Tag: 5-star review

black girl love by Anondra “Kat” Williams

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Publisher/Date:  CreateSpace, Mar. 2011
Genre(s):  Romance, Erotica, Short Story
Pages: 202
Website:  http://www.anondrawilliams.com

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Twenty-five stories, 25 beautiful sentiments about black women and love.

That statement encapsulates Anondra “Kat” Williams’ black girl love, a scenic excursion of the black lesbian experience, from love to hate, from sex to love.

There are several highlights of black girl love. The best are ones that allow you to lose yourself in them. Like “locs,” where a lover waits patiently to connect with her harried wife through loving hair maintenance. “lunch” finds two old friends catching up and right back to the mutual attraction that always lingers as they dine, while “buddies” has two friends-with-benefits partakers silently falling for each other.

Other highlights of black girl love are the ones rooted in serious emotions. A partner respects her wife’s choice to live in “decisions,” and “trying” is a masterpiece at showcasing a woman’s many attempts to win her girlfriend back.

The lion’s share of black girl love, though, is about desire. That resonates in most of Williams’ tales, especially with the stories “breakfast”, “lunch” and “dinner,” lovers feasting on each other via words that ring true.

Williams thoughtfully douses black girl love with tenderness, humor, and real-life situations that make it hard to put down. It’s a project she spent three year working on, and it shows in the fluidity of the book. In reading, you will picture yourself as one (or more) of Williams’ characters, laugh, or loudly utter “ooh chile” at something clever.

Now those are the signs of a good book.

Reviewed January 2012

If You Love Me, Come by Claudia Moss

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Publisher/Date:  Mariposa Publications, July 2011
Genre(s):  Romance, Mature Lesbians, Self-Love, Straight Books with Lesbian Characters
Pages:  376
Website:  http://www.claudiamoss.com

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Following your heart is one thing; listening to spirits is divine in IF YOU LOVE ME, COME, the lovely novel by Claudia Moss.

Spirits are what led Freenonia Roberts to the Techwood Home projects one March night, nearly striking a boy named Mookie with her gray Mercedes, and sends her on a different path than she ever imagined. The owner of a thriving bookstore, Free’s life seemed enviable, with a small circle of friends and book club members, a doting mother and a head chef boyfriend. The night she meets Mookie’s sometime baby-sitter, Miz Too-Sweet, it begins a new relationship that only the spirits could align.

Seeing it as her personal mission, Free brings the Atlanta housing project an experience they wouldn’t forget, while Miz Too-Sweet spins life stories that provide the young woman, and, eventually, those around her, light in darkness. Free contends with whether she made the right decision to leave her boyfriend, J.T., even with his demanding ways. Rhonda, her baby sister, covets Free’s storied existence and doesn’t think her own is as fulfilling as a teacher, mother and wife. Sharmayne, Free’s best friend, leaves her dreadful marriage to Vince behind, shedding her closeted sexuality. Pinky, Mookie’s mother, attempts to find love through her three baby daddies, but nothing could cure the longing for the woman who abandoned her after childbirth.

All four women have crosses that seem too much to overcome. And all four discover, through spirits sometimes unknown, that love is the answer.

If You Love Me, Come is a beautiful book. I savored every page, where the story shifted from various points of view, as well as the Southern wisdom within its pages. It reminded me of one of my favorite books, Mama Day by Gloria Naylor.

Mostly though, I was enamored by the many examples it showed of what love truly is.

Reviewed January 2012

Keesha & Her Two Moms Go Swimming by Monica Bey-Clarke and Cheril N. Clarke

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Publisher/Date:  Dodi Press, June 2011
Genre: Children’s Books
Pages:  30
Website:  http://www.cherilnclarke.com

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Parents, want a great book you can share with your children?

Pick up KEESHA AND HER TWO MOMS GO SWIMMING by partners Monica Bey-Clarke and Cheril N. Clarke.

Keesha & Her Two Moms is delightful. The daughter of lesbian parents, Keesha is a adorable girl who loves to share and have fun. Her mothers definitely raised her right.

You’ll see Keesha frolicking in the pool, playing with her bestie and making new friends. You’ll also see the love she has for her two moms, and that life for gay families are just like any other.

With colorful illustrations and animated writing, Bey-Clarke and Clarke make Keesha and Her Two Moms Go Swimming a must read for gay and lesbian parents. Kids will love to see their families reflected just as they really are.

Also check out a coloring and activity book titled My Family ABCs with Keesha!, as well as other titles from the Clarkes at  www.myfamilyproducts.net.

Reviewed January 2012

Dying for a Change by Sean Reynolds (Feb. 2011 Pick of the Month)

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Publisher/Date:  Suspect Thoughts Press, Sept. 2009
Genre(s):  Mystery, Suspense
Pages:  256
Website:  http://www.booksbyseanreynolds.com

Rating: ★★★★★ 

The year is 1965, the place is Chicago. The streets are hot, not just because it’s August, but because racism lives and breathes with a fierce determination to tear apart any civility between blacks and whites.

In the midst of this is cool-as-a-fan Chan Parker, 33-year-old numbers runner, working her dead-end profession with all the enthusiasm of a broken toaster. With her boyish good looks, she makes much more money than the average Negro, but being on the bottom rung of a mobster operation making its money off the backs of blacks isn’t her idea of a career. As Chan says in DYING FOR A CHANGE, “Prostitution is doing any job you would rather not do, and I was beginning to feel whorish.”

The bright spots in Chan’s life are her 55 black-over-black T-Bird, her eclectic jazz collection, and best friend Henrietta Wild Cherry. A 300-pound drag queen, Henrietta has been Chan’s rock since childhood, and when the lady asks for help finding a fellow dragster who’s come up dead, Chan is hot on the trail of discovering what happened to Miss Dove.

Dying for a Change paints a vivid scene of old Chicago as she and Henrietta track down a killer. In the midst of it all, Chan’s job proves to be a more of a liability while discerning who’s on the right side of the law – and who’s twisted in the game.

Sean Reynolds’ prose in Dying is deftly captivating, and the slang from 1960s Chicago is authentic, refreshing, and a character in its own right. As you read, you’re transported to that time of juke joints and back rooms, a time when being the wrong color on the wrong side of town could mean trouble. Dying is a mystery, history lesson and cool suspense at the same time.  I would have liked to see more romance, but nonetheless, Reynolds knows her genre, knows her people, and most importantly, knows how to tell a fantastic story.

Reviewed February 2011

The Butterfly Moments by Renee Bess

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Publisher/Date:  Regal Crest Enterprises, LLC, July 2010
Genre(s):  Romance, Mature Lesbians, Suspense
Pages:  208
Website:  http://www.reneebess.com

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Who else could craft a story with the suspense of CSI and the drama of The L Word better than Renee Bess?

That’s THE BUTTERFLY MOMENTS, a novel with a mélange of characters who find themselves caught up in one way or another.

The star is Alana Blue, a veteran officer of the Philadelphia probation system. Attempting to make her last weeks before retirement as smooth as possible, she is given the task of supervising Rafaela “Rafe” Ortiz, a probie transferred because of a workplace impropriety. Alana knows she can handle Rafe; what she can’t handle is her attraction to the notorious bad girl.

This flirtation is the last distraction Alana needs. When her last relationship died, she cut herself off from finding someone new, using her job as a way to fill her days and nights. Her career is also a diversion from the strained relationship with her daughter, who blames Alana’s sexuality for breaking up their family.

As if this wasn’t enough, Philly Police Detective Johnetta Jones needs Alana’s help in solving a co-ed’s death. While finding the killer, the two progress to more than just professional relationship.

Johnetta’s heart, also, has been marred by her years on the force, but for Alana, she’s willing to open herself to the possibility of love. But as the pair’s romance blossoms, it may become stalled when Johnetta’s lead on the case point to a person close to Alana.

The Butterfly Moments is a graceful flight into the mind of Alana, to understand her life and occupation, as well as the supporting characters who fold impeccably into this mystery. Bess has always been the queen of slow-building romance, and Moments is as sensual as her others. The ending takes you to a climax you didn’t see coming.

Not bad for a retiree.

Reviewed February 2011

M+O 4EVR by Tonya Hegamin (Aug. 2010 Pick of the Month)

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Publisher/Date:  Houghton Mifflin, Apr. 2008
Genre(s):  Romance, Coming Of Age, Young Adult
Pages:  176
Website:  http://www.tonyacheriehegamin.com

Rating: ★★★★★ 

The dreams we have as children are very powerful, involving fearless feats and aspirations we carry to adulthood, cradled in the hope that the dreams will become reality.

That’s what Opal anticipated when she made the decision to take her best friend, Marianne, away from their small-town life in M+O 4 EVR. The novel from Tonya Marie Hegamin relates an emotional excursion of what happens when wishes are deferred by life’s disappointments.

Best friends, Marianne and Opal’s bond was an unspoken one, full of longing and hurt and not-so-unrequited love. The girls lived in their Pennsylvania town as outcasts, the only few Black faces in the mountainous county. They only had each other, as little girls who held hands on their first day of school, a shield from the world that couldn’t possibly understand them.

Home is where their hearts are. Opal is raised by sassy Gran while her parents travel to provide for her; Marianne lived with her white mother and grandfather, and never knew her black father. Their families were intertwined and nurtured the girls’ closeness. They were privy to the love Opal had for Marianne, though it was never said – even to Marianne herself.

While Marianne has some idea of Opal’s feelings for her, she can’t see past her own pain to reciprocate. Marianne felt lost in her own skin and never wanted to accept her “loser” status assigned based on her light complexion. She strived to be popular, one of the cool kids. And eventually she did attain the crown – becoming the first black homecoming queen – at the expense of leaving her best friend behind. The victory was short-lived when only hours later, a tragedy strikes Marianne, and all the dreams Opal had for them dissipate.

All Opal wanted was have Marianne to herself, in the way she did when they danced through the milkweeds, carved their names into their favorite tree, or pressed lips together under the blackberry bushes. Now all she’s left with is painful memories and theories on how things got to this point. For Opal, her ache came from knowing what they could have been. But with her future in her hands, she soon discovered things happen for a reason.

The sentiments M+O 4 EVR are sweet, raw and heartfelt. Who can’t relate to the story of innocent love and the slings and arrows of growing up? Hegamin writes about loss and love, while also tying in the spirit of a runaway slave to anchor the tale to how much we sacrifice for the love of one person.

However in the end, we and Opal learn taking care of ourselves is what’s most important.

Reviewed August 2010

The Other Side of Paradise by Staceyann Chin

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Publisher/Date:  Scribner, Feb. 2010
Genre(s):  Coming of Age, Lesbian Real Life
Pages:  261
Website:  http://www.staceyannchin.com

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Staceyann Chin – writer, prolific poet, political activist and purveyor of knowing your pussy – never had life easy. Growing up in Jamaica without a father and being abandoned by her mother almost promised her future would end up a tragic story. Yet, out the rubble of her childhood grew the unwavering spirit that turned her into the courageous woman you see on stage belting out her poems with such fervor.

In THE OTHER SIDE OF PARADISE, the reader gets to see the upbringing that birthed an artist. After being brought into the world Christmas Day, she is left behind with her brother, Delano, in the care of her grandmother. There, in the town of Lottery, Staceyann’s inquisitive and highly imaginative mind got her into adventures in school and at home, and allowed her to fill in the gaps of her mother’s whereabouts and her father’s identity. There, she also blossomed thanks to her grandmother’s nurturing, despite longing for her mother’s return.

When her mother does come back for them, it was clear to the nine-year-old that her mother is unfit to raise two young children. The siblings were quickly separated when their mother sent Delano to his father and left Staceyann with her auntie in an area called Paradise. What she experienced is anything but. The crowded, run down house of horrors was Staceyann’s nightmare. Abusive hands, harsh rules and unbearable conditions plagued her, but also helped her to protect and save herself.

From there, Staceyann’s quest for stability led to the discovery of her sexuality. After finally freeing from her auntie, she can be without the fear of punishment. She flourished at school, and later college, where she fell in love with a girl. Unafraid, Staceyann made this pronouncement to her classmates in her usual vociferous fashion. In Jamaica. Where violent homophobia runs rampant. But that’s of no matter to Staceyann Chin. She’s who she is, and makes no apologies.

That’s the heart of This Side of Paradise. While the seeds of neglect were planted with her mother’s disappearance, Staceyann cultivated this angst into the fruit of hope and fortitude. It helped that she had a wicked sense of humor and quick wits to match. Paradise is hard to swallow at times. Knowing she’s survived is the all the happy ending you need.

Reviewed August 2010

How to Love a Black Lesbian by Velvet Knight and Joy A’Che

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Publisher/Date:  Sexy Black Rainbows Entertainment, Feb. 2010
Genre:  Relationship Guide
Pages:  26
Website:  http://www.sexyblackrainbows.com

Rating: ★★★★★ 

If you’ve ever been in love, want to be in love or are in love right now, HOW TO LOVE A BLACK LESBIAN is the e-book you must read. Within the pages lie the simple truths about loving a black female.

Velvet Knight and Joy A’Che break down what it takes to deeply care for a woman — from her head to her toes. Yet it goes further than just loving the physical aspects of your mate. Getting to know her mind, soul and spirit is vital according to the authors, who preach that “starting from the outside and going in” is the best way to enjoy the qualities your other half possesses.

First, the relationship manual stresses discovering what makes your lover tick. For example, knowing exactly why she became a lesbian is a key to whom she is as a person. So ask her. The authors say “to love a lesbian you should know why one is a lesbian.” Her attitude and response to the question should reveal more her character and her heart.

But don’t think that loving a woman’s body is not important. Knight and A’Che emphasize adoring every single part of your lover, her touch, and even her imperfections. I like how the authors play up the importance of swagger – whether she’s femme, stud or in the middle – as another facet to enjoy about your partner’s confidence in being female.

For right in time for Valentine’s Day, How to Love a Black Lesbian is definitely required reading. Knight and A’Che provide a sensual guidebook for beautiful African-American women who love women. Anyone in or out of a relationship should read this how-to because it’s an excellent blueprint to building a solid foundation with your lover.

Reviewed February 2010

Consequences by Skyy

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Publisher/Date:  Kings Crossing Publishing, Feb. 2009
Genre(s):  College Life, Romance, Studs & Femmes
Pages: 304
Website:  http://www.simplyskyy.com

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Love. Sex. College. Studs. Femmes. It’s all one big circle in beloved author Skyy’s newest installment of lesbian drama, CONSEQUENCES, which follows our favorite ladies and gents as they navigate their senior year together.

Consequences begins exactly where Choices concluded, with Lena readying herself for marriage while still pining over Denise. Despite having what appears to be all she wants – a fiancé who’s pro-basketball player, money and a chic apartment – she can’t help but imagine another life with Denise. The kiss they shared at the end of last year changed everything, and even the love of Brandon can’t stop her fantasies of the stud who stole her heart.

Denise, meanwhile, has tried to move on from feeling like Lena’s second choice. The women she’s been spending her time with aren’t up to par – one is a certified nutcase – and they certainly aren’t Lena. It’s hard to see her former roommate, whom she fell in love with, marry another man. But Denise doesn’t want to let go of their friendship, and only hopes Lena will realize how deep her loyalties lie before she walks down that aisle.

Cooley, Cooley, Cooley. It took Misha to tame that wild heart of hers, but when she did, Cooley wound up alone after being caught in some mess that wasn’t her fault. No worries, though, Cooley’s had the summer to get hoochies out her system and conspires to win back Misha. However, she didn’t plan on Misha being with someone else or settling for being “just friends” when Cooley’s heart says she’s the one. This is a move the former player surely didn’t see coming.

And finally Carmen, the previously portly beauty, has maintained her relationship with Nic. While the couple plans their future as they approach graduation, Carmen’s past threatens to destroy their present. She still has insecurities when she sees Nic around other women, no matter how much Nic professes her devotion. Carmen can’t believe she’s found someone who loves her so much – and begins to sabotage what she has. Can she see what she has in front of her before Nic gets fed up?

There’s a lot more in Consequences than I can describe here, but I don’t want to give it all away.

Most will agree that Skyy is the new queen of black lesbian romance, and the writing of Consequences proves it. She’s our version of E. Lynn Harris of Invisible Life fame, but with a style truly all her own. Despite its long wait following Choices, Consequences was well worth the pure uproar women created about the fate of Denise, Lena, Carmen and Cooley, and who would end up with whom. We sincerely care about these characters as our own, as the animated discussion at my book club proved.

Skyy’s Consequences will not only answer your questions, but will gladly provide you with cliffhangers to the next chapter in these women’s lives. When the next book arrives, I’m 100 percent sure Skyy won’t disappoint.

Reviewed June 2009

Manjani by Freedom Speaks Diaspora

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Publisher/Date:  Sun Cycle Publishing, Aug. 2008
Genre(s):  Coming of Age, Young Adult
Pages:  320
Website:  http://www.manjani.com

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Never will you read a novel with a more outspoken, unwavering young lady than MANJANI, a tale that narrates a girl’s coming of age and chronicles her ultimate self-fulfillment written by Freedom Speaks Diaspora.

The title character, Manjani, is one to be reckoned with. When she speaks, she speaks the truth. The problem is that it’s her version of the truth. Manjani wants to be a revolutionary, bless her heart. Although she means well, she uses her most powerful weapon – her voice – to annihilate anyone who impedes her growth and doesn’t ascribe to her way of thinking – including her teachers and even her own friends.  Determined to lead the charge to cure her “deaf, dumb and blind” peers, she sets out to prove how gullible “African-Americans” are, ignorant of the full history of their Afrikan people. It’s not that her message is flawed, it’s that the way it comes across leaves people turned off.

But never mind that. Manjani has a mission: to be revolutionary. With her father a member of an Afrocentric band and her sister, Aniba, a student at a healer’s school, Manjani has a few examples of role models to follow. However, her family is torn apart when a fire destroys their home, and Manjani is left with her father and younger brother while Aniba is missing. Living in a new home, her father decides to enroll her in Catholic school, where she is one of the few black faces there.

In short, life is a nightmare for Manjani. It doesn’t get any better when she realizes the school supports racist traditions – one that Manjani can’t stand for. Soon she’s kicked out of school, and joins an academy for future revolutionaries like herself. The Black Nationalist Academy is where she envisions achieving her life’s purpose with students and teachers who have the same goal in mind. Except the more she learns, the more Manjani realizes the world isn’t black and white, but several shades of gray. It’s even more complicated when she falls in love with a woman, who is both her teacher and mentor. But revolutionaries can’t fall in love, can they?

As the story progresses, Manjani finds out being true to yourself is the best cause she could fight for.

Manjani is a clever, energetic novel from an author who creates an honest character. Diaspora has a method to her writing that is introspective, but doesn’t come off as too preachy. I enjoyed the rise of a true woman warrior who knows her value and endeavors to make a difference with it.

Reviewed June 2009