e-Audio, 11:04:23
Narrated by: Landon Woodson & Eric B. Anthony
Release Date: November 14, 2023
Published by: HarperTeen
Read from: November 8-13, 2023
Pritty, #1
Source: Libro FM (I received a copy of this audiobook from the Libro FM in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
TW: Gun Violence, Violence, Child Abuse, Homophobia
For Readers Interested In: Multiple POV, Racial/Ethnic Diversity (Black), 2SLGBTQ+ (Gay), Realistic Fiction, Romance, Coming of Age, YAOn the verge of summer before his senior year, Jay is a soft soul in a world of concrete. While his older brother is everything people expect a man to be–tough, athletic, and in charge–Jay simply blends into the background to everyone, except when it comes to Leroy.
Unsure of what he could have possibly done to catch the eye of the boy who could easily have anyone he wants, Jay isn’t about to ignore the surprising but welcome attention. But as everything in his world begins to heat up, especially with Leroy, whispered rumors over the murder of a young Black journalist and long-brewing territory tensions hang like a dark cloud over his neighborhood. And when Jay and Leroy find themselves caught in the crossfire, Leroy isn’t willing to be the reason Jay’s life is at risk.
Dragged into the world of the Black Diamonds–whose work to protect the Black neighborhoods of Savannah began with his father and now falls to his older brother–Leroy knows that finding out who attacked his brother is not only the key to protecting everyone he loves but also the only way he can ever be with Jay. Wading through a murky history of family trauma and regret, Leroy soon dis-covers that there’s no keeping Jay safe when Jay’s own family is in just as deep and fighting the undertow of danger just as hard.
Now Jay and Leroy must puzzle through secrets hiding in plain sight and scramble to uncover who is determined to eliminate the Black Diamonds before someone else gets hurt–even if the cost might be their own electric connection.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I must have missed the memo of when books started dropping us into the middle of the story with no background and no nothing else going on. And then at the end we’re just taken right out of the story and that’s supposed to be it. If I had known about it, I would have said can we not lol But even still, this was a good story once I got deeper into the story.
Ok so the beginning starts with him getting into a fight with someone. And it’s like right away and super sudden. I felt like threw into the story and was a little weirded out. I didn’t know any characters, who he could trust, if anyone, and I just felt lost. Add on to the fact that this is a multiple POV book and I was hella confused.
The plot took a while to get into too. It was mostly about the characters and their families at first. When the stuff finally started happening, I wanna say I was like 40% into the audiobook. The good thing was, I was listening to it, so I didn’t mind it. I was listening to it on 2.1X’s the speed, so it was fine. But also, all the things we found out about the characters families and their friends were so real and I was hella into it anyway. But then once the story started molding, it all clicked together. The family is what the main focus of the plot actually is. The book is showing how much they are a community and how they stick together and how they were going to take care of their own. I just wish that something more along those lines told us that information from the beginning. It was a lot of telling versus showing if that makes sense.
I did like the main characters tho. they all had different voices. It was easy to tell who was who. It was also interesting to be in the heads of all three boys in a love triangle too. I found that I didn’t mind that it was a love triangle because of that. I think this was the first book I’ve ever read where we get all three POVs. And I felt really bad because one of them was really heartbroken that he wanted to be with one of them but didn’t think he could protect them. To be honest I couldn’t really figure out who’s “team” I was on lol
I feel like I say this with every book that I like, but the emotion in this was top tier. I had times when I was really happy, I was sad and crying (yes real tears), and then times when I was swooning. They all felt so real. Real enough for me to wonder if these were based off real people lol Like that whole walking back from the pool scene? It made me feel so nostalgic to back in the day from where I’m from. Took me back to the good ol days. I know when the teens get their hands on this they’ll definitely relate to these characters.
Then we got to the ending. It was just as weird as the beginning. We’re given all this information, and there’s the huge as event….. And then its over. I know its a set up for the next book, but damn it, couldn’t they have given us a more clear ending?! I hate when we’re just dropped out of the scene like this. We could have even been given an epilogue or something. Maybe showiong the dude that left? I won’t use his name for spoilers, but you’ll understand when you read it. Or even one of the moms? Idk I just hated that it was this thing happened. We have these revelations. THE END. It’s so annoying lol
I really should learn to read the synopsis of books before I read them. But this time I was drawn in by the cover. But the writing style, the characters, and the emotion in the book were really what made me stay. I loved this and you can bet I’ll be hanging on and waiting for the next one!
Overall, I give this
