Review: Almost Family by Ann Bancroft

Almost Family, takes us through the emotional and transformative journey of Liz Millanova, a woman facing the reality of her life during stage 4 cancer. Haunted and coming to terms with the relationship that ended her marriage, an estranged daughter and finding hope among strangers, this book makes you appreciate the limited time we have and to surround it with people that will make it valuable.

With confirmation of her cancer returning, Liz was encouraged to join a support group so that she could find comfort and support with others who faced the same. Initially reluctant, Liz found herself unexpectedly connecting with two other members, Dave and Rhonda.Not feeling they were getting the support they needed, they decided to form a smaller group among them, not realizing how much it would change their lives.Hitting it off, deciding to meet on their own, they instantly formed a friendship, finding comfort and joy with the hope to give each other while they were still here. As their bond deepened, their determination to live despite their terminal diagnosis helped Liz confront her unresolved issues and find strength and support where she least expected it. Their time together also allowed them to support each other through facing the end on their terms and leaving this world with no loose ends. 

This book was a beautiful book that balanced humor and the complexity of the emotional toll of facing the end of life with a terminal illness. The balance of their personalities brought such an authentic, relatable narrative that makes them engaging and heartwarmed to invest in the last stages of their lives with them to live it out to its fullest. This was a testament to the power of friendship and the importance of finding joy in our most arduous moments and how the power of human connection can heal the souls.

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Review: Maybe Next Time by Christina C. Jones

About the Book

For better or worse… That was the promise Denver and Kensa made, but it’s a sentiment they’ve somehow lost along the way. What started as a passionate wildfire has diminished to a flicker, all but snuffed out by unspoken fears, perceived betrayal, and a complete breakdown in communication. Can either of them tuck their ego away long enough to rekindle their flame?

Review

Books regarding marriages in trouble are always a hit-and-miss for me. However, I found Maybe Next Time to be one of the ones that I think it worked. Despite the short length, the author provides a thorough, emotional story with Denver and Kensa. At the start of the novella, Kensa is done with her marriage, and Denver isn’t. I enjoyed how they were able to communicate and realize that everything boiled down to grief. And in the end, both of them let go of their pride and their ego to save their marriage.

Out of the two main characters, I enjoyed Kensa more. Denver felt too reckless, and I wish that Kensa would have made him grovel for her more.

Final Thoughts

Maybe Next Time is a short, quick read about two characters who had experienced heartbreak and had drifted apart from each other. Denver has a few questionable moments, and Kensa should have made him work harder; however, something can be said about how the two of them were able to communicate and come back together.

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Review: The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

About the Book

An overworked book publicist with a perfectly planned future hits a snag when she falls in love with her temporary roommate…only to discover he lives seven years in the past, in this witty and wise new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Dead Romantics.

Sometimes, the worst day of your life happens, and you have to figure out how to live after it.

So Clementine forms a plan to keep her heart safe: work hard, find someone decent to love, and try to remember to chase the moon. The last one is silly and obviously metaphorical, but her aunt always told her that you needed at least one big dream to keep going. And for the last year, that plan has gone off without a hitch. Mostly. The love part is hard because she doesn’t want to get too close to anyone—she isn’t sure her heart can take it.

And then she finds a strange man standing in the kitchen of her late aunt’s apartment. A man with kind eyes and a Southern drawl and a taste for lemon pies. The kind of man that, before it all, she would’ve fallen head-over-heels for. And she might again.

Except, he exists in the past. Seven years ago, to be exact. And she, quite literally, lives seven years in his future.

Her aunt always said the apartment was a pinch in time, a place where moments blended together like watercolors. And Clementine knows that if she lets her heart fall, she’ll be doomed.

After all, love is never a matter of time—but a matter of timing

Review

I started listening to this book while running errands, and I would spend extra time sitting in the car just to hear what was going to happen next. Eventually, I ended up buying the book because I couldn’t stand waiting to finish. The Seven Year Slip was great. I knew I was going to love this book at around 20% in. The story is original, emotional, and gripping.

It’s a touching story about a woman who, although dealing with such a career high, is dealing with the loss of her aunt. She’s living in her apartment, and growing up she was told several times that the apartment is magical. However, she’s never experienced that—until one day she enters the apartment and is transported seven years back in time. Her aunt is alive and out of town for the summer and has rented her apartment out to an inspiring chef—Iwan. Clementine couldn't help but be intrigued by him, even though her aunt had two rules. The second being to never fall in love in that apartment because they will never stay.

Everything about Iwan and Clementine worked. I loved them dearly. I was terrified for how this was going to play out. Because where was he in the future? Did he know that Clementine wasn’t from that time? Both questions are answered. Those scenes had me on the edge of my seat, holding back tears.

As I was reading, I was wondering how time travel would be executed. This is a concept that can be confusing. I thought the author did a wonderful job. It was simple and magical.

Final Thoughts

The Seven Year Slip was a heartbreaking story where I could barely hold back tears. This was an original idea that remained fresh and engaging the entire time. I was not prepared for the plot twists and the nuanced characters. I can’t help but recommend this book. 

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Review: The Danger Imperative by Michael Sierra-Arévalo

About the Book

Policing is violent. And its violence is not distributed equally: stark racial disparities persist despite decades of efforts to address them. Amid public outcry and an ongoing crisis of police legitimacy, there is pressing need to understand not only how police perceive and use violence but also why.

With unprecedented access to three police departments and drawing on more than 100 interviews and 1,000 hours on patrol, The Danger Imperative provides vital insight into how police culture shapes officers’ perception and practice of violence. From the front seat of a patrol car, it shows how the institution of policing reinforces a cultural preoccupation with violence through academy training, departmental routines, powerful symbols, and officers’ street-level behavior.

This violence-centric culture makes no explicit mention of race, relying on the colorblind language of “threat” and “officer safety.” Nonetheless, existing patterns of systemic disadvantage funnel police hyperfocused on survival into poor minority neighborhoods. Without requiring individual bigotry, this combination of social structure, culture, and behavior perpetuates enduring inequalities in police violence.

A trailblazing, on-the-ground account of modern policing, this book shows that violence is the logical consequence of an institutional culture that privileges officer survival over public safety.

Review

With the country at an elevated temperature involving policing and public intolerance of their policies and procedures, this was a very thought provoking book that definitely could inspire some real conversation and promote possible change in the narrative on policing and public perception and experiences.

This book unpacks so much but most importantly captures an understanding of the social dynamics of police officers. Inspired to see what that looked like, objectively author Michael Sierra-Arévalo, captured a sociological perspective from gained access to three different police departments, 1000 hours of ride alongs and interviews to depict the realities of work as a police officer and the influences that shape their experience.

With the news and social media elevating the temperature of criticism of police, this tends to walk a very sensitive line for the officers and their interactions with the public and vice versa. With many conversations saying what should be done, one thing that stands out is the culture of doing what needs to be done with the intention of perceived threats and concern for safety. As we’ve seen in the news, many situations have had fatal consequences and others could’ve been handled differently. This book documents and gives psychological insights on how police culture, from training to on the street level policing is affected by that and how certain situations by the given circumstances were handled. Also, situations involving actions done towards police as a result of the heightened climates after high profile situations and the impact of how it affected interactions with the public. 

The commentary and analysis opens the discussion of reform and rexamines some policies that are in place. The aspect of prioritizing safety in many situations, brings unspoken issues front and center, especially police violence where racial disparity is felt. This book empathized the challenges officers encounter on a daily basis but explored areas that could be improved and lead to better outcomes. It objectively puts you in a frame of reference to understand why some choose to make the decisions that they did/do in the circumstances they were presented with.

Overall, this was a balanced, objective read that has the potential to open conversation and evaluation of current policies and training opportunities that would better impact when involved with certain situations. The various examples of the good, bad and indifferent involving these situations give you a better insight to policing and its complexity, especially dealing with violence and threats while trying to stay alive on the job. This would be a great read for law enforcement or those aspiring to become a part of, legislators and those interested in criminal justice.

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Review: Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis comes a new STEMinist rom-com in which a scientist is forced to work on a project with her nemesis—with explosive results.

Like an avenging, purple-haired Jedi bringing balance to the mansplained universe, Bee Königswasser lives by a simple code: What would Marie Curie do? If NASA offered her the lead on a neuroengineering project—a literal dream come true after years scraping by on the crumbs of academia—Marie would accept without hesitation. Duh. But the mother of modern physics never had to co-lead with Levi Ward.

Sure, Levi is attractive in a tall, dark, and piercing-eyes kind of way. And sure, he caught her in his powerfully corded arms like a romance novel hero when she accidentally damseled in distress on her first day in the lab. But Levi made his feelings toward Bee very clear in grad school—archenemies work best employed in their own galaxies far, far away.

Now, her equipment is missing, the staff is ignoring her, and Bee finds her floundering career in somewhat of a pickle. Perhaps it’s her occipital cortex playing tricks on her, but Bee could swear she can see Levi softening into an ally, backing her plays, seconding her ideas…devouring her with those eyes. And the possibilities have all her neurons firing. But when it comes time to actually make a move and put her heart on the line, there’s only one question that matters: What will Bee Königswasser do?

Review

Love on the Brain felt like an Ali Hazelwood book in a bad way. What I mean is that most of the criticisms that I have seen regarding the author are validated within this story. The main character is a small, quirky, colorful, STEM woman who has a strong dislike for her big, dark, and moody counterpart. However, unbeknownst, he secretly likes her and is unable to voice that. And oh no, now they are forced to work together. Nothing about this story felt original. Although this story might have been written prior, the new releases are much stronger.

This one lacked depth, and unfortunately, the love story couldn’t save it. The supporting characters felt more exciting than the main characters. I didn’t care for Bee’s voice and Levi felt uninteresting. There was a real missed opportunity with withholding his POV. I think that would have given him depth.

This should not be categorized as an enemies-to-lovers. The entire tension of their romance heavily depends on several miscommunications. And neither of them are enemies.

Final Analysis

Love on the Brain might be the weakest book within Ali Hazelwood’s catalog. The main characters and their romance are quickly overshadowed by far more interesting characters. This book was plagued with awful miscommunication between the leads and the same formulaic structure that Hazelwood is often criticized for.

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Review: The Dawn of the Cursed Queen by Amber V. Nicole

About the Book

Ask her, boy. Ask her what she begged the stars for and what lives now. Ask her what she ripped from the very heavens. And then ask her if she cares. The old blood runs through her veins.

Nismera and her legions rule the realms as Samkiel's power fills the sky. With him gone, she strives to solidify her spot on the throne, no matter the cost.

Dianna struggles beneath the weight of half-truths, lies, and deceptions. After overcoming what she thought was her hardest battle, she soon learns she is at risk of losing everything.

Samkiel strives to heal, but he has more on his plate than ever before. The Hand is dismantled, the realms are in turmoil, and the one person he can trust keeps him at arm's length. Can the two work out their differences, or will they both fall to the blade of the Goddess of War?

The one true king returns, but is it the king or queen who shall rule them all?

Review

I was blown away by this installment. It by far is my favorite, and I need a release date for the fourth book as soon as possible. Truthfully, all the books have been highly rated by me. And from the looks of it—I don’t see that changing. Amber V. Nicole has crafted an entertaining and intriguing series, and I’m obsessed. This is easily my favorite fantasy series.

One issue that I had with the first two books was that at times the mechanics of the world felt confusing.  The world is huge, and with the third book, it felt much bigger. This makes sense since the stakes have significantly grown as the story progresses. I appreciated that the author took the time to write a catchy summary at the start of this book. That was helpful. However, I still struggled with how the world works. There were a few things that I didn’t quite understand. I kept waiting for that ‘ah-ha” moment that never came. That most likely could be a me issue.

Regardless, I still loved this book. Dianna and Samkiel felt fully realized in this one. And don’t even get me started on their romance. A million stars across the board. Both went through intensive character and relationship growth in this one. They truly are the stars of this series with a great supporting cast. I loved all the new additions to the story. They worked well and brought something new to the story.   

Final Thoughts

Everything got bigger with The Dawn of the Cursed Queen. The characters. The romance. The action. The drama. Everything! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time—holding my breath as I read. This is a roller-coaster and despite the emotional damage that it might cause, I can’t recommend the series enough. Dianna and Samkiel are astonishing characters who leave a huge lasting impact.

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