Bookmarked by Bella Jay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Even though Elgin Newsome aka Juice is a fictional character, I had to apologize to him for side-eyeing him for a fourth, ok maybe half or more, of the Black romance novel Bookmarked by Bella Jay.

Juice seems too good to be true in the way that he wholeheartedly and devotedly continues to love his wife Brooklin aka Books even months after her filing for divorce. Timing couldn’t be worse when it seems like the divorce finalization may fall on “Jooks Day,” their anniversary. In an attempt to either change her mind, or at the very least, have one last hurrah and go out with a bang, Juice plans a surprise and beautiful Divorcemoon using annotated notes from one of Books’ favorite novels.

The weeklong baecation/divorcemoon includes beach outings, dinner, gift giving, and answering questions written on slips of paper for them to answer. Even without a visit to a kinky book and sex toy store, this trip would’ve been hot and heavy with Juice and Books getting it on all up and through the AirBnB. I was waiting for the Big Reveal of the actor’s devious and nefarious ways that led to his bookworm and podcaster wife to file for divorce.

As much as the two thirty-somethings who met in college love each other, love isn’t enough. Bookmarked is an unconventional HEA (happily ever after) love story, but a love story nonetheless. Black love matters, y’all. All Black Love matters.

Some readers may feel like the story is incomplete, but I’m happy with the journey I got to witness. Like the commenters on a fictional tabloid’s social media page, Juice is bae to me. Even Books tells him that he’d be considered Book Bae in a romance novel. I think I like Juice and Books more than Shelby and Jamar in Bella Jay’s Here Comes the Sun. But getting back to Jooks, one of my favorite parts of the novel is the backstories of their nicknames for each other. Incredibly cute. Thumbs up on the Bookmarked Mood Spotify playlist, which I added to my library.



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