Nae 💕 BOOKFLUENCER

Can I be honest? When I first joined Bookstagram 4 years ago, I really thought I had to do everything! I thought I needed to buy all the books cause everyone seemed to own all the books. Read super fast so I can always have something to post everyday. Post constantly so I can keep up with the stupid algorithm. Keep up with every trend and whatever challenge folks were tagging me in. Trying to keep up with all that got overwhelming real quick. Over time, I’ve learned how to make this space work for me, not the other way around. Now it feels lighter, more joyful, and way more sustainable. 💕 So, if you’re new (or just feeling burnt out), pls try to give yourself permission to do this differently. ‼️EDIT: I also thought I had to say yes to every book that was offered to me by different authors to “be known” or “get in good” with publishers. Now? I ONLY say yes to books that I genuinely wanna read! When I get forms to request new titles, some months I just don’t select anything if there’s nothing that catches my eye. 💬: what’s a bookstagram habit you had to unlearn in this bookish space? #bookstagrammer #bookishlife #bookishgirl #bookloversofinstagram #bookworm

✨ FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2025! ✨ Here’s the post that 12 of y’all have been waiting for! 🤪 2025 was a year of really good books and I mean REALLLLLY good books!! The kind of books that linger for whatever reason, spark powerful conversations with the friends you read them with, and quietly change you for better from the inside.. These were my favorites. 💕 ✨ Keeper of Lost Children x @sadeqasays 🗓️ 2/10 ✨ Where the Wildflowers Grow x @terahsharris 🗓️ 2/17 ✨ The Bridge Back to You x @rissmneilson 🗓️ 3/31 ✨ It’s Not Her x @marykubica 🗓️ 2/3 ✨ Love by the Book x @jessicabgeorge 🗓️ 4/7 ✨ The Filling Station x @authorvanessamiller ✨ Red Clay x Charles B. Fancher ✨ Land of Silence x @tessaafshar ✨ A More Perfect Union x @tammyehuf ✨ The Manual for Good Wives x @lola.jaye ✨ We Don’t Talk About Carol x @kristenlberry ✨ We Are All Guilty Here x @karinslaughterauthor ✨ Fifty Fifty x @sscav ✨ The Devil’s Advocate x @sscav ✨ King of Ashes x S.A. Cosby ✨ Best Offer Wins x @marisakashino ✨ The Reformatory x @tananarivedue ✨ All the Noise at Once x @deandrawrites ✨ The Color of a Lie x @kcjohnsonwrites ✨ Audre & Bash Are Just Friends x @tiawilliamswrites ✨ Jamaica Road x @lisa4884smith ✨ A Girl Within A Girl Within A Girl x @nandareddyauthor ✨ Dominion x @addie_citchens ✨ The River Is Waiting x @wallylambauthor ✨ Will x @willsmith ✨ King: A Life x @joneig ✨ The Bible 😌 (completed a few books in the NT) ✨ Year of Yes x @shondarhimes ✨ Sweet Heat x @boluberry ✨ Once Upon a Time in Dollywood x @ashleyjordanwrites ✨ Sweet Little Hearts x @reallyshanora ✨ Plus Size Player x @authordanielleallen ✨ Grace & Henry’s Holiday Movie Marathon x Matthew Norman 💬: did any of these make your list too? #favoritebooks #2025books #bookrec #topbooks #bestreads

hi friends, let’s catch up 📚✨ this week of may”cember” has been crazy busy, but it’s graduation season and honestly, seeing my former students graduate has brought me so much joy. 🥹🎓 there’s just something really special about watching them reach milestones and step into new seasons of life. other than that, i’ve been faithfully watching and rooting for my boys on the San Antonio Spurs 🏀 and squeezing in reading time whenever i can. i’m also currently buddy reading The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman and trust me when i say i already know this one is going to spark a lot of conversations. 👀 i am feeling super grateful because i was lucky enough to receive a gifted copy from the publisher ahead of its 9/29 release. so, many thx to @marinerbooks for always thinking of me. 🫶🏾 💬: what’s keeping you busy lately and what’s one thing bringing you joy in the middle of it all? #currentlyreading #lifelately #books #bookstagram

📖 BOOKISH THOUGHTS— The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett 🗓️ 5/5 @spiegelandgrau THANK YOU!!! Sooo happy I got to read this story! 🥹 I think Stockett did an amazing job actually carrying us back to 1933 to follow a group of women navigating poverty, family struggles, and survival during a really difficult time in the American South; I truly felt like I was in their world. I found this story to be deeply moving! I was emotionally invested from the very beginning. The characters were quite complex, and I rooted for many of them with all my heart. Of course there were characters here that I simply didn’t like and I applaud the author for being able to bring out all that emotion out of me. I would’ve loved to have given this a 5 star rating, and honestly, a lot of it felt like that but I have to say, there was a moment where I just felt like there was some lagging. Yes, this is a long story but it was soooo worth the time I put into it! 🎧 I was able to pair the physical with the audiobook and the narrators— Jenna Lamia and January LaVoy— crushed it!! If that’s your jam, I highly recommend it! ⭐️ 4.5 stars!! 💬: do you shy away from thick books? what’s the longest book you’ve read? #historicalfictionbooks #readthisbook #thisbook #newreleasebooks #mustread

📖 BOOKISH THOUGHTS— The Forgotten Midwife by Laura Anthony 🗓️ 5/12 Thank you @gallerybooks #partner for my free book!! 🥹🫶🏾 What do you say about a book like this one besides the fact that it’s a must read? I could NOT put this book down from the very moment that I started it! It is structured in a dual timeline and my goodness the historical chapters were completely GRIPPING!! If books make you cry, prepare tissues for this one. This story is: ✨ gut-wrenching ✨ haunting ✨ devastating ✨ an absolute MUST READ!! ✨ historical fiction at its best! When I finished this one, I did go down a rabbit hole after reading the authors note and was just amazed by my findings. It’s not an easy story by any means, but it’s one of those stories that leaves you with more insight and empathy for past experiences unlike your own; experiences you’ll thankfully never live through. @lauraanthonybooks bravo girl!! bravo!! I am such a fan of your writing. I loved The Women on Platform Two, but The Forgotten Midwife completely wrecked me in the best way. Thank you for telling stories that are powerful, important and unforgettable. I’m ready for more!! ⭐️ 5 stars!! 💬: lmk if you’re adding this one to your TBR! You should be! #historicalfiction #mustreadbooks #mustread #goodbooks

📖 BOOKISH THOUGHTS— A Harlem Wedding by Tiffany L. Warren @tiffanylwarren 🗓️ 5/12 In my opinion, DRAMA + MESS = a great story and that’s exactly what Tiffany gave her readers with this one lol.. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, I found it to be historically rich and layered. Tiffany did a great job bringing the Harlem Renaissance era to life. The main character, Yolande truly stood out to me the most. The girl was quite frustrating because she was overly desperate for her father’s approval of her and yet I still could not help to feel deeply for her. There were many times I was wanting to jump into the story and tell her to live her life for herself. Had she learned that lesson early on, it would’ve saved her so much heartbreak! She spent so much of her life trying to please her father that she missed out on true joy and happiness. I would say if you’re going to read this, don’t expect the wedding to be throughout the entire story because it doesn’t take place until later in the story and baby the drama that follows that ordeal took the cake for me! 🤣😮‍💨 All in all, I think this is one y’all should check out, I had such a great time reading this book. I started it a while ago and life got busy and the author worked her magic to get my hands on the audiobook and I finished it within 24 hours— so good!! Many thx to Tiffany and publisher @williammorrowbooks for my advanced copies. I highly recommend the audiobook format if that’s your jam. ⭐️ 4.5 stars!! 💬: what’s something you currently WANT but aren’t buying cause you don’t NEED it? #historicalfiction #aharlemwedding #harlemrenaissance #20booksbyblackwomen #readthisnext

i started this book a couple days ago and my goodness its got my 100% undivided attention!! i don’t know where this story is going and i absolutely love that! over 650 pages, i’m only 30% through and i’m already fully invested in these watching how every little secret slowly unfolds. has anyone read this yet? it just published on may 5th. i’m taking my sweet time with this one because i don’t want the experience to end. ✨ thank you so much @spiegelandgrau for gifting me with a copy! 💬: what y’all up to this weekend? feels nice to have some time to just relax and read. #currentlyreading #thecalamityclub #kathrynstockett #bookish #reader

Today I did my first 5K!!! 🏃🏾‍♀️✨ I had such a busy week and tbh, I was SO nervous beforehand, I even thought that I should just stay home and cheer everybody else on lol.. But I stepped out of my comfort zone, showed up, and finished something I never thought I’d do. And honestly… I’m really proud of myself. Because sometimes the biggest win isn’t the time on the clock, it’s proving to yourself that you can do hard, new things. Shout out to my bestie @audreymmoreland for encouraging me to do this! 💕 Here’s to trying new things at almost 40, sweaty selfies, sore legs, and becoming the kind of woman who doesn’t let fear stop her anymore! #5k #mothersdayweekend #runningmyrace #hotgirls

Psalm 23:4 reminds us that even in the hard seasons, God is with us! ♥️ #readyourbible #thebibleisnotboring #encouragementforyou #biblestudy #psalm

THANKFUL THURSDAY!!! ♥️ Today I’m thankful to @vikingbooks for gifting me a PR box with a finished copy of one of my recent favorite reads, LEAVE YOUR MESS AT HOME + this cute hat! 🫶🏾 If you saw my review for this story, then you know that I thought it was rich and tender with layered family drama, complicated sibling relationships and mother-daughter relationship, emotional depth, and flawed characters you can’t help but to love and root for that felt painfully real. It honestly felt like a love letter to children of immigrants and all the pressure, expectations, identity struggles, and an intense longing to truly be seen that can come with that experience. Add it to your TBR!! 💬: what’s something you’re thankful for today? #vikingbooks #newreleasebooks #bookstoread #readreadread #fivestarbooks

📖 BOOKISH THOUGHTS— Struck Speechless 🤐 by Tati Richardson 🗓️ 4/28 Thank you @tlcbooktours @richardwriteson @spotify for including me on this tour!! 🎧 Tati knows how to bring the drama and the heat to her love stories and it’s one of the things that I love about her books. I found this one to be both bingeable and enjoyable. I loved the relationship between Jackie + Antonio even though Jackie was a lil aggy at times. I actually enjoyed the way Tati played with magical realism within this story with Jackie not being able to speak. I think what really did it for me was Antonio’s persistence. He knew what he wanted and brotha man stood ten toes down on it. These real life men could learn a thing or two from him (not you bae). 😌😆 Do I think you’d like this one? Well, if you like black love, second-chance romance, grown characters, and spice (you’ve been warned), I think you’d love this one. Just make sure you read LOSING SIGHT first! ⭐️ 4 stars!! 💬: mid-week check in y’all!! grade the start of your week with a letter grade (I’m such an educator 😜) #romanceaudiobooks #spotifyaudiobooks #blacklovestories #romancebookrecs #readmoreromance

📖 BOOKISH THOUGHTS— Good Joy, Bad Joy by Mikki Brammer 🗓️ 5/5 Thank you so much @macmillan.audio for my advanced audiobook! It was a perfect listen! 🎧 This story was such a treat! 🥹 Good Joy, Bad Joy softly reminds us that it’s ok to live, to bend, to take chances, to have fun. I think for many of us, there are many times where we could very well get caught in the trap of being scared or hesitant to take chances with certain experiences which could keep us from by living a little bit more and having a little fun. This story reminds us to live a little. Do. Have fun. Try something you’ve wanted to try. ⭐️ 4.5 stars!! 💬: what does “living a little” look like for you right now? #goodjoybadjoy #bookreleaseday #mikkibrammer #audiobooklover #womensfiction