Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead

"I didn't expect the casket to be so small." ~ 1%

What a startling first line! And so begins the semi-fictional novel by Mai Nguyen titled Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead. Cleo Dang always wanted to be a mother. The day she discovers she's pregnant is the happiest day of her life, especially when she learns that her best friend, Paloma, is expecting too. Together they enjoy their pregnancies and look forward to motherhood. But when they both go into labor, only Paloma comes home with a baby. 

Cleo must navigate life after losing her baby. She tries returning to work early but is forced to take leave. Then she finds work at the most unexpected place: a funeral home. Maybe the best way to honor the dead really is to live.

This is an emotional heartbreaking, side-eyeing read. Never thought I would put those two descriptions in the same sentence but it applies here. The main character is going through a grieving process that leads to disturbing scenes that tugged at my heart strings with empathy. I cannot begin to imagine her loss. I cannot believe how she manages to cope. I cannot do anything but marvel at her strength. Infant loss is heavy. It is triggering. It is tragic. Yet Mai Nguyen did a wonderful job translating her own story to paper in a darkly humorous way. Her portrayal of grief is well written.

Happy Pub Day to Mai Nguyen! Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead is officially on shelves.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. ~LiteraryMarie

Title: Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead
Author: Mai Nguyen
Published: April 2026
Pages: 272
Edition: Galley
Genre: Dark Humor Fiction
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤

How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay

"Don't be afraid to share your journey. It's more beautiful than you know." ~ 8%

The oh-so-witty hilarious Jenny "The Bloggess" Lawson is back with a new memoir titled How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay. This book reveals her contradictions. She is a bestselling author full of self-doubt. She is hysterically funny but struggles with depression. And through it all, she keeps going. Even better, she shares how in How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay: Tips and Tricks That Kept Me Alive, Happy, and Creative in Spite of Myself.

It's the informational book I didn't know I needed. The advice I longed for. The validation that I am not the only anxious one. A reference for when I'm feeling stuck. Even though I read it entirely with tons of highlights and annotations, I will assuredly revisit How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay as needed. Having been diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder, I am cognizant of stress. Jenny Lawson shares tools that are sure to help avoid and address anxiety, depression and chronic illness. 

"That the scars you carry on your body or inside your heart are a mark of courage, a secret tattoo proving that you too faced that beast." ~ 82%

This new book is like an ongoing conversation with Jenny Lawson. The kind where a friend calls on the phone and says, "Girl, guess what happened today..." then proceeds to tell the most funniest story. The more I laugh, the more I think about how relatable it is, then we cackle and find the lesson within. You know, to be prepared for next time. I appreciate her honesty, raw storytelling and thought process during situations. A great resource! Now excuse me while I add to, and search the #yepthisisme hashtag.

Happy Pub Day to Jenny Lawson! How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay is officially on shelves!

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. ~LiteraryMarie

Title: How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay
Author: Jenny Lawson
Published: March 2026
Pages: 288
Edition: Galley
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤

Judge Stone

"It was a harbinger of ill tidings." ~ 5%

All rise and head to the nearest library or bookstore! Fiction Court is in session. Honorable Judge Stone presiding. 

Never did I ever imagine two of my faves from two different forms of art would collab like this. Bookhearts already know that James Patterson is one of my go-to authors. I read just about anything he puts his name on. And Viola Davis? I will watch any and everything she is featured in. How To Get Away with Murder was a recurring Thursday night event in my calendar. So I was super excited to get an advance copy of their literary collaboration, Judge Stone.

In small-town Union Springs, Alabama, Judge Mary Stone is the most respected person. She has two jobs: running her family farm and presiding over cases. But when the most controversial case in the South reaches her docket, her career, livelihood and standing in the community is put on trial. What's causing such a stir? Dr. Bria Gaines is charged with the Class A felony of performing an abortion. On paper, the case is open-and-shut. Ethically, it's not so black and white. It is a choice between life and death that divides the town. 

"How could they put a doctor in jail for helping somebody?" ~ 36%

Judge Stone delivers! Legal drama layered with courtroom shenanigans, politics, ethics and suspense. The characters are far from one-dimensional. The writing is so descriptive that I felt like a spectator in the courtroom, watching it unfold in real time. Every time I set the book down felt like a court recess and I was always ready to reconvene! 

I took my time reading Judge Stone on purpose because of the themes, emotional weight and moral tension. It is fiction that feels close to reality. It tugs on your heart strings and pings your moral compass. Although the ending is neatly wrapped, I'm not ready to adjourn just yet. I would love for Judge Stone to grace more pages in the future. Davis and Patterson have created a strong Black female character that dances to the beat of her own drum, is unapologetically herself, stands tall, and commands justice. 

"The law of FAFO. Fool around, find out." ~ 29%

Need I say more? Judge Stone is easily one of my favorite books of 2026 so far. Please add to your immediate TBR list. For the Bookhearts that prefer audiobooks, prepare yourselves for a treat. I heard it is excellent and narrated by Viola Davis herself. I already know the emotion and intensity in her voice will take this story to another level. The thought gives me goosebumps. Read/Listen to it solo, with a buddy or in a book club; be ready for passionate discussion and heated debates. Judge Stone is the type of book that will leave you thinking about the gray areas long after the last page.

Happy Pub Month to Viola Davis and James Patterson! Judge Stone is officially on shelves.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. ~LiteraryMarie

Title: Judge Stone
Author: Viola Davis and James Patterson
Published: March 2026
Pages: 432
Edition: Galley
Genre: Legal Thriller
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤

First Lines Friday

First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.

• Grab your current read(s).
• Share the first line(s).
• Include the title and author.

"Bria Gaines stood at the back door of the small brick office building she rented in Union Springs, Alabama, population 3,314. She pulled her phone from her pocket to check the time. Six minutes past midnight. They were late."

~ Judge Stone by Viola Davis and James Patterson 

The Power in Surrender

"The real sign of someone who is confident is not how they walk into the room. It's how they change every room they walk into for the better." ~ 53%

It is easy to lose sight of who we are and our purpose in a world that bombards us with distractions. Bestselling author, spiritual leader Sarah Jakes Roberts inspires us in a new book titled The Power in Surrender. She identifies 100 ways to be authentically, unapologetically you in a world of noise while reconnecting with Christ.

Reading The Power in Surrender is like sitting down with a mentor that knows the right words to say at the right time. Written in a daily devotional format, the 100 ways to seize courage, conquer doubt and trust God's plan are easy to digest. The short passages are encouraging, uplifting and challenging. Oftentimes self-help books can be preachy and make you feel like change is an isolated effort. A "you" problem that should be fixed if you do exactly what the author advises. However, while reading The Power in Surrender, I never got the sense I was doing it alone. Sarah Jakes Roberts' warmth and wisdom exude from the page, providing support every step of the way. 

By the time I read the last page, I was excited to acknowledge my growth and surrender to God's plan. No more just making it day-by-day or going through the motions. Time to shut out the noise and embrace a better self in Christ. There is a lot of information packed into 100 devotionals so I will definitely revisit The Power in Surrender as needed. You should too! This book is recommended for Christian women with faith, a desire to grow spiritually and ready to live a life of purpose. 

Happy Pub Day, Sarah Jakes Roberts! The Power in Surrender is now available.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. ~LiteraryMarie

Title: The Power in Surrender
Author: Sarah Jakes Roberts
Published: March 2026
Pages: 224
Edition: Galley
Genre: Christian Devotional
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤

The Voice in My Head is God

"Intuition is a powerful voice that guides us. We just need to listen to it." ~ 17%

Grammy Award-winning rapper 2 Chainz (born Tauheed Epps) shares his spiritual journey in a new memoir titled The Voice in My Head is God. If you grew up in the church or you are in tune with the spirit, you know what voice he's talking about. It is the voice that guides you. The unmistakable nudge in the right direction. The unflinching feeling. The strong message you cannot ignore. 

In his most personal work to date, 2 Chainz writes about the higher power that guided his steps to be the man he is today. He writes candidly about being raised by a single mother while his father served time in prison, growing up in College Park, Georgia, earning a basketball scholarship, being in the streets then pursuing a music career. Along the way, he identified the voice in his head as God and began listening. His life really is a testimony!

I just wish it was told better. I had to put the book down a few times. Not from boredom...far from it! There were two things that commanded reading breaks: pure blasphemy and a non-chronological timeline. Sir, explain to me why you think it was the voice of God telling you to not use another drug dealer's scale. Or crediting God for finding your plugs. I have to suspend both belief and faith to accept that an angel on your shoulder whispered such direction, let alone the voice of God. While I appreciated the examples he gave, it also would have read smoother if told in chronological order. He brought up experiences just to say "more about this later." When?! The book is only 200 pages.

"Incredible things can just seem ordinary in the moment." ~ 49%

Celebrity memoirs usually fall into two categories: guarded experiences or raw truths. I applaud 2 Chainz for writing his raw truths, exposing his background for potential judgment and rising to his full potential despite obstacles along the way. He was very forthcoming about his upbringing, the dynamics of his parents, home life and journey to becoming the successful rapper/businessman he is today. From listening to his music and lyrics over the years, I could already tell that 2 Chainz is an articulate, intelligent man. He is both street- and book-smart. This book is a shining example.

The Voice in My Head is in a genre of its own that I've named Trap Christian Nonfiction. It is for readers that believe in God, can appreciate a testimony and need a gentle reminder to just listen!

Happy Early Pub Day, 2Chainz! The Voice in My Head is now available. 

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. ~LiteraryMarie

Title: The Voice in My Head is God
Author: 2 Chainz
Published: March 2026
Pages: 224
Edition: Galley
Genre: Trap Christian Nonfiction
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 

Kin

"You didn’t know me from Eve, but you gave me the care that people save for kin." ~ 41%

Kin by Tayari Jones has truly settled into my bones. Weeks later, I'm still thinking about Niecy and Annie—two motherless daughters whose lives unfold in starkly different ways yet remain deeply connected. Niecy is raised by her aunt after the tragic death of her mother. Annie, abandoned as a child, is fixated on the idea of finding hers. Both are on a journey for love, acceptance, sisterhood and survival as Black women in the American South.

Authors like Tayari Jones are the reason I cannot function without fiction. Reading allows me to escape the real world and get lost in someone else's story. Jones writes with such emotion that every choice the characters make feels heartbreaking. I found myself wrestling with difficult questions, toeing the line of ethics and deeply empathizing with these women. How far would I go to protect someone I love? Does family help or complicate matters? When is it time to stop hoping and simply accept the hand we're dealt? How would I navigate the crossroads Niecy and Annie faced? 

"But this is how life works— the women who would be capable mothers, too often don’t want kids. And too many of those with children probably should have just sat that one out. Luckily, most were in between." ~ 3%

Most of all, the story made me grateful for the relationship I have with my own Mama. It is deep, y'all! A central theme is the complex relationship between mothers and daughters. Biologically, we all have a mother, but for Niecy and Annie, other women step in to fill that role. It's what they share and what ultimately bonds them. Just like in real life, there are aunts, grandmothers, stepmoms and chosen family that willingly fill the void. There are cradle friends who become sisters. And as the title so perfectly suggests in a single word—there is kin.

"This kind of I love you was a bell without its clapper, a check with nobody’s cursive name on the bottom, a winter coat without buttons." ~ 73%

I cannot stop thinking about Kin. And that is the mark of a truly powerful 5-star novel. Take my word for it, Bookhearts! The writing is beautiful, as evidenced by my many highlights. It is so descriptive that I could practically smell the freshly-washed bed sheets through the pages, vividly picture the scenes like a movie on the big screen and feel the wetness of tears as if they were falling down my cheeks too. The story flows smoothly as it's told through alternating chapters and letters. I admit that I favored one perspective over the other because of her path of found family.

This is a page-turner but best read slowly. I took my time savoring every word as it settled into my soul. I read so much that most books entertain me for just a few days. Kin stays with me.

Happy Pub Day, Tayari Jones, and congrats on being chosen as Oprah's Book Club first pick of 2026! Kin is now available.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins. ~LiteraryMarie

Title: Kin
Author: Tayari Jones
Published: February 2026
Pages: 368
Edition: Galley
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating: 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤 🖤