Books Archives - A Bookie's Books

What I Read This Week

I had another good reading week. I read five audiobooks and 1 physical book. Let’s talk about them…

Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Cosimano

Disclaimer: I work for Minotaur Books the publisher of this book. My opinions about this book are mine and have no representation of the company.

This book rocked! I am excited that the story ARC of the last books has kind of finished up. This book had me giggling uncontrollably while I listened at work. It was so funny, just like her other books. I love this series and cannot wait to find out what happens next.

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Tweet Cute by Emma Lord

I thought this book was really fun, and I liked the premise. I have not read a YA romance that I enjoyed as much as this in a little bit. It was fun because it takes place on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and I currently am living in the city. So I recognized some street names. I just think the whole situation was cute. I am hoping to get my hands on some more of her books shortly.

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Witch King by Martha Wells

This book was a shocker to me. I really love fantasy, but only fantasy that is uncomplex. I know that makes me simple, but I simply want to read a lot of books, and anything I have to spend a long time disgusting and understanding, I just lose interest. This book would have shaped up to be that if I had not listened to the audiobook. I read the physical book mostly at the same time I read the audiobook. I finished this book in a week. I loved it a lot. It was one of those stories that I will think about for years to come. It was excellent writing and lyrical prose. I loved all of the characters. It had Martha’s signature humor that I enjoyed when I read a couple of the Murderbot series.

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The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

I read it. It was an experience. Here’s the backstory. I am working at a mystery imprint at Macmillan. I am hoping that I can hone my mystery skills to continue in this genre. Therefore I have to read the most prolific mystery writer. I love starting with a writer’s first book. So I read The Mysterious Affair at Styles. And it was good. But it was not my favorite. Reading this book on audiobook is what made this not the best. I missed clues and I kept forgetting who was who. I know what to do better next time I read one of her novels.

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Bite by Bite by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book from an industry connection. I was so excited to read this since Aimee is one of my favorite authors. I once had to read her poetry for class back in college, and she spoke at a visiting writers series. The love grew from there This book was honestly the best thing ever! I loved getting to experience this book early. Her writing is superb. She had me crying on the subway with how her writing impacted me. She talks about her family, and it was cool to see the evolution of her stories since World of Wonders, her other book I loved.

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A Rogue’s Company by Allison Montclair

Disclaimer: I work for Minotaur Books the publisher of this book. My opinions about this book are mine and have no representation of the company.

This is the third in the series and I am still happy to continue reading the series. It is witty and a fun romp through the wartime UK. This one was especially fun because we got to see a bit more personal sides of both the main characters, and one was put directly in danger. Still a fantastic series and am currently starting the next one.

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Thanks for reading!

A 5-Star Book Debut from Mateo Askaripour

Do you want a book that absolutely wrecks your brain? Read Black Buck.

Book Review:

The entire time my mind kept screaming “What the fuck?!”

I am not lying. This book was seriously insane. I have not read a book that has taken me through such a crazy mind tunnel. Black Buck was a phenomenal book.

Book Plot:

Everything was a twist and a turn. We went through this absolutely insane racist workplace and this guy absolutely fucking up his life. Speaking too much about the plot can lead to huge spoilers so I am just going to say this book is seriously insane, and you should read it.

Book Characters:

Darren is the most unlikeable character I have ever met. Throughout the story, he becomes this absolutely tortuous character. I hated him for hundreds of pages. Yes, In the beginning, and the end he is a better person, but this man goes into the craziest head spaces. Did I hate him? So much so. Do I love him? YES

I don’t have much to say about the other characters. Soraya was great and seeing her life through little moments was upper interesting. Everyone else was good, bad, and ugly.

There were huge character-driven twists at the end of this. My friend, who read this book with me, and I were absolutely blown away by the character’s development.

Quality of Writing:

During my summer program, Mateo Askaripour, the author, came and spoke at our class. While speaking, he told us about how it took him three books to finally get Black Buck published. He sounded exactly like his book read. His writing was provocative, stunning, and addictive. I cannot wait for Mateo’s next book just so I can read his writing again.

What I Liked:

The absolute crazy shit that happened
Speaking about the themes of racism in the sales world
Beautiful writing
The author
The shock factors

What I Didn’t:

It was a bit much, but I think that is the point. The point was to be a lot.

Read This Book If You Love:

Diverse books
Starbucks
Death of a Salesman
Literary fiction

Star Rating: 5

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Book:

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Title: Black Buck

Author: Mateo Askaripour

Published January 5th, 2021 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Genre: Fiction, Contemporary, Race

Pages: 388

“There’s nothing like a Black salesman on a mission.

An unambitious twenty-two-year-old, Darren lives in a Bed-Stuy brownstone with his mother, who wants nothing more than to see him live up to his potential as the valedictorian of Bronx Science. But Darren is content working at Starbucks in the lobby of a Midtown office building, hanging out with his girlfriend, Soraya, and eating his mother’s home-cooked meals. All that changes when a chance encounter with Rhett Daniels, the silver-tongued CEO of Sumwun, NYC’s hottest tech startup, results in an exclusive invitation for Darren to join an elite sales team on the thirty-sixth floor.

After enduring a “hell week” of training, Darren, the only Black person in the company, reimagines himself as “Buck,” a ruthless salesman unrecognizable to his friends and family. But when things turn tragic at home and Buck feels he’s hit rock bottom, he begins to hatch a plan to help young people of color infiltrate America’s sales force, setting off a chain of events that forever changes the game.

Black Buck is a hilarious, razor-sharp skewering of America’s workforce; it is a propulsive, crackling debut that explores ambition and race, and makes way for a necessary new vision of the American dream.” –Goodreads

Read This Book Series: The Plated Prisoner

I didn’t have high hopes for this book series. Boy oh boy was I surprised.

The Book(s):

Title(s): Gild, Glint, Gleam

Author: Raven Kennedy

Series: Plated Prisoner Series 1-3

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Fae, New Adult

Pages: 402, 441, 613

Gild Synopsis-“

The fae abandoned this world to us. And the ones with power rule.

Gold.

Gold floors, gold walls, gold furniture, gold clothes. In Highbell, in the castle built into the frozen mountains, everything is made of gold.

Even me.

King Midas rescued me. Dug me out of the slums and placed me on a pedestal. I’m called his precious. His favored. I’m the woman he Gold-Touched to show everyone that I belong to him. To show how powerful he is. He gave me protection, and I gave him my heart. And even though I don’t leave the confines of the palace, I’m safe.

Until war comes to the kingdom and a deal is struck.

Suddenly, my trust is broken. My love is challenged. And I realize that everything I thought I knew about Midas might be wrong.

Because these bars I’m kept in, no matter how gilded, are still just a cage. But the monsters on the other side might make me wish I’d never left.”-Goodreads

My Review:

Why was this series so good?

I got this recommendation from a friend in my summer program. They begged me to read this series, so I gave it a shot.

And OMG I loved this series.

I am combining these three books into one review because, honestly, I cannot differentiate them because I read these three a month before writing this.

Book Plot:

The plot is sometimes iffy, but also sometimes epic. There are crazy cool things that happen.

We go from trapped prisoners in a gilded cage to– Oh well I probably cannot say much because you should learn for yourself.

Characters:

Auren is splendid. She is literally gold. She has crazy character development throughout the series. Learning more and more about her character and seeing her growth is beautiful.

The main love interest (which I won’t spoil who it is) is startling. The love interest honestly has to be in one of my top ten fantasy men. He wows me.

Book Setting:

This new world that Kennedy built impresses. The names like “Sixth Kingdom” aren’t super impressive. But the magic system, cities, and territories that Kennedy describes are pretty awesome.