Real Men Knit 5 stars Genre: Contemporary romance I love the premise of this book with the Strong brothers running a yarn shop. This slow-burn romance really works with the two main leads. More than that, I really appreciated how Jackson weaves in authenticity about Harlem, the myriad obstacles facing the characters, and the strength of community.A winner of a romance, woven with sweet heat and much heart Find more of my book ratings and reviews here. … [Read more...]
Book Review: Iced in Paradise
Iced in Paradise 5 stars Genre: Contemporary cozy mystery Hirahara pens an excellent ice-cold murder mystery in Iced in Paradise, her first book in the new Leilani Santiago series. As always, Hirahara does an excellent job of infusing interesting historical and contemporary details into her story. I particularly like the insider’s perspective on living in the Islands as opposed to the typical Mainlander view. All the characters in the novel are strong and unique. Leilani, the … [Read more...]
#BookReview: Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune
5 stars Genre: Magical realism Pros: Strong weaving in of cultural observationsPoetic and lyricalBonus recipes Cons: Appears to be a predictable narrative (but stick with it!) Absolutely loved this book! Lim's lyrical prose really draws you in. I love the magical aspects of this book and all the cultural details artfully woven into it.To be honest, I thought this book might be very straight-forward, with its transformative recipes. I was very glad to be proven wrong and … [Read more...]
#BookReview: Children of Blood and Bone
Children of Blood and Bone 5 stars Genre: YA fantasy Pros: West African influence Modern-day parallelRefreshing boy-girl take Cons: Reckless choices by a character I loved the Children of Blood and Bone. The world is set in such a vivid way, with accurate turmoil shown and interesting types of people portrayed. (I also liked that Adeyemi tried to parallel modern day dynamics in her fantasy world.) Although there were changing perspectives because of the frequent … [Read more...]
#BookReview: Cinder
"You have an unusual magnetic personality." Cinder 5 stars Pros: A new kind of fairy tale retelling Smart and spunky protagonist Introduction of new races and interweaving of other fairy tale characters Cons: Changes the fairy tale quite a bit, especially the ball It’s been a long time since I’ve invested in a series, but The Lunar Chronicles is an excellent group of books to read. I’ve seen Cinder around but didn’t get to it on my TBR list because of the time investment … [Read more...]