Melissa > Recent Status Updates

I'm so ready to be back at Drew Collins U!!

I'm so excited to be back at Drew Collins! I'm a little nervous about the book following other people this time but I'm still exited

Yeah.... I'm not finishing this weird shit. You've ever been scrolling on social media and come across someone explaining something and you think to yourself "Dang, I know I'm weird but sometimes there are people out here that are much weirder." That's what happened but with a book.

Oh look, this "horror" includes a woman going "crazy" and masturbating, how....original. I like the concept of the book, so I will try to push past this, but can male authors please find something else to do with female bodies, like... not sexualizing everything we do? Thanks

I've been reading some heavy stuff lately. It's time to warm up with the dragons at my favorite war college.

This is the moment that I decided I need a hard copy of this book. It's just bars for like 2 pages.

"You cannot make a slave. That's the flaw of this institution. The big lie that had held it together for generations. It was built on the breaking of spirits on the belief that a person can be stripped down to nothing and reshaped into obedience"

This is a good book. A pretty intense read. I would consider this a horror because of some of the things that happen and the fear is palpable in his writing. My only criticism, and I'm sorry to this man, but I can't stand the authors voice. At times I feel like he's stabbing my ears with his voice. The cadence, the rhythm- which you should think would be on point since he wrote the book, but it's a no for me, dog.

I'm only 10% into the book but I can already tell how impactful this book is going to be.

I was not expecting how prescient to our current political and social climate this book would be. The writing is vivid, I can see the characters I resonate with the pain. I hate that I avoided this book for so long. "Better late than never but never late is better" -Drake

I'm gonna start this of by saying that I am salty that this book even exist. The final scene of "The Last Thing He Told Me" had lived rent free in my brain for years. Pre-Hulu series. Its one of those ends that I would randomly think about how she saw and touched Owen for that final time. But now we have a whole damn book crushing that "final" scene, so let's see what happens. Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose.

I love that the characters in her books (I've only read two) are women with super niche jobs that they're always booked out for but somehow make time to track down mysteries. Lol this is the most Caucasian book I've read since I was introduced to Danielle Steele through my mom's employer in 6th grade.

If Joe is the killer, imma cuss

I'm on my 3rd listen/read of this book and am still catching gems.

Eh. What a weird poorly written scene

I meant to call this out when he first offered to become his mentor but it's so obvious now something is up with Professor Kamali (idk I listen to audiobooks) I hope that the reveal is better then where I feel like the writing is currently leading.

I had to stop and replay this a few times. "...look how they're actively banning books down here in LA, FL, AL, and TX, they're erasing our truth, our trials and tribulations..." "...unless it has to do with slavery, they always have to add a white savior."

Imagining a room of young people of color discussing the truth about what I felt when I was being taught history is slowly healing me.

"....my pronouns are 'they, them and that bitch'"🤣😂

As excited as I was about the premise of this book I still had a little concern that maybe it would be too heavily geared toward YA teen boy and i wouldn't be able to connect. This is the moment I completely eased in. Oh, we're accepting of everybody here?!? Let me fully immerse myself in Caiman U.

The terror I am feeling is so real. And the disgust. How could the producers let someone who is not only clearly very mentally unwell, he had a restraining order to prove it before he was chosen for the thing. I'm so curious about what type of society they come from. The little they allude to I can't tell if it's really that terrible or if Lily's life is just terrible.

I love the authors note for this. He is absolutely correct, a young black male narrating dark academia is niche af and I am in. I know how much representation matters and I'm loving this. The writing is smooth, the story is flowing and I'm so excited to enter yet another magical HBCU (Shout out to Drew Collins U)

Girl, what? You're just gonna add a whole ass sibling? Okay. We'll see how this goes

Only 17% in and I feel like I'm reading a different series. This book is already cramming a lot in a small amount of time. I'm gonna try to listen to it with less distractions but this may be my first DNF for the year.

33% and I'm locked in. I picked this book because I read "Pretty Girls " by Karin Slaughter in like 2015/16 and it is one of those books that I think about randomly all the time. It is probably one of the more gruesome books I've read but I really enjoyed the way she told the story. I am bummed to find out that this will be a series, I was not trying to make that type of commitment this early in 2026 😭

This whole section seems to be written by someone who has never had an orgasm.

I was going to wait until February to start reading this but at least twice a day since I finished the first one, I think to myself, "How the hell is Kenna going to take his help without mentioning that she killed his daddy?" At this point, I just need to know how she's going to explain it to Caiman.

Effing Barbara, man. I was starting to get annoyed that they were doing "flashbacks" instead of updating where Vanessa was in her efforts but I love learning about the characters. Her flashing back doesn't deter or take away from the story it builds so much more and gives you the chance to really know the characters. Home stretch

I'm loving their love story but I feel like I'm waiting for something bad to happen. It's got my heart in a vice grip.

"Wanting something fiction to be fact and having the power to convince other folks of the same, that's how power stays put." - Tracy Deonn

Okay, I've been trying to finish this one for no less then 3 nights now I'm at 94% feeling good- almost there when I time back in and Russ? Roz? Ends up being the demon and they're in a cavern. Who the eff is that?! Like did I time out that bad? I wanna go back and try to piece it together but I really don't wanna go back. Am I gaslighting myself into liking this?

Wait a minute.... WHAT!?! So the whole time? Wtf