Category: book review

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Book Review: Kin by Tayari Jones

I must admit I’m bias to any Tayari Jones novel. All of her books hit you in the heart and leave you in a puddle of feelings days after finishing the story. Kin is no exception.

The story of two motherless girls that are best friends since birth and take two different paths pulls you into their lives from page one. I rooted for them both to succeed and cheered as they conquered obstacles and setbacks along the way. I didn’t even realize how invested I was in these two fictional characters until the end of the story left me devastated.

I loved everything about this book. Kin, at it’s core, is the story of friendship and realizing that all kin folk isn’t limited to the family you were born into.

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Book Review – Honey by Imani Thompson

A graduate student who murders bad men in the name of feminism? Sign me up. This is my kind of carrying on.

Yrsa, the graduate student, is bored and tired of dating. Actually, she’s tired of men. Bad men who take advantage of women, including the married professor dating one of her friends and planning to steal that friend’s work.

When she runs into that very professor and witnesses his death, an urgency awakens in her and a thirst for murder is born. Or maybe it’s something that’s been a part of her DNA all along. Family secrets come back to the forefront involving her beloved grandmother and her mother.

Things are hinted at but never fully specified, which is intriguing and a little frustrating for this reader. I could imagine all sorts of scenarios, not sure of which one to believe.

Yrsa’s past trauma explains her actions, but the ending of the book felt incomplete to me. I love when a story doesn’t spell out every detail, but I needed a little more as the ending felt abrupt.

Overall, this is an awesome original story, and I enjoyed reading it. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Available for preorder – Publishes May 5, 2026

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What I’m Reading – Flames of Wrath by J. L. Campbell

In less than twenty-four hours—before Alexia Leighton is scheduled to return to Miami from spring break in Jamaica—a group of friends betray her in a grisly assault that stops a heartbeat away from murder.
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Alexia’s mother, a cybersecurity expert, will stop at nothing to secure justice for her daughter. The perpetrators soon find themselves with no place to run and no place to hide from this mother’s vengeance.
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Flames of Wrath will be published by Black Odyssey Media and distributed by Kensington Publishing.

My Review: Whoa! This book grabs you by the heart in the first chapter and leads you down a journey of revenge. And you will happily follow along as you root for Alexia and her mother to get a measure of justice. As you watch Geneva advocate and fight for her daughter, you imagine yourself doing the same. When she uses her computer skills to gather evidence against the perpetrators, you nod along. But you soon learn that Geneva will stop at nothing and everyone will feel the heat from her wrath.

This book is an excellent introduction into the thriller verse for author J. L. Campbell. I eagerly await the next installment.

November 28, 2023. Get it now so you’re ready to go on an adventure of revenge!

Pre-Order links: Amazon – http://microlinks.io/FlamesofWrath

Apple – http://microlinks.io/FlamesofWrathAP

Barnes & Noble – http://microlinks.io/FlamesofWrathBN

Kobo – http://microlinks.io/FlamesofWrathKobo

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10 More Best Books I’ve Read This Year – 2019

1. Then She Was Gone – Lisa Jewell

I enjoy suspensful stories and this one doesn’t disappoint. I couldn’t put it down until the end.

2. I’m Fine and Neither Are You – Camille Pagan

An all too relatable story of a woman and marriage.

3. Fire in the Water – Pat G’orge-Walker

An entertaining read with a lesson about letting go of past hurts and embracing your blessings. I laughed along with the main character and screamed at her to get her act together.

4. My Sister, the Serial Killer – Oyinkan Braithwaite

A laugh out loud distrubing story about a woman and her sister. How far would you go to protect your family?

5. Bring Me Back – B. A. Paris

This book kept me guessing until the end. A wonderful thrill read about past lovers and secrets.

6. A Spark of Light – Jodi Picoult

I love Jodi. This story tackles women’s health issues and paints a realistic picture of people of all sides of subject.

7. Monday’s Not Coming – Tiffany D. Jackson

I still think about these characters months after finishing this book. The storyline involves a missing girl and her best friend’s determination to find her. You begin to love these characters and feel their heartbreak vividly. I love this author.

8. The Last Thing You Surrender – Leonard Pitts, Jr.

Set in the time of World War II, this story takes you on a journey following the lives of a young white affulent Marine, a young black widow and her brother who witnessed their parents brutal lynching. How do you keep your morality in a time of turmoil?

9. The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls – Anissa Gray

A story about dysfunctional family dynamics and the generational ties that can manifest in a myraid of ways.

10. Don’t Walk Away – Victoria Kennedy

Beautiful writing with an engaging storyline about that grown up type of love.

That’s my list. What books have you read that you can recommend? Please feel free to comment below.

See previous books I like here:

https://michelledrayford.com/2019/04/22/ten-more-best-books-ive-read-this-year/

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That’s What She Said…

If you want to see what’s it about, click here: https://amzn.to/2RADsJM

Thank you in advance. And please take a moment to leave review.

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New Cover Reveal

Time to give the cover an update. New cover thanks to Naleighna Kai of Woodson Creative Studio. Same great story.

Check out some reviews:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good job showing internal conflict
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
This was a good read. I think the author did a good job showing the internal conflict faced by the main character as she struggled with which man she should choose – the one she loves? Or the one who “loves” her? I also loved the level of realism displayed in each character in terms of their personalities, actions, and emotions.

5.0 out of 5 stars Whose This New Author?
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
Just finished “Moment of Truth” by Michelle D Rayford….Great Read and Page Turner I Didn’t Want The Story To End. Looking Forward To Her Next Novel. You Have A Fan For Life!!!

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it!
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
No one likes to own up to their mistakes. It is easier to make excuses or just deny them but the way Adrienne faces hard truths about herself rings true for me. I was hooked from the first chapter. Michelle, I truly loved it thank you for sharing this story! I’m waiting for more to come!

#mdrayfordwrites #moment of truth

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Thoughts on Becoming

 Like everyone else, I’m reading Michelle Obama’s memoir, Becoming. It’s a really good read but something in the first chapter stuck out at me.

In the chapter, Obama describes her big piano recital. She had practiced for hours on her aunt’s “less-than-perfect upright, with its honky-tonk patchwork of yellowed keys and its conveniently chipped middle C.” She knew she could play her piece without really thinking about it. But suddenly, she was sitting at a perfect piano with gleaming white keys and couldn’t figure out how to begin.

It was a moment I could relate too. The moment when “the disparities of the world” show themselves for the first time.

I grew up in a diverse neighborhood that experienced “white flight” by the time I became school age. We had one lone white neighbor left and the elderly lady kept to herself. My high school was majority black. You could count the white students on one hand.

Now, we weren’t naive enough to think that we had the best resources. Our teachers did the best they could with what they had and we all prospered. But it became clear to me the day I took my SAT at a high school in another district. A predominately white district.

I walked into this newly built high school and marveled at the shine on the floor, the spacious classrooms and bigger desks. We walked past the computer lab and I couldn’t believe the number of stand-alone computers that were available.

I sat in the big comfortable desk and stared straight ahead.

It’s hard to describe the sense of unfairness you feel. The moment you realize that “there are disparities in the world”. And those disparities make you feel “less than”.

But like Mrs. Obama, I had someone to show me where to start. Aunt Robbie showed a young Michelle where to place her hands on the keys. Words of encouragement from my wonderful English teacher, Mrs. Dantzler, played in my head and helped me find my way.

If you are reading, Becoming, please share some of your thoughts in the comment section.

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So, What Do You Think?

You’ve gotten your copies and the stories hooked you from the beginning.

You’ve laughed, cringed, wowed and got your freak on. Maybe even looked up other work by the author of that one story that spoke to you.

You’re wondering what do I do now?

I know. You can write a review.

Come on, it only takes a few minutes to let people know what you thought of the books. You can help another reader discover the wonderful stories inside.

Don’t you want to help people? Of course, you do.

And on behalf of all the authors, I thank you in advance.

#GetCaughtReading

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Amazon Giveaway

I enjoyed this book so much I’m giving a copy away on Amazon. Click this link: https://www.amazon.com/ga/p/6b1c643194befa1a to enter to win.

Enjoy!