The thrust of this easy to read and highly informative book is that power structures in America and disenfranchised whites have one thing that bind them together, a determination to prevent African-American success. The chapters take us from the end of the civil war and the reconstruction through to the first black president in the US, Obama. It studies the gymnastics, sleight of hand, and frequently extremely violent terrorist acts involved in maintaining segregation after in was legally outlawed in the 1960s, and how a coup in Nicaragua was tied into criminalising black communities in the US. The more left-wing of us might wonder at the restraint of African-Americans at times, and this book delves into the history of that and how every act of resistance in the last 350 years has been met with disproportionate, murderous punishment in order to protect white communities against even the discomfort of black success. It's a great book if you're wondering how we arrived at the BLM movement today.

This is a combined review for Books 1 through 6 in the Caveman Aliens series by Calista Skye

Someone suggested I give this series a try. It’s on Kindle Unlimited and since I had a free subscription at the time I gave it a go. It wasn’t bad. It’s a silly alien sci-fi romance that you can read in a day. Not much plot or substance to it. Sometimes you just need something silly and with no substance to read.

The books are an alien abduction survival type read. The books are all a little bit silly. They are slow moving in parts and a bit choppy.

The concept of the Jurassic planet was interesting. It’s a planet with dinosaurs, weird bugs, plants, and Caveman. Their are no women on this planet.

When the series starts we meet several different women who are all College age students working on a project when some aliens come to earth and kidnapped women only. Those aliens that kidnapped the women end up crash landing on this Jurassic plant. The women are trying their best to survive on this Jurassic planet and soon learn they aren’t alone.

The romance in each book is very quick. Each women ends up being kidnapped by a different kind of Caveman. They pretty much fall fast and the sex is hot and primal. These Caveman end up take the women back to their tribes and we soon learn that not all the men in the tribes are good. Most of the men want to capture and force the women into being breeders aka sex slaves or the Caveman want to kill them to complete this prophecy to bring back The Women.

As the series goes on we learn their is a small underline plot on how these Caveman came to be on this Jurassic planet and what their purpose is or was.

In book five we get a brief recap of what has happened so far. This is where we learn about the underlining plot and find more women are alive and have been trapped on this star shaped land island due to a Dragon like creature.

In book six we learn why and how the Caveman came to be on this plant and their weird belief system. I didn’t care for book six. This is where I became all Caveman’d out. The issue I had with, six, was how slutty Delyah became. I get the weird water makes them lower their inhibitions, but this was over the top.

One thing that really frustrated me in this series was that each women even after they found their Caveman lover they still think they can get home. After 10 months wouldn’t it come to your mind that you aren’t getting home. Even if you do find another spaceship… How are you going to fly it?

As far as things go. The Caveman Aliens series was just ok.

Rated: 3/2 Stars

Was this review helpful? If so, please consider liking it on Goodreads “Book 1, Book 2, Book 3, Book 4, Book 5, & Book6” (Angela)!

Challenge(s)

• 2019 For The Love of eBooks
• 2019 Backlist Challenge

@AmyPennza, #Paranormal #Romance, 4 out of 5 (very good)

DAUGHTER OF RAGE AND BEAUTY is the first book in the Berserker Academy series, and if this is any indication of what is to come, then I can't wait for book 2.

Elin is a half-breed, part Fae and part Berserker. She has been looked down upon by her father from birth, and now, at twenty-one, she is being shipped off to the Berserker Academy in a last-ditch attempt of her not 'sullying' the family name. Trouble is, Berserkers can be just as judgmental as her father!

I was completely engrossed in this story. I loved Hauk and the connection that grew between him and Elin. There are other characters that stand out that I hope will get their own stories. So many parts of this that I enjoyed, it's hard to narrow it down. One scene I will mention is the incredibly hot scene between Hauk and Elin. I think my kindle nearly melted. It was perfectly done, being sexy and sensuous without being gratuitous.

I found the pacing to be spot on with this, giving the reader enough time to enjoy each scene without it being stuck. The world-building was great and is one I hope to return to.

For a fun, sexy and adventurous Norse fantasy, then I have no hesitation in recommending this!

Book: Skip

Task #1: Dreidel

I went with having all biographies or memoirs. My choices were:

Nun - Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revoluntionary by Anita Anand

Shin - Eloquent Rage by Brittney Cooper

Hei - Living and Dying in Brick City by Dr. Sampson Davis

Gimel - This Will Be My Undoing by Morgan Jenkins

On December 15, you spun the Dreidel and got a....

Gimel!

I will be reading This Will Be My Undoing come January 1st!

Task #2: Recipe for Latkes - uh we just fry up a Rosti latke packet, with applesauce on the side. 

Task #3: Skip

Task #4: As a family, we have donated 10 cans to the school food drive in November and four more cans and four toys to the local food bank via the town's Tree Lighting ceremony on December 12th.

This book is touted as Game of Thrones meets Gladiator and I have to say there was some of the former but a whole, whole lot of the latter. 

If you like scenes filled with fight after fight after fight - add in a few skirmishes and a couple of full scale battles - even a siege - well this is the book for you!

The main character that we follow for the majority of the book is Tau, a young fellow who after a violent tragedy changes his life, goes on a path of vengeance that includes him becoming the greatest swordsman of his time.  And we see just about all the matches/battles/skirmishes that take him there. 

Yes, there's magic.  There are dragons.  There is some terrific world-building - a fantasy world that is more African than anything else. There's a bit of romance. There are some intricate politics that I would have liked to have seen from another POV.  But my favourite parts of the book were where Tau and his sword-brothers begin their relationships and then grow them.  Found family stuff, really.  And that's a catnip of mine. 

So, this highly touted book was good, but not great for me.  Far too much fighting and not enough of the characters out of the ring. I'm hopeful, though, that the next book will have more of politics, the magic and the dragons!  Oh, and that cover!  GORGEOUS!