twonightstands

“Everyone has something. This is yours. Each life has a defining crisis.”

Leggy: I’ve had Strangers on my list for the longest time because I heard about it on some podcast. I was on the waiting list for so long and surprisingly it checked out to me the month my book club decided to read it.

Taynement: I’ve seen it everywhere and you told me to read it. So, I did! I found it to be a quick read. As a summary, the book is by Belle Burden who tells the story of how at the beginning of the pandemic she finds out that her husband has been cheating on her.

Leggy: Yes, it is a very quick and compelling read. I thought her writing was really good for a first-time writer. Also, it was like a mystery book where the mystery never gets solved which I liked because I think that’ s just life. We’re never going to know the whys of everything that happens to us.

Taynement: It’s crazy because she found out from the husband of the woman he was cheating with. He left a voicemail letting her know. Almost sounds like fiction till you remember it’s a memoir.

Leggy: Her husband’s reaction to the whole thing was also so fascinating to me. First, begging her for forgiveness and then waking up and deciding to leave her. I think his first reaction was a knee jerk reaction. And then he went to bed, thought about it and decided this was his chance to leave the marriage. He realized he actually didn’t want to be married anymore.

Taynement: That was the great mystery of this book. What was the motivation? Why?

Leggy: I think when you’re first caught in a lie your first instinct is to make it better. But later, when you think about it, you feel like you know what? I actually don’t care. I no longer want to be in this. Did you expect the book to solve that mystery?

Taynement: Up to a certain point. Then I realized she genuinely didn’t know why he left. It’s fascinating that she still doesn’t have an answer till now. I’m interested in knowing his line of reasoning for wanting to keep that to himself.

Leggy: I actually think he doesn’t know why.

Taynement – Hmm. That’s tough to reconcile. There has to be a reason to not want to be with your wife or be an active participant in your children’s lives. The way he moved was very bizarre even if he fell out of love, that’s at least a reason but the way he handled it was insane.

Leggy: He was very cruel. I think there are certain lies you tell someone just because you loved them at some point and the fact that he wasn’t even willing to do that is insane. Also, this whole book is why I cannot stand the whole “soft girl” movement on social media. I think the life of dependency we’re promoting to young girls is ridiculous. Oh, just turn off your brain and let him lead. You have no idea after 20 years what your husband makes at work? This is the future we’re setting up young girls for.

Taynement: To that effect, I think it’s because she comes from money and money was never going to be an issue for her. Not included in the book was her actual net worth.

Leggy: Her story is not unique to any social class. There are thousands of women who are not rich or white who have this exact same story. No difference. I’ve heard people admit to buying houses in their husbands’ names just because she wanted him to feel like the man even when they contributed nothing towards the house. This story is not unique in any way. I have friends who don’t know what their husbands make at work and none of them have trust funds.

Taynement: Part of her blind trust was in purchasing their home with her money and basically relinquishing decision making to him.

Leggy: She was a lawyer and got advised by her lawyers not to sign that prenup but she acted like she couldn’t even comprehend the language of a standard legal document. When she kept saying it could happen to anyone, I kept thinking – yes, a man leaving you could happen to anyone but the rest of it I don’t agree can. The rest of it was in her control.

Taynement: You seem annoyed by her.

Leggy: I just see her as the culmination of all the trad ideas social media now pushes. I think this book came out at the right time. “Oh, why did our mothers fight to work” because dumb ass, this is your future. You think they didn’t already try these ideas and recognized that they don’t work? Also, you’re a stay-at-home wife while every single person in your life worked including your older stepmother who was paying your children’s school fees, and you never thought to yourself – where is his money going?! While I thought this book was extremely well written, fair to all parties involved and very vulnerable, I couldn’t help feeling angry at her justifications of her choices. What did you think of how she decided to be honest about the breakup?

Taynement: Her stepmother paying the children’s school fees was wild to me. She definitely wanted to make her husband’s life easier. One less thing for him to worry about. The honesty about the breakup is something else I was fascinated by. She grew up in a “don’t share our dirty laundry” and old money family. Was it really cathartic or was it a fuck you to him? Speaking of her family, it took me a minute to recognize her grandmother was THE Babe Paley. For those who don’t know, she was part of the high society swans who were famously outed by Truman Capote. Ryan Murphy recently did a TV series and she was played by Naomi Watts. There were other connections too – her stepmom famously dated Charlie Rose for 18 years. They broke up because he was accused of sexual misconduct.

Leggy: I’m going to adopt that honesty thing going forward. I think so often we carry the shame of what men have done as if it says something about us. Like we were not good enough and that’s why he cheated. I want to become the person who says “We broke up because he cheated”. Like why is it on me to keep the secrets of your bad behavior?

Taynement: The truth will set you free. Ha ha. When she wondered if this was a generational thing and would her daughter do the same thing?

Leggy: Yes, when she was talking about the history of women in her family being cheated on and it reminded me of Lemonade by Beyonce so much. Where Beyonce reads those poems in between the songs and she talks about the generations of women in her family that have been cheated on and she goes – ‘What luck. What a fucking curse!”

Taynement: Way to get Beyonce in!

Leggy: lmaooo. I watched the Lemonade movie after this book! I really enjoyed this book, and it was a great book club pick. I think I gave it 5 stars.

Have you guys heard about this one? Have your read it? Let us know in the comments!

Black Authors, Historical, literary fiction

Book Review: With Love From Harlem by Rashonda Tate

21 Apr 2026 twonightstands

“Being a negro woman in America teaches you resilience. You learn to focus on the good, even when it’s hard.”

It’s 1943 and Hazel Scott is a black woman breaking boundaries in the entertainment world. She is a prolific jazz musician, a TV and film star and also a civil rights advocate in her own way. She meets Adam Clayton Powell Jr., a preacher turned politician who sweeps her up with his charm except for the fact that he is married. Hazel cannot resist him and the two go on to have a long relationship filled with ups and downs. The book takes us along the rollercoaster of their relationship that includes Hazel losing herself and opportunities, while trying to maintain the facade of a power couple.

“When a mistress becomes a wife, that means the mistress spot is now open”

I was reading this book and smiling at the familiar names like Billie Holiday, Nina Simone etc. I was already fascinated by the fact that Tate was seamlessly incorporating a fictional character and building a world around her with real life people. So imagine my surprise, 80% into the book when Quincy Jones makes an appearance and I decide to do a google search and realize that HAZEL SCOTT IS REAL! quickly followed by shame that I had never heard of Hazel Scott – but I believe that was the author’s goal in writing this book, giving her name life.

“One day, you’ll look up and realize you’ve poured yourself out for everyone else—and there’s nothing left for you”

The book centers around the life of Hazel, and her messy love life that includes having a husband as her op. The story takes us through the years from Harlem to DC to Paris and feels like peeking behind the curtain of the every day lives of the names we have heard so much about. I truly appreciate and respect what Tate did with this book because it had to have taken a LOT of time and research to create and build this world. Some creative liberties were taken but they were taken at the right spots and kept the story moving. At certain times, the writing felt a bit amateurish and I had to remind myself that it was probably better that way vs. an overwritten story that was already complex and had many moving parts.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and was swept away by the world “enhanced” by Tate. The book had me googling so many things and I learned a lot that I did not know before. This was historical fiction done right and I definitely recommend.

Taynement

Chick-Lit, romance

10 Romance Book Recommendations for Valentine’s Day!

10 Feb 2026 twonightstands

As we approache Valentine’s Day, I decided to share 10 of some of my favorite romance books from the last couple of years:

Back After this by Linda Holmes:

Cecily Foster is offered the chance to host her own show, and she is thrilled but there are two catches – the show has to be about her dating life, and she has to follow the guidance of influencer and relationship coach Eliza. So, while Cecily commits to twenty blind dates of Eliza’s choosing, she can’t stop herself from thinking about Will, a photographer she helped rescue a dog with.

The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory:

When Nikole gets proposed to at a football game by a man she had only been dating for 5 months and has to say no and disappoint 45000 fans, her life turns upside down. At the game with his sister, Carlos comes to Nik’s rescue and rushes her away from a camera crew. Nik knows in the wilds of LA, a handsome doctor like Carlos can’t be looking for anything serious, so she embarks on an epic rebound with him until their hookups start getting a little bit too real. Full review on the blog here!

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center:

Emma Wheeler has been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad for years, but she’s finally gotten the chance to write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates and it’s a break too big to pass up. Emma’s younger sister steps in for caretaking duties and Emma moves to LA for 6 weeks to fulfil her dream, but her hero turns out to be nothing like she imagined!

Summer Fridays by Suzanne Rindell:

A retelling of You’ve Got Mail, Sawyer is having an incredibly lonely summer in New York. Her fiancé has been spending so much time with an all-too-close female colleague, Kendra. When Kendra’s boyfriend, Nick, invites Sawyer to compare notes about their suspicions, Sawyer’s lonely summer takes an unexpected turn. She and Nick begin exploring New York City together every summer Friday but what happens when the summer is over?

Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan:

Ali’s mother died two years ago and then her husband left so when Ali meets Ethan at a dog park, there is no reason not to have herself a little summer fling is there? Find a full review on the blog here!

A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole:

Naledi Smith keeps getting emails claiming that she’s betrothed to an African prince. As a former foster kid, she’s learned that the only things she can depend on are herself and science and a scammer won’t convince her otherwise. Prince Thabiso is the sole heir of the throne of Thesolo and dutifully, he tracks down his missing betrothed, but when Naledi mistakes him for a pauper, he can’t resist the chance to experience life without the burden of his crown. Full review on the blog here!

Funny Story by Emily Henry:

When Daphne’s fiancé, Peter, realizes that he’s in love with his childhood best friend, Petra, he breaks up with Daphne and gives her one week to move out. Without friends or family and in a new city, she becomes roommates with the one person who can understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak. Find a full review on the blog here!

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez:

Briana’s life is not going as planned. Her divorce is just about finalized, her brother needs a kidney donor and the promotion she wants is probably going to the new male doctor, Jacob Maddox. When Jacob sends her an actual letter that starts a correspondence between them, she realizes he’s an amazing guy, but when he decides to give her brother a kidney, she wonders how she can continue to resist him.

The Deal by Elle Kennedy:

When Garrett’s plummeting GPA is threatening the hockey career, he’s worked all his life for, he turns to Hannah to tutor him and in return he promises to make her crush jealous by pretending to date her. But when one unexpected kiss leads to the best sex of both their lives, it doesn’t take long for Garrett to realize that pretend isn’t going to cut it.

Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney:

Quinn loves making lists – from the days she ugly cried to all the boys she’s ever kissed. An anonymous account posts a list from Quinn’s journal for the whole school to see on Instagram and blackmails her into facing seven of her greatest fears or else her entire journal will go public. Desperate, Quinn teams up with Carter Bennett in a race against time to track down the blackmailer.

Hope you find something you like and Happy Valentine’s Day!

Leggy

african author, african stories, Black Authors, Fiction, literary fiction, women's fiction

Book Review: The Sun Sets In Singapore by Kehinde Fadipe

26 Jan 2026 twonightstands

“Sometimes the best person to listen to is the person who did exactly what you don’t want to do. Don’t let what your grandparents or your mother or anyone else wants or wanted influence you now”

Dara, Amaka and Lillian, all of Nigerian heritage, are currently expats living in Singapore. Dara is a lawyer, Amaka is a banker and Lillian was a pianist who moved from the U.S with her American husband. They are all living the lives they have created for themselves in Singapore, while each fighting their own battles until a new arrival, Lani steps in and affects their lives in different ways.

This was an okay read for me. It had an intriguing premise but I think I wavered on the execution. One minute, I found myself invested in the characters because Fadipe did a good job in fleshing them out and you get a good sense of who they are and how they are handling their various predicaments. We get a good grasp of their background and their families and the connection and friendships between each other, also made sense. Dara’s struggle as a black woman in a law firm, Amaka dating a non-Nigerian and not seeing it as long term and Lillian feeling lost and trying to find her place were all realistic.

But then the next minute, it just felt like the drama was never ending and it was being stretched out for no reason and because I was itching for a resolution, the characters started becoming annoying. I specifically found Dara to be bratty. The pace picked up the second half of the book and because so much was happening, I didn’t know how I felt. So much was going on and I didn’t have the bandwidth to care deeply for all of them. That’s the other thing, be prepared for a million and one stories going on at the same time.

I did this book on audio and I honestly wouldn’t recommend doing audio, if you are Nigerian. The narrator had a British accent and was fine for the general narration but when it came to pronouncing the Igbo names, the pronunciation was terrible and in the little Igbo spoken, it was butchered. Her American accent was such struggle bus and it had me cringing and the last straw for me was when she read out the famous 1004 apartments as 10-04 vs. one thousand and four. There were also a bunch of volume or tone fluctuations where you could tell the difference from when she picked it up at a different time.

Overall, as mentioned above, I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it either. I do think that it was a decent read that serves well as a filler read or reading palate cleanser. I think it is obvious that this is a debut book but I would still check out other books by her.

Taynement

Uncategorized

Book Review: My Friends by Fredrik Backman

20 Jan 2026 twonightstands

“The world is full of miracles, but none greater than how far a young person can be carried by someone else’s belief in them.”

Four teenagers create a bond so powerful that it transcends years and manages to affect lives beyond their own. This book begins with a famous painting by a famous artist on sale. Most people think it’s just a depiction of the sea but Louisa, an aspiring artist herself, knows otherwise, she sees three tiny figures sitting at the end of a long pier in the corner. After the painting unexpectedly falls into her care, her curiosity sends her on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn how the painting came to be and what to do with it.

“Adults often think that self-confidence is something a child learns, but little kids are by their nature always invincible, it’s self-doubt that needs to be taught.”

This book is a coming-of-age story of 4 teenagers. While there are some humorous moments between the friends, most of the book focuses on the difficulties each of them is facing at home. Joar, whose father beats him and his mother. Ted, whose father is dying and whose mother is struggling to stay above the water and Ali – whose father moves around all the time to escape gambling debts and The Artist – the one who paints his friends on the beach one random summer and goes on to become a famous artist.

“You can’t love someone out of addiction. All the oceans are the tears of those who have tried”

I thought this book was extremely overwritten and bordering on cringy. Every line had a simile or metaphor or a turn of phrase that just made the story sound unreal. It was verbose and meandering. I usually like Backman’s writing, but it seems like he didn’t have that much story here and decided to fill the pages with over-the-top flowery language that did not move the story forward.

It took me a long time to finish this book because I was always dreading picking it up. This book is 450 pages and for a book where nothing happens it did not need to be that long. I understand Backman’s style of writing, and I’ve enjoyed his life-affirming heartwarming style in the past, but they usually come with a dose of reality when he writes his dialogue and his descriptions, and that did not happen here.

“Death is public but dying is private, the very last private thing we have”

Backman is still an amazing writer, and I’ll definitely pick up his next book, but this one did not work for me at all. Have y’all read this? What did you think of it?

Leggy

Book Related Topics

Our 2026 Reading Goals

12 Jan 202612 Jan 2026 twonightstands

Leggy:

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season – I know I did. I was off from January 1st through the 4th, and I spent that time relaxing and reading, which couldn’t have been more perfect. When we were putting together our best and worst books of 2025, I realized I was still behind on my Goodreads goal of 70 books. It turns out Goodreads had double-counted two titles, and I noticed far too late. That meant I had to read three books in three days to make it and somehow, I pulled it off. I finished my 70th book at 10 p.m. on December 31st, which was such a satisfying way to close out the year. Honestly, it was the best possible way to spend New Year’s Eve.

Despite having a truly awful 2025, I’m surprised and proud that I still managed to hit my reading goal. I also noticed that I read a lot of romance last year, and through making monthly “best and worst” Instagram posts, I realized that most of my lowest-rated reads were romance novels. I also realized that without actually trying, I read a lot of women authors. A lot of the books I read skew female and besides the traditional fantasy books I read, I don’t really read a lot of male written books. I’m trying to study my reading patterns so that I can consciously make 2026 a better reading year for me. I found that in 2025, I read a lot of average books. I did not feel passionate about a lot of books I read and I want to pick better this year.

Per usual, I read a book from every category of the Goodreads Books of the Year. I really enjoy reading diversely and would like to keep that going in 2026. I have set my Goodreads challenge to 70 books like always, so we’ll see where this year takes us. Follow us on @nightstands2 to see all our thoughts and reviews of the books we read this year.

Taynement:

Reading has always been an outlet for me and I intend to continue that in 2026. I don’t think my goals will change much this year because I want it to continue being a source of joy to me and unfortunately that includes DNF’ing any book that feels like a chore. I tried to do that this year but sometimes FOMO wins and oh yes that’s another goal of mine – to give in to my FOMO. I hate being left out so I always try to read the buzzy titles so I can be part of the discourse.

I am a fiction girlie so I will be knee deep in those, I will always continue to support black and African authors so my reading will also be full of those. I will also try to read at least one book from different genres that aren’t my norm. I have a bunch of books that I saw repeatedly on “Best of 2025” lists that I hope to read in 2026 and if any of my must read authors – Tayari Jones, Chimamanda, Taylor Jenkins Reid etc. have a book out, it’s a must read as well for me.

As always, I have set a 30 book goal on Goodreads, I have also joined Storygraph and will be using it for the first time to log my books. I am looking forward to being lost in good storytelling and sharing that with you guys and like Leggy said follow us on Instagram!

Wishing everyone a good reading year!

Best & Worst

Our Best and Worst Books of 2025

15 Dec 2025 twonightstands

Another year of reading is coming to a close and as always, we share with you what our best and worst books of the year were.

Taynement’s Best:

Most of the books I enjoyed this year were not flashy, out there books. They were books that just sat with me and moved me. Grown Women is a story about four generations of women who wanted to get it right as mothers but in their own ways fell short of doing that. Some may argue that the book was a little sad since it touched on trauma, abuse and some mental health issues but that was not the case for me as it was part of their story and in reality, the story of a lot of black women. It felt like one long therapy session reading about their lives, recognizing their failings and working on correcting it. Overall, even though I was reading about very flawed characters, I still found myself rooting for them and wanting to follow their journey.

Other favorites:

You Will Never Be Me by Jesse Q. Sutanto – This was not a subtle book and it had me delighted from start to finish. You can read my review here.
Blessings by Chukwuebuka Ibeh.
Spectacular Things by Beck Dorey-Stein: I am a sucker for a family story so this was no different. The first chapter starts with an outrageous request and by th etime you are done with the book it doesn’t seem so outrageous. You can read my review on it here.
Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson: Another family story that spanned generations and delved into the history of an affluent African-American family.

Leggy’s Best:

“Respect, that’s all we demand. Recognition of our magnificence. Offerings. Love. Fear. Trembling awe. Worship. Shiny things. Blood sacrifice, some of us very much enjoy blood sacrifice. Truly, we ask for so little.”

I stumbled on this book while browsing Goodreads a couple weeks ago. I was shocked that I had never heard of it even though it had thousands of reviews. These days when I read a fantasy plot and it has no romance in it then I know it’s for me. Everyone knows how much I do not like romantasy. Give me revenge. Write me a story of a character burning everything down to achieve his/her means and you’ll have me immediately. Give me a smart character! Give me strength! Give me twists. I have enjoyed everyone I recommended this book to coming back to me at certain points to be like WTF?! and I’m like “I KNOW!”. Anyway, this is the best book I read this year.

Some other favorites:

“Being beautiful, was that for men?”Yes. Some women say that it is for ourselves. What on earth can we do with it? I could have loved myself whether I was hunchbacked or lame, but to be loved by others, you had to be beautiful.”
I Who Have Never Known Man by Jacqueline Harpman. This is a work in translation that was originally written in 1995 and had quite the resurgence this year. I absolutely love this one. It was so well written but also gave no answers. It made me feel so claustrophobic and I could not imagine actually living that life.

“I often think of how much love is lost as gay kids grow up. We are robbed of the chance to experience the innocence of early teenage love. Because you spend all that time filled with fear, mastering your own pretense.”
Blessings by Chukwuebuka Ibeh. Tayne and I chitchatted about this one here.

“It’s a very particular time in your life, when someone you love is dying. The world doesn’t stop for you. We know this, but in our hearts we are shocked. We are like famous people who say: But don’t you know who I am? Except we want to say, But don’t you know what I’m going through? How can you speak to me like that when my mother is dying?”
Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty. Tayne reviewed this here.

Taynement’s Worst:

Like Leggy, my worst book is an old read. It was a work book club choice and I just could not get into it. I couldn’t get invested in the characters. It was a chore to understand and it just didn’t evoke any emotion from me.

Special mention to The Favorites by Layne Fargo. It did evoke emotions from me but not good ones. I just kept thinking “this makes no sense”. It also just read like it was written strictly for a movie adaptation and didn’t work for me.

Leggy’s Worst:

Usually, I just look for the book I gave one star and give it the worst book of the year, but I didn’t give any 1 star this year. I gave this book 2 stars which I actually give to many books. 2 stars to me just means it was okay, wasn’t for me. So, this was the most not for me out of all the books I gave two stars to this year.

I finally read Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I know I’m super later than the rest of the world, but I finally got there. I found this book to be incredibly self-indulgent, and I couldn’t understand why it swept the world by storm. I just do not get it. I think Gilbert is a good writer though. I’m just not sure she’s a self-aware human.

Thank you so much for sticking with us this year. Let us know your best and worst books of the year in the comments. Happy Holidays, everybody!

Taynement & Leggy

african author, african stories, Black Authors, Fiction, LGBT, literary fiction, Nigerian Author, romance, We Chit Chat

We Chit Chat – Blessings by Chukwuebuka Ibeh

9 Dec 2025 twonightstands

“It’s one thing to love a child, but it’s an entirely different thing for the same child to feel loved. A home is the last place a child should feel conditionally loved.”

Leggy: I remember seeing this book months ago on Bookstagram. An Asian content creator popped up on my feed talking about this book and I sent it to you and suggested we read this.

Taynement: Yep! It was a book by a Nigerian author being spoken about by a non-Nigerian and it piqued my interest because something I always talk about is wondering how people who aren’t familiar with the culture digest books about Nigeria.

Leggy: This book follows Obiefuna, who was born into a lower middle-class family in Nigeria. His peculiarities make him the black sheep of his family and when his father finds him in an intimate position with another boy, he ships him off to seminary school.

Taynement: To be clear – his peculiarities to them were the fact that he loved to dance and wasn’t particularly good at sports but in reality, he was gay. Obiefuna was a rainbow baby after his mother suffered many losses. He turned out to be a golden child, and his parents attributed their successes to his birth, and he held a special place in his mother’s heart. His father makes the sole decision to ship him off after finding him in a compromising position with a male apprentice without letting his mother know the reason why.

Leggy: This is one of the best books I’ve read this year. I think what makes it so impactful is how quiet and not exaggerated it is. Every time I thought the author was going to make an outrageous choice he always chose something different. And I think the quiet choices make this book even more powerful because you recognize the characters. You know this would absolutely happen in Nigeria. There’s no exaggeration to pull you out of the story and other Obiefuna’s humanity.

Taynement: Yes, it was very realistic, and I agree that it was quiet and not exaggerated. It’s funny because some other books that I have as my faves this year share those same characteristics.

Leggy: What did you think about his experience in boarding school?

Taynement: I think it was true to form. I chuckled when his dad chose that as a form of punishment because it was almost predictable that he would explore his sexuality there. I would say though that I had my heart in my throat the entire time because I kept expecting him to be raped especially when he built a connection with Senior Papilo.

Leggy: Exactly. I was like sending your son to an all-boys school because he’s gay is a choice. That’s something I loved about this book. I thought Senior Papilo was going to rape him as well but that never happened. The author never made any shocking choices and that choice would have been expected.

Taynement: But again, another reason I liked this book is also showing how flawed our parents’ generation was in parenting. They just did not have the tools. His dad thought he was doing his best. Another way that this manifested in the book is when Uzoamaka (Obiefuna’s mother) visited the hospital with Anozie (Obiefuna’s father) and the nurse makes the comment about him being a good man because he accompanied her to the hospital when most men wouldn’t. Anozie loved his family, and he was showing up for his wife.

Leggy: I do believe Anozie genuinely loved his family. He even tried to hide the fact that he found out Obiefuna was gay from his wife because he thought it would break his wife’s heart. When they finally had the discussion in the open and she told him where else would a boy like him be loved if not at home?

Taynement: I do think certain threads were left loose or maybe I did not pick up on their usefulness to the story. The two most prominent were – Ekene’s (Obiefuna’s brother) plot purpose and when Senior Papilo takes him to a brothel.

Leggy: I think Ekene served as a juxtaposition to Obiefuna.

Taynement: I get that, but I don’t know if it was well done. The juxtaposition didn’t seem to have any effect on Obiefuna? Basically, if he was left out of the story would it have affected my understanding of Obiefuna?

Leggy: It was because of him that Obiefuna even came in contact with any traditional masculine things. He would have never gone to the football field if Ekene did not exist. Also, even though Ekene was not that smart he was left in the private school while Obiefuna was moved to seminary school because of his gayness leading the private school to have a meeting with Uzoamaka inquiring why Obiefuna was moved.

Leggy: I also expected Obiefuna’s brother to turn on him at some point because he was portrayed as so macho and being complete opposite of him, but they actually stayed closer than I expected them to. When Obiefuna comes back from holiday and Ekene sings for him to dance. I thought that was such a touching scene.

Taynement: The scene where he tells Obiefuna to dance, do you think it was him acknowledging it? Ekene just seemed to be in the dark about a lot of things.

Leggy: I absolutely think he knew. And I think that scene was a way for him to acknowledge it without having that conversation especially from someone considered traditionally masculine. He was never going to confront it head on.

Leggy: Also, about Senior Papilo taking him to a brothel, honestly, I thought Papilo was gay the way he gathered all those young boys to himself, the way he treated them and the way they competed for his attention. So, when the brothel happened, I was confused. I was actually relieved that the boys just went to a brothel. I genuinely thought they were leaving the school to do something more sinister like armed robbery and that Obiefuna was going to get caught up in it. I was so relieved that that wasn’t the case that I didn’t even think about the brothel anymore. But I think it speaks to how straight men initiate younger boys into what they believe manhood is.

Taynement: Interesting. I do think Papilo is gay but wasn’t going to “give into it”. Papilo is one of those Nigerian men who will marry a woman and live a straight life and a part of me wondered if he was giving Obiefuna an out by taking him to the brothel.

Taynement: And something that struck me was up until the end of the book had Obiefuna actually had sex? He mentions touching and rubbing and we never really going into the nitty gritty of his relationship with the artist.

Leggy: They never described his actual sexual relationship with the artist. Only that he did a lot of drugs with him and I was so worried because obviously Obiefuna was depressed and grieving and I was worried about the path he was heading down. But he never had actual penetrative sex with the long-term boyfriend that comes after the artist.

Taynement: Overall, I think that is the beauty of this book. It was written so well, and it maneuvered from topic to topic so deftly and the story just flowed.

Leggy: This book culminates with the 2014 law that criminalized gay relationships with a hefty 14-year sentence. That was devastating to read about.

Taynement: It was a good balance of reality. I liked the fact that Obiefuna found a community because they do exist in Nigeria.

Leggy: And then when one of his friends was kitoed. By the way, this is an actual thing that happens in Nigeria and that’s when straight men pose as gay men on dating apps to lure gay men out and then they get beaten up, videos are made of them confessing to be gay and then they are robbed while law enforcement looks the other way.

Taynement: All in all, this was a fantastic, well-written book that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Leggy: Such a fantastic book. I loved it so much and it was an easy read.

3 for 1 Book Reviews

1 Dec 2025 twonightstands

It’s been a minute, so figured I’d do a three-fer before the year runs out. The reviews features a beloved author, a memoir and a Booker Prize winner.

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid: If you have been a long time reader of the blog then you know how much I love me some TJR, in fact I ranked all her books here. I was excited to read this one but it pains me to say that it didn’t hit the way the other books did. One of the things I like about TJR as an author is how versatile she is and how she doesn’t have a formulaic writing style. This one centered around Joan who is an astronaut. Based in the 80’s it showed how she had to fight to be recognized in her field but it was also a book about Joan’s sexuality at a time when she couldn’t necessarily be loud and proud. In hindsight, seeing how much praise this book has received, I am wondering if I’m the problem. Now don’t get me wrong, the book was not bad at all but I do think it was all over the place. There were so many storylines and timelines and didn’t seem well put together as is typical of TJR. It took me a minute to get all the characters right and remember their respective timelines. It also felt like I was being forced or told what to feel and I’d rather it be organic.

Flesh by Davis Szalay: FOMO got the best of me, and I had to see what all the fuss was about and even after reading it, I still don’t get it. Listen y’all, I am trying to get used to this new wave of abstract writing. The book follows Istvan from when he was a teenager in Hungary where he experiences something traumatic and then we follow him to London as he gets older and lives a completely different life, almost as if the incident never happened. As he gets older and has all these different experiences, I keep thinking they would have some connection to each other but the more there didn’t seem to be one, the more confused I got about what the point was. I do think it is a very character driven book (which aren’t usually my favorite) so that could be the explanation for that but if the character didn’t seem to be processing all the things that were happening to him and doesn’t seem to care, it’s very hard for us the readers to be invested and care as well. The ending felt like walking into a glass door because I didn’t realize that was the end. It was very abrupt. Someone needs to explain to me why this was the winner of the prize.

Accidentally on Purpose by Kristen Kish: Kristen from Top Chef fame wrote a memoir and she is such a lovely person (and a hottie) and that was probably most people’s motivations for reading this book and unfortunately it was just okay. I know everyone wants to write a memoir but if you are not willing to be VERY open or share salacious details then it’s okay to just leave it in your journal. Kristen does the thing where you share but you aren’t really sharing anything. Even when she gets to certain points, she doesn’t name names. You do get the sentiment of the title where it feels like everything just fell into place for her in her career, even though she has the talent, there was still a great deal of luck on her side, and I appreciate her owning that because sometimes successful people feel like admitting luck diminishes their hard work. I also liked how she admitted not having a desire to find her bio parents (she is adopted) and not really looking into her Korean roots until later in life. Kristen does share her deep love for her wife, and you can see it come through. There is a point in the book where she is talking about her and we hear sniffles and honestly, it felt put on (don’t hate me!). I don’t think there should be one formula for a chef’s memoir, but I will say that there wasn’t that deeeeeep passion for food that you usually hear from other chefs, and it just seemed like something that’s part of her life. It felt like there was more of a passion for hosting (and that’s okay). I listened to this on audio. Overall, I don’t think it was terrible, but I don’t think it was very good either.

So there you have it. Have you read any of this? What did you think? Do you want to check out any of this after reading these reviews? Let me know!

Taynement

Chick-Lit, Fiction, romance, women's fiction

Book Review: Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

20 Oct 2025 twonightstands

“It occurs to me then that in my effort to be positive, optimistic, and understanding, I might’ve made myself into an unreliable narrator of sorts, someone who can’t easily be trusted not to sugarcoat things.”

Alice Scott is an eternal optimist who is trying to get a big break in her writing career. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning writer who wrote the biography of a very famous singer dying of cancer and is now the most sought after biography writer in the world. Margaret Ives used to be a famous tabloid star born into one of the most storied and scandalous families of the 20th century who ended up marrying a very famous rock star and then disappearing from the limelight after his death. Margaret invites Alice and Hayden for a one-month trial period at Little Crescent Island to compete to write her story after which, she will choose the person who’ll tell her story.

I was a bit hesitant to begin this one because I had come across criticism about how this one isn’t as good as the other ones, so I went into it with trepidation. A lot of people think this book should not be sold as romance but as women’s fiction because they think the romance was not the point of the book. I actually agree with them, but I also think this is why this book worked for me so much. I really enjoyed Margaret’s story a lot. I loved listening to her family’s history, how the tabloid fame came about, her sister’s story and her love life. I think balancing her story with Alice and Hayden’s interactions on the island worked for me. The mystery of why they both were selected made this book compelling to read.

Alice is the typical manic pixie optimistic female characters that we are so used to in romance books while Hayden is the typical smart and grumpy yet soft for the female, protagonist male character that we are so used to in romance books. Did I still enjoy them? Yes. But I think I enjoyed them because they were barely on the page. I enjoyed the forced proximity, the small-town temporary living, the hometown visit, and the baring their souls to each other in order to fall in love tropes. Also, Alice falls in love too quickly with Hayden and if I had to read more of their romance than what Henry gives us, I think I would have been annoyed.

Emily Henry releases a book every year and I think it might be time for her to slow down. I enjoyed this one, but I think if it was purely romance as all her other books have been, I wouldn’t have. Also, there really isn’t much to say about this book but I’m reviewing it because I have reviewed all her other books and want to stay a completist. All in all, I gave this one 3 stars on Goodreads.