RAYO READS

📖 BOOK TITLE:   A WOMAN IS NO MAN 📖 AUTHOR: ETAF RUM 📖 THOUGHTS&OPINIONS: #LetterA of my alphabet challenge #SeventhBookOf2024  OMG! What do I want to say about this book? Everything felt so real—the pain was real, the struggles were real. Indeed a WOMAN  IS  NO  MAN. This book was heartbreaking, but I did not cry. I felt broken to read what the women in this story passed through and what they had to face on a daily basis. The hitting, the abusive husbands and fathers, and depriving their daughters of education were all wrong, but these women had to do it because it was their 'culture'. I cannot even imagine a girl 15 or 16 getting married to a man she didn't know or love and in less than a year having a child or two. She is still a child who wasn't allowed to have a normal childhood, and she is supposed to train children( how is that supposed to work?). The story of Isra was the most painful; I can't imagine her mom never reaching out, not even o

📖BOOK TITLE: THE BOOKSHOP OF DUSTS AND DREAMS  📖AUTHOR: MINDY THOMPSON  📖GENRE:  MIDDLE GRADE FANTASY  📖THOUGHTS&OPINIONS: #LetterT of my alphabet challenge #EighthBookOf2024  When I started my reading journey this year, I decided to branch out of my usual genres a little, and I found this book. The cover drew me in, and I added it to my TBR. The book is told from Poppy's point of view, and this book is about love, magic, grief, friendships, and family. I don't think I am the target audience for this book. After reading it, I looked up the book and found out it was a middle-grade fantasy, but anyway, the book has a great story line. I loved how Poppy stood for her family, but I also felt that the responsibilities put on her were too much for a 13-year-old. I recommend it to every child within the age bracket of 9 to 14. They will love it! 📖 QUOTES: "Bookshops are good for broken souls and wounded hearts." "Every now and then, life calls for a

📖BOOK TITLE: ONE OF THE GIRLS  📖AUTHOR: LUCY CLARKE  📖GENRE:   MYSTERY&THRILLER   📖THOUGHTS&OPINIONS: #LetterO of My Alphabet Challenge #SixthBookOf2024 #JanuaryBookclubPick  Six girls, one murderer—who did it and why? I loved the way the girls stories intertwined with each other, how the story kept me guessing, and how each of the girls had to come through for Lexi. It was like Lexi was a force to be reckoned with! None of them could refuse her. When your best friend decides to throw your hen party, you can't imagine that something will go wrong. I didn't like how the book ended; with all the buildup of secrets, I expected the ending to be more intense. It felt more like women's fiction than a mystery or thriller. 📖QUOTES: "The bravest thing any of us can do is ask for help.” ''You can’t please everyone" "The biochemistry of our bodies changes when we spend time with good  friends." “I know something about those ch

📖 BOOK TITLE: WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME 📖 AUTHOR: GILLIAN MCALLISTER  📖 GENRE: THRILLER  📖 THOUGHTS&OPINIONS: #LetterW of my alphabet challenge #FourthBookOf2024 #First5StarsRead I am not really a mystery/thriller fan but this book got me hooked!! It was not predictable, with each chapter I kept on thinking what will happen next.  This story was told backwards following the characters Jen, Kelly and their son Todd . Jen has to stop a murder that has already happened, so she begins to go back in time and see things in a different light.  I loved how the story is told, everything was exciting 💥. If I was to change only one thing in this book, I will change nothing! I loved the relationship between Jen and her husband Kelly and much more importantly the relationship between Jen and her son Todd. McAllister got me hooked! I should check more of her books out🥰🥰 If you are fan of time loops, thriller  you should definitely read this!!👍👍👍 📖 RATINGS: 5 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐

📖 BOOK TITLE:  UNDER A NEON SUN  📖 AUTHOR: KATE GALE  📖 GENRE: LITERAL FICTION 📖 PUB DATE: APRIL 23RD 2024 📖 THOUGHTS&OPINIONS: #LetterU of my alphabet challenge #FifthBookOf2024 I want to thank the author, the publisher and Netgalley for granting my request to read this book for FREE in exchange for my honest review.  Alot of things happened during covid and this book is an eye opener on what happened during that period. I loved how resilient Mia and her chosen family was and I admire her bravery for standing up to some things. In a world where people choose to dwell on their despair Be a ray of hope. I loved Mia  as a character. But..... The story did not hit home for me  📖 RATINGS: 2 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐

Kate Gale  (born 1963) is an American author, poet, librettist, and independent publisher. She is the managing editor of  Red Hen Press .  Kate Gale was born in Binghamton, New York to Stephen Gale and Evadene Swanson. She graduated with a B.A. in English from Arizona State University. She received an M.A. in English with a creative writing emphasis from California State University Northridge in 1990 and a Ph.D. in English from Claremont Graduate University in 2003. HER WORKS: 📖 The Loneliest Girl (University of New Mexico Press, 2022) 📖 Echo Light (Red Mountain Press, 2014) 📖 Goldilocks Zone (University of New Mexico Press, 2014) 📖 The Crucifix is Down (Red Hen Press, 2005) (ed.) 📖 Mating Season (Tupelo Press, 2004) 📖 Fake-City Syndrome (Red Hen Press, 2002) (ed.) 📖 Lake of Fire (Winter Street Press, 2000) 📖 Blue Cathedral (Red Hen Press, 2000) (ed.) 📖 Fishers of Men (Red Hen Press, 2000) 📖 African Sleeping Beauty (Blue Beginnings Publishing, 2000) 📖 S

📖 BOOK TITLE: ONE OF THE GIRLS  📖AUTHOR: LUCY CLARKE  📖 GENRE: MYSTERY&THRILLER   📖 THOUGHTS&OPINIONS: Our discussion for this book will hold on the 14th of February( valentine's   day ❤❤) Let's read 💙💙!!

📖 BOOK TITLE: IKENGA  📖 AUTHOR: NNEDI OKORAFOR  📖 GENRE: FANTASY || AFRICAN LITERATURE  📖 THOUGHTS&OPINIONS: #LetterI  of my alphabet challenge #ThirdBookOf2024 So I decided to dive into african literature with IKENGA! In this book we follow the story of Nnamdi aged 12  whose father is the chief of police. An honest man who wanted to get rid of all the criminals in Kaleria, but that dream got cut short when someone murdered him. As it should be Nnamdi and his mom were disheartened at the sudden death of the man of the house. On the one year anniversary of his father's death, he brought Nnamdi a gift( The Ikenga) which had the ability to give him supernatural strength and other abilities when appropriately used. The Ikenga had to be controlled and giving a young boy that much responsibility is not acceptable to me at all. Nnamdi had to keep secrets from his mom and friends. Nnamdi was young and a lot of thing could have happened if the ikenga was not controlled 

📖 BOOK TITLE:   MARY NOT BROKEN 📖 AUTHOR: DEBORAH L KING 📖 PUB DATE: OCTOBER 10TH 2023 📖 GENRE:  WOMEN'S FICTION || HISTORICAL FICTION  📖 THOUGHTS&OPINIONS:   I want to thank the entire BOOKSIRENS team, the author and publisher for granting my request to read this book for  FREE  and to drop my very honest review. #LetterM of my alphabet challenge # SecondBookOf2024 This story follows the main character ' MARY' who wanted the best out of life, who wanted to live the way she wants to, who wanted to love and be loved but what happens when your one chance to love falls apart! What happens when that love dies! What happens when the product of that love dies and you are  left with nothing but to start from the very beginning, to go back to the choice that you ran away from😭😭 MARY had to marry a Reverend who promises to give her sisters a sound education, to buy her Papa a tractor. A lot of beatings, some " acquaintances" 😉, one lost pregnancy a

📖 AUTHOR:  CHARMAINE WIKERSON  📖BOOK TITLE: BLACK CAKE  📖GENRE: HISTORICAL FICTION  📖THOUGHTS&OPINIONS: #LetterB of my alphabet challenge #FirstBookOf2024  This book is heartbreaking, very sad. I kept wondering how bad things will get but I didn't expect that much to happen to Covey Or should I say Eleanor .  Covey suffered a lot like a lot but I am glad that at the end she did have a happy life.  Not many people will do what Gilbert Grant  did for love, to change your entire life just for one person is huge and I am so happy that that one person was so worth it. I LOVE LOVE❤❤ I found  BENNY to be insensitive, she dwelled to much on herself than others. Her found her brother's (Bryon) character way much better. What i didn't  like was Covey waited until the very last moment for her to tell her family the truth(what happens when you live a lie for too long, it becomes your truth😪).   This book was very sad, so many secrets 😥😭😭 A fan of Historical Fic