It's been a while!!! I've been super busy with everything from panel discussions and lesson planning to reading, parties, and a family emergency. So I'm taking some time to catch up on my book reviews now.

Here is what I finished reading in April and May:

Fire Sword & Sea by Vanessa Riley

• Afro-Caribbean & Queer • Historical Fiction •

If you've ever seen movies like Pirates of the Caribbean and wondered if there were any Black a Queer pirates, this is the book for you! Fire Sword & Sea is based on the life of Jacquotte Delahaye, a mixed-race pirate who was likely born in modern-day Haiti. In this book, author Vanessa Riley depicts Jacquotte's journey from the daughter of a wealthy tavern owner in Tortuga to the captain of a ship filled with diverse pirates seeking riches and liberation.

I felt pulled into the story almost immediately, thanks to the audiobook narrator Robin Miles. There was great world building and I found the plot moving. There's conflict, abandonment, love, and much more. It was also awesome that Riley included the inner workings and dynamics present in pirate crews in the 18th century. We need more stories like this!

Guilt and Ginataan (Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mysteries, Book 5) by Mia P. Manansala

• Filipina • Cozy Mystery •

The Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mysteries series has consistently delivered cozy stories filled to the brim with delicious foods, sweet moments, and creative deaths and Guilt and Ginataan was no exception. I actually think this is my favorite book of the series, so far!

It takes place in the fall (my fave season) at the annual Shady Palms Corn Festival where Lila, Adeena, and Elena aka the Brew-Ha Cafe crew pull up to sell an spread of delicious food and drinks. All is going well until the trio's corn maze challenge ends with Adeena passed out with a bloody knife in her hand next to the dead body of a local politican's wife. Knowing that her best friend couldn't have committed this crime, Lila and her crew conduct their own investigation to find the person who framed her.

If you're looking for entertaining reads with recipes for dishes from the book, check out this series!

An African-American and Latinx History of the United States by Paul Ortiz

• U.S. History •

I'm really happy that I finally read my copy of An African-American and Latinx History of the United States by Paul Ortiz because the author approaches this information as a storyteller. Ortiz utilizes his experiences as U.S. military veteran and Professor of Labor History at Cornell University to share the often hidden connections between Black American and Latinx oppression beginning with the American Revolution and ending with 2017.

This is a fantastic book! I listened to the audiobook and had to keep pausing to grab my physical copy and highlight the concepts and stories that jumped out at me. I was pulled in from the author's note and knew as soon as I read the first page of the introduction that this was going to be a text I'd return to over time.

I think I'm going to make a separate post just to break down those parts! I need y'all to pick up this book expeditiously.

The Secret World of Maggie Grey (Drew Collins, Book 1) by Granger

• Black American • Adult • Dark Academia Fantasy •

To all my bookish friends who recommended this book left and right a few years back, 🫣 I'm sorryyyy! I should have read it immediately, like y'all said, but I'm stubborn. Now, I'm all in because Granger created a world for all the folks who have been begging for adult fantasy, especially Black women. If you've also had this book on your TBR for more than a year, now is the time to dive in, my love.

The Secret World of Maggie Grey takes place at a magical HBCU called Drew Collins University. The students vary in age, but Maggie and her crew are in their late 20s and early 30s. This school—based below the city of Atlanta—is host to sirens, shapeshifters, and more. Maggie always thought her grandma's stories about a vampiric civil rights leader responsible for her white tresses were just some weird, made-up tales until she tells one of them in her grad school classroom and her professor recommends she visit Drew Collins.

Originally suspicious of the school, Maggie meets other outcasts of the community while attempting to figure out why she's here and what she is. Meanwhile, she tries to fight her growing attraction to Coach Namir, the annoying-ass werewolf who believes her to be part of the First Family, a bloodline of vampires that also happen to be his family's enemy.

This book is steamy, funny, and mysterious which is perfect for me! I devoured the other two books, too, so I'm impatiently waiting for the next one. ~reviews to come~

Belle of the Ball by Mari Costa

Young Adult • Queer • Rom-Com • Graphic Novel

Belle of the Ball by Mari Costa is a nuanced but sweet graphic novel follows Belle Hawkins, the super shy school mascot, who finally works up the nerve to ask out her crush Regina Moreno. Regina is a popular girl at their high school as the head cheerleader with her sights set on getting into a prestigious college. Her brave moment comes crashing down when one of the athletes, Chloe Kitagawa, makes it clear that she's already dating Regina. Just as Hawkins thinks she blew her chance, Regina convinces her to be Chloe's English tutor so they can get into the same college after graduation. With the hope of getting closer to Regina driving her, Hawkins agrees.

What Regina doesn't realize is that her girlfriend had a crush on Belle Hawkins when they were little kids and she used to dress as a princess everyday. As the school year progresses, an unexpected romance begins to sprout!

I loved reading this book. The storyline is adorable and the cast is diverse. The colors and illustrations are also super cute. I definitely recommend this short but sweet story to everyone!

As always, thank you for reading my reviews and make sure to check the content warnings on TheStoryGraph before you read these titles!