Woof. I’m ending February in a reading slump. I’m just in one of those moods. I don’t want to listen to any audiobooks because I haven’t got the attention and all my physical books are a trudge. That’s okay though because the two books I read in February were incredible 5* reads. Honestly–I think I’m just struggling to get anything to follow up after these two.

Between these two books I read this month and the Kiley Reid and Tia Williams books I read last month, I think that I’m ready to admit: I need way, way, way more literature by Black women in my life in 2024. So, I’m excited to be more intentional with that.

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Token by Beverley Kendall
Download the audiobook here. (OH! She’s currently on sale for less than $5!!)
Order the physical copy here.
(Or as of the moment of this blog post, we have a used copy at Twice Told Tales.)

After her most recent experience of being the Token Black Girl at a corporate gig, Kennedy Mitchell decides she’s done doing this work for free. She and her best friend team up to begin Token, their boutique PR firm that helps “diversity-challenged” companies and celebrities.

This is a cute, fun romance with all the typical romance tropes–but this one has such a cool and realistic foundation! It has a short fake-dating moment (the most unrealistic, eye-roll-inducing trope IMO) which required no suspension of belief on my part! I look forward to more books by Beverley Kendall in the future!

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
Download the audiobook here.
Order the book here.
(Or as of the moment of this blog post, we have a used copy at Twice Told Tales.)

Akwaeke Emezi writes in so many genres. I read The Death of Vivek Oji a few years ago and was really enchanted by her grasp of the complexities of grief and the way she walks with her characters through it. But she also has excellent YA and even Children’s books.

YMAFODWYB (only complaint, that title is too damn long) is technically a “romance” but when it came to shelving it in my store, I couldn’t put it in there. This book has a few sex scenes but that is not all it takes to make a book a romance! This book has grit and grief and ooooh it is messy. Feyi is a messy, messy bitch. And we adore her. We are rooting for her. Even in the complexity of love and grief and struggle.

I realize I didn’t tell you what this book was about but who cares. Just go read it and then let’s chat.