Thank you IzePress for the lovely physical arc! I was SO EXCITED to receive this.
This series was highly recommended to me by Holmes Review: 4.5 stars
Thank you IzePress for the lovely physical arc! I was SO EXCITED to receive this.
This series was highly recommended to me by Holmes (@ holmes.reads) given that I love Solo Leveling and ORV is even better than Solo.
Consider me intrigued after reading the book! Things are so interesting. I find Dokja Kim to be an incredible resilient character. While yes, he does hold an advantage having been a reader to the book, TWSA where the scenarios take place, he isn’t a passive character and strives to survive this new world. Given that this is a long series, the world building is still building up. The concept of the story mimics a video game concept humans are being treated as game pieces and entertainment as they go through scenarios to live and fight for their survival. This is broadcast and streamed to all over the world where celestial beings watch over it as entertainment. I love the mixture of eastern and western legendary figures they used such as Sun Wukong, my all time favourite character! It was amusing to see his name pop up as a Celestial and I am very interested to see where the author takes this story.
I find the translations straightforward and easy to follow….
I wish they made it a 300 page volume and include more chapters as opposed to only doing the first 25 chapters given that vol 1 in Korean has 36 chapters. This means that it will probably go past the 5 volumes that the Korean version has….
Overall, I am very tempted to just find the fan translation of this series and read to know what happens next or maybe wait for Vol.2!...more
I read the prequel You’ve Reached Sam and found that one to be an okay read. I decided to give this sequel a chance.
Oliver, Sam’s bReview: 3.75 stars
I read the prequel You’ve Reached Sam and found that one to be an okay read. I decided to give this sequel a chance.
Oliver, Sam’s best friend is still mourning the loss of his best friend, Sam to a point that he would occasionally text his deceased best friend's phone number. One day, he accidentally calls the number and someone picks up…Ben and little by little, they slowly fall in love.
This book explores the themes of grief, friendship, finding love with a hint of magical realism thrown in. Oliver is lost without his best friend, Sam. Everyone, including Julie, Sam’s past girlfriend, is moving onwards while he is still stuck. His recent relationship ended in a sour note with a cheating boyfriend and he is struggling with his loneliness. Enter Ben, the other person on the other side who has been reading his texts. What follows is a sweet and slow romance. I do enjoy how their relationship unfolds - Ben is so sweet and caring towards Oliver and respects Oliver’s position in life. Their relationship is genuine and heartful with a hint of astronomy and music thrown in.
I find the time travel magical realism unexpected and it felt that it could do without but the direction didn’t surprise me given that this is Dustin Thao. This made the ending somewhat open ended.
I find that the story flows well making it a quick and easy read. My only nitpick which I also find with the first book is the lack of emotional depth it has. I find this a miss since I find myself reading in passing glance with a lack of emotion invested in the characters. Hence, the review…
Thank you, Penguin Teen Canada for the lovely arc. ...more
Aaron is a personal chef who received his first assignment and unexpectedly found the girl he met on TOP, an ‘only fans’ type websitReview: 3.75 stars
Aaron is a personal chef who received his first assignment and unexpectedly found the girl he met on TOP, an ‘only fans’ type website, who is the daughter of his first client. This brings about complications as he is undeniably attracted to her and wants to avoid disappointing his family and bosses due to issues with his past history.
I also find this an interesting read since it is told in Aaron's POV. For a male character, Aaron is a very guilt-driven character, and his life is a little bit of a mess due to his ex-wife being in rehab and him juggling being a parent to his little daughter. The only upside is that he finally earns his first personal client as a chef, only to realize his client is rigid and demanding. Enter Charlotte, the daughter of his client and the girl from TOP…their attraction is undeniable from the get-go. It’s funny how he pretends he doesn’t know her, and she follows his lead only to call him out later. Given that there is a forbidden element to it, there were loads of sneaking around which eventually blew up in their faces (coughs), but eventually ended well. Oh, and this book's spice levels are off the charts!
Themes like emotional abuse, absentee parents, eating disorders, anxiety, and guilt were addressed. I also love that there were heavy cameos from characters of her previous books, even though this can be read as a standalone.
My issue with this book is that certain themes, like eating disorders, could have been handled a little better instead of being given a passing glance solution. I felt the characters addressed certain issues inappropriately, and it made me pause and reflect at some moments.
Tropes: - Single dad - Age gap - Found family - Secret identity - Forbidden romance - He cooks!
Thank you, Letizia Lorini, for the eARC! I had a blast reading it. This one is not to be missed for fans who have been reading Letizia from the get-go! ...more
I was dreading and looking forward to this book after the dreadness of Book 2. The book started with a lot of “woe is me” and introspReview: 4.5 Stars
I was dreading and looking forward to this book after the dreadness of Book 2. The book started with a lot of “woe is me” and introspective moments from the characters with some minimal action thrown in for about 25% of the book and I struggled a little with it. The book takes a multi-pov which makes things interesting when everything slowly comes together in the book.
This book was pure angst and heartbroken moments with everything coming through fruition due to the instigation of fate and prophecies where Lina never really had a choice in anything in the first place. It’s so lovely and heartbreaking to say how much Rui loves her and tries so hard to find her despite everything and how he refuses to give up. I love the part about Lina finding herself again and those parts bought tears into my eyes - her character has grown so much. The trilogy all did came together and everything did make sense...
I’m not doing a summary as it will give everything away and would recommend this series especially for the brilliantness in Book 3.
Thank you Entangled Publishing for the e-arc! ...more
This book comprises a collection of 17 short stories for middle grade readers with each story highlighting a mythical creature/cryptiReview: 4.5 Stars
This book comprises a collection of 17 short stories for middle grade readers with each story highlighting a mythical creature/cryptid that is known in South East Asia with each story written by a different author like June CL Tan, Jesse Q. Sutanto and many more including Hanna Alkaf who also edited this book.
Each story given that it is written by a different author is unique in its own way consisting of different themes and told in the POV of the child encountering the mythical creature for the first time. Themes like grief, change, adoption, bullying, fitting in, family and hope are strongly featured in these short stories. Every chapter includes a useful history of the mythical creature feature along with some illustrations of the mythical creature providing a more visual image to young readers to follow along.
I really appreciate stories like these as a nod to South East Asia culture. Being from Malaysia, it’s always lovely to see books like these to preserve the culture, legends and myths I grew up hearing. I find the use of the local dialect wonderful with a touch of food and religion peppered throughout hinting at the unique heritage to readers.
My only nitpick is that most of the stories take place in North America and speak to the culture there with only hints of the mythical beasts. Might be due to most of the authors being located in North America? I also hope the final edition may add a glossary of terms that may help a lot of non-local readers to grasp the unique terms we use in the book to provide a better understanding.
My favourite stories are: The Girl in the Graveyard The Curse of Sang Kelembai Dance of the Unicorns Kusu Island The Mawas in the Airport Melati And The Eternal Battle Naga Fireball Ellie Takes Flight
I enjoyed this collection as it brings me back to the roots of my heritage and the stories I grew up with and it’s definitely one not to be missed!...more
What a beautiful book showcasing the Dragon Boat Festival and the tale of Qu Yuan, a famous poet. I very much enjoy the storytelling asReview: 4 stars
What a beautiful book showcasing the Dragon Boat Festival and the tale of Qu Yuan, a famous poet. I very much enjoy the storytelling aspect of how the DragonBoat Festival came out and the loving grandparents and grandchild relationship. I also love that it features a recipe for Zongzi, the sticky rice dumplings which are always present during the festival.
Christina’s storytelling with depictions of texts such as “Boom Boom” creates an excitable feeling of reading. The illustrations are beautiful and Nicole did an amazing job bringing the scenes and the people to life. The soft colorful depictions of the boats and the dragons feature are eye-catching and fun to see!
Such a beautiful book worth treasuring and using as a learning tool to depict an important Asian festival.
Thank you, FireFlies Distribution of the lovely finished copy! ...more
To everyone who knows me, I follow the In Death series by J.D. Robb religiously….This is book 61!
Review Framed in Death by JD Robb 4.5 stars
Framed in DTo everyone who knows me, I follow the In Death series by J.D. Robb religiously….This is book 61!
Review Framed in Death by JD Robb 4.5 stars
Framed in Death brings forth a pretentious killer who kills for the name sparking passion in their art. In this book, we get POVs from the killer's end where the readers know who the killer is. This also makes it an interesting read because the killer would prop his victims up to represent famous classic paintings such as “The Lady with the Pearl Earring” and it is a race against time with the killer going for one victim every night before Eve and her team caught him.
| “With rank, comes bullshit” Even to Jenkinson, her second in command on the bs of paperwork |
As always, the book prioritizes the interpersonal relationships that Eve has such as one with her partner where their house of dreams is completed and Eve and Roarke were invited for dinner. It’s great to finally see a project over the course of several books completed. The relationships that Eve has with her crew of cops is great to see especially how they leaned to her case due to time constraints.
|”I do enjoy your bullpen, Lieutenant. I enjoyed it very much. It’s never dull” Roarke to Eve during his visit to her work place|
My favourite moments are always Eve’s interactions with Roake. The understanding and love they have for each other just grows - such as the marriage rules note with Eve always giving a heads up to Roarke if she is late, the money lending where Eve will always pay Roarke back to the formidable outfits Roarke always picks out for her. And their moments with Galahad, their cat where he sneaks up during breakfast time to get himself some and to a point that Roarke would banish him out of the bedroom and bring the used dishes to the closet to lock them in.
It is always fascinating to see Eve’s mind works and in this case, there were a lot of chipping aways and circumstantial moments before finally apprehending the killer. We also get to see how sometimes the law can make things more lenient when money can buy anything and how Eve and her team outsmarts the killer here.
It was a fun and riveting read for me. I would always recommend this series, as it features a strong female lead, police investigative elements thrown in, touchpoints of love, friendships, found family, and murder mystery elements. ...more
It is such a dream to see one of my favourite teen series being adapted as a graphic novel.
This is book 1 of a quartet depicted afterReview: 5 stars
It is such a dream to see one of my favourite teen series being adapted as a graphic novel.
This is book 1 of a quartet depicted after Alanna: The First Adventure where Alanna disguises herself as a boy as she wants to become a knight and swap places with her twin. While this isn’t my favourite series by Tamora, it will always be a classic for me.
I would say the graphic adaptation stayed true to the novel in terms of character depictions, story plot, settings and the dialogue. You can tell how much love went into the book and how the artist and writer is inspired to stay true to the original! They really capture the essence of the book in a graphic novel. I hope they will adapt the remaining 3 books into its own graphic novel to have a complete set!
To note, I still love it in my 30s and would always recommend this series!
Thank you so much, Manda Group (Stephanie) for the lovely finished copy. This will forever be a treasured edition in my shelves....more
Noelle went to the night market one day and ended up eating some magical dumplings whi Review: 4.25 stars
Okayy, this book is such a fun and cute read!
Noelle went to the night market one day and ended up eating some magical dumplings which forces her to relieve 20th June all over again! Surely there must be a reason why this is happening! I gotta commend Noelle and her engineering brain where she tried to develop hypotheses and tested them in every time loop from acupuncture, to getting a kiss to eating all the dumplings in various dumplings stores she can find. As there are no consequences to her actions the next day, she finds herself taking more risks and chances that she would never take in her real life - getting the pixie haircut she wants, flirting with a cute guy she saw at the boba shop, breaking bread with her younger sister who she could never understand, and going for spontaneous trips and trying new restaurants as the credit card charges always reset. Her character development and the daily struggles she faced is so relatable!
I find this book an ode to the city of Toronto. Being a local here, it’s fun to see every day places I know represent in the book. Themes like sibling and family love, friendship, romance, psychological causes, societal cues and the appreciation of little things in life are explored in this book. I also find the plot unique enough with a fun magical twist.
Definitely a fun book to read as I had such a blast reading this one.
Thank you Simon and Schuster for sending me a physical arc of this book! ...more
This was a fun read for a college sports romance. Sierra has always had a crush on Gavin, the QB of her college foo**spoiler alert** Review: 3.5 stars
This was a fun read for a college sports romance. Sierra has always had a crush on Gavin, the QB of her college football team and her older brother's best friend and teammate. This indirectly makes it a no-no to act on her feelings towards Gavin, especially since he is always nice to everyone. It turned out that they did have amazing chemistry when she had a little too much to drink, and he walked her back to her dorm, and they ended up making up before getting rudely interrupted.
Fast forward to 2 years later, when they start as friends despite having undeniable chemistry after pretending that the make-out session did not happen. Sierra comes from a loving family, but because of her talented older brother, she sometimes comes in as an afterthought. Because of this, she wants someone to put her first and not as an afterthought. Gavin comes from some family trauma where his father is a bully and would always put him down, and he has a submissive mother who follows along with his father. As such, he never wants to be in a relationship because he thinks he will never be good enough. Yet, they cannot help but gravitate towards each other.
The feels here were solid, with some yearning thrown in. I feel like some depth could have been added to when Sierra realizes she comes first in Gavin’s life despite school and football pressure. I also felt like the relationship stage was glossed over due to the time skip. Some edits are still needed, such as the scene in Hectors where Sierra’s hair was down, but then it was also mentioned that her hair was in a messy bun. I also felt the term “menn…” was way overused!
I did enjoy the book overall. It was a solid read, and it will unlikely be my last read from this author.
Thank you, FireFlies Distribution, for the physical arc, It is a fun one to devour in one sitting
Tropes - sports romance - brother’s best friend - hidden love - college setting ...more
We are introduced to Jolie, who is a high school sophomore who has been ostracized due to her freak out incident a **spoiler alert** Review: 2.5 stars
We are introduced to Jolie, who is a high school sophomore who has been ostracized due to her freak out incident a year ago. She is now the loner in school and her best friends, Lana and Daphne avoid her like a plague. Everything changes when she saves Huong, a popular girl from an incident at the pool. Huong takes her under her wing and as they spend more time together, they discover lost powers and realise that they were the legendary Trung sisters, queens who were meant to fight their brothers who bring calamity to the world…
This book was told in Jolie’s POV. I empathise with her character as she started as this nervous and bullied kid who lost her way through high school since a freak accident. It doesn’t help that her grandpa, a renowned fortune teller, is also having bouts of confusion and freak accidents leading her family to be ostracized. The author captured the growing pains of teenagers perfectly in this world. However, I have to question how the author portray the teens in their manner of speaking etc: I mean who finds the bible interesting
While I did enjoy the lore that the author based this book on, I struggled with this book. I was so lost in at least 50% of this book since Jolie had no idea what was going on. The pacing of the book was so slow in the first half especially with the introduction of their powers and their hunt for it. There were parts where the book felt repetitive and confusing with the back and forth from modern to ancient Vietnam and when it shifts from past to present suddenly.
The worldbuilding itself felt flat with vague descriptions such as the glossover of the magic system and how the elements work. It was so confusing to grasp. I could see all the major twists coming and the book got predictable and boring. And of course, the ending was so rushed that there were still many things left unresolved.
Overall, it was an okay read due to the ease of the writing style and the short concise chapters and it wasn’t for me. There were some points where I was close to dnf’ing since I failed to grasp the concept of the book until I reached the 50% mark and once I did, it felt flat.
Thank you PenguinTeen for the physical ARC....more
A Mulan retelling set in the modern day world?!! I’m sold as Mulan has always been one of my favorite Disney movies. This is set in tReview: 3:5 Stars
A Mulan retelling set in the modern day world?!! I’m sold as Mulan has always been one of my favorite Disney movies. This is set in the world of finance where Mulan’s dad's firm is interested in acquiring a whiskey company, Wutai Gold, who only wants to deal with her father. Unfortunately for Mulan, the company refuses to deal with anyone else but her father and thus, begins her role to impersonate her father to play the part.
I love Jesse’s writing. There were so many scenes where I felt for Mulan and would cringe in embarrassment and lol'd so hard because of the scenarios she put herself in. Of course, there is Shang, the CEO of Wutai Gold who she has undeniable chemistry with.
I love the depiction of Mulan here as she grew up with some childhood trauma and thus, feel the need to prove herself as the best possible child her parents need her to be. She wears so many facets of herself such as the dutiful daughter or the “finance bro” mask to get what she needs. It was lovely to see how Mulan went through a journey of self-discovery to find herself and her character development was relatable.
Shang on the other hand grew up with a single mum and was raised in a very misogynistic external family of uncles, cousins and aunts. There is a very interesting contrast he brings where he is amazing at cooking and household tasks which others would see as un-masculine. And of course, we have Mushu, who is Mulan’s cousin and she brings the hilarious moments in the book.
My favourite plot moments were the moments in the ranch. Poor Mulan where in the quest of proving herself, she went through a good amount of incidents such as falling in cow dung to do so. There were some moments where the talk was very heavy on the Gen-Z slang and the trope got very trope-y buttt I still enjoy reading it as the storyline flows pretty well.
My only issue with this book is the romance…there were more lust moments than romance…and when they finally got together, the time spent together was in summarized format and more attention was given to the overall plot points of resolving the overarching plot. I need more to make the romance more believable.
I screamed when I saw this email appear in my iReview: 5 Stars
Thank you for the free book BerkleyRomance!
#Berkleypartner #berkley #berkleybookstagram
I screamed when I saw this email appear in my inbox giving me access to the arc of this book. It was my anticipated read for 2025 and absolutely did not disappoint!
I was looking forward to this one as we finally get to visit a Changeling group we have yet to connect with the Windhaven clan. We met Adam in Mercy and Riley’s book and I was already intrigued by him. From the get go, the push-pull that was missing in the recent books was very much present here! This one speaks to second chance connection as Adam and Eleri met when they were young but were never meant to be due to circumstances…Fast forward to the present where Eleri arrives in the town where Adam’s clan resides on a personal hunt for a serial killer due to her work …and she and Adam met…the angst, yearning and the feelsssss!! This book took me through an emotional wringer! Due to their past history, Adam struggles with forgiving Eleri and would keep himself at arms’ length but could not help but feel the pull to always seek her out.
|"Life was…beautiful..and more painful than death"|
I love the characters assembled and the supporting characters here. Eleri is such a strong and determined character. While she lost her ability to 'feel', she very much knows what she is to Adam and wants to make up for the past hurt she caused him. Because of this, she leaves it to Adam to dictate the nature of the relationship. She would never lie to him after being forced to do it in the past and destroying the nature of their relationship before it even began. Adam is such a strong 'Wingleader' (Alpha). His ability to be there for his clan and his capacity to feel are huge. I was cheering him on when he finally forgave Eleri, as the fault was never hers in the first place and could have cost her her life.
|"You’re enough. You’ve always been enough"|
I also love that the side story of the hunt for the serial killer, combined with the threat of Eleri’s phy shields giving out, went hand in hand with the romance, making this a dynamic read, leaving me guessing who the serial killer was I also like the brief respite we got from the overarching story which leads to more character development and a focus on the romance of the main couple with some interesting romance happening with some of the side characters!
There were some cameos from the past characters we know and love, as the world Nalini introduced us to has grown, with many intersecting characters in place. This book is a salute to her older series and will probably be one of my top favourites in this series, besides Silver Silence....more
Thank you Elleese Black for the gifted eARC in exchange for my honest review.
I have been following the Healing in Cincy series from the start3.5 star
Thank you Elleese Black for the gifted eARC in exchange for my honest review.
I have been following the Healing in Cincy series from the start of her debut novel and it has been an overall solid series to read.
This book is a sweet read. Riley and Sarah unexpectedly hooked up via a 1 nightstand and fast forward to re-meeting a year later when Riley desperately needs a publicist to save his image. Not surprisingly they were photographed together and to save Riley’s image further, they decided to fake date their way through and not surprisingly fall for each other.
If you are looking for a green flag man, I present to you Riley! From the get-go, he is in it for the long haul and there was no fake-ness in the way he treats Sarah. You could tell how much he cares for her. The support he gives her is just amazing! Scarred from the cheating ex, Sarah has closed herself off to love and wants nothing to do with it but little by little she starts falling for Riley especially with the wholesome support he gives her.
Their relationship is one of support and growth where they start taking care of one another and always supporting each other when needed and THE COMMUNICATION is so green! If you are looking for a romance book where both characters lift each other up and support each other tremendously, this book is for you!
If I have to nitpick a little, there was a scene where Sarah goes into a manic episode where she felt like Riley brushed her off - that scene was never really explored and there was no further depth added to it which I felt was a miss!
Tropes: Hockey player x publicist Reverse Age gap (23 & 29) Sports romance Spicy Mental Health rep No 3rd act breakup Cats!...more
When I saw (arecordofki), Ki’s review on this, I immediately added it to my TBR pile and wasn’t expecting to read it so soon…until (Review: 4.25 stars
When I saw (arecordofki), Ki’s review on this, I immediately added it to my TBR pile and wasn’t expecting to read it so soon…until (Hambright PR) reached out inviting me to review it. It was an instant yes from me!
Oh gosh, I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with this book, but I did! It was such a beautifully written book.
1910s, New York - Benny, a Puerto Rican blacksmith, is “stuck” in his life. He came to New York in the dying wish of his Tití Luz, hoping to get a better life, but ended up working in a dingy Brooklyn foundry. He ends up being tasked to build a huge glass tank and is indirectly roped into a scheme to capture a merman. The scheme succeeds, and the merman is meant to be the latest attraction of Luna Park’s Menagerie of Oddities exhibition. During the capture process, Benny feels beholden to save the merman and ends up joining the motley crew at Luna Park.
Benny is such a sweet character, I want to wrap him in wool and give him a hug for everything that he went through. The bond he slowly develops with Río is beautiful, and it is no surprise that they bonded, given that they are trapped in their ways. The comfort they provide to each other is so sweet, and the connection that builds together is raw and real! The spice level in this book is very minimal (kissing/touches) given that the author chooses to focus more on the relationship and emotions. The yearning in this book is heartfelt, and such aching moments leave you wanting more.
|”Can you imagine it? A liquid universe, infinite in its mysteries, and still it holds you as though you are its most precious star. A place where, no matter which sea realm surrounds you, you are always home”|
This book also touches on the found family trope with Benny’s relationship with the rest of the Menagerie members. The differences each of them brings yet the code they follow and the means they will go through for the family are so sweet and full of heart. I also love the diversity in their uniqueness and additional languages (Hindi) featured in this book.
|”Ain’t no being free on the outside unless you’re free on the inside”|
This book also hits themes like racism, power and corruption, and freedom for a debut! I also love the added illustrations the author created for the book; they were so beautiful and would capture the scenes of the book, bringing the feelsssss!
|”Your emotions are not madness. Nor are you broken. Everyone else - the cowards who taught you that keeping your heart safe meant caging it - they are broken.”|
My only critique is that I wish there were a bit more of an epilogue to tie up some loose ends (view spoiler)[such as Benny's actual circumstances (hide spoiler)]...and if the language translations can be on footnotes on the end of every chapter or the same page as opposed to it being in the back like a glossary because I didn't even know it existed!
Thank you Hambright PR for the invite to review this ARC. All thoughts are my own....more
Okkk, this is the cutest BL manga everrrr! A freshman x senior, next door neighbours. I read this one in about an hour. The art is just lovely StoryliOkkk, this is the cutest BL manga everrrr! A freshman x senior, next door neighbours. I read this one in about an hour. The art is just lovely Storyline is sweet, and cute where they met as next door neighbours, then friends and then slowly falling in love! Such a cute, sweet story about queer romance
It looks like there is a next vol coming out which I am all for but I feel like 1 book would have been sufficient...more
5 Stars (I generally do not rate memoirs since its based on one life experiences but this one is deserves it for the phenomenal writing)
However, I wa5 Stars (I generally do not rate memoirs since its based on one life experiences but this one is deserves it for the phenomenal writing)
However, I was drawn to this one for some reason and decided to read it! I have zero regrets reading it, and I finished it in 2.5 days, which was shocking since I planned a week for it!
Rachel’s story is a memoir that grips you and makes you want to continue reading. I am so invested I could not put the book down from the start to the end.
| The stories you find within these pages are drawn from the threads of my memory and stitched together with as much honesty and care as possible. Memory, of course, has its own way of telling stories - sometimes clearer, sometimes softer at the edges |
I appreciate Rachel’s frankness as she dives into her family history, from her earliest memories, which include being born a girl, growing up a sickly child with trips in/out of the hospital, the constant loneliness she feels even surrounded by family, and her parents’ lack of presence, especially growing up with a family restaurant.
Her lyrical writing approach, told in her voice and coupled with the occasional relatable elements and honesty, makes it a refreshing read.I could see many related intersecting moments of my life and went through moments of sadness, joy, fear, anger, and outrage, with some bouts of homesickness thrown in. (And I ended up calling home to speak to my dad after writing this review, hah!)
Racism is prevalent at the start of the book and plays a huge role here as she grew up in a small town in Canada where minority races stood out because they were so little representation. It followed her throughout her life and became heavily intersected with her first real relationship, leading to expected dire consequences…
Given the restaurant life, this book also touches on the concept of food and how food is love such as her parents asking her if she has eaten yet? (Definitely an Asian parent thing). The type of Chinese food normalized in Canada (chicken balls, brown fried rice, enormous spring rolls) - This was a total culture shock to me when I first came to Canada…
Rachel also explains the concept of being a ‘third culture kid,’ representing people growing up between two cultures, such as your parents’ culture and the culture of the country you live in and the struggles that she faced as they can sometimes be so different! I can also feel her pain and regrets as she loses touch with her Cantonese. Major topics such as sexuality, media portrayals of Asians, racism, mental health, her parents’ history during the war era of Vietnam and its realities, her relationships with her siblings and parents, her childhood, teen and adult struggles she faced growing up and her love life.
This book pays homage to her imperfect family and the intergenerational trauma that haunts them. In her words, this book is a love letter to her parents, who, against all odds, survived the war-era of Vietnam and came to Canada seeking a better life and a dream to build a better life, her younger self, the kids like who wants a place to belong and an ode to the restaurant her parents build and the sacrifice it warrants to live the good life.
This riveting read is a must read and I cannot recommend it enough. This book will be published on 1st April! (Please check trigger warnings if needed)
Thank you to Douglas & McIntyre, and Rachel for a media e-copy of this book! ...more
This book is adobs! Jamie would never expect for her boyfriend of 3 years, Ben to break up with her and the next thing she knows, he is moving 4 stars
This book is adobs! Jamie would never expect for her boyfriend of 3 years, Ben to break up with her and the next thing she knows, he is moving on by dating another girl. Enters Axel, who offers to help her out by fake dating as a means to get Ben back in time for the winter formal. However, along the way, Axel and Jamie falls for each other…will they end up together?
At first, I found Jamie so annoying, but she grew on me, and I understand why she is the way she is, especially coming from a broken family with an absent dad. At first, she was holding on to her relationship with Ben because it was safe…However, after being with Axel, even with fake means, she has the self-awareness to realize why her relationship with Ben is not as perfect as she thinks. She also realizes she suppresses her true self when she is with Ben and, at times, struggles to connect with her heritage because of a lack of exposure due to family circumstances.
I really like the flow of the story and how Jamie realizes that in order to continue being in a relationship, she needs to love herself first…It was so wholesome to see her accomplish most of her bucket list dates on her own and via family. This was an ode to the city of Toronto, as the book takes place there, and the beautiful places Jamie visits, such as the Rainbow Tunnel, ROM, Budweiser stage, etc. Axel is a total green flag dude. The things he does for Jamie, such as always putting her first, are so adobs. For total opposites, he definitely falls for Jamie first and falls hard. So much so that wanting to make her happy, he goes behind her back to create an opportunity for her only to realize too late that it wasn’t the smartest idea…He respects her so much, and I find their relationship so sweet and cute.
There are also mentions of mental health (anxiety attacks), positive therapy rep, pleasing one’s parents (filial piety) and rich culture, loving yourself and friendship.
My only downside at moments is I find Jamie incredibly stubborn, and due to this, some situations are more added drama to fill the book than it adds to the overallness of the plot.
I did enjoy this sweet read and it won’t be my last Jackie Khalilieh book....more
Dang, the angst and emotions just hit you with a whammy on this one. I was forewarned this would be an emotional read and was so glaReview: 3.75 stars
Dang, the angst and emotions just hit you with a whammy on this one. I was forewarned this would be an emotional read and was so glad I went in prepared. I find Time to Shine a more romcom version compared to her earlier works and was wondering if she would take us back to those feelings and was glad she did!
This one is unflinching raw and provoking, hitting just the perfect notes for a second chance romance. I’m all for older and mature MCs and the start of the story begins at such a sad note where Adam and Riley are reunited during the funeral rites of RIley’s dad. Given the interesting history between them, Riley reacts very negatively to Adam’s presence…
I love the small town dynamics and the author captures the essence of Nova Scotia. The supporting characters are great. The strong emotions of grief and angst are reflected in the first half of the book and once Adam and Riley get over their painful history and choose to forgive, the plot takes on tender and sweet moments and they work towards their future. The author captures the feels and the characters dynamics and complex perfectly for this book and showcasing the importance of mental health in this book.
My issue boils down to the characters itself…I had no love for either of them. Adam got the life he wanted while he was denying his feelings for Riley. So much so, he married a woman and also ended up cheating on her with him and started a family. And he finally showed up in Riley’s life after 20 odd years to apologize and try to fix their relationship? I don’t really buy it…Riley on the other hand, chooses to be traded to another hockey team to avoid Adam. He eventually quits hockey for good when his mental health spirals. His reaction upon seeing Adam was so negative due to his mental inability to process strong emotions can be seen as violent and I struggled with that at moments in the first half of the book.
Thank you, Harlequin Romance and NetGalley for the eARC. It was quintessentially a Rachel Reid book! ...more
This book truly has heart and is a nostalgic read….
It takes place in Busan, South Korea, featuringReview: 5 Stars
What if memory erasing is a thing….?
This book truly has heart and is a nostalgic read….
It takes place in Busan, South Korea, featuring Yena, spending the summer with her mother, Dr. Bae, the founder of Sori Clinic, which is renowned for erasing memories through sound…Her mother was worried she was too carefree in life and was disinterested in anything. Ironically, she bumps into Lucas Pak, her childhood best friend who she used to crush on whom she lost touch with 4 years ago and realizes that he has completely forgotten about her. Lucas is visiting his grandfather in Busan, who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's. He has been hunting for ways to help his grandfather and finds out about Sori Clinic’s new study on recovering memories. He was hoping to enroll his grandfather there. As the study is full, Yena offers to help Lucas get a spot as she wants to help him, having known his grandfather…Will the reconnection lead to questions being answered about why Lucas’s memory of Yena is missing, or will it lead to heartache?
Told from the perspective of both Yena and Lucas with some interludes of sounds representing their relationship, which was used to take away Lucas’ memories - it makes for a very riveting read. It was so beautiful to see how Lucas and Yena's friendship came together in a medley of sounds. It is also so joyful and sad to see Lucas and Yena still gravitating to each other with the heartache of remembrance and the confusion of loss…Their together are just lovely; their romance is so sweet yet so heart-wrenching at the same time. It’s just beautiful to watch Lucas fall for Yena again.
I could not stop reading, wanting to know what happened next. The writing was so captivating…I could “hear” the sounds of the train, the clatter of the fish market, the chimes of the bamboo forest and the lapping of waves - it feels so vivid in my mind!
Yena is a relatable character; after “losing” Lucas, she was bumbling along with no direction in life, internally afraid of living for fear of facing loss…I want to hug her so badly whenever I hear how lonely she feels, especially when she comes from a divorced family where her parents never put her first. I cheered so much for her when she finally told her mum and dad how she truly felt and would set boundaries whenever they “used” her against each other. Lucas, gosh, you can’t help but love his character! Even though he has forgotten Yena, he still feels so connected to her and can’t help but care for her. His love for his grandfather is admirable!
This book also juggles the ethics of memory erasing, and the author presents it from multiple perspectives. It’s neither good nor bad, and it highlights how important memories are the consequences the people who remember have to the people who lose their memories…and the reason people choose to erase their memories rather than live with them…
This beautiful read touches on familial relationships, memory loss, mental diseases (Alzheimer's), grief and most of all, love, with some elements of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Past Lives thrown into it.
Thank you, NetGalley and HarperCollins, for the e-ARC....more
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