Tag: romance

Misty Lake

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Review:

After Samantha Taylor’s grandfather passed away, she finds out that she inherited his property in Misty Lake, Minnesota. She’s reeling from his loss, as well as the passing of her brother, but decides to move up to the property and start a new life. A series of strange crimes on her property brings her into contact with Sheriff Jake McCabe. Feelings soon blossom between the two, setting the stage for a sweet romance novel with some suspense added for good measure.

I’m a Minnesota girl, and I love reading any book set in my home state. There was so much Minnesota culture here for my heart to smile at – from Sam’s insistence on bringing pasta salad to a summer barbecue, to shopping at the Mall of America, to Sam’s grandfather’s saying that if you’re going to do something, you have to do it right. The author of Misty Lake (Margaret Standafer) is my aunt, and I’m super proud to be able to review this book so highly.

Favorite Passage:

“Why is everyone so concerned about the fact that I live alone?” she asked, her voice rising. “I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself as I have had to explain to everyone who’s been out here. What, just because I’m a woman I’m helpless? Really, this isn’t the nineteenth century anymore. And, I bet those women were a lot more capable than men gave them credit for,” she added, well on her way to working up a head of steam.
— Chapter 9

What I Loved Most:

Feminism rings through Misty Lake. Sam is working in a traditionally male-dominated industry, and mentions an experience where a customer was upset to find out that the Sam who ran the woodworking business was a woman. Yet she’s absolutely crushing, and quickly builds up business after moving to Misty Lake. She calls people out on their assumptions that she shouldn’t be living alone because she’s a woman. She doesn’t flinch away from identifying sexual harassment for what it is. She’s a strong woman, and she doesn’t apologize for it.

Read this book if you like:

Clean romance stories, mysteries that you can enjoy without being too freaked out, adorable dogs named Rigi, lake life

Book Details:

Color Me In

~ rachelbenzine ~ Leave a comment

Review:

At the beginning of Color Me In, Neveah Levitz is just beginning to understand what life is like with separated parents. She and her mom recently moved to her mom’s family home in Harlem, which seems leagues away from the affluent neighborhood she grew up in. Between taking the subway to her private school back near her old house and learning how to navigate the intricacies of her new neighborhood, Neveah has to figure out how to adjust to her new reality.

Neveah’s mom is African American and Baptist (Christian), and her dad is ethnically and somewhat-religiously Jewish. She has never worked out where exactly that puts her, or how to fit in with either side of her heritage. Her school is mostly white, and she knows she doesn’t fully belong there. However, upon moving in with her darker-skinned relatives, she begins to see the challenges most African American people are confronted with daily – the ones she has avoided as she usually passes as white. To further complicate things, her dad decides she should embrace her Jewish side by having a belated bat mitzvah rather than a sweet sixteen birthday party. This story chronicles Neveah’s struggles to figure out who she really is.

Color Me In is a wonderful story of identity and coming of age and trying to decide who you want to be. Diaz wrote this book semi-autobiographically – she is a multiracial woman who grew up navigating the complexities that come along with having a multicultural identity. As such, the realness and genuineness of this story shine through every word. This would be a great read for high schoolers as they are navigating their own identities, but I also loved it as a twenty-six year old woman. I received an Advanced Reader’s Copy of Color Me In from the publisher, Delacorte Press. This book will be published in August 2019 – make sure to keep your eyes out for it!

**Trigger warning for sexual assault.**

Favorite Passage:

The rage I’ve felt for so long bubbles over, and the avalanche of emotion is almost impossible to withstand. I want her to know that her words don’t disappear when they leave her lips; they create tiny invisible lacerations, reminders that the sum of my parts will never be sufficient. I want to stop being expected to give people the benefit of the doubt as I take a seat at the table I would never have been invited to if I were three shades closer to my mom. I want to stop feeling like an imposter in my own skin, undeserving of my rich blended heritage.
–Chapter 36

What I Loved Most:

I have never read a book written from a perspective of someone who seems to have white privilege while being a person of color. Colorism in our American society allows people who look “more white” to escape much of the discrimination that their darker-skinned peers do. Neveah’s cousin Jordan, who is dark skinned, challenges Neveah to identify the way that her lighter skin affords her privileges that Jordan will never get. In this book, we see Neveah learn that by remaining silent when she sees racism, she is complicit in the continuing oppression of people of color.

Read this book if you like:

Coming of age stories, poetry, searching for identity, multicultural families, calling out white privilege

Book Details:

  • Author: Natasha Diaz
  • Publisher: Delacorte Press
  • Date of Publication: August 20, 2019
  • Age Recommendation: High School
  • Pre-order Color Me In from Amazon if you’d like to own a copy!