Hot take: many readers, including Black ones, approach books written by Black authors as “work.” You read them to learn something, to discuss in book clubs, or to tell ppl that you read “diversely,” not for enjoyment- troubling for a genre like romance. Thus, our work is set to harsher standards for “realism”, likability, trope execution, etc. I even see it when we’re being recc’d - so many saying to read x book to “support” Black authors, when really you should be reading our work bc it’s GOOD.