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introvertinterrupted's Reviews (1.08k)
Hot dang! This book was masterfully written and the buildup of the story was perfectly written. I’m so excited to know what happens next in the life of Sugar. After reading this book, I now have an answer to that bothersome question that people always ask, which is "what character would you like to sit down and have a chat with?,” it’s Sugar Lacey for sure! I'd high recommend this book! #RUNDontWalk
I'd put this book at 3.5 stars.
I wasn't hooked by the beginning and had to literally read it to myself out loud to stave off confusion at the beginning of the book and after all that, the ending felt forced. I wasn't expecting the main character and the Black Clan to reconcile so neatly by the end and in a way, I get the feeling that Reneé Ahdieh wrote a different ending before settling on this specific track for her characters.
The book wasn't all bad and I actually did enjoy the middle part where the main character learns that she can stand on her own two feet in a roundabout way. Yet, I would've preferred to see the character's development outside of just who she was in relation to the men around her. I was thankful for the banter in the book tho between the main character and her love interest since it feels like authors today have the tendency to let romantic entanglements happen too fast in books instead of there being a gradual buildup.
More than likely, I'd read the second book in the series even though I was confused about parts of the ending. I loved the book's nod toward feminism and cultivating the idea that every woman must come to terms with their form of "femininity" no matter how awkward or odd it may come across.
Question: Does this book remind anyone of Inuyasha?
I wasn't hooked by the beginning and had to literally read it to myself out loud to stave off confusion at the beginning of the book and after all that, the ending felt forced. I wasn't expecting the main character and the Black Clan to reconcile so neatly by the end and in a way, I get the feeling that Reneé Ahdieh wrote a different ending before settling on this specific track for her characters.
The book wasn't all bad and I actually did enjoy the middle part where the main character learns that she can stand on her own two feet in a roundabout way. Yet, I would've preferred to see the character's development outside of just who she was in relation to the men around her. I was thankful for the banter in the book tho between the main character and her love interest since it feels like authors today have the tendency to let romantic entanglements happen too fast in books instead of there being a gradual buildup.
More than likely, I'd read the second book in the series even though I was confused about parts of the ending. I loved the book's nod toward feminism and cultivating the idea that every woman must come to terms with their form of "femininity" no matter how awkward or odd it may come across.
Question: Does this book remind anyone of Inuyasha?
I gave this book 2.5 stars
On the one hand, I felt that Alyssa Cole has impeccable writing skills and has a real knack about building up suspense in her book and dedicated a lot of time throughout the narrative to crafting well thought out choreographed fights and battle scenes that read fluidly. Yet, the premise of this book circles around an interracial relationship that doesn’t hold up well to historical scrutiny or common sense.
The relationship in An Extraordinary Union takes places between Ellen, an African-American women who has what’s known as hyperthymesia, where she remembers everything she sees and hears, and Matthew, a Scottish man, who is a Pinkerton spy posing as a Confederate Soldier to try to parse our secrets from the man who “owns” Ellen. Force to play the dumb mute, Ellen starts off the story determined and independent to stay true to her calling to prove herself to the leader of the Legacy league, the secret spy union she belongs to, but gets enticed by this white man even though there is soooo much more at stake than her scratching an itch.
And here, is where Cole lost me while reading this book. The well detailed sex scenes felt tone deaf and at odds with the fact that Ellen would’ve know how much was at stake for herself and the people she was tasked with protecting and working for the freedom of being the progeny of slaves and having only just been freed from bondage some ten or so years ago before the narrative began.However, Cole writes various scenes that involves Ellen and Matthew choosing to forgo logic to have a roll in the mud/hay/bed while they should have been collecting intel that could help free the slaves.
Therefore, even though Alyssa Cole wrote a detailed and heavily stylized romance novel, the insertion of an interracial affair feels extremely implausible and tone deaf for the angle she chose to attack the Civil War era from (I.e., placing Ellen undercover as a spy and made to suffer at the hands of her young mistress). Maybe, this book would’ve worked more if it was moved into the historical realm of Reconstruction, but it just felt like a slap in the face that a woman who’d been a former slave would’ve risked so much, so easily, and so quickly for a White man after little to no sacrifice on his part throughout the book jut to “be in love.”
In truth, I found the novel frustrating for all the points listed above and for the fact that it felt as if the novel drags along. This wasn’t my favorite read of the year and had I not gotten the audiobook from my school’s library, I probably would’ve dnf-ed early on. There’s another book in the series where Mathew’s brother falls in love with another black female slave during the Civil War. 🙄 I can’t say I’m going to be rushing out to read that one either based on the synopsis
, but hey, if this review tickled your fancy, have at it. 😒
On the one hand, I felt that Alyssa Cole has impeccable writing skills and has a real knack about building up suspense in her book and dedicated a lot of time throughout the narrative to crafting well thought out choreographed fights and battle scenes that read fluidly. Yet, the premise of this book circles around an interracial relationship that doesn’t hold up well to historical scrutiny or common sense.
The relationship in An Extraordinary Union takes places between Ellen, an African-American women who has what’s known as hyperthymesia, where she remembers everything she sees and hears, and Matthew, a Scottish man, who is a Pinkerton spy posing as a Confederate Soldier to try to parse our secrets from the man who “owns” Ellen. Force to play the dumb mute, Ellen starts off the story determined and independent to stay true to her calling to prove herself to the leader of the Legacy league, the secret spy union she belongs to, but gets enticed by this white man even though there is soooo much more at stake than her scratching an itch.
And here, is where Cole lost me while reading this book. The well detailed sex scenes felt tone deaf and at odds with the fact that Ellen would’ve know how much was at stake for herself and the people she was tasked with protecting and working for the freedom of being the progeny of slaves and having only just been freed from bondage some ten or so years ago before the narrative began.
Therefore, even though Alyssa Cole wrote a detailed and heavily stylized romance novel, the insertion of an interracial affair feels extremely implausible and tone deaf for the angle she chose to attack the Civil War era from (I.e., placing Ellen undercover as a spy and made to suffer at the hands of her young mistress). Maybe, this book would’ve worked more if it was moved into the historical realm of Reconstruction, but it just felt like a slap in the face that a woman who’d been a former slave would’ve risked so much, so easily, and so quickly for a White man after little to no sacrifice on his part throughout the book jut to “be in love.”
In truth, I found the novel frustrating for all the points listed above and for the fact that it felt as if the novel drags along. This wasn’t my favorite read of the year and had I not gotten the audiobook from my school’s library, I probably would’ve dnf-ed early on. There’s another book in the series where Mathew’s brother falls in love with another black female slave during the Civil War. 🙄 I can’t say I’m going to be rushing out to read that one either based on the synopsis
, but hey, if this review tickled your fancy, have at it. 😒
Hot dang! 😳That was good!
I loved the mixture of Haitian Voodou tradition mixed with the grit of Detroit street life. I read this in one day and loved every bit of it. It reminds me of [b: Long Way Down|10073|A Long Way Down|Nick Hornby|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1467861525s/10073.jpg|2961964] by jason Reynolds due to the grittiness of the main character's storytelling and the breakdown of street life, but it also put me in mind of [b: Redemption in Indigo|7005878|Redemption in Indigo|Karen Lord|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1275423841s/7005878.jpg|7250268] by Karen lord with the way ibi zoboi mixes in the usage of the Haitian beliefs about their Loas. Zoboi writing style is impeccable and seamless and I’d definitely read her next book as soon as it drops.
I loved the mixture of Haitian Voodou tradition mixed with the grit of Detroit street life. I read this in one day and loved every bit of it. It reminds me of [b: Long Way Down|10073|A Long Way Down|Nick Hornby|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1467861525s/10073.jpg|2961964] by jason Reynolds due to the grittiness of the main character's storytelling and the breakdown of street life, but it also put me in mind of [b: Redemption in Indigo|7005878|Redemption in Indigo|Karen Lord|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1275423841s/7005878.jpg|7250268] by Karen lord with the way ibi zoboi mixes in the usage of the Haitian beliefs about their Loas. Zoboi writing style is impeccable and seamless and I’d definitely read her next book as soon as it drops.
There's nothing here that's mind boggling, but it is a good beginning text for people who want to learn to incorporate more feminist teachings into their parenting skills and/or life.
If I'm being super honest, I really just want Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to start writing novels once again. Her feminist essays come across as tepid with no real depth opposed to her novels, which present a much more in-depth picture of her subject and the Nigerian culture by using a more focused approach than just listing off the general "do's and don'ts" of feminism. In short, to me, Adichie's essays on feminism seem generic and forced after that Beyoncé shoutout she got in 2013.
For the most part, I've heard everything she's saying before and dare I say it, heard it said better by feminist scholars who have come before her and who have studied feminist theory as their life's work opposed to Adichie who seems to write her essays as an afterthought and just seems to be dabbling in it now because of the shoutout from Bey. smh These essays feel trendy, but I almost feel like they're feminist lite opposed to the popular opinion that they're God's gift to feminist theory. Don't get me wrong, I'll always support Adichie in her writing endeavors, but her feminist essays are becoming a bit redundant.
If I'm being super honest, I really just want Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to start writing novels once again. Her feminist essays come across as tepid with no real depth opposed to her novels, which present a much more in-depth picture of her subject and the Nigerian culture by using a more focused approach than just listing off the general "do's and don'ts" of feminism. In short, to me, Adichie's essays on feminism seem generic and forced after that Beyoncé shoutout she got in 2013.
For the most part, I've heard everything she's saying before and dare I say it, heard it said better by feminist scholars who have come before her and who have studied feminist theory as their life's work opposed to Adichie who seems to write her essays as an afterthought and just seems to be dabbling in it now because of the shoutout from Bey. smh These essays feel trendy, but I almost feel like they're feminist lite opposed to the popular opinion that they're God's gift to feminist theory. Don't get me wrong, I'll always support Adichie in her writing endeavors, but her feminist essays are becoming a bit redundant.
I got this from the library on a whim since I saw it there and couldn’t believe no one else in my conservative, red neck town had picked it up yet.
Honestly, I had to frequently remind myself that this was a non-fiction book and not some completely zany work of fiction. A large part of me feels sad that this is reality, but based on what we all saw prior to this administration getting elected, saying that Toupe Fiasco’s administration isn’t the scum of the earth who more than likely has a very special place in Hell isnt a shock to anyone even after you read this book.
Yet, I have to say that Michael Wolff did an excellent job of transporting readers into the thick of the chaos and actually molding the chaos to make the unsuspecting reader feel almost bad for Mango Mussolini. To actually see how people play on this man’s obvious mental illness to get a leg up on the competition or to fill their own coiffures all at the global populations’ expense is mind boggling. Not to mention, the remorse that each White House staffer seems to magically (sarcasm) come away feeling for having been a part of one of the greatest heist in American political history is laughable.
Hearing these remorseful sentiments made me angry due to the fact that the Orange One’s campaign team played with fire knowingly and then when they saw the mess they were in (and some didn’t realize the size of this mess until Mueller came a knocking) became scared and wanted to turn tail and run back to safety while the American people and other suffers is honestly detestable. These people have literally waited until almost three years in to come to the realization that they’d basically put a dunce in office with no actual end game and now he and subsequently, they, are floundering in the dark causing more harm than good and no one wants to admit defeat and just pack up and go home. 🤦🏿♀️Smh I can’t. I. Just. Can’t.
If you want to read it, have at it, but be ready to practice deep prayer, yoga, or some form of meditation throughout reading it. I’d also recommend getting it from a friend or the local library. There’s nothing new besides the in-depth look at the staffers fighting amongst each other like school children over a human toy and the various name calling Wolff jotted down meticously to outline just how deep the feud between the three factions in the White House went. This may make you giggle until......😓you realize this is real life with real repercussions for us all. 😡😑😳😱
Honestly, I had to frequently remind myself that this was a non-fiction book and not some completely zany work of fiction. A large part of me feels sad that this is reality, but based on what we all saw prior to this administration getting elected, saying that Toupe Fiasco’s administration isn’t the scum of the earth who more than likely has a very special place in Hell isnt a shock to anyone even after you read this book.
Yet, I have to say that Michael Wolff did an excellent job of transporting readers into the thick of the chaos and actually molding the chaos to make the unsuspecting reader feel almost bad for Mango Mussolini. To actually see how people play on this man’s obvious mental illness to get a leg up on the competition or to fill their own coiffures all at the global populations’ expense is mind boggling. Not to mention, the remorse that each White House staffer seems to magically (sarcasm) come away feeling for having been a part of one of the greatest heist in American political history is laughable.
Hearing these remorseful sentiments made me angry due to the fact that the Orange One’s campaign team played with fire knowingly and then when they saw the mess they were in (and some didn’t realize the size of this mess until Mueller came a knocking) became scared and wanted to turn tail and run back to safety while the American people and other suffers is honestly detestable. These people have literally waited until almost three years in to come to the realization that they’d basically put a dunce in office with no actual end game and now he and subsequently, they, are floundering in the dark causing more harm than good and no one wants to admit defeat and just pack up and go home. 🤦🏿♀️Smh I can’t. I. Just. Can’t.
If you want to read it, have at it, but be ready to practice deep prayer, yoga, or some form of meditation throughout reading it. I’d also recommend getting it from a friend or the local library. There’s nothing new besides the in-depth look at the staffers fighting amongst each other like school children over a human toy and the various name calling Wolff jotted down meticously to outline just how deep the feud between the three factions in the White House went. This may make you giggle until......😓you realize this is real life with real repercussions for us all. 😡😑😳😱