Review: Ally Hughes Has Sex Sometimes by Jules Moulin

A constant goal of mine is to read more, and I am so happy that I picked up Ally Hughes Has Sex Sometimes by Jules Moulin. It was such a fun read, and I feel that women of all walks of life that read it can connect to it in some way. 

Ally Hughes is a professional and a single mom that didn't have much of a personal life. Outside of her runaway baby daddy, she didn't have a lot of experience sexually, so she focused the majority of her time on raising her daughter and being a college professor. Then one day, by chance, her HOT student Jake drops by her office to discuss his paper and to let her know that he is going to have to leave school. He then offers to help her do some home repairs, which ends in a steamy weekend sexcapade. Fast forward about ten years, and her daughter, now a young actress, brings home a love interest who happens to be a huge actor named Noah...A.K.A. JAKE! The rest is a funny whirlwind of events that involves bringing down a webcam prostitution ring and an ending between Jake and Ally that I don't want to reveal! Ally is a funny, clumsy, smart woman that you will find yourself cheering for on every page. I was so excited by the ending that I found myself cheering on the bus, where I was getting in my last few pages. I know that you will enjoy it as much as I did.
Learn more about the book and purchase it here.

Pretty Read: The Little Book of Skin Care

I am probably one of the few women on the planet left that doesn't believe that being beautiful boils downs to pins and needles in your face. But I will not lie. I will be 31 in about a month, and I find myself paying more and more attention to my skin. Thankfully, Charlotte Cho has written The Little Book of Skin Care: Korean Beauty Secrets for Healthy, Glowing Skin to give me some solutions that don't include going under the knife. 

This book is full of pages and pages of awesome skincare advice. One thing that I found interesting is how Cho suggests "Double Cleansing"; first with an oil cleanser and secondly with a water-based cleanser. This is interesting for me, because I was always told that applying oil to the skin would cause breakouts. She also discusses the importance of moisturizing and using sunscreen. While giving readers these hot skincare tidbits, also gives readers a peak into Korean beauty culture. 

I am making it a goal to take better care of my skin in 2016 and this book is definitely going to be a big help. Learn more about the book here.

Review: Nine Years Under: Coming of Age in an Inner City Funeral Home

Funeral homes give me the creeps. They always have, even though they serve a necessary function in our society. I have found it trying to be in one the few times I have had to attend a funeral, I can't imagine working in one! Sheri Booker, author of Nine Years Under: Coming of Age in an Inner City Funeral Home, worked at one for nine years and chronicled her experience in her book. I had the opportunity to interview her about her life, views on death, and what she is up to these days.

Q: What are some of the weirdest things you saw in the funeral home?

A: You see a lot of strange things in the business. Being in the embalming room with the body, you always get chills. It never got easier.

 

Q: What are people's reactions when you tell them that you worked in the funeral business?

A: Most people are intrigued and they want to know more. It sparks a conversation about how I got started in the business and they want to know about the myths- have I ever seen a body jump up? Do undertakers steal?

 

Q: Are you working on anything new now?

A: I am working on a project that is also a memoire. I left the funeral home and went to South Africa. Think Eat. Pray. Love for a black girl. It's a coming of age book. I learned about death from the funeral business. This book is about life after working in death.

 

Q: Does your having worked in a funeral home come up on dates?

A: I usually let my dates know up front that I worked for almost a decade in the funeral business. It hasn't scared anyone off.

 

Q: Do you already have your own funeral plans?

A: Yes, I want to be cremated and I want a funeral service. Death is the only thing that we are promised in life and no one wants to discuss it.

 

Q: Where else can we find info on you and the book?

A: You can visit NineYearsUnder.com.

Book Review: Princess Curl

I am a woman with natural hair that is guilty of going to sleep without wrapping my hair with a silk scarf. It's true! And everyone knows that this is a natural girl no-no. However, it was not until I read Cherelle Shelton's Princess Curl that I fully understood why. Inspired by her daughter Ananda, the main character of this absolutely adorable children's book, Princess Curl, is a little girl with a head full of curly hair. She forgets to put on her silk bonnet before bed time. This results in bad fairies, that look a lot like really fab Ailey dancers,  tying knots in her hair and dangling lint balls from her ends. She wakes up mortified about it, but luckily, her mother had some coconut oil and water to help detangle her tresses, restoring her crown of glory.

Shelton has a knack for breaking things down for kiddies to understand. A mother of three and a scientist, she did the same thing in her first book, Feedies, which introduced kids to Earth Science. I love how the natural movement is now widening its net to include children, helping them to never experience the hair trauma of generations past. If only there was a book like Princess Curl when I was a little girl that addressed what to do after numerous home box relaxers gone wrong.

Princess Curl

Written by Cherelle Shelton

Illustrated by Rhys Shelton

     $17.99, TatePublishing.com