Category: recommendations

recommendations

Birthstone Covers: February 2022

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Leslie @ Books Are The New Black created a fun monthly post featuring book covers that fit the birthstone of the month. This can be the color of the cover or the color in the title.

Anyone can join, just be sure to give credit where it’s due.

Today, I’ll be showcasing a number of books I’ve read with pretty purple covers for February’s amethyst birthstone!

Have you read any of these? If you haven’t and are interested, I’ve linked my reviews where applicable.

And if you’d like to join, you can see the colour chart below.

Tune in next month for aquamarine covers!

recommendations

Celebrating Black Authors

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

It’s Black History month and I wanted to take some time this month to also focus on uplifting their voices and the stories they tell. While I know I still have much to learn and understand about Black culture, I appreciate getting to know more through their writings depicting experiences.

It’s so awful that racism is still such a thing embedded in society. I hope we can teach our next generation to learn and appreciate one another’s differences and cultures than use it as ways to tear down each other. I think it starts with learning about what makes us unique, and books are one way of educating.

So here is a list of authors I read or hope to read soon with their most recent releases. This is by no means a comprehensive list and I am always happy to be introduced to more Black authors. So please let me know in the comments below!

Namina Forna

Ibi Zoboi

Ben Philippe

Roseanne A. Brown

Jasmine Guillory

Tiffany D. Jackson

Angie Thomas

Nicola Yoon

Ayana Gray

Jordan Ifueko

Joya Goffney

Dhonielle Clayton

Elise Bryant

Brittney Morris

Tracy Deonn

Tomi Adeyemi

Leah Johnson

Tochi Onyebuchi

Nic Stone

Which of these authors have you read? A lot of these are on my TBR but I hope 2022 is the year to get through a lot of these. I want to continue to educate myself and amplify Black voices in literature.

anticipations

New Romance Reads on my TBR (Valentine’s 2022)

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Hi friends! Today is love day, and I hope we take some time to celebrate love in whatever form it comes in, platonic or romantic.

This is my last post in the series of romance-themed posts leading up to Valentine’s Day (which is today!). I hope you’ve enjoyed them. If you want to read the other posts, they are linked below.

Thank you for stopping by! I just wanted to reiterate how much I appreciate you all, the community of bloggers and book lovers I’ve found here. I wouldn’t still be doing this without you.

Now onto the list!

If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy

After having just graduated with a degree in shoe design, and trying to get her feet on the ground, Cindy is working for her stepmother, who happens to be the executive producer of America’s favorite reality show, Before Midnight. When a spot on the show needs filling ASAP, Cindy volunteers, hoping it might help jump-start her fashion career, or at least give her something to do while her peers land jobs in the world of high fashion.

Turns out being the only plus size woman on a reality dating competition makes a splash, and soon Cindy becomes a body positivity icon for women everywhere. What she doesn’t expect? That she may just find inspiration-and love-in the process. Ultimately, Cindy learns that if the shoe doesn’t fit, maybe it’s time to design your own. 

I’m such a sucker for CInderella based stories, but Julie Murphy’s take seems to include body positivity and a plus sized woman that just makes it different among the others I’ve read. It’s definitely got me intrigued at least, enough to put it on this list!

How Not To Fall in Love by Jacqueline Firkins

A hardened cynic and a hopeless romantic teach each other about love in this swoony and heartfelt contemporary romance that’s perfect for fans of Tweet Cute and The Upside of Falling.

Harper works in her mom’s wedding shop, altering dresses for petulant and picky brides who are more focused on hemlines than love. After years of watching squabbles break out over wedding plans, Harper thinks romance is a marketing tool. Nothing more. Her best friend Theo is her opposite. One date and he’s already dreaming of happily ever afters. He also plays the accordion, makes chain mail for Ren Festers, hangs out in a windmill-shaped tree house, cries over rom-coms, and takes his word-of-the-day calendar very seriously.

When Theo’s shocked to find himself nursing his umpteenth heartbreak, Harper offers to teach him how not to fall in love. Theo agrees to the lessons, as long as Harper proves she can date without falling in love. As the lessons progress and Theo takes them to heart, Harper has a harder time upholding her end of the bargain. She’s also checking out her window to see if Theo’s home from his latest date yet. She’s even watching rom-coms. If she confesses her feelings, she’ll undermine everything she’s taught him. Or was he the one teaching her?

I love it when there’s chemistry between best friends, especially ones that are very unwilling to acknowledge that there might be anything more between them. This seems like the perfect read.

Continue reading “New Romance Reads on my TBR (Valentine’s 2022)” →