Rainbow by Verde Azru: Book Tour

Title: Rainbow
Author: Verde Arzu
Publisher: Self-published
Pub Date: 12/10/19
Genre: Romance/LGBTQ+
Edition: eBook
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Welcome to my stop on the Rainbow blog tour. Read on for book details, an excerpt, AND a chance to win a signed copy of the book!

Summary

Taylor has room for exactly two things in her life: improving her performance as a college basketball player and maintaining the grades she needs to stay on the team and someday play in the WNBA. But when she meets the beautiful and confident Melony, Taylor’s whole way of life is called into question. RAINBOW is a coming-of-age queer love story with a Love Jones kind of vibe. It’s the first of many queer black novellas by the author Verde Arzu.

Review

“What was the point of going to marches, yelling and screaming and crying at the injustice, if I wasn’t going to come back and fight for myself?”

Taylor

I love how social issues were at the forefront of Rainbow and impacted the way that Taylor and Melony operated in the world and with each other. Their Blackness was just as important as their sexuality and Arzu showed the intersectionality of their identities so well. Melony was headstrong and wasn’t afraid to ask for what she wanted. Taylor was more timid and didn’t want to rock boat which made her suppress a part of herself. Taylor was so focused on the wrong things, and I just wanted to shake her sometimes to make her realize that she just as important as her goals. I think her caring about getting into the WNBA was great, but when you start hiding your emotions and feelings until you get to your breaking point, you’re not handling them well.

I also loved the idea that you can have a whole community behind you, but you have to accept them and want to be open with them. It’s not good to keep parts of yourself hidden to everyone, so finding those people who will love the authentic you is so important, and I thought it was great how that was highlighted in the novella. As someone who has a fear of rejection, I really related to Taylor’s struggles with expressing her identity and feelings towards Melony. I also enjoyed how the novella was divided into quarters and the way basketball was central to the story. I love the film Love & Basketball, so getting to read what feels like a queer companion to that was so cool. Overall, I thought this story contained equally moving and funny parts, and I very much enjoyed Arzu’s writing.

Author

Verde Arzu is a passionate, middle school special education teacher. She graduated from Fisk University, a historically black college and university (HBCU) located in Nashville, TN. There she earned a B.A in History.

Her love for teaching pushed her to go on to graduate school where she earned a Master of Science in Special Education from National University. Verde is not only a teacher but an advocate working to ensure equity for students of color, especially those with learning disabilities.

Verde is excitedly working toward completing a post-baccalaureate certificate in writing from UC Berkeley Extension. Upon completion of the program, she plans to continue to publish novellas, short love stories, centered on realistic lesbian and queer relationships.

Verde recalls writing her first piece of fiction as a kid on the front stoop of her two-flat home on the south side of Chicago. She traces her passion for writing stories about African American queer characters from her desire to see more characters’ voices she can relate to.

A native Chicagoan, she currently resides in Northern California with her beautiful wife and two furry, four-legged children, Bob and Marley. She enjoys reading books written by African Americans—with her favorite genre being romance. She is a die heart Chicago sports fan. In her free time, she enjoys playing tennis, basketball, biking, binge-watching her favorite TV shows, and of course, cuddling up with a good book!

To learn more about Verde Arzu and her work, follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and her website!

Where to Buy

Amazon

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour Schedule

August 17^th

Reads & Reels (Spotlight) http://readsandreels.com

Phoebe’s Randoms (Review) https://phoebesrandoms.wordpress.com/

The Faerie Review (Review) http://www.thefaeriereview.com

Purple Shelf Club (Review) https://www.purpleshelfclub.com/

I Smell Sheep (Spotlight) http://www.ismellsheep.com/

August 18^th

B is for Book Review (Interview) https://bforbookreview.wordpress.com

Lecari Live (Review) http://www.lecari.co.uk

Book Dragons Not Worms (Spotlight) https://bookdragonsnotworms.blogspot.com/?m=1

Bookish Lifetime (Spotlight) http://www.bookishlifetime.wordpress.com

August 19^th

Cup of Toast (Interview) https://cupoftoast.co.uk

Dash Fan Book Reviews (Review) https://dashfan81.blogspot.com/

Jessica Belmont (Review) https://jessicabelmont.wordpress.com/

Breakeven Books (Spotlight) https://breakevenbooks.com

August 20^th

Cup of Books (Review) https://cupofbooksblog.wordpress.com/

It’s a Novel Life (Review) https://lifesanovelty.blogspot.com/

The Book Dragon (Review) https://thebookdragondotblog.wordpress.com/

August 21^st

Bookish Ends (Review) https://www.bookishends.com/

Misty’s Book Space (Review) http://mistysbookspace.wordpress.com

Rajiv’s Book Reviews (Review)  https://www.rajivsreviews.com/

Sophril Reads (Spotlight) http://sophrilreads.wordpress.com

Blog Tour Organized By:

R&R Book Tours (http://rrbooktours.com)

Thank y’all for reading my review of Rainbow. Check out the other posts on this tour and enter the giveaway to win a copy of the book!
*Thank you to R&R Book Tours and the author for a free copy of the book. All opinions are my own*