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iamcaseyrkelley's reviews
283 reviews
The Secret to a Southern Wedding by Synithia Williams
4.0
This story was engaging. While all the characters were extremely likable, I found myself not liking the FMC. I think because of my own personal hangups. I think it annoys me when adult children want to sabotage or interfere with their parent’s love life. It’s weird so because of that, I disliked the FMC. Again, that’s a personal issue of mine and has no bearing on the story or the writing. Both were actually great, hence the 4 star rating.
As Grey As Black and White by Faith Knight
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I learned of this book with the author sent me a DM on TikTok. I wasn’t sure when I would get to it but as a mood reader was struggling to pick something to read so randomly decided to read it from KU. OMG it was phenomenal.
About halfway through I realized that it is the race version of one of my favorite books of all time, Perfect Peace by Daniel Black. One of the key elements in this story is how society plays a role in our indoctrination. While his mother was actively anti-racist, his peers had the most influence on his perceptions and beliefs of “colored people.” It was fascinating to see him struggle with what he learned and believed versus what he experienced and saw firsthand.
I am 35+ books in for the year and this might be my most impactful read of the year.
SN: for some reason, the KU version marked a completely different book read. It said “INCORRECT COVER” by Sue Ann in the automated GR email I received after reading the book. Hopefully KU, GR, and Amazon can get this fixed ASAP.
About halfway through I realized that it is the race version of one of my favorite books of all time, Perfect Peace by Daniel Black. One of the key elements in this story is how society plays a role in our indoctrination. While his mother was actively anti-racist, his peers had the most influence on his perceptions and beliefs of “colored people.” It was fascinating to see him struggle with what he learned and believed versus what he experienced and saw firsthand.
I am 35+ books in for the year and this might be my most impactful read of the year.
SN: for some reason, the KU version marked a completely different book read. It said “INCORRECT COVER” by Sue Ann in the automated GR email I received after reading the book. Hopefully KU, GR, and Amazon can get this fixed ASAP.
One Summer in Savannah by Terah Shelton Harris
5.0
I was pleasantly surprised at how amazingly beautiful this book was. As an SA survivor, I was initially disgusted about a potential romance between a survivor and someone with the face of the person that changed her life forever. However that storyline evolved organically surrounded by the beauty of nurturing the gift of a genius. I was in awe with how the author was able to poetry and its interpretations into the story. I never wanted to feel any sympathetic for two people in the book but the author expertly wrote their history and developed them that I fully understood why and how they came to be.
A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams
4.0
I received an ARC and an ALC for a honest review.
This book was unexpected. I went in anticipating a typical romance but got so much more. This book had magical realism and music history organically woven into the story in a way that surprisingly worked. Even being able to anticipate where the story would take me did not lessen the beauty of the journey. Tia Williams does an amazing job of writing flawed characters that are at the same time incredibly endearing.
My one complaint was the storyline with her family and sisters. It seemed unnecessary and added no value to the story. On the flip side, I loved that she found a home with Della.
This book was unexpected. I went in anticipating a typical romance but got so much more. This book had magical realism and music history organically woven into the story in a way that surprisingly worked. Even being able to anticipate where the story would take me did not lessen the beauty of the journey. Tia Williams does an amazing job of writing flawed characters that are at the same time incredibly endearing.
My one complaint was the storyline with her family and sisters. It seemed unnecessary and added no value to the story. On the flip side, I loved that she found a home with Della.