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ashliesydel's reviews
1474 reviews
Kayland and Ora This Is Forever by Rene Wolfe
4.0
Did I stay up until midnight waiting for Amazon to load this short story?? Yes, yes I did and I have no regrets.
If ya'll remember we met Kayland & Ora in the This Ain't Love Novella series. This was a collaborative collection of short stories where the main characters hooked up with no strings attached.
However, there were certain characters that readers loved and wanted to have an HEA so the authors came through with the continuation of certain stories under the This Is Forever series.
Now Kayland and Ora stood out from ALL the couples. Not only was Ora the ONLY Plus Size FMC out of the entire series of 16 "couples" BUT it was also the ONLY one that incorporated revenge sex.
I had to pick my jaw off my floor. Basically our "couple" are business rivals of sorts. Ora's dad's company moves to do a hostile takeover of Kayland's family business. Ora is against this because on paper it's a bad decision. 'But the daddies have history and hers is real petty.
Long story short once the deal is over our boy invites her to Seventh Heaven (Crescent Falls Primer Sex Club) and they have a good time. The BEST fucking time. But he took her there with ulterior motives.
I thought there ain't NO WAY these two can make it work. I was obsessed with Ora and wanted a follow up story on HER. I didn't NEED Kayland's punk ass. But Rene did her thing.
She had this man all in his feelings, going above and beyond to try and make amends. But in true Rene fashion she gives us a full story.
We learn more about Ora's family secrets, we see her building her bag and being a boss bitch, and she better be setting us up for a story on Ora's BFF Kash because I'm equally obsessed with her and demand she get an HEA.
I loved this soo much and it's SPICY!!! HIGHLY RECOMMEND be sure to start with book one so you can feel the anger and rage towards Kayland that is required to appreciate the work he's putting in.
If ya'll remember we met Kayland & Ora in the This Ain't Love Novella series. This was a collaborative collection of short stories where the main characters hooked up with no strings attached.
However, there were certain characters that readers loved and wanted to have an HEA so the authors came through with the continuation of certain stories under the This Is Forever series.
Now Kayland and Ora stood out from ALL the couples. Not only was Ora the ONLY Plus Size FMC out of the entire series of 16 "couples" BUT it was also the ONLY one that incorporated revenge sex.
I had to pick my jaw off my floor. Basically our "couple" are business rivals of sorts. Ora's dad's company moves to do a hostile takeover of Kayland's family business. Ora is against this because on paper it's a bad decision. 'But the daddies have history and hers is real petty.
Long story short once the deal is over our boy invites her to Seventh Heaven (Crescent Falls Primer Sex Club) and they have a good time. The BEST fucking time. But he took her there with ulterior motives.
I thought there ain't NO WAY these two can make it work. I was obsessed with Ora and wanted a follow up story on HER. I didn't NEED Kayland's punk ass. But Rene did her thing.
She had this man all in his feelings, going above and beyond to try and make amends. But in true Rene fashion she gives us a full story.
We learn more about Ora's family secrets, we see her building her bag and being a boss bitch, and she better be setting us up for a story on Ora's BFF Kash because I'm equally obsessed with her and demand she get an HEA.
I loved this soo much and it's SPICY!!! HIGHLY RECOMMEND be sure to start with book one so you can feel the anger and rage towards Kayland that is required to appreciate the work he's putting in.
Black Friend: Essays by Ziwe
4.0
Apparently Ziwe is a former late-night host that had a talk show on Showtime for a few seasons, has a YouTube Channel, interviews celebs on Instagram-Live, and is a behind the scenes writer for various comedy shows.
I had never heard of her. *shrugs*
But I was picking up what she was putting down. In a series of essays, Ziwe explores what it's like to be black, a black woman in a predominantly white space, a black woman with white friends who try to be allies but still cross the line, a black woman in the entertainment industry where everyone supposedly looks a like and just shares her overall thoughts and feelings.
This was not a political read. It was written in a lighthearted way where you felt like you were just chatting with friends but addressing some heavy and disappointing topics.
Ziwe acknowledges her privilege of attending some of the top schools in the country, never having to struggle financially, and being able to chase her dreams.
She recognizes that not all persons especially persons of color have that. But she also sheds light on how money does not eliminate micro-aggressions and/or disrespect. She also dabbles a bit into sexism in the entertainment industry.
I liked this book more than I thought I would. Ziwe narrated it herself and she has a very upbeat and bubbling voice that kept me clued in.
I did not see this book as political, or a must read for those on personal explorations of race and/or womanhood. But I do feel like this is a good introduction to get you thinking and could be a good Book Club disscusion among friends especially mixed race and social class friend groups.
Spin 'Bout You by BriAnn Danae
4.0
I read things backwards. Our girl Gracye is the cousin of the FMC of BriAnn's Christmas novella Fking Under the Mistletoe and without having any background I knew that I loved her.
She is just so sweet, supporting, caring, and a hardworking business owner. In HER story we get to see her meet her perfectly perfect husband Jarod.
Gracye meets up with a group of friends from college for a Friendsgiving Weekend. It's a co-ed group of 10 that gave me the best vibes. I want to be part of their friend group!
Jarod is NOT a friend from college, he instead was invited to replace someone who was not able to make it. On sight these two had instant chemistry. Once they start talking OMG the chemistry.
One of the friend's set up a video confessional for each person to go in and give updates and give thoughts so that a video compilation can be put together after the fact.
Ya'll the confessions were confessing and soo much more than words went down in that booth.
I loved it. I was giddy. Such a fun read.