Pub Date: March 2018
Publisher: Avon
POV: 3rd, past
Length: 360 pages
FTC: received a copy from the publisher at RT18
I've been hearing about this book all year. It was all the rage in my corner of Twitter. In short: it was a "buzzy" book, and I rarely do well with "buzzy" books. While I didn't click in the deep, OMG fangirl kind of way I would have liked to, I did enjoy it. Especially for all of the ways it was so very different from other books out there.
I liked that we get to see a contemporary set in the city. No whiff of small town here. It revels in being an NYC book. There's the nosy and noisy neighbors, the subway, the easy access to different kinds of art/restaurants, the bodegas, the de facto multiculturalism.
I also like that Naledi Smith (Ledi) is a scientist. Specifically a former foster kid training to be a black woman scientist in a very specific field. She thinks in scientific terms in an adorably nerdy way. She has to deal with sexism in her lab job in a way that is so real for many women scientists. She struggles with relationships as a result of her upbringing. She's emotionally cagey.
I struggled with Prince Thabiso/Jamal as a character. I really did. He's a self serving dick through most of the book, and I'm a bit over self serving dicks right now. I did, however, ADORE his assistant Likotsi. If she ever gets her own book, I'm here for it.
