Books by British Writers – Equal Opportunity Reader

[BOOKLIST] Complex Love; A Booklist of Diverse and Intersectional Romance Novels

Six hands, all belonging to different people, are placed on a pink background to form a heart shape.

Every year, Valentine’s Day rolls around, and every year, we all have to endure lists of monolithic romance novels about very boring people. Aside from the usual “hot blonde meets borderline emotionally abusive hockey player/CEO/pop star/cowboy/hometown hero” lists, there are also lists of Black romance, Asian romance, Latin romance, queer romance and all sorts ofContinue reading “[BOOKLIST] Complex Love; A Booklist of Diverse and Intersectional Romance Novels”

[Review] Honey and Spice, by Bolu Babalola

The Kindle cover of Bolu Babalola's Honey and Spice, depicting two young Black lovers standing side by side, lays on a pink , red and white camouflage mat, surrounded by a fancy candle, a pink set of earbuds, and a tall pink cup with XOXO written on the side.

(Buy this cute book here.) This would make a really cute movie. Kiki Banjo hosts the hottest campus radio broadcast for Black students at a PWI. Malakai Korede is a transfer student and an up-and-coming filmmaker. Both of them are fit, fine, and have no time for relationships. But when professional opportunity comes knocking, theseContinue reading “[Review] Honey and Spice, by Bolu Babalola”

[REVIEW] Spare, by Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex

The Kindle cover of Prince Harry's Spare, depicting his face in closeup, lies on a wooden table in between a glass of white wine and a burger.

(Buy this book from my shop.) I’m not much of a royal watcher, despite having lived in Britain for some years in my late twenties and early thirties. The only members of the family I’ve ever paid any attention to are the late Princess Diana and her youngest son, and I really only started payingContinue reading “[REVIEW] Spare, by Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex”

[REVIEW] The Brown Sisters Trilogy, by Talia Hibbert

(Buy these books!) I love a British rom-com. I also love an #ownnormal story, and I have a special place in my heart for hot summer beach reads. The Brown Sisters’ romances(Get A Life, Chloe Brown; Take A Hint, Dani Brown; and Act Your Age, Eve Brown) deliver all of the above and more. AllContinue reading “[REVIEW] The Brown Sisters Trilogy, by Talia Hibbert”

[HEAR ME OUT] Dickens’ A Christmas Carol Is a Holiday Miracle

A tablet displaying the cover of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is held up by a Black woman's hand--my hand-- in front of a glittery Christmas tree in closeup.

Merry Christmas!!! So this is not the Christmas post I had originally intended. I had this whole thoughtful post/review about Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol planned out for today. I was going to tell you about how I re-read it every year at Christmastime, and how I have large chunks of it basically memorized asContinue reading “[HEAR ME OUT] Dickens’ A Christmas Carol Is a Holiday Miracle”

[REVIEW] Like A Mule Bringing Ice Cream To The Sun, by Sarah Ladipo Manyika

From left to right; A dish containing red rice and a lightly fried egg. A dusty rose tote bag with a checkerboard lining laying on its side, full of handbag junk. A black tablet is propped up in the open mouth of the bag, displaying the vivid yellow, pink and blue cover of Like A Mule Bringing Ice Cream To The Sun.

(Buy it on Bookshop) It’s rare that I can summarize a book with only one word, but for this one it’s easy–“delightful”. Morayo Da Silva is an almost-75 year old Nigerian woman living in San Francisco. She’s funny, well-traveled, cosmopolitan, active, and young at heart. She was a college professor, a writer, a polyglot whoContinue reading “[REVIEW] Like A Mule Bringing Ice Cream To The Sun, by Sarah Ladipo Manyika”

[REVIEW] Girls of Might And Magic, An Anthology by Diverse Books With Magic

PHOTO ID: Black and white e-cover of Girls of Might and Magic displayed on a black Kindle. The device is on a wooden table, resting on a strip of red volcanic rocks and another strip of grass.

(This book is only available on Amazon, and y’all know how I feel about that. Still, as an indie, it gets the rare link-to-Amazon special–find it HERE.) Does anyone remember when it was “weird” for women to read fantasy? I distinctly remember getting into an argument with a total stranger who walked up and startedContinue reading “[REVIEW] Girls of Might And Magic, An Anthology by Diverse Books With Magic”

[REVIEW] Queenie, by Candice Carty-Williams

(Buy it from Bookshop here.) I want to fight Queenie. Okay, maybe not fight. Not physically, anyway. I just want to take her out for coffee and a very stern junior auntie-in-training chat about her life and her choices, ending with one question–“Girl, why don’t you love yourself at all?” She’s twenty-five, works at aContinue reading “[REVIEW] Queenie, by Candice Carty-Williams”

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐(5/5) (Buy it HERE.) I have no idea what you’re doing messing around with me on the internet when you could be somewhere reading this Booker-prize winning masterpiece. Hurry up and log off so you can get into this ASAP. (Just hit like before you go, ok? 😜 ) Seriously, this is genius, real lifeContinue reading “Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo”

The Invisible Man, by HG Wells

(Buy it HERE.) ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5⠀👤⠀Few canon classics really stand up to the test of time. It’s nice when I come across something that does and H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man was a nice surprise. ⠀👓⠀If you live in an English-speaking part of Earth, you already know what to expect here. There is a man. He isContinue reading “The Invisible Man, by HG Wells”