Craving His Curve Review

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I’ve always been fascinated by authors who can write these beautiful and descriptive stories taking the readers along on a journey, and India T. Norfleet’s Craving His Curve does that. Breesha Webster and Sincere Asher’s lives are intertwined by more than just a chance meeting at a grocery store. A few years back, Breesha got into a car accident at the hands of another motorist, resulting in a fatality. She survived, but at what cost? The person who caused the accident wants her dead because she’s testifying against them. 

There’s no denying the chemistry between Breesha and Sincere. But will their relationship survive when there’s revenge on the horizon? As the story unfolds, the reader learns that some situations are too close to home, like the connection between Breesha’s accident, the motorist, and Sincere, and how some exes aren’t willing to stay an ex. 

Craving His Curve is for mature audiences, and off the title alone, I wasn’t expecting an actual story. I expected sexual content from beginning to end. I’ve read other works from this author, and she is heavy on erotica, so when this one started with an actual storyline, I was taken aback. I appreciated this, but at the same time, I was searching for my familiar. Let me tell you, the scenes are there, but that isn’t the story’s focal point. Watching everything unfold between these two characters is; the ups, downs, and everything in between. 

Readers see how Breesha and Sincere feel about one another; they’re seeing the family dynamic they have between their families and how past hurt and mistakes can either make or break a relationship. These are typical things that most relationships go through, especially in the early stages. I believe readers will enjoy this one. There’s intrigue, suspense, romance, and edge-of-your-seat erotic action. 

Let me reiterate that this book is for mature audiences only, and I should mention those of you who are into erotica, romance, intrigue, and suspense will find Craving His Curve quite enjoyable. Norfleet’s book is available everywhere books are sold. 

VERxanity: It’s Okay to Not be Okay Review

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Synopsis: VERxanity is a conversational piece written by Shanquea M. Walker. She details what it is like to juggle her everyday responsibilities, including motherhood and her struggle with anxiety and depression.  

My Thoughts: VERxanity is a quick and short read. I love how passionate and determined she is towards providing a better life for herself and her children despite her illnesses. Her loyalty to her friends and family is apparent, which I appreciate. Her desire to utilize this book to present a resource and help those dealing with similar sentiments is thoughtful. 

While these things were wonderful, there were some issues I found while reading. I noticed that VERxanity reads more like a journal entry/blog post than a book with informative insight that readers can utilize. The conversational component is there, but the author doesn’t follow up with a call to action. Why would readers benefit from reading VERxanity?

I noticed punctuation and grammar errors throughout the book, and the chapters didn’t cohesively fit together. It seems as if the author starts one chapter after the next without providing the reader with a clear idea as to the focal point of each chapter.

I do think that the author’s story could resonate with readers, but it needs more work. VERxanity is available everywhere books are sold. 

The Sigil Review

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Synopsis courtesy of the Author: Lake’s brother Devlin was murdered right in front of him simply because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Or was he? Why, then, does Lake think Devlin knew he would die before they ever set foot in the gas station that night? As he obsesses over his brother’s death, Lake begins to uncover a hidden world full of forbidden magic and growing danger. Now he’s stuck, caught between the world that his brother was meant for and his own. Lake is beginning to realize that no one and nowhere is safe.

Nova Rathers may not be especially powerful in the Mage world, but she makes up for it with a magical bag of snacks and a body constructed by the Gods to slay. Desperate to be more than her lineage, she finds herself teamed up with a group of misfits and, in her mind, the weakest creature of all – a gida – a powerless human. Together, they start to unravel the lies that built their world and continue to hold it hostage. Nova’s last year at Breyburn Academe was never easy, but she had no idea that it could ever get this bad.

Lake, Nova, and their newfound friends are about to find the truth behind what has been hunting them. But knowing is only half the battle. Even if they survive, will the rest of the world remain standing?

My thoughts: After reading The Sigil, I immediately thought of the Harry Potter series or something like the movie The Craft. Authors Shakeil Kanish and Larissa Mandeville invite readers into the action with the first chapter. As the story continues, you become a part of this rollercoaster ride as the main characters work to uncover the truth of who killed Lake’s brother Devlin, and what’s going to happen to Breyburn Academe, and in doing so, reveal a dangerous secret affecting everyone involved. 

I wasn’t expecting the ending, which was a plus and minus because I appreciate a cliffhanger, but I was confused a bit by this book’s conclusion. I also had to refer to clues within the text to figure out what some of the words meant, like mage, sigil, and gida. However, I liked the nonstop action and the powerful primary and secondary characters. Each had its voice, and it was nice seeing the representation of the LGBTQ+ community with one of the main characters. 

The authors did a nice job of providing the reader with enough dialogue among the characters and attention to detail regarding scenes and character description. Overall, this was a pleasant read, and I’m sure part two of this book won’t disappoint. Part one of The Sigil will be out on March 4, 2021. 

The Switch Review

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A construction worker is working on a site, and discovers remains, and alerts the police. This discovery unlocks a secret causing a domino effect that will destroy several individual’s lives. Dave Munoz and Craig Walker reunite to work on the case. 

Munoz and Walker work to identify the body and, in doing so, discover several individuals and their involvement regarding this cold case. Munoz and Walker uncover the truth, which results in someone’s death, prison time, and the starting of a friendship between two people who meet for the first time. 

The Switch by Thomas Hall has an engaging storyline filled with twists and turns, solid characters, romance, and the reader will appreciate the story from start to finish. Each chapter has the reader discovering something new that adds to the story, which ultimately ends with a proposal. The only issue I noticed was a few punctuation errors. 

Suppose you are into fictional detective stories filled with action, romance, and suspense. In that case, I suggest purchasing Thomas Hall’s The Switch. I’ve had the opportunity of reading and reviewing his books before, so I expected nothing less with Hall being able to deliver another fantastic read, and he did. The Switch is available everywhere books are sold. 

American Dirt Review

Lydia Quixano Pérez seems to have the perfect life living in the Mexican city of Acapulco. Her husband’s a journalist, she has a son named Luca, and she is a bookstore owner. One day she meets a complex character named Javier. He enters her bookstore and changes her life forever.

Javier and Lydia began to bond over their love for books, which turns into further discussion of things they like, troubles they’re having, and there’s even discussion every so often about their families. Lydia appreciates Javier’s friendship that is until she learns about him being head of a drug cartel. Her husband’s been reporting about the unfortunate deaths and chaos Javier and his associates have been causing. 

Lydia’s shocked. She can’t grasp the man who walked into her bookstore and the man committing these heinous acts to be the same person. Javier learns of Lydia’s husband’s reporting and sets a plan in motion. 

Lydia and her family attend her niece’s quinceañera. However, they’re unable to enjoy the festivities because bullets rang out. As Lydia and Luca emerge from hiding, they find each one of her family members sprawled out dead, including her husband. She doesn’t have time to mourn or process what happened. Lydia must get her son and herself to safety. She leaves Javier and leaves behind everything she once had in Acapulco. 

Along her journey, she meets some interesting characters and endures some tough times as she tries her best to head north to freedom, to the United States. Readers follow Lydia along on her journey from start to finish. There was a lot in this book, and as I read, I was able to picture how some of the scenes or the characters might look. I felt that the author could have shortened a lot of the content, but I understand why she didn’t. 

Jeanine Cummins wanted the reader to visualize and, in some instances, feel what the characters were going through. It was essential to tell this story the way she did because thousands of individuals have done what Lydia did in their search for safety and freedom. I liked American Dirt because even though it was fiction, it opened my eyes to what some people endure just to come to the United States. 

You hear the stories, you might even discuss what you’ve read in a newspaper with someone else, but reading it in a work of fiction takes on a different meaning. It’s another way of bringing an individual(s) story to life. And this is what Cummins did. Even though the narrative was long, it was powerful. The plot was engaging, the characters were strong, and there was enough dialogue to keep me engaged in the story. 

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins is available everywhere books are sold. 

Interview With TEDX Speaker and THREAD MB Founder, Laura J. Wellington

There’s a saying, “I don’t look like what I’ve been through.” Laura J. Wellington is a leading example of this. At 35, she lost her husband to cancer. She was left to raise their children on her own. While some may fall victim to their circumstances, Wellington chose to persevere and be resilient. “It shows in my entire life. It is how I survived what I did and lived to tell about it through this book. (Be Careful What You Wish For). It shows in my continued happiness,” she states. 

Laura J. Wellington is an author with books focused on women and children. She’s a TEDx Speaker, an award-winning children’s television creator, a serial entrepreneur in technology and entertainment, and founder of celebrity-lifestyle blog THREAD MB. 

Wellington has won several awards, including The Forbes Enterprise Award, The Buzz Award, and The Dove Foundation Award. However, the most crucial prize she’s won has to be being a mom to five children. 

Morgan Lee Reviews had the pleasure of interviewing Wellington. She discussed the inspiration behind her newest book, Be Careful What You Wish For, memorable advice given to her as an author and writer, and advice she has for aspiring authors. 

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MLR: What inspired you to write Be Careful What You Wish For and the Jasper’s Giant Imagination series?

LJW: My love for the “good story” and how it can impact, motivate, and touch the hearts of others. 

MLR: Are there plans to write any more books?

LJW: Yes, there is an upcoming sequel to Be Careful What You Wish For in the works.

Along with being an author, in 2018, Wellington did a Tedx titled What’s She Got That I Don’t. She talks about a key component in relationships. Knowing who you are and being confident in that is essential because if you don’t, how do you expect to provide your partner with what he or she may need and vice versa?

MLR: With everything you’ve accomplished, what is one of your proudest moments? What is one of your non-glorious moments, and was there a lesson you learned in either of these?

LJW: One of my proudest moments was watching my oldest son graduate medical school. I felt like “my whole life was worth it.” One of my less than stellar moments was when I threw a chair in response to stress. I realized that I was human then forgave myself. You will find that incident in the book. The lesson that I learned is that “you have to take the good with the bad, including in oneself.”

MLR: Speaking of taking the good with the bad, what advice would you give to aspiring authors?

LJW: Don’t be frightened to expose yourself in your writing. The craft demands it of you.

MLR: What is some memorable advice you’ve been given as an author and writer?

LJW: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” In other words, show courage in your work.”

And that’s what she continues to do. Above all else, she considers herself to be a “hands-on parent” because, as she states, “If you fail with your kids, what good is the rest?” Wellington later remarried and became a licensed foster parent. When asked what she wants people to take away from this interview she says she wants people to see more of her in the book, and hopes that in understanding her better, people will understand the main character, Evie. “I am enjoying meeting so many new and wonderful people through this book, including you. That is one of the benefits of doing what I do. I get to meet a ton of great people along the way.”

Morgan Lee Reviews would like to Thank Laura J. Wellington for partaking in this interview. Visit laurajwellington.com to learn more about her, and Be Careful What You Wish For is available everywhere books are sold.   

Taken to The Grave Review

Once again, readers are introduced to Josette Fournier and Bob Arnett as they work with their team to solve the tarot card murders in Taken to The Grave. This action-packed gripping page-turner will leave you on the edge of your seat. Fournier and her team work tirelessly to determine why these murders have occurred, and the importance of the tarot cards left with each of the victims at the scene. 

In Taken to The Grave, readers get to see a different side of Fournier. She is still that no-nonsense, tough as nails character that readers enjoyed in The Dancing Girls. However, we see a softer side of her emerge as she spends time with her father. Fournier’s father is diagnosed with prostate cancer, and readers get to see how she and her sister, and their mom handle the news. Not only that, but we get to see how she copes with this gut-wrenching news while also working on this unfortunate murder case.

Taken to The Grave was better than The Dancing Girls. I liked that I got to see who Fournier was—in her element, spending time with her family while also giving her energy to this case. The storyline was intriguing, especially because I am a fan of tarot cards and astrology. As always, I appreciated the female lead and the various twists and turns throughout this book. One would think that Taken to The Grave is a sequel to The Dancing Girls, but what I loved was that this book could be a stand-alone while also being a sequel but with a different case to focus on sort of how they do in TV shows like Law And Order or Chicago P.D.

If you’re interested in mystery, thriller novels, then Taken to The Grave as well as The Dancing Girls are two reads by M.M. Chouinard, you’ll want to check out. Taken to The Grave is available everywhere books are sold. 

Beneath a Ruthless Sun Review

Gilbert King was awarded the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction for Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and The Dawn of a New America, which was also a New York Times bestseller and a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. King is also the author of The Execution of Willie Francis: Race Murder, and the Search for Justice in the American South, and Beneath a Ruthless Sun. 

Beneath a Ruthless Sun is a true story centered around the injustice that an intellectually disabled white nineteen-year-old Jesse Daniels endured at the hands of then sheriff Willis McCall in December of 1957. The story goes that the wife of a Florida citrus baron was sexually assaulted while at home. An investigation opens, and the woman claims a “husky negro” committed this devastating crime. What ensues is the unfortunate, life-altering events that will affect everyone involved in this case, especially that of Jesse Daniels, because he’s being accused of committing this crime. 

Some people know he’s innocent, and they work tirelessly to prove it. Three of the front runners are his mother and father and journalist Mabel Norris Reese. They’ll endure roadblocks, heartache, and uncertainty along the way as they uncover information critical to proving his innocence. Beneath a Ruthless Sun is a story filled with love, loss, violence, racial injustice, and the hope for a better tomorrow. 

Beneath a Ruthless Sun is available everywhere books are sold. 

An American Marriage Review

Imagine being married for one year when life as you know it turns upside down. Everything that you had planned, everything that you thought you knew has to change, and you’re faced with a new reality, you’re reality. Newlyweds, Celestial, and Roy Hamilton, were only married a year when tragedy struck. 

Celestial and Roy set out on a road trip to visit his parents in Eloe, Louisiana, during Labor Day weekend. There was this unsettling feeling that Celestial couldn’t quite describe. All she knew was she wanted to return home to Atlanta. Maybe coming to Eloe wasn’t such a good idea after all. 

But they arrived safe and sound. Roy and Celestial greeted his parents even though the relationship between Celestial and Roy’s mother wasn’t the best. They ate food, also talked for a bit, and when the discussion came up about where Roy and Celestial would be staying during the duration of their trip, that’s when things changed. 

Roy’s parents were under the impression that they would be staying there while Roy had made reservations at a local hotel. After a bit back and forth, Roy and Celestial made their way to this hotel, intending to get some much-needed rest and start fresh in the morning. What transpired next would shatter everyone’s lives, and as time progressed, they would have to learn how to accept, forgive, and rebuild.

As Roy and Celestial lay in bed, the sound of the front door getting kicked in startles them. Roy’s forced out of the room and placed on the ground as Celestial watches on in horror. Roy is accused of raping a young lady who stayed a few doors down from them. Roy says he’s innocent, and as the story unfolds, the reader sees that he is innocent. However, the case goes to trial, and unfortunately, he’s convicted. 

What transpires next is a love triangle between Roy, Celestial, and their friend Andre, who Roy has known since college, and Celestial has known since they were kids. As Roy serves his time, a romance develops between Celestial and Andre. How will this affect Celestial and Roy’s relationship, given the fact that they’re still married? What will happen once Roy gets out? 

An American Marriage written by Tayari Jones is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat. I found myself enthralled with each of the characters. At times I would be upset with one or two of them, and then I would feel deeply bothered and hurt for them, especially Roy. Jones’ characters were strong; each character had their story and voice and brought something uniquely different to this novel. The plot was intriguing, and the story was well-written. 

I see why it was apart of Oprah’s 2018 Book Club selection. You had no choice but to get pulled in by the lives of these characters, the conversations between them, the twists and turns, how an innocent Black man got railroaded by the judicial system, and how this unfortunate event trickled down like a domino to affect everyone else around him. If you haven’t already, I encourage anyone who’s into fiction, Black female authors, and a tantalizing story, filled with love, entanglement, and heartache to read this book. You won’t be disappointed. 

Tayari Jones’ An American Marriage is available everywhere books are sold. She is also the author of Silver Sparrow, The Untelling, and Leaving Atlanta. 

KRS – ONE’s The Gospel of Hip Hop First Instrument Review

I purchased KRS- ONE’s book The Gospel of Hip Hop First Instrument last year in 2019 during Christmas. I saw that this was a relatively large book, but I felt I could read all 800 pages and write my review. I was hugely mistaken. I only made it to 514 pages. Given what I read, this is what I gathered for my review. 

For those unfamiliar with KRS – ONE, he is a political and socially conscious American rapper often referred to as “the Teacha,” given how he delivers various thought-provoking and mindful messages within his rhymes. He’s also an author and activist fighting for and educating people about multiple causes affecting people worldwide, especially people of color.

When I first learned of this book, which was through Nick Cannon’s YouTube channel Cannon’s Class, I thought why not give this book a shot. I wouldn’t consider myself an all-out Hip Hop enthusiast, but I enjoy listening to various artists from time to time. When this book arrived, I was excited to dive right in. I figured I was going to learn all about Hip Hop. But, sadly, this book wasn’t what I expected. 

There was a lot to unpack and decipher, which was good in a way because it challenged me as a reader to research things I didn’t understand and to take notes for questions I had or statements I didn’t agree with necessarily. This book boils down to the importance of Hip Hop in one’s life and how it has continuously influenced worldwide culture. 

KRS – ONE doesn’t provide the reader with a step by step guide into the world of Hip Hop. He does, however, state his views about the trajectory of Hip Hop, is vocal about God’s role in Hip Hop, and he also lets the reader know that this book is for those who intend to follow “the temple of Hip Hop,” which he provides the steps to do so inside the book.

Getting to this conclusion wasn’t easy. It took a lot of notes and a lot of rereading to the point where I had to throw in the towel. I just felt this book was too long. There wasn’t a need for the content to be 800 pages. However, I understand why it was. The cover design, content, and all the ends and outs were meant to represent a Bible of sorts, a Hip Hop Bible. I appreciated this. It was well thought out.

If you were one of the fortunate ones to read this book to the end, then kudos to you. If you are a fan of Hip Hop, a fan of KRS -ONE, or are interested in learning more about The Temple of Hip Hop; then this book is for you. KRS – ONE’s The Gospel of Hip Hop First Instrument is available everywhere books are sold.