Always falling down without a place to land: HOW TO FIND A PRINCESS.

How to Find a Princess by Alyssa Cole
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

A repetitive and lackluster romance

Makeda Hicks loses her job and her girlfriend in the same day. Reeling, she's forced to move back with her grandmother and help out at her bed and breakfast. Being back with Grandmore means hearing more about when Grandmore supposedly had a passionate affair with the Prince of Ibarania--leading to Makeda's mother. Makeda has no patience for this story, as her mother's obsession with being a Princess dominated Makeda's entire childhood. When it never panned out, she disconnected from life (and Makeda), receding into alcoholism and forcing Makeda to grow up fast. When Beznaria Chetchevaliere, an investigator for the World Federation of Monarchies shows up at the B&B, claiming to be looking for Ibarania's missing heir, Makeda wants nothing to do with it. But the beautiful and chaotic investigator is surprisingly persuasive. Can she convince Makeda to go with her--and is Makeda indeed the heir to Ibarania?

"No adventures, no drama, and always there to lend a helping hand, even when her hands were full, that was Makeda."

This was one of my #Pride reads for June, and it sounded so cute. There were definitely funny and enjoyable moments, and I'm always glad to see queer romances in the world, but overall, this one didn't really work for me. I am a sucker for a good Hallmark movie, but even I couldn't get into this crazy idea--an unhinged royal investigator, a reluctant heir... and eventually a lot of fakedating and a cargo ship. It was all too much.

It's hard to believe the instachemistry between Bez and Makeda, especially as we do not get a lot of backstory on the two women. Makeda's "will I go with Bez or won't I" takes an inordinately long time--it was incredibly frustrating. Just decide already! Things are repeated over and over, making the story feel inordinately long. Being unable to get into the characters or their romance, it was just hard to really love this one. The pacing and timing always seemed off. I wound up skimming the last half just to find out what would happen, otherwise it would have been a DNF. 2 stars.

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They’re rollin' in the dough, we’re fightin' for scraps: WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING.

When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A terrifying and intense psychological thriller

Sydney Green grew up in Brooklyn and now she's back in her mom's home after a failed relationship. But her Gifford Place neighborhood seems to be changing daily--houses selling, new neighbors moving in, familiar stores closing. To try to help deal with the change, Sydney begins researching a walking tour: one that will truly showcase the real history of her neighborhood. In doing so, she winds up with an unlikely assistant, her bumbling new neighbor Theo. But the more Sydney and Theo delve into the neighborhood's past, the more horrifying things they uncover. And the push for gentrification around them seems to have even more sinister undertones than anyone could have expected.

"The landscape of my life is unrecognizable; Gifford Place doesn't feel like home."

Wow, an insane and wild ride happens when you pick up this book! Told in alternating perspectives from Sydney and Theo, peppered with posts from Gifford Place's "Our Hood" app, this is a tense and utterly spellbinding thriller unlike anything I've ever read before.

This is an incredibly timely book--covering racism in a straightforward and upfront format. Some of the characters are downright despicable, and Cole does not shy away from showing how utterly racist and hateful people can be. Yes, today, in America. The book is, honestly, eye-opening, no matter how informed you think you may be. It delves into the history of Brooklyn and how black property owners were pushed out, and I found it to be very informative (and heart breaking). Just as bleak is how it clearly shows the institutional racism in place today. Slavery may be gone in its original form, but its legacy still exists, and there are still so many ways to keep black people down, to hold them back.

While illustrating this, Cole gives us a completely terrifying thriller that borders on horror. It's suspenseful and horrifying, filled with paranoia and conspiracy theories. I was completely caught up in Sydney and Theo's world--and honestly the entire neighborhood of Gifford Place. This book takes a wild turn near the end and the crazy plot is, well, crazy, but at this point, with everything we've learned and realized, you begin to think that it's almost entirely plausible things could go down the way they do.

No matter what, the result is a truly spellbinding and illuminating read. It's not often a book teaches and yet terrifies, educates and still captivates. I definitely recommend this one. 4+ stars.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and HarperCollins/William Morrow in return for an unbiased review.

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