iamcaseyrkelley's reviews
283 reviews

The American Queen by Vanessa Miller

emotional informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Once I got into this book, I could not put it down. Given that the current climate is either rewriting or erasing African American history, this is one of the most important works of our time. It is a story of perseverance and overcoming in spite of all the hardships that were presented to recently freed enslaved people. To know that people that were born enslaved built a community of over 500 families blew me a way. The amount of research the author did (included in the Author’s Note) was phenomenal and reminded me why I loved Yellow Wife. I loved Louella so much. She is the epitome of “men are the head but women are the neck and we can turn the head any way we want”. While both her and William are the king and queen, she is really the true leader of this kingdom. Learning that this was based on a true story has me wanting to visit South Carolina and pay respect to Happy Land.

If you liked Yellow Wife, Carolina Built, The Personal Librarian or The Great Mrs Elias, I highly recommend you read this one and learn about Queen Louella. It is another hidden secret of African American History that everyone should know and celebrate. You can’t call yourself an ally or advocate and not want to celebrate this beautiful fictionalized history of African Americans.

SN: this book does not include the graphic violence of Yellow Wife

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery

The Doctor's Wife by Daniel Hurst

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

The Thing about Home by Rhonda McKnight

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Hands down one of the best books I ever read. Literally every single person that I have recommended this book to has given it five stars. For context, I have a pretty nice size following on BookTok and the replies I have on this video are all - thx for the rec; it was amazing. As a mood reader, the fact that this author was able to seamlessly cross genres throughout the story was perfect. There were elements of a romance as we watched Casey and Nigel’s friendship. The historical fiction fan in me loved the dual timelines and the exploration into post slavery South Carolina. Casey’s journey of finding herself gave the story a coming of age feel while diving into the generational history of the family felt literary. It was done so well that you won’t notice it. But if you are a fan of any of the aforementioned genres, that is what you are most likely to see reading this story. I couldn’t put it down and didn’t want it to end. I want to know so much more about this family and have my fingers crossed that we get more.

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Maybe She'll Stay: A Novel by Robyn Lucas

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I found Robyn Lucas by chance last summer via a fellow booktoker talking about Paper Doll Lina - a 5 star read. I was so happy to learn that the story continued with Nancy’s journey. While not the space I am in today, I could see myself in the experience of feeling unlovable and unworthy. I also could relate to having outlets that offered distractions from the emptiness. My hope is that readers that haven’t experienced Nancy’s journey will find empathy and this offer a guide on maneuvering fragile relationships. This author’s writing causes you to get lost in the story so much so that I read this book in one sitting. The characters’ plight leaps off the pages. The rollercoaster of friendships and the confusion caused by some romantic relationships was so tangible in this story. I am looking forward to more from this new author.

Brighter Than the Sun by Daniel Aleman

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I pre-ordered this book because I loved Indivisible so much. It did not disappoint. I love the way this author consistently shows the humanity of immigration. The way family is woven into the fiber of his books is so beautiful. Knowing that every decision Sol made as a 16 yr old was driven by family speaks volumes about the importance of family and community within the Mexican culture. Daniel Aleman is officially an auto-buy author for me. He absolutely doesn’t miss. 

Flyy Girl by Omar Tyree

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I read this book back in my early twenties in 1993 when it was first released. I loved it then. I just reread it again for the Black Booktok Book Club because we wanted to celebrate the 30th anniversary and we all loved it when we read it the first time. I realize now that I probably only liked it because of the limited selections of Black authors and I was hungry for representation in books. Reading it now, I am thoroughly confused how we loved this book and how it became a classic of the culture. I really believe it is because we were just happy to see books that centered Black characters outside of historical fiction and heavy literary fiction. I can’t unsee a twenty something year old man writing about extremely promiscuous middle school and high school girls. It feels so icky. When I read it the first time, I didn’t realize that this was considered Young Adult Fiction. Of course, YA back then wasn’t really the genre it is now. There were very few books that were what we would consider today as YA. It definitely feels like a YA reading it now because of the immaturity of the characters and the adolescent decisions. But at the same time, there’s adult themes - drug abuse, parents in emotional abusive relationships, a lot of sex (at least they used condoms), parents that separated but still have complicated relationships. The book was called Flyy Girl as if it is really about one character, but there were so many random side plots that were unnecessary. The two star rating is generous simply because of nostalgia because it barely deserved one star.

The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson

5.0

Three Girls from Bronzeville by Dawn Turner

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes

emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0