a chance come they will go back to them green islands in the sun?" SAMUEL SELVON - THE LONELY LONDONERS

This is a masterpiece from one of the geniuses of Trinidadian and Caribbean Literature.

During my school days studying literature Samuel Selvon was one of the first local authors I was introduced to. For Lit I read A Brighter Sun and Ways of Sunlight which were assigned readings at the time. It took me years to find this particular title and I am so glad that it surpassed my expectations. 

The Lonely Londoners spoke to the experiences of West Indians who, migrated to London in the post World War 2 era. They are commonly referred to as the Windrush generation. The story spoke to the struggles with employment, race relations and the loneliness felt by the young men who went to this strange land looking for a better life. 

The story is told by Moses, a Trinidadian who having lived in London for ten years, shares his experiences with young Henry aka Sir Galahad a newbie to London who was told that Moses was the best person to show him the ropes. We are introduced to other characters Cap, Five, Tolroy and others and through the experiences of these men we learn what life was like for migrants at that time.

I must mention the clever use of Trinidadian "parlance" in the writing was excellent. There were many instances where I would laugh but the sense of loneliness, uncertainty, hardship and sadness came through the pages.

I loved this book.