Carole V. Bell's Blog, page 2
February 17, 2021
NPR's Code Switch Celebrates Black Kiss-Story (and I'm there for it)!
So NPR Code Switch did a fun and thoughtful episode on Black historical romance and invited me to be a part of it. Listening to these amazing authors—Beverly Jenkins, Alyssa Cole, and Piper Huguley talk Black history and romance on Code Switch was a treat and a half this Valentine's week. Getting to take part in it and say my piece? Unreal! You can listen to the episode and read the essay
So NPR Code Switch did a fun and thoughtful episode on Bl...
So NPR Code Switch did a fun and thoughtful episode on Black historical romance and invited me to be a part of it. Listening to these amazing authors—Beverly Jenkins, Alyssa Cole, and Piper Huguley talk Black history and romance on Code Switch was a treat and a half this Valentine's week. Getting to take part in it and say my piece? Unreal! You can listen to the episode and read the essay
My Review of Wild Rain in The New York Times
Wild Rain by Beverly Jenkins My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is an exciting one. I had the extreme pleasure of writing about WILD RAIN for The New York Times. You can read my review online:"In Beverly Jenkins’s Romance Novels, Black History Is Front and Center" View all my reviews
Review: Wild Rain
Wild Rain by Beverly Jenkins My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is an exciting one. I had the extreme pleasure of writing about WILD RAIN for The New York Times. You can read my review online:"In Beverly Jenkins’s Romance Novels, Black History Is Front and Center" View all my reviews
December 20, 2020
Review: Snapped
Snapped by Alexa Martin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
There are several different things going on here and some aspects of this novel are significantly more effective than others. First and foremost, Snapped is an unusually candid and insightful portrait of a biracial woman coming to terms with the internalized anti-black attitudes she swallowed while growing up in a
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
There are several different things going on here and some aspects of this novel are significantly more effective than others. First and foremost, Snapped is an unusually candid and insightful portrait of a biracial woman coming to terms with the internalized anti-black attitudes she swallowed while growing up in a
November 21, 2020
Review: The Prophets
The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
One of my favorite parts of a heartbreaking but thoroughly beautiful book. “They thought we was something dirty, but it won’t nothing like that at all. It was easy, really. He the only one who understand me without me saying a word. Can tell what I thinking just by where I looking—or not looking. So when he
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
One of my favorite parts of a heartbreaking but thoroughly beautiful book. “They thought we was something dirty, but it won’t nothing like that at all. It was easy, really. He the only one who understand me without me saying a word. Can tell what I thinking just by where I looking—or not looking. So when he
October 10, 2020
Girl, Woman, Other. Chapter 2: Her Warring Thoughts
Chapter 2: Carole, Bummi, and LaTisha.Fictional Carole's story caught me by surprise with its sort of duality—how it contained two things at war with each other in the same space— her privileged adult life with a pretty happy ending, loving mother and genuinely loving husband on one hand, and the violations she's endured, big and small, as an adult and as a child, and how hard she works to
Girl, Woman, Other Chapter 2: Carole's Warring Thoughts
Chapter 2: Carole, Bummi, and LaTisha.Fictional Carole's story caught me by surprise with its sort of duality—how it contained two things at war with each other in the same space— her privileged adult life with a pretty happy ending, loving mother and genuinely loving husband on one hand, and the violations she's endured, big and small, as an adult and as a child, and how hard she works to expunge thoughts that don't fit the life/ narrative she's built or simply don't serve her in it.
Like, for example, this section in which Carole is psyching herself up for an early morning meeting with a "new client based in Hong Kong whose net worth is multiple times the GDP of the world's poorest countries" but "can't help remembering all the little hurts":
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she can’t help thinking about the customs officers who pull her over when she’s jetting the world looking as brief-cased and be-suited as all the other business people sailing through customs – un-harassed
oh to be one of the privileged of this world who take it for granted that it’s their right to surf the globe unhindered, unsuspected, respected
damn, damn, damn, as the escalator goes up, up, up
c’mon, delete all negative thoughts, Carole, release the past and look to the future with positivity and the lightness of a child unencumbered by emotional baggage
life is an adventure to be embraced with an open mind and loving heart
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Also, that last sentence reminds me of another nice detail revealed just prior to this quote, that Carole's bookshelves are stacked with motivational books "ordered from America." She vows that the meeting will be "fan-bloody-tastic!" Just as the books say— "if you project a powerful person, you will attract respect."
She's retrained her mind with these self-help books. Or she's trying to. But it seems like a constant fight to keep reality at bay. Carole's story isn't as dramatic as some of the others in Girl, Woman, Other, and she isn't always entirely sympathetic. But she seemed really human to me and not just because of her name. ;)
October 4, 2020
Review: Girl, Woman, Other
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I truly loved it. I couldn't stop reading and stayed up late, then got up early to finish. The only challenge in writing a review is that my highlights aren't as useful as they usually are because I highlighted way too much (literally hundreds of paragraphs), seemingly almost everything because
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I truly loved it. I couldn't stop reading and stayed up late, then got up early to finish. The only challenge in writing a review is that my highlights aren't as useful as they usually are because I highlighted way too much (literally hundreds of paragraphs), seemingly almost everything because
September 13, 2020
Review: The Art of Theft
The Art of Theft by Sherry Thomas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I am a huge fan of the Lady Sherlock series. The way that Sherry Thomas weaves together an emotionally affecting and socially realistic mystery with solidly feminist sensibilities and social commentary is impressive and gratifying. With the first book especially, I felt the kind of well-being I get from
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I am a huge fan of the Lady Sherlock series. The way that Sherry Thomas weaves together an emotionally affecting and socially realistic mystery with solidly feminist sensibilities and social commentary is impressive and gratifying. With the first book especially, I felt the kind of well-being I get from
