Daijah
This was the perfect cozy mystery. I loved the atmosphere in this book and while cozies still deal with murder and darker topics, something about them makes me feel so warm and “cozy” on the inside.
I love how this started off very rom-comy: cheated by long time boyfriend so she left to start fresh. She is then summoned back by her aunt to help run her family's restaurant. Back in her hometown is her her ex who has since turned into a rude food critic who constantly slanders local restaurants, including her family's. But this book quickly turns sour when the ex-boyfriend dies from poising after eating at their restaurant.
Seeing Lila's relationships with other characters in the book especially her family, was so lovely. I am not from a household that has any strong culture in it so it was really interesting to see how culture can seep into every aspect of a family. Being immersed in the Filipino culture in this book was just so amazing! I also loved her best friend and the other side characters. Some love interests were also introduced which always makes me 1000x more interested lol.
This book shined with its food descriptions from Sushi at a Japanese restaurant to American BBQ, Mexican dishes, and amazing Filipino recipes. Lila also loved to bake and her best friend worked at a coffee house next door so every food imaginable is in this mystery.
I never saw the end coming and the plot twists in this book were so perfectly planned, that everything made sense, had phenomenal timing, and were genuinely shocking. There were so many that had me reeling from surprise which is what a cozy mystery needs to do. If it can't shock you but also make sense, then it isn't doing something right.
I think a lot of people aren't as big of a fan because this is their first cozy mystery and they're more used to thrillers but I already had a bit of experience in the genre and knew what to expect going in which made me like it a lot more. I would highly recommend this novel if going in you understand this isn't a traditional thriller that's going to scare you or make your heart pound. It'll make you feel cozy while having a splash of murder.
Thank you to Berkley Publishing, Mia P. Manansala, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Idk wtf I just read. This was absolutely disgusting and disturbing but you know me, I'm quirky and like shit like that lmao. This made me sick to my freaking stomach and that's the reaction I wanted from a lot of horror that advertising doing that, but just didn't for me.
I didn't give this a full 5 stars because I honestly wish there was more. I understand why it ended where it did but I really want more lol.
The synopsis of this book pulled me in and definitely lived up to expectations. I love sports romances but have never read a boxing romance so it was nice to finally check off that box! This also had a really interesting twist on the sub-genre that I really enjoyed.
We follow our main character Isla, who is the daughter of a profound ex-boxer. After seeing how boxing not only destroyed her family but also the physical impacts it had on her dad, she made one rule for herself — no dating or working with a boxer. She works as a physiotherapist to help other athletes with the brutality put on their body and opened her own practice to make sure she never had any clients that were boxers.
When her dad reveals to her that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, cause by his career in boxing he asks her to help as a cover up and physiotherapist on a six weeks trip to Vegas. He will be training the lightweight championship contender Brick and she feels compelled to go. What she didn't know was that behind the public persona of a grunting, barbarian brute lives a poetry loving and highly intellectual man.
I loved Isla and Eric in this so much and how Kelly Siskind was able to create such complex characters. Boxing is what Eric needs to survive. Not because he loves it but because he has to take care of his family and boxing provides money without a degree. The same sports is Isla's bane of existence and causes her immense anxiety. They stood at an impossible crossroads, but their chemistry was just too intense to pass up.
The mental health journey that was explored in here was so amazing, and I didn't know it would dive into such serious topics like immigration, supporting a family, divorce, panic attacks, and Parkinson's, but I think they were all handled so well without making the book too deep. Kelley Siskind achieved a lighthearted book that explored serious topics.
I did have a couple issues that made me knock the book down a star. I didn't like the whole plot line with Preston just because I think it made the book too long. It was a bit repetitive and the whole mid-section could have been cut down by 50ish pages. I also felt like at times this book tried a little too hard to be poetic but other times it really hit perfectly.
I love how the characters both changed their perspectives on live because of the other, and the came to a compromise. Their love wasn't easy, and they really had to work for it. Their love was extremely beautiful, and the writing was extremely brilliant.
Thank you to Xpresso Book Tours, Kelly Siskind, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Peppathon 2021: popular book, backlist, & fast-paced
This was okay and I definitely want to read more from Agatha Christie but I really did get bored at times and felt like it dragged on too long for what the book is. Considering this book is short as it is, that really isn't a positive.
Trigger warnings: racism, death, infidelity, murder, and suicidal thoughts
Swoon Sister's Book Club Pick - April 2021
I had a good time reading this book especially in the beginning because the concept is amazing. The conflict and misunderstandings went on a little too long for my taste and I started to get bored with it. Overall, a solid read but definitely could have cut back on the angst a little bit.
Buddy Read with Nicole from Who Picked This Book?
I really enjoyed the mystery in this and the romance. The end had me shook beyond belief and definitely bumped the rating up a ton because I had issues. I hated 75% of the perspectives because they were from crusty men, but I understand why they were in there. I also wish there was a lot more romance development instead of focusing on the whiny men's perspectives for 300 pages.
Stacks of Strange Book Club Pick - March
Going in I had no idea what this book was about, and I really enjoyed it! While this book didn't have much plot or thriller elements I don't think it needed it. It really worked with just exploring the characters and the situations/emotions between them! This book will be discussed in much greater depth in the liveshow!
Swoon Sister's Book Club Pick - March 2021
I didn't think I would enjoy this book as much as I did especially from the first chapter, but I absolutely ADORED it! The writing and the character thoughts had me actually laughing out loud. The steam was so perfect. The feminist commentary that was woven in was done amazing especially considering the book still had a light hearted feel.
I also loved that there were so many tropes in here because I'm a trope fiend. I didn't know this was a hockey romance first of all which is my favorite type of sport romance! It was also opposites attract, roommate, and best friend's brother. All of them fit together so well without being overwhelming.
The main character was so relatable for me even though I'm not into the same things as her, I really felt the ADHD was amazing! I also related to being underestimated and actually having multiple aspects/sides to her personality that aren't always shown. AND FITZY?! “Alexa play My Type by City Girls!” He literally was my type copy and past and I adored him so much.
Read for Bookoplathon 2021 - 48 hour round
This book honestly did nothing wrong. I just started it for school back in November and my teacher made everything hella confusing. We never finished it, so it literally took 4 months to finish which also made me not like it as much as I should have. The concept was amazing despite all of that, and hopefully I'll reread it in a couple of years when I'm more distant from the traumatic experience that was AP Lit.
Read for Bookoplathon 2021 - 48 hour round
I wanted to love this book so much more than I did. I still enjoyed my time with this book especially the end, but this just didn't connect with me. As a biracial, queer human myself I just feel like that experience and emotions are so nuance and complex. This book glossed over everything because it was so quick. It didn't go into Michael's emotions as much as I would have liked and because of the way the writing is done. This book will be incredibly invaluable for young mixed race, queer teenagers and also white people but for me, it didn't do much. It's not even that I didn't connect but that I felt that there wasn't enough substance to even connect to.
I appreciate this book for what it is, and I will recommend it to others, but I think there are other YA books that explore these ideas a bit better and more in-depth.
Read for Bookoplathon 2021 - 48 hour round
I really did enjoy this novella especially the historical and commentary elements. I didn't like the fantasy bits nearly as much, and it's because they weren't developed as much. There was a time skip that made the readers miss a lot, and I would have preferred to have seen that. This also wasn't as horrific in the traditional sense like I expected and is more a fantasy to me than horror. I'm not familiar with Lovecraft's works, so I can't attest to that, but I understood what was going on the whole time. In general, I would recommend this to people looking for people looking for a dark fantasy/horror with racial commentary!
Read for Bookoplathon 2021 - 48 hour round
For being so short this novella was packed with content. I loved everything about it. From the characters to the racial commentary to the sexual tension to the estranged sibling relationship. This book set up the rest of the series so well and I'm honestly itching to continue on!
Read for the Kindle Clearout Readathon 2021 & Read for Bookoplathon 2021 - 48 hour round
I think this book with to be absolutely perfect for somebody and while I really enjoyed it, it wasn't perfect for me.
I loved everything about the way grief was handled in this book. I personally have never dealt with a loss like the main character, but it also deals with the loss of a love. That is something so many people can relate to, and it just connected with me. The descriptions of Anna's emotions were just so raw and real. It really made me tear up at some points.
I also think disability was handled in here amazingly. I am not a disabled myself, but my dad is and while his disability is different from the character's he has a similar mentality. This book really showed how just because someone develops a disability doesn't mean their life is over or that they can't keep doing the things they love. It really hit me in a soft spot.
The themes in here were ones I needed to hear and that I have been experiencing myself lately, This book dove into how being alone is okay and while you may care for people and want them in your life, doesn't mean you need them. I'm not super into theme heavy books, but this one really connected with me.
The reasons I didn't love this book was because it was so short. I feel like the relationships and characters didn't have time to fully develop, so I didn't really feel attached to them. I like how the romance effected the main character, but I wasn't connected to it in a traditional sense. I feel like this would have been better for me if the romance was more developed, or it ended on a bit of a bitter-sweet note.
I would highly recommend this book because of the themes it covers, and I think a lot of people will connect with it like I did.
Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin, Trish Doller, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Read for the Kindle Clearout Readathon 2021
sigh when I tell y'all trying to nail down my rating for this book was so difficult, it really was. I really loved the last third of this book and the writing, but there were also a lot of issues I had with it.
Firstly, my main positive for this book is that I loved how realistic it seemed in regards to the whole relationship and the breaking up. Almost every contemporary romance has a third act breakup or on and off throughout the whole book. This book did that amazing. It made sense to me why the characters couldn't be together, and their issues weren't just thrown in there to create tension that wasn't needed.
I also really loved the podcast element because we got to see more of Dominic and how he acts. I loved the banter that happened and podcasts are one of my favorite things. I really think it added so much to the book
The romance and tension was also amazing, but it did feel a bit more like lust than romance. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing. I just wish there was a little bit more build up and chemistry because a lot of the book felt sudden. I was here for the steam and the smut, so I didn't mind that it was sudden, but I think that neither character was flushed out a ton, so it made their relationship fall a bit flat.
I really enjoyed Dominic's character, or what little we did have. He definitely could have been improved upon because he wasn't super 3 dimensional, but I loved everything we saw about him. His little beanie babies collection was the cutest and I loved the fact at some point he was actually annoying because it's realistic. I get annoyed with people I have an interest in all the time, and it's like affectionate annoyance.
But can I just say I absolutely despised Shay. She is one of the most annoying romance characters I've ever read. This girl's personality was literally her being insecure. Like ma'am I understand we all have insecurities but honey that is not a personality trait. She was so dry and had the personality of paper. I also feel like her in the office, her around her friends, and her in bed were 3 different characters. While Dominic had a switch from being office Dominic to chilling Dominic that felt natural, Shay just didn't.
I feel l like Shay also created a lot of unnecessary conflict with Dominic and her friends. I totally get being irritated and frustrated, but also you need to be understanding. That's something I'm still working on but Shay I feel like should know that for being in her late 20s. She honestly acted like a 15-year-old with a house. She was so complainy, and she just brought down everything in the book for me.
The steamy scenes were good for me, but the audiobook narrator honestly needed to chill. She was getting a little too into the scenes and the sound effects were not a personal favorite for me, but I did appreciate how the steam was done besides that.
Overall, there were parts of this I really enjoyed. I really liked the grief plotline that was woven in the book as well. But I can't get over the fact that Shay was so annoying, and I just didn't connect with her at all which is why I took off over a star.
Thank you to Berkley Publishing, Rachel Lynn Solomon, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.