Book Reviews / C+ Reviewsdeath / England / funeral / Indonesia / Japan / Madagascar / Mexico / multicultural / Nepal / non-fiction / Sicily / Thailand / USA3 Comments
Journalist Erica Buist travels to seven death festivals around the world (Nepal, Madagascar, Indonesia, Sicily, Japan, Mexico and New Orleans) in search of better attitudes towards death After the death of her father-in-law, journalist Erica Buist decided to travel to seven death festivals around the world, in an attempt to ... more >
Book Reviews / C+ Reviews#ownvoices / 1950s / Gothic / haunted house / horror / Mexico / POC / POC author / romantic-elements / socialite5 Comments
Trigger warning: Dear Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Gods of Jade and Shadow, your 2019 fantasy novel, was terrific, and Untamed Shore, your noir thriller from earlier this year was also good. I don’t usually care for horror novels but I have enjoyed gothics, so when I learned about Mexican Gothic, your new ... more >
B Reviews / Recommended Reads#ownvoices / 1970s / coming-of-age / crime novel / Deception / Mexico / noir / POC / POC author / Suspense / villageNo Comments
PLEASE NOTE: It’s almost impossible to discuss this novel’s strengths and weaknesses without giving away spoilers, so if you prefer not to be spoiled, read no further. Dear Silvia Moreno-Garcia, I don’t generally read crime novels, but the description of Untamed Shore as a “novel of suspense with an eerie ... 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 >
A- Reviews / Recommended Reads#ownvoices / 1920s / Fantasy / gods / love story / Mexico / POC / POC author / quest / strong heroine17 Comments
Please note: The following review contains some spoilers. Dear Ms. Moreno-Garcia, It was the setting of your new fantasy novel, Gods of Jade and Shadow, that first caught my attention. I had never read a book set in 1920s Mexico before. This one also promised to feature a young woman ... more >
A- Reviews / Recommended ReadsGay / Historical fiction / Mexico / multicultural / revolutionary war5 Comments
Dear Michael Nava: I’m a huge fan of the Henry Rios mysteries, and when I saw that the same author had an upcoming historical novel set in early 20thC Mexico, I knew I wanted to read it. Despite my eagerness, though, I started and set aside the book at least ... more >