Book Review - Black Girls Must Have It All by Jayne Allen

 

 

 

Black Girls Must Have It All by Jayne Allen is the final book in the Black Girls Must Die Exhausted trilogy. Tabitha Brown gives birth to a beautiful baby girl after being told in the previous book that she might not be able to have biological children. She is trying to juggle the demands of being a new parent, the needs of a newborn baby, her friends, her job, and her love life.

After experiencing a stressful year, Tabitha decides that this would be her year to achieve her goals and obtain the life she had always wanted. She plans on getting her career, home, and love life in order. Except, the demands of motherhood are draining and Tabitha feels that she barely has time nor energy to do anything.

Tabitha loves her daughter and finds motherhood fulfilling but she wants more from her life. When her beloved coworker mentions that she is planning to retire from the news studio, Tabitha is worried that she might return from maternity leave to a hostile work environment. Just before Tabitha takes her leave, she basically sets all of her ships on fire by going against the wishes of her producer. When she hears news that the station is planning to hire an outside candidate to fill her friend’s role, Tabby is afraid that she might lose her chance to the weekday anchor position that she has worked so hard for.  Tabitha is worried that she might also lose or not maintain her current position of the weekend anchor.  

She normally turns to her friends for support but they seem to be having their own issues to deal with and her relationship with her friends have been frayed since she became a mother. Alexis, her best friend, is still struggling with her marriage with her cheating husband, Rob. Her other friend, Laila, is trying to launch her own business after being fired from her last job.

Her relationship with Marc has also hit a standstill. She isn’t sure what she wants from their relationship anymore. In the previous books, she wanted to get married and settle down with him and start a family. After Marc gives her an ultimatum about their current relationship, she isn’t sure what she wants to do. To make matters worse, his overbearing and controlling mother comes to visit and has something to say about everything, including her ability to mother her daughter.

Tabitha is trying to navigate her life but finds herself failing in every aspect. She feels lonely and isolated from her family especially right now when she needs them the most. Tabitha knows that her friends and family will help her if she asks for it, but will Tabitha finally put herself first and ask for help?

I read the second book in the series and I was able to follow along with the story. However, I feel that the books should be read in order as it will help illuminate character nuances, relationships, and side story lines. This book addresses the cliffhangers that were left hanging from the previous book and wraps up most of the pending problems in the end.

I felt that the book didn’t flow as smoothly as the previous book in the series and was choppy in some places. I felt that this book was missing something, like the spark the previous book had.  The ending made me feel that Tabby still doesn’t know what she wants from Marc and her relationship with him.  The ending of the series felt underwhelming as I was expecting a lot more to happen but it didn’t. If you liked the other two books in the series then you might enjoy this book.

 

Book Review - Red Queen by Juan Gómez-Jurado

 

 

Red Queen by Juan Gómez-Jurado is the first book in the trilogy. The compelling international bestseller was recently translated for English readers.  It is also slated to become a major television series in the near future.

Our protagonist Antonia Scott has a brilliant mind. She is the daughter of a prominent British diplomat.  She is able to remember everything she has read and can reconstruct crimes in her mind.  She is able to predict and solve cases before most people can even register the clues in front of them. She isn’t a member of the police force, and most people don’t even know that she exists.  However, she is a member of a secret organization, and is known as the Red Queen. She is well renowned in her field of problem solving and has assisted the police in several high caliber cases without the public knowing. She and her abilities are a well-guarded secret.

Jon Gutierrez is a disgraced detective in Bilbao facing suspension and criminal charges. A mysterious man appears and offers him a clean slate and a chance to save his career if Jon does him a simple favor. Jon needs to convince Antonia to come out of her self-imposed exile after tragedy keeps her isolated. Jon can’t believe his luck and jumps at the chance to save his career. However, Antonia refuses to leave her apartment after witnessing an attack that left her traumatized. Will Jon be able to persuade Antonio to leave her apartment and solve a murder where a body was found without a single drop of blood left in it?

I found Antonia and Jon to be interesting and complex characters. I like that the author gave little snippets of the characters’ history and background as the story progressed. I liked that Jon is a gay police officer and he doesn’t fit into a stereotype. Instead, he and Antonia are well developed characters who struggle with certain situations and try to do their best to solve the case.

I thought the book was a captivating read but I felt that there were some nuances that I may have missed because I am not familiar with Spain’s culture and idioms. For example, it seems that the way the police force is set up, that some branches have more power but, I was confused when Antonia showed them a national police badge and they were not cooperative even though she was a police officer from a higher branch. I am not familiar with all police processes but, what I gathered from watching US based police shows and reading English mystery books, that there are different levels of police but, if a “higher” branch of police comes into play, that the local police give up some control. I do understand that people do have egos with “chips on their shoulders” but, I found it confusing that Antonia and Jon had to almost beg to be included in the investigation. Perhaps, it would have been helpful to include a section/footnote to go into more detail to help readers understand certain nuances.

I didn’t care for the derogatory remarks that were said to Jon because he was gay and/or fat. I thought that repeated use of insults was uncalled for as Jon was a caring and thoughtful detective. Out of all the characters, he was consistent in his behaviors and feelings. I had a hard time connecting with Antonia during certain parts of the book. I felt that her character was a bit inconsistent. She was upset and distant with her father because of something he did in the past but she does the same thing with her son. When she realizes that her son doesn’t like her very much, she gets annoyed by it, instead of working towards a better relationship with him. I hope in the later books that the author addresses these familial relationships in more detail.

The book was filled with action and twists. The book ends with a teaser to the second book to entice readers with something to look forward to. The author included a note in the end explaining his inspiration behind the book. It was a bit sparse but it was a great inclusion. I thought this a great beginning of a thrilling trilogy and I can’t wait to read about Jon’s and Antonia’s next mystery.

 

Book Review - Mercy Triumphs: A Contemporary Novel by Jana Kelley

Photo Source - Amazon

Mia and her family are American Christians who are living in Sudan under Islamic law. They face harassment, persecution and danger as part of their everyday life. Halimah and Rania who were formerly Muslims were forced to leave Sudan if they wanted to continue practicing Christianity.  Together the trio search for God's mercy to help guide them.

The last novel in the trilogy, Mercy Triumphs is about tying up lose ends in each character's stories and development. While leaving out religion in my assessment in this book, I found this book unnecessary. I felt like the author stretched the story out without actually adding anything to it. I felt that this portion of the book could have been added to the first two books to make the story meatier for the other two novels. I definitely felt that there could have been more to this book and was disappointed that there wasn't more. While I did enjoy reading Kelley's novels, I am not sure I would go out of my way to read more if the last novel is just going to be fluff pieces.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion**