Black Blogger Book Tag

A great thing has happened: I’m all caught up on book reviews. Yeahie me! Thing is, I have nothing else planned, so here’s a book tag.

I was tagged by the wonderful Rae at Rae’s Reads and Reviews for the Black Blogger Book Tag, which is actually the Black Booktuber Tag created by Blkandsapphicreads. But since I’m a book blogger — Black Blogger Book Tag it is.

Tell us a little bit about yourself!

Umm, well. What can I say? I started blogging a long time ago so that I can chat about books with people as interested in books as me, but I only started to take blogging seriously a couple years ago.

I go by Zezee on here and other social media channels I use that’s associated with my blog, but that’s not my name. I was born and raised in Jamaica before moving to the U.S. in my teens, so… as of right now, I’ve spent a little over half my life living in the U.S. I read just about everything, but I love fantasy novels and zombie movies and am SO hooked on Kingdom, the South Korean TV show on Netflix, right now.

Who’s a Black author you love that a lot of people don’t know about?

Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

Advertisement

Top Ten Tuesday #47: Funny Ones

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic:

Books That Made Me Laugh

These are a few books that managed to elicit a laugh from me… not that that’s a hard thing to do, lol.

Skull-Face Bookseller Honda-San, Vol. 1 by Honda (illus.)

The first in a manga series about a bookseller who works at a comic book shop. Since I also work at a bookstore, I could strongly relate to all the situations mentioned in the comic. All the booksellers are drawn wearing a mask, and the protagonist, Honda, wears a skull-face mask. It’s a funny read. I highly recommend it.

“Raybearer” by Jordan Ifueko

I read Raybearer in January for a book club and had a great time with it. The story was easy to fall into, and I loved the worldbuilding. I can’t believe I waited so long to read it.

Well… that’s a lie. It’s YA fantasy and these days I keep assuming that YA fantasy means “YA romance with some fantasy” that I often avoid such books. But stories like Raybearer are getting me interested in YA fantasy again.

Genre

YA Fantasy

Series

Raybearer, book 1

Pubbed

2020

Goodreads summary

Nothing is more important than loyalty. But what if you’ve sworn to protect the one you were born to destroy?

Weekend Reads #114: Kushiel’s Chosen Readalong, Ch. 18 – 30

Second week of reading Kushiel’s Chosen by Jacqueline Carey and things are getting more and more interesting… of course!

I’m reading Kushiel’s Chosen as part of a readalong hosted by Imyril of the Wyrd & Wonder crew. Each week, someone new pops in to host a discussion on the chapters read. This week’s discussion questions comes from the host, Imyril, who blogs over at There’s Always Room for One More.

Btw, if you’d like to join in the readalong, you can check out the link above or visit the Goodreads group for the reading schedule or to share your thoughts on the book.

SPOILERS BELOW!

Marmion Shahrizai has a sudden fall from grace this week. What’s your take on how he handled Persia’s treason — and on how Ysandre handles him? Do you feel sorry for him? Do you think we’ll see him again?

“Wrapped Up in You” by Talia Hibbert, narr. by Selina Scott-Bennin & Philip Batley

This novella was very popular this past Christmas. Since I was in the mood for romance novels at the time, I added it to my TBR. But I didn’t get to it until this January. I picked it up shortly after completing Hibbert’s Get a Life, Chloe Brown. That story was entertaining and made me want to try more of Hibbert’s work.

I borrowed the audiobook of Wrapped Up in You from the library. Unfortunately, despite the many claims of how good this story is, it didn’t work for me and effectively threw me out of my romance mood.

Genre

Contemporary; Romance

Series

n/a

Pubbed

2020

Goodreads summary

William Reid is nothing special, except for his billion-dollar acting career and his, you know, face. (Apparently, it’s a good one.) Winning ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ was nice, but this Christmas, he has more important goals in mind… like finally winning over his best friend’s little sister, the super-smart and kinda-scary Abbie Farrell.

Top Ten Tuesday #46: Mardi Gras Theme

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic:

Purple, Yellow, and/or Green Book Covers
(in honor of Mardis Gras, which is today!)

I’ve always wanted to attend Mardi Gras and, if not for corona, I’d most likely have been there this year. But instead, I’ll celebrate it on my blog by doing this TTT meme. Below is a selection of read and unread books that fit the theme. If I reviewed the book, I’ll link to the review.

(NOTE: If the layout below looks wonky, it’s most likely because you’re viewing this on your phone in the WordPress Reader app which, for some reason unknown to me, keeps messing up the layout when I use certain gallery settings to format image layouts. If you view it on the website instead, it will show correctly.)

Comics Roundup #52: Lady S & Dragon Age

I’ll be a very happy reader if I manage to read at least two comics or graphic novels each month. Having read two in January makes me hopeful for how the rest of the year might go. I picked up the first volumes of Lady S. and Dragon Age, both of which I read electronically.

Although I love reading physical copies of comics, I’m getting used to the electronic versions. I just love how the lighting on my iPad causes the colors of the illustrations to pop. I also like the guided reading option available in the Comixology app, which enables you to read from panel to panel by zooming in on them. When I do that, I notice details I would have otherwise missed when reading from the full-page view. It’s highly possible that I might read more comics electronically, but I’ll continue collecting physical copies.

---

Lady S., Vol. 1: Here’s to Suzie by Jean Van Hamme, illus. by Philippe Aymond, transl. from the French by Jerome Saincantin

Genre

Mystery; Political Thriller

Series

Lady S

Pubbed

2004

Goodreads summary

Adopted daughter and principal collaborator of roving ambassador James Fitzroy, special correspondent for the American Secretary of State in Europe, Susan is a clever, multilingual young woman, in full bloom and perfectly happy in the eyes of an attentive father. But this too-perfect happiness hides many faults, sorrows and mysteries. Trapped by her past, Susan will have to play her most dangerous role in a life already rich with adventure: Lady S., high-class spy in a diplomatic environment. (Goodreads)

Weekend Reads #113: Kushiel’s Chosen Readalong, Ch. 1 – 17

I’m very excited to be doing this readalong AND to be reading more of Jacqueline Carey’s books. I didn’t realize how much I missed Phèdre’s voice until I got started on Kushiel’s Chosen, the second novel in the trilogy.

As I did with the first book, Kushiel’s Dart, I’m reading Kushiel’s Chosen as part of a readalong hosted by Imyril of the Wyrd & Wonder crew. Each week, someone new pops in to host a discussion on the chapters read. This week’s discussion questions comes from the host, Imyril, who blogs over at There’s Always Room for One More.

Btw, if you’d like to join in the readalong, you can check out the link above or visit the Goodreads group for the reading schedule or to share your thoughts on the book.

Spoilers below!

What is your position on Phèdre’s decision to return to Court as a Servant of Naamah – and Joscelin’s reaction to it? Do you have more sympathy with one or the other?

“Get a Life, Chloe Brown” by Talia Hibbert

I kept hearing about this book last year. It was as if everyone had read a Talia Hibbert novel and loved it, and the one most talked about was this one — Get a Life, Chloe Brown. I hardly read romance novels, but the romance reading bug bit me toward the end of 2020 and its effects carried over into 2021, so I picked up this book in January. Although I didn’t love it as much as everyone else, it made me want to try more of Hibbert’s work.

Genre

Contemporary; Romance

Series

Brown Sistsers, book 1

 

Pubbed

2019

Quick summary

Set in the U.K., this is an enemies-to-lovers story featuring an interracial couple.

After almost getting hit by a car, Chloe plans to reinvigorate her life by making a list to help her “Get a Life,” which includes moving out of her family’s mansion. Chloe is a Black woman who is chronically ill with fibromyalgia. She successfully moves into an apartment with the help of her younger sisters, Dani and Eve, who often tease her about the building’s sexy handyman, Redford “Red” Morgan.

Reread Tag

I’m in the mood to do a book tag so since I love to reread, I decided to do this one that I found over on Kristin Kraves Books.

The Reread Tag was created by Brianna at Brianna’s Books and Randomness, and it’s a perfect one for me. I love to reread and often do so. I think it is the reason why I haven’t read as many books as I wish I did because I keep on revisiting ones I’ve read before. I like re-experiencing stories I love or revisiting books that intrigued me when I first read them to see if I pick up on new details. I even revisit books I dislike and end up loving them on reread, or still hating them. Rereading is just another great way to experience books.

A childhood favourite that you could read 100 times and still love

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

I put this down as my answer while wondering if that’s really true because it has been some time since I last reread it. However, I strongly believe that if I should reread it now, I’ll still fall under its spell and love it. It’s one of the first fantasy novels I remember reading, and it holds a special place in my bookish heart.