Book Reviews / Top Ten Lists#ownvoices / angels / Best of 2021 / best of list / bonded-mates / class differences / enemies to lovers / f/f / Fantasy / Fantasy Romance / Forbidden Lovers / friends-to-lovers / historical romance / horror elements / India-based world / Indian characters / LGBTQIA+ / m/f / m/m / magical school / military hero / missing persons / noir mystery / Opera Singer / paranormal romance / POC / POC author / redemption / reframing / teens / Urban-Fantasy / village / werewolves / widow / YA19 Comments
It’s a cliché to comment on how quickly a year has passed and in the Covid era the months sometimes pass slowly. 2021 wasn’t an easy year so I’m glad I found some great books to make it feel a little lighter. There weren’t an entire ten but I’ve had ... more >
A Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Reads#ownvoices / captain / corporation / disability / diversity / epistolary / found family / LGBTQIA+ / loss / mother and son / music / Mysterious powers / POC / queer characters / single mother / spaceship5 Comments
Dear Simon Jimenez, This beautiful standalone science fiction novel was one of the novels on my “Best of 2020” list. I read it in December of 2020 and have put off reviewing for over a year because I felt hard put to do it justice. I’m finally taking the plunge ... more >
B Reviews / Book Reviews#ownvoices / anxiety / Bangladeshi-American / being true to oneself / Contemporary / diversity / epistolary novel / expectations / fake relationship / high-school / immigrants / multicultural romance / music / Muslim / parents / poetry / South-Asian / star-crossed lovers / YA5 Comments
Dear Tashie Bhuiyan, I picked up your romantic contemporary YA novel, Counting Down with You, after it was nominated for the Goodreads Awards in the Young Adult Fiction category. It didn’t win but I am glad it was nominated because I wouldn’t have found it otherwise. Karina Ahmed is a ... more >
Book Reviews / DNF Reviews#ownvoices / Christmas / chronic illness / Contemporary / Disabled Heroine / enemies to lovers / Hanukkah / Holiday / Jewish characters / Jewish heroine / Jewish-faith / second chance at love7 Comments
A charming debut ownvoices romcom about a chronically-ill “nice Jewish girl” with a secret career as a bestselling Christmas romance novelist who’s forced to write the first Hanukkah romance, sending her for inspiration to the Matzah Ball, a high-end Jewish music celebration run by her summer camp arch enemy. Oy! ... more >
B- Reviews / Book Reviews / C Reviews / C- Reviews#ownvoices / Alternate POV / Asian Americans / Cancer / caregiver burnout / Chinese American heroine / Contemporary / dysfunctional family / family relationships / fiction with strong romantic elements / First-Person / musician / neurodiverse / neurodiversity / POC / POC author / Vietnamese Americans / Womens-Fiction13 Comments
When violinist Anna Sun accidentally achieves career success with a viral YouTube video, she finds herself incapacitated and burned out from her attempts to replicate that moment. And when her longtime boyfriend announces he wants an open relationship before making a final commitment, a hurt and angry Anna decides that ... more >
A Reviews / A- Reviews / B Reviews Category / B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / C Reviews Category#ownvoices / amateur sleuths / book clubs / Brooklyn / childhood friends / children / civil rights / families / female friendship / Historical / India / Japanese-American history / Kentucky / librarians / Los Angeles / Memoir / mystery / POC / POC author / Reading lists / South Carolina / Womens-Fiction / YA10 Comments
I run a virtual book club for seniors, volunteering for a non-profit (check it out and see if you’d like to help, or consider participating in the national village movement closer to your home), and we take turns picking out the books we read. One of the advantages this has ... more >