𝘔𝘑 𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴

"𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘸𝘴" 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸

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Review of "Falling for Your Flaws" by
@-jacksonbratz

🏴 - This book is written by a Black author 🖤

1. Characters and their development:

Let's start with Michael's portrayal in the book. He's pretty different from the usual MJ portrayals I read. He's non-toxic, respectful, compassionate without pitying the female MC. He's also not as abrasive with a heart of gold, he's delightful with a heart of gold. If you need a change from arrogant MJs, he's the one. What I like most about this Michael is he's the first Thriller era MJ that's not feminized (that I've seen). He's still a man, which the Others seem to forget about this time period.

Onto our female MC, Romana Teague, age 20. She's a hard worker, she's extremely caring for her younger brother with Autism, and a responsible lady. She's great and makes for a great role model. Only downside to her, I would say, is she's too guarded which might stress you out, cuz baybeee, I was stressing 🥴. She has good reason, though.

Let's talk about my personal favorite character in the book, Benjamin Teague, age 17. He's a particular youngin', likes to climb his trees, and is remarkably affectionate. He has Autism, which makes me biased towards him in a way, and many of his mannerisms resonate with that fact.

Autism is a spectrum and each person is different but many of the key factors of it are present in him (socially awkward/inappropriate social interactions, fixed interests, impulsivity). We love a well researched character. He's also especially sweet, an easy character to fall in love with.

Then there's Damon What's His Face. He looks like trouble, just Kassidy stirrin' the pot. We don't know him. We don't like him. He can absolutely go straight to hell 👨🏾‍🦼💅🏽

2. Plot(s) and subplots:

The book starts off with the Teague siblings' mother dying, leaving them alone to fend for themselves (they're father is also dead). Romana works hard to make ends meet as well as caring for her brother. I'll be honest, the plot hasn't yet reached its climax but it's only 5 chapters so far. The book is a slow burn, which isn't bad unless you like faster paced stuff. It's a change from most books where a lot happens in a short amount of time; again, keep in mind that the book is at its start and has 5 chapters as of yet.

As for the plot, so far, it seems to be Michael and Romana slowly gravitating towards each other. However, the book's summary/blurb hints at something ominous in their connection...

3. Diversity of character and/or cast:

Um, black author writing a black story with black characters who are not stereotypes? Take all my time 🗣 The main characters are all black, as in visibly and not ambiguously.

Romana is dark skinned and doesn't come off as a stereotype. There's a fine line that could've been crossed in her becoming the one-dimensional "mad black woman" because of all the things she's been through but that never happens. For people who don't like when black girls are always "ghetto", you'll love Romana without seeing her as a whitewashed black girl either.

Michael's era in the book is the kingly dark skinned Thriller era, which you gotta love cause 1) it's rare and 2) it's usually badly written when found. Like I said earlier, that feminine like portrayal the Others love to write never does it for me 🥱

As opposed to the Others' portrayal, Michael isn't one-dimensional and/or inconsistent in this book. He's a gentleMAN throughout, so when and if the book gets to a *mature* scene, it most likely won't seem abnormal.

Benjamin is also a dark skinned king and the most likeable character. What I like most about him and his portrayal is that his Autism is not a stereotypical representation. For example, he's not a mega genius who can read the secrets of the galaxy by waving his hands in an imaginary math lab. He's also not the token boy with Autism. He's a person with his own characteristics, living his little life. It's his world and everybody else just livin' in it, bye.

4. Grammar and quality of writing:

Well written. Personally, I don't care that there are minimal typos/spelling mistakes, because at the end of the day, it's comprehensive. Plus, she gets bonus points for having the vocabulary of a thesaurus. I've seen a few writers who need to go look "thesaurus" up and then use it. 

5. Extras:

I recommend this book to anyone who needs a change or a break from trash and/or flawed Michaels 😭 It's like watching "The Notebook" between an episode of "Gossip Girls" and "Insecure".

The book cover is so fire, ya know I be loving on them book covers!! The book also revolves around the 70s, which I love but in Idaho, which I don't love. That means shameful and obvious racism so if that's triggering for you, don't read the book. On the other hand, there's dirt roads, old cars, and plenty of trees to climb.

The book is written by @-jacksonbratz, who has many other stories out. We simply love her round these parts. She supports a ton of writers, mostly (if not all) black, and their books, including mine, and has been an unproblematic comedian on the app for a while now.

Follow her for a good laugh every now and then and read her book bousin! Try to comment when you read, that's what keeps all the writers going, I'm telling you.

If you read and like this book, I don't know what else to suggest you read that would be similar 💀 It's my first time reading this kind of book, but you could also just check out her other books and her reading list.

Up next: Review of "All You Need Is Love". I'm doing a thing where one review is a recommended book and the next is a hell no.

Keeping the balance until next time,

Nahla

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