Bookshelf

I love reading books that make me feel called out b/c this book def does it in the most subtle of ways lol. With it taking place in a highly segregated society, there is more risk being taken for this love to take place that gives the reader something to look forward to.

Eddy reminds me of the typical black woman that desires to be so independent, she will die proving it. She and Rhine explain a tale of someone who never wants anyone to save them vs. someone who will move mountains in order to do exactly that with and without permission.

I think the most important take away from this book is that Rhine choses to sacrifice his privilge to be with Eddy while Eddy doesn't have to sacrifice anything for him. I appreciate that a lot b/c a lot of the time we read books that detail the women moving around their entire lives for these men and that not be required vise versa, while here Eddy can just exist and there is someone who desires to make that easier for her, even if it makes it harder for them in the long run.

Def suggest this for people who love historical romance/fiction and love a good balance between sexual tension and a genuine connection being formed.

The main lesson that I learned in this book is that money reflects your internal self worth. If you believe you are abundant, the universe will reflect exactly that and vise versa.

Abundance is the natural birthright of everyone on earth, but we are taught that only a select group of people are allowed to have it b/c of the indoctrination of scarcity mindset. It gets deeper when you realize that the natural energy of God is abundance, so to not align with that means to not align yourself with Source.

Developing wealth consciousness is how you develop wealth and abundance and that starts with internal work that will reflect to the outside world. Me and money are the same frequency: free, joyful, and eternal. Without that belief, money will always be a fleeting thing.

Suggesting this for those who struggle with a lack mindset, have intrest in quantum physics, and overall desire to understand wealth consciousness better.

This book helped me realize that in fact I do have kinks and that is okayyyy.

Thyri is a woman who always plays it safe, but it doesn't mean that she doesn't have a dark side to her that she desires to have someone explore throughly. Meanwhile, all Efrain knows is that dark side and teaches Thyri that there is nothing to be ashamed of while exploring these things.

On the otherhand, Efrain realizes that there is more to life than just sexual encounters and domination from those he seeks it from once experiancing Thyri more and more. Both characters go through complete transformations of self, one learning to let lust in while the other love.

I suggest this for those that want to learn about their sexual interest, but may not know where to start, or even more so, have some fears/shame around getting into those things.

When I tell you this book made me become a fan of Sister Souljah and her writing my gawdddd. Especially being a Brooklyn native, it's crazy to see how realistic this fiction is lol.

Winter displays the typical case of materialistic ego and how far it will actually get you. Living in the projects, narrowly involved in street culture, and just overall having ignorance towards the real world leads her into trouble that she has no business being in at her age.

She goes from being sanction in the hood to having them all turn agaisnt her in a manner of months once her father gets reminded that he isn't bigger than the program. When she finally recieves help, her ego gets in her way over and over again, stopping her from ever being able to accept it in totality. While her always having her own hustle is commendable, when that's all you know how to do, you end up hustling the ones closes to you without second thought. Ultimately, she recieves the same fate as her father, introducting her to a very rough start to her early 20s, reminding her that the price of greed driven fame and wealth will always have severe repercussions.

I suggest this read to anyone that followed Bluford Series in school or are really interested in urban realistic fiction.