Icon Tag: Realistic Fiction

ARC Review ~ Maame ~ Jessica George

ARC Review ~ Maame ~ Jessica George

I can’t believe Maame is a debut novel nor that I waited so long to read it. Maddie’s story is told with charm and wit, warmth and compassion. It was enlightening to walk in someone else’s shoes as they go through daily life enduring the high expectations of family, the weight of responsibility for family, as well as racism, and sexism. My heart broke for Maddie at times, but I was also able to laugh along with her. JGeorge is an author to watch! Maddie Wright, a Londoner by way of Ghana, has spent a large portion of her life caring for others. Being the responsible one in her family. The very definition of the name Maame, in her parents’s […]

Posted 7 December, 2023 by Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 4 Comments
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Blogtour Review : For the Love of April French – Penny Aimes

Blogtour Review : For the Love of April French – Penny Aimes

For the Love of April French is a tender, sweet romance between April and Dennis, where they both have some past demons to overcome. As soon as I read the synopsis for this novel, I knew I had to read For the Love of April French! A romance with a trans woman as the main character appealed to me, and the fact that the author is also a trans woman is what completely sold me. I loved getting to know April, and to understand how she thought through so many things before acting. In many ways, she was so very self possessed, and in others, she was insecure and a little afraid. I think that is par for the course […]

Posted 23 August, 2021 by Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Blog Tour, Reviews / 3 Comments
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Review: Reel – Kennedy Ryan

Review: Reel – Kennedy Ryan

Reel is a beautifully written realistic romance with characters that feel so real you think they are a part of your circle of friends before the story is over. Kennedy Ryan did it again! I’m sure Reel will become a bestseller, and it already has all the necessary ingredients for a wonderful movie as well! The story is character-driven, which is my favorite kind of story. The narration starts in the past, then follows Neevah and Canon in the present – with snippets of Dessi’s life through the movie. Reel has not only made it onto my favorite 2021 shelf, it’s also on my all time favorite shelf! I would recommend this story to all romance lovers, but even more […]

Posted 9 June, 2021 by Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Blog Tour, Reviews / 3 Comments
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Review ~ Dead Money ~ Srinath Adiga

Review ~ Dead Money ~ Srinath Adiga

I picked up Dead Money because the premise intrigued me. Those first few sentences of the synopsis reeled me in. I’m ever so glad I happened upon this masterful debut. Although Dead Money wasn’t always easy to sit with, it’s worth the time sitting with. “How can you stop something that’s on a mission to destroy itself?” -Theo, Loc 6278 In Dead Money, SAdiga deftly weaves together three stories in three locales with three different characters connected by one cleverly crafted over-arching plot. In the first story, set in Hong Kong, we meet a stock market trader and see the scary genius employed to create Afterlife Dollars. We’re also privy to the greed and corruption that led to its creation. […]

Posted 12 April, 2021 by Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 7 Comments
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Review ~ Sing, Unburied, Sing ~ Jesmyn Ward

Review ~ Sing, Unburied, Sing ~ Jesmyn Ward

Sing, Unburied, Sing is beautifully written and emotionally gripping. It’s also thought-provoking and the thoughts aren’t always easy to sit with. This being because the story deals with systemic racism and the lasting repercussions of it. Sing, Unburied, Sing also incorporates grief and guilt, among other things, and the role they play in how we, as humans, live our lives. Sing, Unburied, Sing follows 3 generations of one family. Pop and Mam, their daughter, Leonie, and Leonie’s children, JoJo and Kayla. This family has endured much. Prison, poverty, discrimination, and grief. Lots and lots of grief. JWard deftly portrays life in rural Mississippi. The hardships faced by people still experiencing racism. The culture differences in the population. She also conveyed […]

Posted 22 March, 2021 by Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 3 Comments
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ARC Review: Love in Moments – Scarlett Cole

ARC Review: Love in Moments – Scarlett Cole

Love in Moments really touched me! It is so well written, and the characters were so realistic. Love in Moments is the second book in Cole’s Love Distilled series, and Scarlett Cole definitely still has it! It’s a realistic story, where the characters not only mention difficult subjects, they also work through them. There was no miraculous healing of either of them through their meeting and falling in love.The characters are fantastic and well fleshed out. The author’s hockey knowledge is definitely above average. And the hero and  heroine dared to be vulnerable with each other in order to move forward and grab life and love with both hands. I already knew Liv from Love in Numbers, even if she […]

Posted 1 February, 2021 by Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 4 Comments
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Review : The Boyfriend Project – Farrah Rochon

Review : The Boyfriend Project – Farrah Rochon

The Boyfriend Project is one of the most heartfelt, real, most adorable romances I have ever read! The Boyfriend Project was my first novel by Ms. Rochon, and I’m now a huge fan of hers. This novel is one of my top five favorites in 2020, both because it’s very well written, and because the female friendships started because of a very unfortunate situation for three women. Samiah working in a male-dominated universe also made her so strong, not because she wanted to be strong, but she had to be strong to succeed. In comes Daniel, a new colleague with a big secret, which is when The Boyfriend Project took on a romantic aspect as well. Even if both Samiah and […]

Posted 9 June, 2020 by Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 14 Comments
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Review : Queen Move – Kennedy Ryan

Review : Queen Move – Kennedy Ryan

Queen Move was yet another masterpiece by Ms. Ryan – compelling characters, a beautiful love story, and important issues handled beautifully! Queen Move was so good I feel like I should just tell everyone to pick it up on release day. I guess a real review needs a bit more than that, though, so I’ll give it to you – with as little squeeing and gushing as possible 😉 First of all, I already met Kimba in the Kingmaker series, and I loved her there. Learning more about her in Queen Move made me love her even more. She’s a multi faceted character, and while her career has been the most important part of her life for ages, she has […]

Posted 22 May, 2020 by Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 6 Comments
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Review ~ Next Year in Havana ~ Chanel Cleeton

Review ~ Next Year in Havana ~ Chanel Cleeton

Next Year in Havana was…gosh, it was so much. It was a history lesson, a thought-provoking story and two poignant romances all rolled into one. And I adored it – every word. The story is told from two POVs: that of Elisa, living in 1958 Cuba, and her granddaughter, Marisol, living in 2017 Miami. Elisa is the daughter of a sugar baron and lives a grand life with everything money can buy. That is until Fidel Castro overthrows Batista’s government and Elisa’s family is forced into exile. The majority of Elisa’s story, though, is about her falling in love with a revolutionary prior to her exile. Marisol’s story, on the other hand, involves her returning to Cuba at her grandmother’s […]

Posted 2 January, 2020 by Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 2 Comments
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New Release Review & #Giveaway ~ Regretting You ~ Colleen Hoover

New Release Review & #Giveaway ~ Regretting You ~ Colleen Hoover

CHoover typically leaves me wanting to shout non-sensical exclamations in celebration of her immense storytelling abilities. Regretting You was no different. The story was deeply emotional and the characters so well defined. More than a week later and it’s still affecting me. CHoover did a phenomenal job at creating these characters. She doled out information in little bits at a time so that I understood and/or related to Morgan and Clara. As a mom of 3 college-aged kids, I could relate to all that Morgan was experiencing with parenting – the self-doubt, the frustration and anxiety, as well as the pride in her daughter. However, CHoover structured this story in a way that teens will also identify with. Clara, at almost 17, […]

Posted 10 December, 2019 by Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 6 Comments
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