Reviews with TLC

Mother Country by Etaf Rum pulled me in quickly and held on. Rum creates a short story filled with characters that are at once relatable and unique proving once again that people have more in common than not. The clash between expectations and the desire for something different that threads throughout Mother Country transcends the exploration of cultural differences landing in the heart of anyone who has ever wanted a future different than the one they grew up expected to live. Rum tells the story in a way that feels like sitting down with a friend to hear what's happening in their life.  Mother Country explores not only motherhood but daughterhood and the desire to escape not only tradition but generational trauma while also exploring what it takes to find understanding and compassion in the journey to embrace the truth of who one is. Currently Reading: How We Win the Civil War: Securing a Multiracial Democracy and Ending White Supremacy for Good  by Steve Phillips Braidin...

The Bookstore Wedding: A Short Story by Alice Hoffman continues the story of two sisters who had been estranged and are rebuilding their relationship while also honoring their parents and the bookstore they inherited. While one sister is planning her wedding to her rekindled love yet again, the other sister gets sick causing the wedding to be postponed once again. The Bookstore Wedding is filled with familial love and the kind of supportive community many crave these days. As some things came together and other things fell apart, I often found it difficult to understand the decisions the sisters or the community made but somehow that only added to the appealability. Hoffman provides characters that are at once complex and simple in a way that makes them more approachable. The Bookstore Wedding is a sweet story of endurance and connection. Currently Reading: How We Win the Civil War: Securing a Multiracial Democracy and Ending White Supremacy for Good  by Steve Phillips Mother Co...

They Called Me a Lioness: A Palestinian Girl's Fight for Freedom by Ahed Tamimi and Dena Takruri demonstrates the resilience of not only Ahed Tamimi but her family, her community, and the Palestinian community as a whole. Her story resonates on a deep level demonstrating how the political is personal in an approachable and engaging way. Written in first person, They Called Me a Lioness often brought me fully into the moment and left me feeling voyeuristic all at once. Tamimi and Takruri plant Tamimi's struggle in middle of the larger struggle with a seamlessness that reminds the reader that her story is both unique and all too common. The overarching story is one that brings to light the way humans are programmed to condemn or praise an action depending on who we are taught is worthy and who is unworthy. They Called Me a Lioness is a heartbreaking and heartwarming story of resilience as well as a call to action to the world. Currently Reading: How We Win the Civil War: Secur...

A Night at the Tropicana: A Short Story by Chanel Cleeton is a beautiful story of love lost to fulfill family expectations that leaves a mark on those who feel it. Family expectations and ambition get in the way of a love that feels magical in its beginning but gets sidelined by a parent's interference before it even has a chance to really begin. Years later a recreation of the event at a different place brings back the memories of that first taste of love. The romance of the evening paired with the romance of young love juxtaposed against a fundraiser capitalizing on the idea of that evening felt apropos to the world we live in yet the nostalgia threading through the memories also managed to impart an unexpected hopefulness. A Night at the Tropicana pulled me in and had me hoping for a magical ending... Currently Reading: How We Win the Civil War: Securing a Multiracial Democracy and Ending White Supremacy for Good  by Steve Phillips They Called Me a Lioness: A Palestinian Girl...

Time After Time (The Donnelly Cabin Inn Book 5) by Joanne Pence continues the story of the Donnelly Cabin and its connection to helping people find love. I've been surprised by the way the expansion of this trilogy into a series has felt like welcoming back a friend each time I read one even though it always centers around new characters. Pence puts characters who seemingly should have no reason to even like each other in positions where the reader cheers for their connection to grow. I was surprised by the way Pence incorporated the use of the song in this one, but it worked. As the characters in the book fight against their internal demons and question the ghostly things that seem to be pushing them together, there's never any doubt of their feelings for each other only whether those feelings are as important as the lives they lead individually. Time after Time explores the other side of the Donnelly family origins in an intriguing, inviting way that made me realize I wanted...

Iron & Velvet: poetry for hearts breaking and blooming by Stefanie Briar delivers on its promise to explore heart both breaking and blooming. I'm rarely seduced by an interesting cover, but the cover of Iron & Velvet really spoke to me. Briar's poetry explores heartache and loss as well as the journey to mending hearts and growing from the experience. Several of the poems in Iron & Velvet reminded me of heartbreaks as well as moments of healing I've experienced. Briar's style is accessible, relatable, and encompassing. Iron & Velvet holds within it compassion, strength, and vulnerability in poems that delight the senses and at times almost feel like a comforting hug. Currently Reading: How We Win the Civil War: Securing a Multiracial Democracy and Ending White Supremacy for Good  by Steve Phillips They Called Me a Lioness: A Palestinian Girl's Fight for Freedom  by Ahed Tamimi and Dena Takruri Time after Time: The Donnelly Cabin Inn Series  by Jo...

Lovers at the Museum: A Short Story by Isabel Allende is a story of love at first sight that reads like a fantasy that never feels quite real and yet immerses the reader in the dream of the moment. It's a story that felt like it floated off the page and into my imagination intriguing me but never quite taking root. Allende creates two characters in Bibiña Aranda and Indar Zubieta that I alternately felt the need to protect, chastise, and cheer for. Lovers in the Museum drifts along feeling risqué and almost chaste at the same time. Currently Reading: Iron & Velvet: poetry for hearts breaking and blooming  by Stefanie Briar How We Win the Civil War: Securing a Multiracial Democracy and Ending White Supremacy for Good  by Steve Phillips They Called Me a Lioness: A Palestinian Girl's Fight for Freedom  by Ahed Tamimi and Dena Takruri Time after Time: The Donnelly Cabin Inn Series  by Joanne Pence The Butterfly's Burden  by Mahmoud Darwish Disclosure: This blo...