Riley's mother encouraged her to read the works of Jane Austen, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau.
[1] Island Queen (2021), a novel of historical fiction about enslaved-turned-landowner Dorothy Kirwan Thomas, was optioned for film by Julie Ann Robinson.
[5] Publishers Weekly wrote of the final book in the Rogues and Remarkable Women series, "Riley masterfully plays up the will-they-won’t-they between husband and wife as the emotionally charged romance twists to its conclusion.
"[12] Library Journal called Sister Mother Warrior a "sweeping, powerful historical novel based on two remarkable real women".
[13] Her mystery debut, Murder in Westminster (2022), was reviewed positively by Publishers Weekly, which wrote, "Riley offers a vibrant picture of the roles Black and mixed-race people played in Regency life," though Publishers also noted, "the backstory introducing series characters sometimes feels clumsy and the modern language can be distracting".