Tag: Reading

Flowing Like Water

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A Book Review

Watering Words by Bidgette Kay. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt

Every so often, I come across a book that rattles me to my core and shifts me in ways I am not usually shifted. And when it’s a book of fictional work, too, that makes it even more special! Watering Words: 52 Short Stories by Bridgette Kay is a book of this caliber. Every story tapped into my spirit, tuned me in completely, and held my attention until the very end.

I savored this book, finishing it in just under a month. I wanted to sit with her words and allow every story to connect with me in some way. I am glad I allowed myself to do this. As an admirer and writer of fiction myself, I understand the importance of creating characters that readers can understand, love, and believe. Bridgette does this flawlessly.

Below you will find the review I shared on both Amazon and Goodreads:

A Work of True Literary Art

I began reading this book knowing I would enjoy every page. Bridgette Kay doesn’t disappoint with Watering Words.

Every story is an in-depth look into the lives of characters that morph into their very own pieces of beauty, beast, friend, and foe. I took my time reading this one, savoring it for close to a month.

I wanted to become one with the words, and I did.

I appreciated several things I recognized reoccurring in different stories as symbols or perhaps themes: the name “Theo,” the number thirteen, and familial struggles brought about from the mother/matriarch of the family.

You will find tales focusing on love, loss, and grief with hints of magic, witchcraft, and religion sprinkled in. To say that many of the stories had me on the edge of my seat is a crippling understatement.

Beginning the book with Waiting for the Bus and ending it with Rainy Day Recruit is pure unadulterated genius. Most, if not all of these stories are extremely powerful, they can stand perfectly on their own, but these two stories are placed exactly where they should be, and I believe they entice the reader to come back for additional reads.

I know I will.

I had no doubt that when I purchased Watering Words, I would enjoy it. And I did. Hands down, the BEST collection of fictional stories I have had the pleasure of reading in an extremely long time. If you’re looking for bold tales centered around love, loss, growth, pain, and the absurdities of life, this collection of stories should be yours.

I guarantee that you’ll be singing its praises, too.

Have you gotten your copy of Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction at Lulu in E-Book & Paperback versions, or Amazon in Paperback (only) yet?

I am on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing as I speak about recent events with a previous place of employment, as it pertains to racism and discrimination, growth from the transition after resigning from that company, and life’s foibles and overall experiences. I welcome your visit.

Great Things Are Ahead for The Conversation

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A Book Review

The Setup for reading and relaxing. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt

I have been reading books for an extremely long time; I started when I was at least three or four years old. Dr. Seuss’ books lined my childhood bookshelf.

But I have only been reviewing books that I have read for maybe twenty years?

I have learned that constructive criticism and your honest opinion aren’t always welcome by certain writers/creatives. With a few that I have encountered, ego gets in the way, and they feel as though everything they put into the ether will shit gold and piss silver.

But it will not. If an unedited book has a great core, a grounded foundation, a plot that readers can follow, and versatility, that book can be salvaged, edited, and reintroduced to the world to get the flowers it deserves.

And I know this can and will happen for “The Conversation” by J. R. Floyd. Below is the review I shared for it on both Amazon and Goodreads:

“The Strength Is There But It Deserves Editing

I appreciated the fact that the author is versatile. In this book, you will find a play, fiction, spoken word/poetry, and simple dialogue between a mother and daughter.

The development of each piece is sound and vividly expressed with poignant details, however, grammar, syntax, punctuation, etc., takes away from the full enjoyment of the book.

The author’s voice cannot be denied or buried. It comes out swinging and demands a listening ear and attentive eyes. I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the book and sunk deeply into the plots and storylines.

With an overhaul and some solid editing, this could be a remarkable project. The strength is there, and one does benefit from reading it in its form, but I believe this is a rough draft that could shine with two or more digs into its bones.

The core is alive–bringing it to the surface in a more pristine form can happen, and I hope it does. The talent is unshackled, it simply needs to be formed, ironed out, and polished.

I hope to see a revised, edited version. I would purchase it as well.”

I reached out to J. R. to share the review with her first, and to let her know that I will be ready for the book’s golden return to the reading world.

She was receptive to the review and admitted she appreciated my honesty and that she knows the potential this book manifested in her head and heart, but it does need more care and attention.

I asked her if I could share it here just as I do with my other reviews, and she said that I could. Trust me, if I were not granted permission, you would not be reading this. This is a community of writers and readers. We deserve to grow amongst one another.

As a writer, I want openness and honesty about my work. As an author, I want reviews that are going to help me grow and keep me aware of my potential to get better, not just “Yes People” gassing my head up for the sake of ratings and approvals.

I am hopeful The Conversation returns when it is time, wearing a new dress, sassy heels, and a mink coat that would make its counterparts jealous.

Have you gotten your copy of my new book: a collection of serial tales & flash fiction, Séduire (E-Book and Paperback) yet?

I recently signed up to write on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing as I speak about the most recent events with my place of employment, as it pertains to racism and discrimination. I welcome your visit.

We Should Probably Heed the Family Warning

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A Book Review

Too Much and Never Enough. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt

Recently, I finished Mary L. Trump’s book, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man, which I believe everyone in the United States should read. I sat with this book for a few weeks, savoring it. I did not want to rush through it, so I did not. I took everything in, digested all of it as best as I could, and I am happy that I spent as much time with it as I did.

I reviewed it both on Amazon and Goodreads, and the review is as follows:

“Every Family Has a Bit of Dysfunction

But the Trump Family, as it’s told by Mary L. Trump, Donald J. Trump’s niece, is on a whole other level of shadiness, greed, carelessness, and self-fulfilling tactics.

Mary, a Clinical Psychologist, posits that her uncle’s behavior didn’t simply evolve on its own, he had help. The culprit? Her grandfather, Fred Trump.

Donald was a puppet, a means to an end for her grandfather; someone he wanted to abide by his rules and show that he could carry on the family business in the most vindictive ways possible.

If Donald couldn’t satisfy his father’s requirements, his father’s love would be harder to obtain. Imagine knowing your entire life is a circus; that your performance is monitored and calculated, and if you don’t perform well, you mean nothing. You are nothing.

Reading this book gave me a better understanding of the current sitting president’s mental health, and a deeper look into his overall background as a member of the Trump Family.

I remembered his brother Freddy (Mary’s father) and tales of his demise before reading the book, and was recounting the story to my mother a couple months ago.

To thumb through every page pertaining to his involvement in his father’s business and how it brought about his dive into alcoholism and a slow rotting depression, made my heart ache.

If you’re an empath, you’ll read this book and walk away more knowledgeable about people-pleasing and the need to feed our parents’ curiosity into who they want their children to become. You’ll be left with the pain of this world because of the carelessness of a few.

Donald will never seek help from what his past has done to his present self. “Donald today is much as he is at three years old: incapable of growing, learning, or evolving, unable to regulate his emotions, moderate his response, or take in and synthesize information.”

And with this, we have a human being in the highest seat of the land (once again), performing theatrics and skirting around important issues because he is still living to please a person who is no longer alive; his father.

We are all at the mercy of a person who does not care about the American people and never will. The end goal for him is complete and utter power and the ultimate hierarchy status. Dictatorship. Kingship.

“If he can in any way, profit from your death, he’ll facilitate it, and then he’ll ignore the fact that you died.”

For a deeper understanding of the person America wanted as president yet again, I recommend this book. Learn about the mistake we made. Engross yourself in the damage you may have caused if he was your choice during this past presidential election.

Take a look at the baby trapped in an elderly man’s body whose sole purpose is to obliterate anything that stands in his way of getting everything he wants.

Did you make the right choice? I am certain Mary L. Trump, the author of this book and niece of Donald J. Trump, would say, “No, you did not.”‘

I do not say any of the above with a silver spoon tied to my mouth. I am a hard-working, low-level middle-class, Black, bisexual woman who lives in the South. Basically, I am everything Trump hates. My bones are completely and utterly tired of the drama seeping into my marrow from the daily antics of a man who “doesn’t know any better.” Donald is still operating as a child would; a teenager who will tantrum it out if he or she doesn’t get their way. This is what we’ve been gifted with Trump 2.0.

If you can sleep well at night knowing everything that has occurred since January 20, 2025, has your name stamped all over it, then you and I would not be kissing cousins or good buddies offline. It is telling of the type of person you are with regards to what you want for the American people, what you want for our allies, and any other human being living and breathing on this planet. That shit is contagious, and I don’t want it around me.

As for the book, I plan to read it again and maybe again after that. To know a niece could tell the world all about her uncle while he’s still alive, lets me know his past is his present, and he has no way of differentiating between the two, and we are all going to suffer because of it. We probably should have heeded her warning.

The Man Is Still Selling America

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A Book Review

The Man Who Sold America by Joy-Ann Reid. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt

I recently finished reading a book by Joy-Ann Reid, one of my favorite journalists and all-around politically savvy Black women.

The Man Who Sold America isn’t your average informative novel. It has everything you want it to have. All the tea with a bit of spice, and the dark tales of a past that Trump doesn’t share openly.

I took my time with this book, and I am so glad I did. I wanted to savor it, understand the recounting of a number of important events, and linger with the metaphorical language and wit, too.

Below is my review, shared on Amazon and Goodreads:

It’s Exactly What I Thought It Would Be–Informative & Invigorating

Joy-Ann Reid pulls no punches in this book. She did her due diligence regarding research, and also weaved wittiness and metaphorical blends within every chapter, too.

Her journalistic history and editorial presence shines through on every page. Although incredibly informative, The Man Who Sold America isn’t boring. It is a book that will lasso you in, slap you on your leg, and bid you to pay attention.

It is a great reminder for a high percentage of Americans to remember “all that glitters isn’t gold.” Trump rode in on a golden horse, with a field of lies on his tongue, and shouted incessantly to a particular group of people who held the hem of his garments, and would not let go.

Reid does an incredible job posing different points. Bipartisan points were discussed and views and perspectives were shared from several people who were affiliated with Trump and found themselves in dire straits after their affiliation with him. Wherever he goes, trouble follows and it’s usually the monetarily destructive kind.

If you’re looking for your next favorite political read, this book is it! It has recaps of greed, lies & deceit, cover-ups, and a detailed overview of Trump’s past and claim to fame.

Make yourself at home with it. You won’t be disappointed.

I am reading Too Much and Never Enough by Mary L. Trump, Trump’s niece. And let me just say, I cannot wait to write the review for this book!

Both are going to go down as two of my favorite politically informative biographical-like novels!

What If the Stranger is God?

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A Book Review

The Stranger in the Lifeboat by Mitch Albom. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt

I doubt I have to say how much I love Mitch Albom. At this point, many of you should be well aware. Lol! If you’re a good writer, I look forward to your work. If you’re a great writer, I pine over it.

Mitch has proven to be a great writer; the older he gets, the better he becomes. I hope I’ll be reading his work for many years to come.

The Stranger in the Lifeboat is such a touching story. It made me think about the many times I doubted God after asking for help and for signs about things of which I was unsure, and God never left my side even during my faltering faith.

He remained. He is.

Here is the review for this incredible piece of literature:

“God Gifts Us What We Need

And He does so when we need it. This book shook me to my core. Ten people, shipwrecked and forced to spend multiple days with each other on a lifeboat miss out on the opportunity to live because they would not believe.

How can you read that and not be stunned? After a glorious yacht (The Galaxy), owned by multimillionaire, Jason Lambert, explodes, he and nine other people are tasked with a challenge from the Lord: believe in him, vocalize it, and they would be saved.

As I read through the pages and learned the stories of each character’s life, I had hoped that someone would gather up everyone and create an atmosphere devoted to believing the Lord was on board with them, and they could be saved.

I was wrong. No one believed hard enough. And those who did believe, only did so when sprinkles of miracles were placed in order by the Lord, Him/Herself.

Everyone wanted to get out of the situation in which they had been placed, yet no one had the heart and faith to rally the other beings so a longer life could be extended to each of them.

You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll shake your head in total disbelief at the things that occur in this book.

Mitch Albom has crafted a fictional story that feels real and will stun the reader without a doubt. This is the kind of book you read and then tell a friend to tell a friend and so on until a long line of avid readers have connected through these words.

I truly enjoyed The Stranger in the Lifeboat, and I know you will, too.”

I believe we are given helpful tools when we least expect them. This book was/is my helpful tool.

Have you gotten your copy of my new book: a collection of serial tales & flash fiction, Séduire (E-Book and Paperback) yet?

Remembering My Happy Place

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A Book Review

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt

When I was a child, before I became an adult before my time, it didn’t take much to put a smile on my face. I was active; I played sports, read many books, did a ton of writing, and watched movies/famous television shows.

And of course, I tore up and down the city streets with my friends, but I ensured I was inside before the street lights came on.

So, it’s no wonder, I would find myself nesting inside my happy place while reading Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It is a beautiful place to be, and while I’m in my forties now, I feel a stronger connection to all things pure & serene.

Below is the review I did for this incredible work of fiction by such an amazing writer who was well before his time:

“Reading This Brought Back So Many Memories

And I was in my happy place for the entire reading of this book. Roald Dahl was such a master of words and personification. He truly painted so many vivid and distinctive images in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

This book is a stress-reliever. I laughed and slapped my knee at some of the verses shared by the Oompa-Loompas of the mischievously selfish and rude children. Everything about the book transported me to my grade school years.

I imagined myself in the children’s shoes; taste-testing many of Mr. Wonka’s unique creations and drinking from a chocolate river. My sweet tooth was ignited with every turn of the page.

It brought back so many memories of enjoying Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory with Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. I found myself linking some of the scenes in the movie to a lot of the scenes described in the book.

I knew I would enjoy every moment of reading this book, and I am glad I did so.

If you feel like being nostalgic and traveling down old roads of yore, I recommend Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. You’ll definitely be happy you went along for the ride!”

During these current times, while fires blaze and wars continue to rage on, we could all use more happy places.