Heart Wants Books

Book Review•First Monday•Women's History

Women are Some Kind of Magic by Amanda Lovelace

March 8, 2021

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I read the reviews on the book we’re talking about today, y’all. I don’t often do that on a book I’ve already read, but I did, and then it got me to overthinking, and then I stopped. And I decided they don’t matter. I adore this book and if others don’t see what I like in it, then I guess I’m grateful they gave it a shot. If you, like me, need more help not overthinking things, sign up here to join us as we talk through Don’t Overthink It: Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing, and Bring More Joy To Your Life by Anne Bogel our next Virtual Book Club on Friday, March 26th at 7:30 p.m. CST! Don’t overthink it, just let Anne guide us all towards more joy, and mostly likely more books too!

Sometimes you need another go at a favorite from the past (which is one of my considerations for a favorite – the likelihood that I’ll reread it), and sometimes you need to should on your reading buddy until she reads it too. Sometimes you even open the shrink wrapped boxed set that’s been on your shelf for a year and a half because after reading a book on kindle, you needed to hold it and it’s boxed-set sisters and be able to write in them (in pencil, I’m not a monster). This book was made for such a time as this! The first book in the Women are Some Kind of Magic series, The Princess Saves Herself in this One by Amanda Lovelace, is one of those books. This is a book of poetry that spoke to my weary, battered soul a little over two years ago, and again this past weekend. Please approach this book with caution. There is quite literally a page of trigger warnings opposite the table of contents, and I encouraged Ashley to read it with a journal and maybe some tissues. She’ll tell you how it hit her, but that’s how it hit me.

I feel like one more note needs to be added before I dig into all the feelings I have about The Princess Saves Herself in this One. I know nothing about poetry. I feel like my college English classes included maybe three titles of poetry (I remember two, so we’ll say three), and the reading lists were probably a page long for each of them (there were two, for 12 hours total, SO. MANY. BOOKS.) Really the closest I come to poetry knowledge is roommates who were in a poetry seminar, that’s it. Some of the reviews say this book isn’t poetry. Maybe they’re right, maybe they’re not. I don’t know, and honestly, I don’t care. These words on pages speak to my soul. That matters to me, and that’s it.

The Princess Saves Herself in this One had me intrigued at the concept. As I’ve already mentioned, I don’t typically read poetry, but a princess saving herself, I’m in. From the dedication, I was all in.

“for the boy who lived.
thank you for inspiring me to be
the girl who survived…”

If that’s not a hook, I don’t know what is! In the words on the subsequent pages, Lovelace describes her past, her unmaking, and her reformation. Her life has brutal aspects that she does not shy away from sharing, and those aspects are the reasons for some of her trigger warnings. It’s not just the hidden hurts of her past though, it’s also the heartbreak that most people experience sooner or later, and how she describes it, as well as her words of solace for herself and her readers. It’s how she talks about healing from her loss, from her lack of love from those who should have loved her most, and how she persevered when others didn’t.

This text feels like the cover, a contrast of light and dark. In order to thoroughly value the light, we need the darkness to make it stand out. Lovelace shares of the bruises on her soul AND she shares of how she has and readers can

“grow a beautiful garden
from your aching
and teach yourself
how to thrive from it.”

This month, as we read and celebrate that women are, truly, some kind of magic as we read the works by women, depicting women of our past, present, and future, I want to share these words from this text, words that left me considering, vulnerable, and grateful despite all the bruises on my soul:

“who would
i have
been without
the inspiration
behind my
demons?
– probably not a poet.”

I don’t know who I’d have been without those experiences that left me bruised any more than any of us can know what would have happened if we’d have made another choice in any of a thousand situations. What I do know is the inspiration of our past experiences, the joys and the heartaches both, has made us into the strong, capable, compassionate women we are today and even if I would wish some of the pain away if it would do any good, I would not wish any of those hard-earned pieces of me away, those pieces that feel like some kind of magic. Perhaps some of the trepidation, the hesitancy, but not the strength or the desire to love others well. Never that. I give The Princess Saves Herself in this One five emphatic stars and will be rereading it, and reading the rest of the box set quite soon, now that it’s out of the plastic.

What texts speak to your soul? Do you have a favorite poem or collection of poetry?

~Nikki

Dearest Readers, I am going to remind you that this is not a Thursday post so I am not required, or much inclined, to tell you the author’s biography. Mostly, because if you read the words of Amanda Lovelace you will be privy to the intimate details of her story. If you want more information, where to follow her on all the socials, and a complete bibliography, her website is a good place to start. I did listen to my book buddy and read these poems (I call them poems) with a journal, but I didn’t write much down until I was done. Let me share that with you here:

So, maybe you don’t read gut wrenching emotional poetry about the amazingness of womanhood while listening to Florence Welch singing about how regrets collect like old friends (Shake It Out). Maybe you should listen to your book buddy when she tells you to not read the poetry and get the feels at night (before bed) so you have some respect for the next day (waves, cause it’s 1:30am), but also when it’s the next thing you need to read and write a blog post about you read what you need to and just deal with the feelings and repercussions.

Oh, all the things Amanda Lovelace said in the princess saves herself in this one reminded me of the journals and pages of words I myself used to write down. Mostly for myself to understand my own feelings, to process what went on in my mind and my heart. There was quite a bit of poetry written when I was in high school and then more journalising as I became better at ‘adulting.’ I miss the precise nature of placing words together for optimum impact. It is a glorious process.

Maybe, also, you take some middle of the night selfies because you are really feeling your (clean!) hair today even though the color has faded and your roots are atrocious.

So, I’m a little bit of a squirrel in the middle of the night and I write a little more stream of consciousness. But, you get the point. Lovelace’s words brought up so much from the past and the present that it makes one reconsider what the future holds. I highlighted 8 full poems, all of them hitting me for different reasons. But, my most favorite is this:

“when i die,
do not
waste
a minute
mourning me.
i may go,
but i will
leave behind
all my
thousand & one
lives.
-a bookmad girl never dies.”

Because what are we here but bookmad girls? Living the lives of those who came before us and the lives of those who live only in our minds by reading their books and discussing their stories? So, read on, readers. Share your immortality with the world through the words you and others have written. It will be worth it.

The backs of the books are glorious too!

I put the next two books in the women are some kind of magic trilogy on hold from the library and I’ll probably read them before the month is over if they become available. (or read Nikki’s dead tree books if I’m desperate enough.) The digital library I use doesn’t have any other of the books, which is a bummer, because I want to consume, and more than likely own, all. of. them. Everyone needs a reminder of their own badassery.

Speaking of badass women on this International Women’s Day, I want to share with you the newest song release of my favorite band, Lake Street Dive. Being a Woman was written by Bridget Kearney, the band’s bassist and it 100% conveys the exhaustion that we feel by being a woman in these here times. I would love to say that the lead singer is a ‘friend of the blog’, but Nikki and I just happened to go to high school with Rachael Price, and I have always thought her voice sounded like poetry. [Nikki: Because Rachael’s voice is beauty.] Lake Street Dive’s new album, Obviously, is being released on March 12th!

~Ashley

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Book Review•Women's History

An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole

March 4, 2021

Are you ready for another edition of #blameAnne? Yes, we “blame” Anne Bogel for a great many books we love, as well as my holds situation, but I completely acknowledge that my lack of will power in the face of all of her amazing suggestions is really the issue. But then again, is it really an issue? [Ashley says: Maybe? because 127 holds is a tad excessive.] I’m not going to overthink it, I’m just going to invite you to our next Virtual Book Club on Friday, March 26th at 7:30 p.m. CST! Sign up here if you want to join us as we talk through Don’t Overthink It: Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing, and Bring More Joy To Your Life by Anne Bogel. We may also chat through some of our favorite titles that Anne should get the ~~blame~~ credit for while we’re talking books.

I first heard about Alyssa Cole from Anne Bogel, and I first remember hearing about An Extraordinary Union on What Should I Read Next Podcast way back in August 2019! (This is likely when I recommended it and dear readers, that is how to get 120+ books on hold. I don’t recommend it. I am considering holds bankruptcy.) The episode is a great and sad listen (read the description before listening – the guest lost her home in wildfires and discusses the experience in detail), but also filled with hope and, as always for this podcast, SO many great book recommendations! This is my first book by Alyssa Cole, so here’s what I knew going in – open door romance by a prolific writer of romance featuring Black characters, and An Extraordinary Union is about a Black spy during the American civil war. History plus romance plus spies plus diverse characters and authors = sign me up!

In An Extraordinary Union , Elle, a Black woman who was born into enslavement and freed as a child, along with her parents, is a spy with the Loyal League and has taken an assignment posing as an enslaved woman who is hired out to work in a Confederate senator’s home. Malcolm, a Scottish man who immigrated as a child following the Clearances, is on assignment as a Pinkerton, posing as a Confederate officer traveling through the area. They get thrown together, realize they’re both spies for the Union, and end up partnering to get to the bottom of the situation, because they both feel something big is about to happen and they need to figure out what it is, and quickly.

At first consideration, I thought An Extraordinary Union was just another solid romance novel. It’s not particularly deep, but it does include characters and perspectives that are very different than those of my usual (contemporary or regency) romance novels. I even told Ashely I was underwhelmed by it. I want to pause here and say that when Anne recommends something, for better or worse, I have big expectations. Those expectations are one reason I was underwhelmed, but *unpause* Here’s the full story after some additional reflection, it’s not an underwhelming book, it’s a quiet book, or at least that’s how I read it. That doesn’t mean there isn’t heat or dramatics (there are both for sure), but what I mean is Elle and Malcolm are just people living their truths. We do get both perspectives throughout the book, so we get Elle inwardly railing at the differences of her life on assignment from her life at home, and we get Malcolm realizing the truths Elle has to face as a Black person and as a woman are things he’s never stopped to consider, because he’s never faced such discrimination. Malcolm also has demons in his past that highly influence who he is and how he treats others. These are two people who have overcome and healed from their pasts and are dedicated to the freedom of others, and I loved reading every word! It is just beautiful how Elle is welcomed into the found family of the enslaved persons in this house. It’s tragic, and yet not surprising, the personalities Malcolm discovers in his role of befriending the senator and his family and friends. Much of the subtleties Cole uses in her story were echoes of our recent read of Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson, including the similarities of American slavery to Nazi Germany. While it was not pleasant to read of all the examples of people being treated tragically, it is a real part of history, and there was redemption in the story too, as well as freedom for some, and perseverance of others continuing to work for the cause.

I give An Extraordinary Union three and a half stars, which I’ll contentedly round up to four. While I’m not likely to reread this title, I am very likely to suggest it and to keep reading in the Loyal League series, as well as Cole’s backlist of titles that are both historical and contemporary!

What’s a title you’ve read that was quiet but more and more powerful upon reflection?

~ Nikki

Alyssa Cole is a top-notch romance writer and I am here for literally everything on her backlist. She met my expectations and beyond with a solid 4-star read for me. She is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of historical romance, contemporary romance, sci-fi romance, and thrillers. She has four series and over 25 published works ranging from novels, to novellas, and short stories. An Extraordinary Union was the American Library Association’s RUSA Best Romance of 2018. Besides her writing work, and by writing we mean both fiction and for publications like Bustle, Shondaland, The Toast, Vulture, RT Book Reviews, and Heroes and Heartbreakers, Cole can be found “watching anime or wrangling her pets.”

Remember, dear readers, how we repeatedly tell you to not sleep on reading any supplementary book pages – be they the table of contents, dedication page, acknowledgements, or author’s notes? You do remember?! Good, because you read these pages you find quotation gems like these:

“I realized it was important that more people write about the experiences of POC and marginalized people in historical settings, and that I’d like to be one of those people. But I’d never write about THAT. The Civil War, that is. […] But, it seems that once I decide something is off limits, it’s destined to happen. (I also told myself I wasn’t interested in dating French men, so you can already guess my husband’s nationality.)”

How wonderful is it when we as readers are allowed a glimpse into the mind and process of the creators of the content we consume. It makes me feel like they have shared this very personal and intimate part of themselves with me and so perhaps we could, if the stars aligned, become IRL friends – and if not friends, perhaps at least drinking buddies. Besides this glimpse into how the writing of An Extraordinary Union was a contradiction of her own conviction, Cole also provided us with the names of the real life historical figures that inspired Elle, Malcolm, and other characters. But, I’m going to make you read the author’s notes to find that out! The historian in me also really appreciates the selected bibliography of sources with publication dates ranging from 1867 to 2003.

You know we aim to read books by diverse authors and with diverse characters, but I have been trying to wrack my brain for a book I have read recently where the main romantic couple are of different races and end up in their own HEA. This is a romance novel, so the HEA is guaranteed. Behind the Veil by Kathryn Nolan is also a romance novel where a white woman and black man find a happily ever after, and a stolen historic text! But, we’re not discussing the necessary plot points that make up a romance novel, we’re trying to discuss where else in literature can we find mixed race couples in solid romantic partnerships. Not in Such a Fun Age. Not in Re Jane. And certainly not in A Good Neighborhood. Everyone knows at least one mixed race couple that is romantically partnered and probably has a child or two running around with the pets in a neighborhood that looks just like ours. Heck, it is our neighborhood. And these everyday examples of love and acceptance need to be represented and CELEBRATED in literature, even if it’s in the Happily Ever After guaranteed genre of romance. Everyone deserves to see themselves, see their life and their family, described on the printed (or digital) page.

Help me out, readers, what’s a book title that has a great example of a mixed race couple who are committed for the long-haul?

~Ashley

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First Monday•Women's History

Women’s History Month

March 1, 2021

Some of you may think I overthink my reading schedule since Ashley shared it in all it’s organizational goodness last week, but I don’t think so. I think I decided once, and now, when I forget what I’ve decided, there’s a record, with the reasoning behind it to keep me on track. Is there plenty I do overthink? Most definitely, case in point – I’m an enneagram 6w5 who is pursuing health, but that 6 committee is no joke! If you overthink things too on occasion, or just don’t want to start, join us in reading Don’t Overthink It: Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing, and Bring More Joy To Your Life by Anne Bogel and then join us for Virtual Book Club on Friday, March 26th at 7:30 p.m. CST. Sign up here to get the details in your inbox!

Want to know something we do overthink sometimes? No. Cool, I’m going to tell you anyway – the loose themes we bring to the blog. You want to know what we didn’t overthink this week? This month’s loose theme for the blog! March is Women’s History Month and we are excited to be reading and bringing you stories by women, about women, but not necessarily historical. As is our habit, we combed the holds lists to see what titles would fit our desire to focus on women this month, be interesting to both of us, and interesting to you dear readers, and I’m excited about our selection! We started with quite the lengthy list of titles and authors we wanted to share with you and narrowed it down quickly. My favorite piece of this month’s list is that without really trying, we have a list of titles that include BIPOC authors and characters. We’ve shared that one of our goals is to be sure we aren’t just reading books by white women (although for women’s history month, we are sticking with female authors), and this month felt like a month to be sure we included stories with the intersectionality BIPOC women experience, and we are just delighted it happened naturally. [Ashley Interjects: Go Team!] In addition to our book review titles, we’re also planning to bring you posts on books for kids focusing on women’s history and / or feminism, nonfiction for or about women, and even some poetry about being your own hero.

An Extraordinary Union (The Loyal League #1) by Alyssa Cole

Rules for Being a Girl by Candace Bushnell and Katie Cotugno

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal

Dominicana by Angie Cruz

All this Could be Yours by Jami Attenberg

I’m pretty excited, and not just because I’m getting to clear five titles off my holds list this month, plus two I own and haven’t read! I’m looking forward to seeing what I can learn from these titles, and would also love to know what titles you thought of when you read that we were reading about women this month. Please let me know in the comments!

~Nikki

If you remember from last year, our loose theme was March Madness, and we had chosen that theme the February before because we didn’t have a theme for the titles we wanted to post about that month. We were trying to read off our holds list and were anticipating a stack of new release titles. In our intro post of the month, we were disappointed in the cancellation of Sarah J. Maas’ book tour for House of Earth and Blood. Two weeks later and we were thrown deep into the madness theme because that’s literally what our lives had become. Which brings us here, maddening month after maddening month, of not being able to go out and ‘people’ like we were used to, and in general live life as the grown AF adults we are.

Tricky thing about that post from a year ago, Don’t Overthink It: Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing, and Bring More Joy To Your Life by Anne Bogel was one of those new release titles we were anticipating reading that month…it’s our Virtual Book Club pick for this month and we still haven’t read it, and we’re not ashamed or sorry about it. I have 15 books on the TBR to complete reading this month (two are already in progress) and I’m a little nervous, but, I’m also not going to overthink it. If it happens I’ll be so proud of myself for rocking my goals. If not, whatever I do complete, I’ll know the plan that was created helped me get even as far as I could.

And that’s part of what makes focusing on Women’s History this month really, truly important. The plans that were created in the past by our female ancestors to make this world a better place for us now, and for future generations, are those that need constant reassessment to continue making progress towards the equality of the genders. So, Hearts.Wants.Books. is committed to celebrating the HERstories of our past, present, and our plans for the future.

~Ashley

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Book Review

Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles

February 25, 2021

Unlike Ashley who longs for Cassian’s style of training, I much prefer yoga. Actually, maybe I do want some of his training, because the breath work is my favorite part of yoga. Breathing in, noticing, and breathing out, all without judgement. Some days (like this week), focusing on my breath is what’s keeping me from overthinking even more than I’m already overthinking. Because of this, and because we adore Anne Bogel, I’m excited to read her newest book, Don’t Overthink It: Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing, and Bring More Joy To Your Life with all you lovely readers who sign up here to join us Friday, March 26th at 7:30 p.m. CST. We’ll chat about life, the book, and hopefully to how we’re overthinking less and moving forward with more joy!

You know what else doesn’t need overthinking? High school, even by those still in it. You can’t tell them that, because they won’t listen because they can’t get it, not yet. When I started reading Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles, I knew nothing about it (except darling Anne was my source, via an episode with the author himself), and then I quickly realized the protagonist was in high school and I was concerned about how it’d land with me, as someone twice the age of a high schooler. Fast forward to 3% into this quick read, and I spied what drew me in – darling Del, our protagonist is going to take a purity pledge to pursue a girl, and he agreed to the pledge without realizing what he was doing. In case you missed it, I LOVE a good train wreck in a book. It draws me in like no other. Combine that with Lamar Giles amazing writing and I consumed those 398 pages in less than 24 hours, while loving every moment!

Within the pages of Not So Pure and Simple is a complicated tale of how a group of friends comes from vastly different places in their small town to become a ragtag bunch who are invested in each other. We don’t dig in with all the characters, as the story is entirely from Del’s perspective, but we get to know those he’s closest with and we get reminded how rough high school can be, especially in an area where everyone knows everyone, and their business. Here’s the thing readers, even as an adult, sometimes we need reminders, ones so strong you can’t avoid them, that we don’t know the rest of the story. We need reminders that everyone wears masks sometimes and you can’t know what lies on or in the heart of another person without having a soul-baring conversation with them. Judgement lands and hurts, assumptions cause problems, and even using the typical quip can leave pain in its wake, but friendship, true friendship and kindness is an amazing form of love, a form of love that can forgive past hurts.

As Ashley is rolling her eyes, I need to say there are story lines I wanted more from in Not So Pure and Simple, but it’s complete, and has a thoughtful ending that fits. As an adult, I wanted more about the parents’ lives, and that of the teacher who relates to the kids and the woman who leads the purity class. I want to know more about them and how and why they ended up where they are. Glimpses of that come through as they guide these young people, but there’s much more to the story, which is perhaps the message overall, there’s always more to the story, below the surface, and you never know what it is or what scars it has left behind.

As much as Not So Pure and Simple is about love (romantic, friends, and family), it does not promote purity culture and it does highlight the struggles of teenage parents. Just like the dedicated teacher, it’s seeking a middle ground through conversation, kindness, and general care and consideration for and of other people as Del guides us through his own high school struggles, which, though they sit on his shoulders like the weight of the world, are really a fun time, filled with a variety of learning. This title is a solid four star read. I considered five because of how much I adore it, as well as how appealing it is to adult and YA readers alike, but I am not likely to reread it, which factors into my categorization of a five star read. I am likely to recommend it and to dig into Giles’s backlist!

What fun things have you learned from a recent fiction read?

~Nikki

I, too, first heard of Lamar Giles on that same episode of Anne Bogel’s What Should I Read Next Podcast, back in 2020 when I was listening to the podcast on a more consistent basis. My first MO, and my current, is that Nikki listens to Anne and lets me know what books I need to know about. Me, I continually use the majority of my podcast time for real estate education. But, I digress. You know what was not necessarily difficult but a challenge nonetheless, dear readers? Finding a Black author on our TBR that was NOT female. So, yes we here at Heart.Wants.Books. strive to include diverse authors, including the intersectionality of diversity so we can bring you diversity within a theme. Lamar Giles helped us crush that goal today. I want to say something meaningful and concise about this author of 8 published works that span multiple genres (contemporary YA, thriller, middle grade) but this direct quotation from his website is the most powerful thing I think could be said, and sums up Giles’ MO:

“I write books primarily to entertain readers. I like to imagine them gasping in a thrilling moment, or cracking up at the funny parts. My books are the kind that anybody can enjoy. But, while anybody can enjoy them, they’re not about generic avatars; my books are about Black kids. They may be in strange situations, or have talents you don’t expect, but they are Black. They’re the characters I was advised not to write. The characters I was told no one would read. The characters I always wanted to read. So the most interesting thing about me might be how stubborn I am because while I’m here to entertain I’m also here to prove wrong the people who said it couldn’t–or worse, shouldn’t–be done.”

Lamar Giles from LamarGiles.com, Photo Credit: Adrienne Giles

Giles is a founding member of We Need Diverse Books and lives in Virginia with his wife. His 2014 debut title, Fake ID, was nominated for three awards including the Edgar Award for Best Young Adult which is given by the Mystery Writers of America. Not So Pure and Simple was chosen as A Project LIT YA Selection for the ‘20-’21 school year and is on The Brown Bookshelf Generations Book Club list. In scrolling through both of these organizations’ projects, which bring Black voices and stories to the forefront, I want to spend more time deep-diving the rabbit holes of titles to add to my TBR. Maybe you’ll get to those rabbit holes before I do and I’ll do what I do with Nikki and let you, dear readers, decide what goes on my TBR – besides the rest of Giles’ backlist! [Nikki: if you have titles you think we’d like, please let us know in the comments!]

The major theme of Not So Pure and Simple, that Nikki doesn’t mention, but all the marketing copy does is toxic masculinity. What is really amazing is the way Giles, a male author, takes this theme and, from my female perspective, treats it properly from the points of view of both the male AND female characters in the story. Even though the entire book is from the perspective of Delbert Rainey, Jr., he has some deep and real conversations with the women in his life, his mother, his college-aged sister, and his friend Shiane. Shiane especially did not spare Del’s feelings when discussing what it means to be a ‘nice guy’ from the girl’s perspective. There are so many nuances to the toxic masculinity traits that Del and his male friends were taught by their elders and society that I can’t list even one without writing a small essay on it, for reasons. But, Giles allows Del and his male peers to be slowly and subtly shown and educated that the way they treat girls and women can be dangerous, not for the guy but for the girl, and the lessons finally hit home for Del in the wrap up of the book. Giles, as an author and more likely as a man, has done the hard work in himself to change the way he was taught to treat women and girls and is now doing his part to write the characters and stories he needed as a young reader, a young man even, to educate the next generation.

What recent read has you wishing the book was available when you were the age of the protagonist so that you could have learned the lesson sooner?

~Ashley

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