Title: Zora Books her Happy Ever After
Author: Taj McCoy
Genre:Black Love Romantic comedy Love Triangle.
Publication Date: April 25, 2023
Rating: 💣💣💣💣💣
About the Book:
A heart-pounding, curvy romance about an indie bookstore owner who finds herself in a love triangle when she meets the author she's had a crush on for years...and his best friend.
Zora has committed every inch of her life to establishing her thriving DC bookstore, making it into a pillar of the community, and she just hasn’t had time for romance. But when a mystery author she’s been crushing on for years agrees to have an event at her store, she starts to rethink her priorities. Lawrence is every bit as charming as she imagined, even if his understanding of his own books seems just a bit shallow. When he asks her out after his reading, she’s almost elated enough to forget about the grumpy guy who sat next to her making snide comments all evening. Apparently the grouch is Lawrence’s best friend, Reid, but she can’t imagine what kind of friendship that must be. They couldn’t be more different.
But as she starts seeing Lawrence, and spending more and more time with Reid, Zora finds first impressions can be deceiving. Reid is smart and thoughtful—he’s also interested. After years of avoiding dating, she suddenly has two handsome men competing for her affection. But even as she struggles to choose between them, she can’t shake the feeling that they’re both hiding something—a mystery she’s determined to solve before she can find her HEA.
My Review:
I fell in love with this authors writing last year when I first read Savvy Sheldon feels good as Hell, and I have been a fan ever since. And this book is no exception. Zora is loving life with her bookstore thriving. But she has a dilemma. She has two men vying for her interest. Lawrence, one of her favorite authors, and his best friend, Reid, a teacher. She dates them both (with them eventually knowing about it, ) and will have to come to a decision as to who is the one she wants.
First off, can we appreciate how pro black this book is. from Zora and her love interest, to all of the side characters, and the constant desire to support black owned business through out the entire book was amzing. At the beginning, I was Team Lawrence. Reid did not make a good first impression. But as I continued to read, Lawrence really worked my nerve and I might have called him out of his name a time or two. I switched to team Reid. And that plot twist had my jaw right on the ground. I was flabbergasted. And with Zora being a curvy woman and proud of it, this book allowed me and women like me to see ourselves. Exceptional job.
About the Author:
Oakland-born law grad, Taj McCoy, is committed to writing stories championing Black and biracial women of color, plus-sized protagonists, Black love, Black joy, and characters with a strong sense of sisterhood and familial bonds.
Taj started writing as a small child, enjoying the success of her first publications in elementary school. Since then, her dream has always been to become a professional writer. As a law student, she attempted her first novels and joined the Twitter writing community. Though Taj has spent more than ten years working in higher education administration, she continued to pursue her goal and ultimately finished her first novel in 2018, securing her agent in 2019.
When she’s not writing, Taj may be on Twitter boosting other marginalized writers, trying to zen out in yoga, sharing recipes on her website, binge-watching her favorite reality tv, or cooking private supper club meals for close friends. Catch her producing and co-hosting the Fat Like Me Podcast, which celebrates body diversity in publishing and entertainment, or watch her join forces with several writer friends on Sundays for the Better Than Brunch video podcast. When time permits, she serves as the #DVdebut Program Manager for Diverse Voices, Inc. and as a mentor for 2020 Pitch Wars.