Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary digital ARC. This has not influenced my review or rating of this book, and I was not compensated.
So this series seems really hit or miss for people but I love it. It gives me a lot of the warm and empathy you get from Louise Penny without some of the heavy-handedness, and I truly love all the characters. I thought this one was even better than the first book because you're familiar with the cast of characters and can dive right into the mystery. Plus there were lots of twists and turns in this one that kept me guessing.
This book was invaluable to me as a college junior, and I figured it was due for a reread as I figure out what I'm doing with my career as it relates to academics. Some may find Newport's approach obvious but it reinforces the building blocks of what makes for a less stressful collegiate career. (Others may critique his overemphasis on elite colleges but ah well.)
Still an absolute go-to and one I would get for any college student today.
This book was brutal but beautiful, navigating haenyeo, han, comfort women, and Japanese occupation and suppression of Korea in the 20th century. As you can imagine, many trigger warnings related to comfort women. I thought the author deftly handled the complexities of WWII, the Jeju Massacre, and the Korean War, and also bringing other countries and territories into the dialogue without trying to assert expertise.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
It pains me to say this since I thought Shelter was a phenomenal read, but this book tries to do too much. It attempts to cover: fracking, the impact of oil money disrupting traditional communities, rural/urban dynamics, absentee parent/family issues, sexism and misogyny (including academic sexual harassment, rape, and assault), racism (being biracial, the experience of Native Americans, and more), and the rise of white supremacy. Ultimately we end up with a very uneven book where instead of interlacing these areas with the complexity they deserve, we end up with pockets of topics that start and stop with little cohesiveness.
I also found Elinor an unsympathetic main character who reminded me a lot of the MC in The Flight Attendant.
2021 review:
I forgot how bananas the plot gets around page 110 or so. Easy's internal observations especially in the first part of the book are phenomenal, but the action scenes, character development, and sex-adjacent plots were a bit much. Bumping down to 3 stars.
2017 review:
4 stars. If you enjoy Sherlock Holmes or are a more recent fan of Joe Ide's Isaiah Quintabe novels, pick up the first volume in the Easy Rawlins series. Based in L.A., Easy gets pulled into a seemingly simple task that becomes more more involved. The bodies pile up. But what's really at play?
To be honest, I didn't love the actual plot of this story. I felt like it was overly complicated and involved too many nefarious would-be villains but for a seemingly simple end. However, I loved Easy Rawlins as a character - his insights on things, his pride over his home, and his complicated back story in Houston and as a former WWII GI.
Thank you Feiwel & Friends and NetGalley for the e-ARC! This has not influenced my review one way or the other.
Ahhhh I love Hur's books so much. They're atmospheric and twisty, but they also get into cultural and societal aspects of historical Korea without drowning the reader in facts. Plus they're just straight-up good mysteries. The Red Palace lived up to expectations and exceeded them, even giving readers a touch of romance without it becoming a distraction to the story.
- Loved the royal intrigue and palace politics in this book
- Getting a chance to see what women's lives are like between 1400-1800 Korea is really neat; there are surprisingly more professions women may pursue than you would think
- All of Hur's books are standalones so you don't need to read them in order
Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for the digital ARC. I wasn't compensated for this review, and all opinions are my own.
Wow, this memoir. I think I was worried that the book would be much more focused on Zauner's musical career (which didn't interest me that much, as I didn't even know who Japanese Breakfast was before I heard about this book). But it ended up being this beautiful, complex, at times painful book about mother-daughter relationships, grief, food, what it means to be part of two cultures at once (but never really enough). At no point was this book over the top or sickly-sweet. But it was also pretty raw. Definitely a memorable book that I will be purchasing for my shelf.
Thank you to NetGalley and Rick Riordan Presents/Disney-Hyperion for the digital ARC of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own and influenced by the gifted copy.
This book starts off with a simple plot. Riley is the only one in her family lacking elemental magic (and is adopted), and she cooks up an idea with her sister Hattie to split Hattie's magic so Riley can truly be part of the community. And then things go awry.
I had a great time learning about aspects of Korean mythology in a fun, half-magical, half-quotidian plot. While this book is shelved in middle-grade, I'd suggest this for more mature young readers as there's a fair bit of violence and danger. I look forward to reading the sequel!
Thanks Penguin Teen and NetGalley for both the digital ARC and finished physical copy. This has not influenced my review one way or the other.
While I don't tend to read a lot of historical YA or even YA romance, I really loved this book. Last Night at the Telegraph Club is a love letter to San Francisco, a cautionary tale about xenophobia and homophobia, a young woman's coming of age, and more. I thought Lo did a great job weaving in historical elements by showing instead of telling, and Lily's character development as she navigates friendships, family, and love felt very organic and rich.