These themes will vary! It could be based off of some book mail I just received, pop culture, something personal to me, a headline from the news, a trend I noticed when I was buying books for my library system, etc. I hope you stick around to see all the themes and book recs I come up with!
This Week’s Theme: Sinners
I had a TfT for Earth Day all ready for today and had it scheduled and everything. And then I went to see Sinners on Saturday and yeah….. I haven’t stopped thinking about it ever since. I LOVED it and I want to see it again! So naturally I left out of there trying to figure out how I can get this same feeling again and I found some that are close, but not exactly. I guess I’m going to have to go see it again! So the first one that I think captured this feeling was Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark. There’s a juke joint, a fire, the Klan that’s also “other things”, Maryse is a monster hunter, and there’s also Black deietes. This was a wild ride to be just a novella, but I really enjoyed this. [Adult. Available via KU]
This one was a little different. It’s not so much horror, but there are Black vampires. It’s also historical, set in the jazz era, 1920’s. It is missing some of the vampire lore, but it was still ok to me. I remember saying I wanted more and then realizing that there was another book and I was so excited! Hopefully in this next one we get to know more of the lore and more of the romance, and setting. I just wanted more in general! [This book is YA and is out now!]
Well, there you go! Here I’m just going to talk about why I grouped these two books together. I hope you enjoyed a look at this small part of the books. For a full synopsis of the book or to add it to your TBR, click the picture and it will take you to their Storygraph. The link on the caption will take you to it’s Goodreads.
Need more? Check them out below!
I can’t help but think that this is the story of the Indigenous people in the film that we never got because they noped out when the others didn’t listen. And I can’t say how much I loved that! Stand on business! As a matter of fact, everyone should have done what they did lmao I kept thinking that this would be the story of how they came about the first one and why they were now hunting and trying to warn people about them.
Another book set in history with “other beings.” This one has haints and a segregated reform school. It’s set in Florida and follows Robbie and some of his family members. Also like the movie, this one also has a slow burn until the ending when he starts to realize some things aren’t as they appear. I loved this one and I have loved seeing people just discover it. I wish I could read it for the first time again myself.
This one tells the story of Robert Johnson who had a mysterious death and was told to have gotten his talent for the Blues from selling his soul to the devil. (Or Poppa Legba…) Whether or not you believe it, this is still sounds like a fascinating read. There is not only information about him, but also the Blues that I didn’t know about. Being from the South I’m no stranger to the Blues, but not the authentic Delta Blues. I can’t wait to read this one.
This one has the ghosts and gothic atmosphere. This is also set in the South and depicts her terrible family and all the ways they tried to cover things up. Her family is also light enough to pass. And I mean the family dynamics or drama if you want to be real lol and there is also some family dynamics and drama in the movie. If you’ve read this or want to read this, you’ll understand lol
This one has Black vampires. And this one was just as mean as they were in the movie. But like them, there were outside factors that made them this way. And let me just say Susenyos seems hot to be a vampire lol No matter what his intentions are lol (There is a lot going on this book, so I get it if you struggled, but the outcome was really good. I’m hoping like This Ravenous Fate the questions are answered more in the next book which is released this year.)
What about you? Will you read these? Have you read these? What about one of the others? Let me know in the comments!