Mini Book Reviews: January 2021 – Part 1

*Books included in this batch of mini book reviews: Get A Life Chloe Brown (The Brown Sisters #1) by Talia Hibbert, Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall, Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center, and Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

» Get A Life Chloe Brown (The Brown Sisters #1) by Talia Hibbert

»  Our two main characters, Chloe and Red, were compelling not only together, but separately as well.  I enjoyed watching each of these characters growth over the course of this story – Chloe with her mission to “get a life” and Red’s journey to healing.

» The chemistry between Chloe and Red was oozing off the page.  I would classify this as an enemies-to-lovers romance, so if you enjoy this trope, I think you’ll enjoy it here.  The steamy scenes were STEAMY, so just a heads up for those that are not fans of graphic sex scenes.

» I really enjoyed the all the representation included in this book.  We get a chronically ill main character, a curvy main character, and an interracial relationship all in one great story.  I felt like the chronic illness representation was well done and handled with care.  It was also refreshing to see the that Chloe’s curviness and the interracial relationship were not plot points, but just matter of fact.» My only complaint was that Chloe came off extremely pretentious towards Red in the beginning without rhyme or reason.  It almost felt like the author made Chloe snobbish to work the enemies-to-lovers trope.

› Recommended to ⇒ romance fans; those looking for a chronically ill main character

› Trigger/content warnings ⇒ toxic relationship (happened in past – not central to the plot)

› If you liked this book, try ⇒ The Kiss Quotient (The Kiss Quotient #1) by Helen Hoang or The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

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» Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall

» An excellent read about the issues that mainstream feminism often ignore – issues that often plague women of color.  Kendall addresses topics like food insecurity, a lack of affordable housing, gun violence, and access to quality education.

» I really appreciated how Kendall weaves her own experiences throughout these essays.  It really helped humanize these issues versus just exploring theory and statistics.

» I would consider this to be a beginner book for those not familiar with intersectional feminism.  It definitely felt like it was written more with white readers in mind, so it may be a bit redundant for those that are well versed in intersectional feminism.

› Recommended to ⇒ everyone; those that want to learn more about intersectional feminism

› Trigger/content warnings ⇒ domestic violence

› If you liked this book, try ⇒ Bad Feminist by Roxanne Gay

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» Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center

» I loved that this book centered around a female firefighter!  I highly enjoy reading stories with woman in traditionally male dominated industries.  Watching Cassie work hard and run circles around the male firefighters was an absolute delight and my favorite aspect to this story.

» Cassie was an compelling main character.  I admired her strength, independence, drive, and ambition.

» The romance was a SLOW burn and a “forbidden romance” since Owen was a coworker.   I really loved watching their relationship blossom.  On the steamy scale, this book is on the tame side, but the tension was real!

»  Things You Save in a Fire includes a strained mother-daughter relationship between Cassie and her estranged mother.  Watching Cassie and her mother slowly repair their relationship and get to know each other again was heartwarming.

» I feel like Center tried to cram too many “issues” into one story.  Sexual assault, abandonment, stalking, sabotage, est.  It was too much.  Also, I felt like the sexual assault was used as a plot device since it was never fully explored.

› Recommended to ⇒ romance fans that appreciate a strong female lead

› Trigger/content warnings ⇒ sexual assault; sexual harassment; child abandonment

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» Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

*3.5 Stars*

» Elatsoe is an ode to storytelling.  I really enjoyed all the Lipan Apache mythology and history woven throughout this story.  This was my favorite aspect of this story.

» I really loved the friendship between Ellie and her best friend Jay.  While I have a feeling that Jay’s feelings may have been a bit more than friendship feelings, Ellie identifies as asexual, so there is no romance in Elatsoe.  YA books without romance are few and far in between, and it’s something I’d personally like to see more of.

» Kirby, Ellie’s ghost dog, held a special place in my heart because he happened to be an English Springer Spaniel, which is the type of dog I had growing up.  Kirby was the real star of this book.

» I really enjoyed the world & magic system that Darcie Little Badger created here.  I would definitely consider this more low fantasy where it is grounded in the real world with fantastic elements.

» Elatsoe is classified as YA, but I felt it leaned more toward middle grade.  Tweens could definitely pick this one up as it is very “clean.”

»  I cannot put my finger on why exactly, but I could not fully connect with this book.  I think this has more to do with the murder mystery plot not really appealing to me.

» If I’m being completely honest, the most fascinating character was technically NOT a character in this story.  Ellie’s “Six Greats Grandmother” – who had passed on – was such an intriguing character that I’d be interested in seeing a story about her.

› Recommended to ⇒ those looking for a story with paranormal elements

› If you liked this book, try ⇒ Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World #1)

Have you read any of these books?  If so, what did you think?

Comment below & let me know 🙂