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 / POC / POC author / 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 / joint review / 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 >
A Reviews / A- Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Reads#ownvoices / enemies to lovers / f/f romance / Fantasy / gods / India-based world / LGBTQIA+ / magical powers / POC / POC author / prisoners / resistance/oppression / South-Asian6 Comments
Dear Tasha Suri, After enjoying Empire of Sand and Realm of Ash, your earlier duo of romantic fantasy novels set in an India-based world, I decided to request an ARC of The Jasmine Throne, the first novel in your new Burning Kingdoms trilogy. Priya is a servant in the regent’s ... more >
Book Reviews / C Reviews / C- Reviews / DNF Reviews / Reading Lists#ownvoices / contemporary fantasy / Ghost / gods / Harlequin Historical / historical romance / immigrant / long lost heiress / Malaysia / POC / POC author / Reading lists / Regency6 Comments
Black Water Sister by Zen Cho I enjoyed Zen Cho’s two books in her Sorcerer Royal series, with their lovable characters, whimsy, humor, and Heyer homages, so when I saw she had a fantasy novel set in modern-day Malaysia coming out, one that was initially billed as a third installment, ... more >