February 1, 2021

REVIEW: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

JanineA Reviews / A- Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Reads#ownvoices / being true to oneself / bestsellers / bigotry / black MC / colorism / family / Literary fiction / Los Angeles / mothers and daughters / New York City / passing / POC / POC author / racism / Small-Town / twins4 Comments

Trigger warnings: Content warnings: Dear Brit Bennett, I can’t name any one reason why I picked up your novel, The Vanishing Half. Part of it was surely its omnipresence on my Goodreads stream. Part of it was all the praise it’s garnered, which includes appearing on the National Book Award’s ... more >

January 29, 2021

Janine’s Best of 2020

JanineBook Reviews / Recommended Reads / Top Ten ListsAgent/Spies/Undercover / Best of 2020 / best of list / boarding school / Cold War / disabled hero / found family / genius loci / historical romance / king / Literary fiction / loner / m/m / magic users / one day courtship / passing / SF / thief / twins / UF / voting / war / YA / YA fantasy14 Comments

I spent much of 2020 grateful to books and authors for giving me a way to visit other times and places while stuck at home because of Covid. Below, listed in alphabetical order by author, are my top eight favorite books of 2020. Some grades have been adjusted since my ... more >