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Cinfhen
Unsettled | Ayana Mathis
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Mehso-so

I had high expectations for this book but it just didn‘t gel for me. Ava Carson & her young son are looking to start over but the world isn‘t kind to black women and the system set up to help is often cruel and crooked. Not an easy read 💔 #ARC #NetGalley

Megabooks I‘m hoping I like this more since it‘s my last BOTM choice. 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻 14mo
Cinfhen I hope you like it @Megabooks 🙏🏼 14mo
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review
Cinfhen
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Pickpick

Third times a charm 🥰 I will admit the old time Philadelphia Jewish angle REALLY kept me hooked. McBride humorously and heartily writes about a Jewish owned grocery store that caters to the black community in Pottstown, Pa. Definitely had Deacon King Kong vibes, with a cast of quirky and zany characters full of wisdom & mirth. The plot is pretty convoluted and McBride tends to overwrite but there‘s a satisfying story if you stick with it.

Bluebird Lol! Took two times for me! Didn‘t get far in my first attempt—I thought it was a mystery and got bored. 2nd try was much better with a different expectation. Also a ‘pick‘ for me, but agree with #borrownotbuy. 14mo
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Cinfhen I wavered between a pick and so-so @Bluebird because even though I love McBride he really tends to overplay his plot - know what I mean??? 14mo
Bluebird @Cinfhen I sure do! This is my first book by McBride. I recently picked up Deacon King Kong, but I‘m kinda afraid to start it. 😂 14mo
Cinfhen DKK is VERY SIMILAR @Bluebird so if you are in the mood for MORE of the SAME go for it otherwise I‘d wait a bit 😎 14mo
Bluebird @Cinfhen thanks! I just shoved DKK down the stack. Maybe I‘ll tackle it in 2024. 14mo
Cinfhen @Bluebird 👍🏽 14mo
78 likes8 comments
review
Cinfhen
As Bright as Heaven | Susan Meissner
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Pickpick

I‘ve been reading this book off and on for several weeks. It was good but I wasn‘t as pulled into the story as other readers. I did love the Philly setting and learning about the devastation brought on in 1918 when the Spanish Flu swept through the world. This book was written pre Covid so I wonder what the author might have done differently. A story of a family, undertakers who must deal with the dying as both a business and personal tragedy.

marleed I wasn‘t most fascinated by this story having read it in 2023 and knowing the book was written and published just prior to Covid-19. I‘ve no idea what my opinion of the actual story would be had I read when published - or if I‘d even recall the book. I can‘t help but wonder how different the same attempt of that book would be if the author were to write it today - I don‘t think she‘d be able to set aside the mess and politics of covid-19. 1y
Cinfhen Right? It‘s hard to know how i would have reacted to this book if I‘d read it when it first published @marleed 1y
SilversReviews A good one!! 1y
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Megabooks This has been on my TBR since BOTM picked it and I didn‘t put it in my box. 🤦🏻‍♀️ I can imagine a very different reaction in 2019 vs 2023. I know I can always count on you for #PhillyLit! 😁 1y
Cinfhen Damn! I would have sent you my copy but I donated it yesterday to the charity shop @Megabooks it‘s definitely a #BorrowNotBuy IMHO funny thing… this was in my BOTM box but I left it in Florida for my mom, she loved it and she passed it along to all of her friends- somewhere along the way it got lost. So I actually bought it twice 😁 1y
marleed @Megabooks @Cinfhen I‘m limited in the books I can nominate for my 2024 irl bookclub. I‘m tempted to nominate this one not for the book/story itself but for the thoughts and conversation in researching the 1918 pandemic per vs post Covid-19. My bc is politically aligned so if the conversation veered in that direction members would leave remaining friends :) 1y
Cinfhen I do think this book would make for a good “friendly” discussion @marleed - what else are you considering? I love knowing what other book clubs are reading! 1y
marleed @Cinfhen I can nominate 3 books. The tagged is locked in because I love this book so much. Also it‘s short and I‘m pretty sure The covenant of water will be up for a vote. I‘m thinking I can get my nomination extra points by explaining it would be a quick book before or after the chunkster :). I‘m close to a lock on Shark Heart because I have a reputation nominating a weird book that people end up loving and wasn‘t otherwise on their radar. 1y
Cinfhen LOVED LOVED LOVED both We All Want & Shark Heart!!!! Great choices @marleed 🤩 1y
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