B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended ReadsAsian heroine / female friendship / Historical Fantasy / LGBTQA / non binary / novella / POC / POC author / revenge3 Comments
With the heart of an Atwood tale and the visuals of a classic Asian period drama, Nghi Vo’s The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a tightly and lushly written narrative about empire, storytelling, and the anger of women. A young royal from the far north, is sent south for ... more >
B- Reviews / Book ReviewsAsian heroine / cats / Chef / diversity / forced proximity / New York City / POC / POC author / professor / second chance romance / self discovery / Uptown Book series2 Comments
ROOMMATE WANTED to share a gorgeous sun-filled apartment in Central Harlem. Must love cats. No ex-husbands or wives need apply. Seventeen years ago, different dreams pulled Simon Mizrahi and Lana Kuo apart. But when Lana takes a position as a chef back in Manhattan, her apartment search puts her right ... more >
A Reviews / A- Reviews / B+ Reviews / Reading Lists / Recommended Reads / Top Ten Lists#metoo / #ownvoices / 1870s / 1920s / 1970s / accountant / Agent/Spies/Undercover / arranged-marriage / Asian heroine / Asperger's / audiobook / book editor / California / class differences / Contemporary / custody battle / dragons / enemies to lovers / epistolary / f/f / Fairyland / fake relationship / family / Fantasy / farming / friends-to-lovers / gods / heroine in disguise / high-school / historical romance / Hong Kong based world / illegitimate-child / LGBTQ / Literary fiction / London / look alikes / mafia / magical powers / Malaysia / martial arts / Mexico / nobleman / Northern Ireland / nurse / POC / POC author / political intrigue / quest / Reading lists / reformed hero / Regency-based world / romantic-elements / roommates / saga / single dad / streetwise heroine / Time-Travel / Vietnam / waitress / war19 Comments
I was tempted to make a list of my favorites among the 2019-published books I read this year. In the end I decided to focus on my favorite 2019 reads (first time reads; I didn’t include books I had read / reviewed in prior years) without regard to their year ... more >
Book Reviews / C- ReviewsAsian heroine / ghosts / horror / Japan / Japanese culture / POC / POC author / SourceBooks / Young-AdultComments Off on REVIEW: The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco
Dear Ms. Chupeco, Maybe because fall is fast approaching (where did the year go?), I find myself in the mood for a horror novel. Something like Anna Dressed in Blood or The Waking Dark. When I saw your debut, The Girl from the Well, I was excited. Horror influenced by ... more >
Book Reviews / C ReviewsAsian heroine / Love-Triangle / POC / Simon & Schuster / steampunk / Young-Adult8 Comments
Dear Ms. Fine, When it comes to YA speculative fiction, I’ve been looking for something different. I’m meh about urban fantasy and paranormals. I’m just about done with dystopians. And many a science fiction title has earned my side eye, because they were dystopians in disguise! But when I read ... more >
B Reviews / Book ReviewsAsian heroine / Dragon / ghosts / Historical Fantasy / Malaysia / Paranormal / POC / POC author / William Morrow11 Comments
Dear Ms. Choo, I’m very much a genre reader. It’s not that I have anything against the more literary-minded novels. It’s just that they’re not my thing, the way westerns and soulbonded lifemates aren’t my thing. But the premise of your debut intrigued me. A paranormal novel set in late ... more >