REVIEW: BOOM TOWN by Nic Stone

 

Debut adult thriller from young adult and middle grade author Nic Stone. Boom Town is her first adult novel. 

Boom Town is a fast pace intense urban thriller set in one of Atlant's infamous gentlemens club. We find two employees, Charm a newbie and Lucky, a seasoned [former] headliner have gone missing without a trace. The only person that notices this and how similar the two disappearances are is Lucky's former partner and co- headliner, Lyriq. 

Lyriq is on a mission to find out what happened and where these women are. This thriller is a mix of Player’s Club and P-Valley. It is gritty, raw, sharp, suspenseful and thought provoking. The latter is evident in the novel's social commentary on power, abuse, race, class, misogyny and the lack of attention and resources dedicated to finding missing women and girls.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #SimonSchuster, the author Nic Stone for a digital copy of #BoomTown exchange for my honest opinion. Boom Town will be published tomorrow October 14, 2025.

Review: Jamaica Road by Lisa Smith

 

I was so excited to review this new novel by Lisa Smith. To be transparent I am Jamaican so this book was right up my alley. It has everything I like in the Jamaican-British story. Set in the early 80s, we meet Daphne (British born) as she tries to navigate growing up and attending a school where the other kids are not too nice. Added to this daily stress are the racial tensions that we all know run through the veins of the master colonizers. Then in comes Connie, a tall, lanky plimsoll wearing transplant from Jamaica with a family secret.

Some may have difficulty with the dialogue which was music to my ears. So often Caribbean authors especially from Jamaica are forced to anglicize their work (native dialect) to satisfy the "western" market. I just hope that the audiobook has an actual Jamaican or Jamaican-Brit do the narration. Can you image the 80's reggae soundtrack that would accompany this book? 

Smith's Jamaica Road is emotional, evocative, immersive and transformative coming of age tale. It was an excellent read. 

Thank you to #NetGalley, the author Lisa Smith and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Knopf for a digital copy of #JamaicaRoad exchange for my honest opinion. Jamaica Road  will be published on July 15, 2025. 

Review: The Game is Afoot by Elise Bryant

Mavis is back, honing her amateur detective skills once again to solve another mysterious death. The Game is Afoot is the second installment in Elise Bryant's Mavis Miller series. This is a cozy and funny read. Bryant did not disappoint. Not only does Mavis have to solve a murder but she also has to interrogate the goings-on of a MLM, deal with her ex-husband and parent her-too-wise-before-her-time daughter Pearl. You will not be disappointed.

Thank you to #NetGalley, the author Elise Bryant and Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley for an e-copy of #TheGameIsAfoot in exchange for my honest opinion. The Game is Afoot is out today July 8, 2025. 

Review - Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo

Disclaimer: I am not the creator of this video. Brown Girl Reading is a fantastic YouTuber and creator of #ReadSoulLit. I have elected to use the share option and post this video to my blog. 

The 2020 Black Lit Challenge - Black History Month

I am very excites for Black History Month 2020. There are so many amazing reading challenges on Instagram it was hard to decide which do join. I decided to join in on The Black Lit Challenge. 

This is a new challenge for 2020 created by Seji of @theartisangeek for Black History month (BHM). It is a great challenge to encourage readers of black lit or people just interested to participate. I think this is a great way to get more people of color (primarily of African descent) to read books by black authors world wide. 

Image courtesy of @theartisangeek

She also created a very extensive Black Literature Compendium (a database) to make finding books and authors very easy. She also suggested on her YouTube channel that 1 book could satisfy the first 4 prompts. The bonus prompt will be announced closer to BHM.

Just a heads up that before the 21st century means and book before or between January 1, 1901 - December 31, 2000.

Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson; covers all 4 prompts.

Ina's suggestion is Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron.

Disclaimer: Images courtesy of amazon.com