![luce [is reading]](https://wishfullyreading.files.wordpress.com/2023/01/9429655-1.jpeg){kind=small}
-
ひらやすみ (Hirayasumi) #1 by Keigo Shinzo
Hirayasumi is a wonderful slice of life manga that will definitely appeal to fans of the iyashikei sub-genre. There is a lulling, comforting even, quality to the Shinzo’s storytelling, from his characters to his art style. With little preamble the manga explores every-day experiences of its central characters, giving insight into their lives and the…
Adult, adulthood, ART/CREATIVITY, ARTISTS, ひらやすみ, Contemporary, existentialism, friendships, Hirayasumi, HUMOR, Iyashikei, japan, JAPANESE AUTHOR, Keigo Shinzo, light reads, male artists, male authors, manga, published in 2021, read in 2022, Sequential Art, SLICE OF LIFE, tokyo, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, uplifting reads, youth -
If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery
“I’d be able to move out of my car and rent my own apartment; I could live like a fully formed twenty-first-century North American human. I needed this.” Being a big fan of collections of short stories following the same character/s, I was keen to read If I Survive You. Each chapter in this debut…
1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 20th century, 3 STARS, Adult, adulthood, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, belonging, Black & Black heritage authors, black diaspora, brothers, Caribbean, CHILDHOOD, collection of short stories, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), drama, family, fathers & sons, FLORIDA, gritty realism, growing up, HIGH SCHOOL, homelessness, HUMOR, interconnected stories, intergenerational, jamaica, Jonathan Escoffery, LITERARY FICTION, male authors, masculinity, Miami, migration/immigration, music band, natural disasters, PRIVILEGE, published in 2022, RACE, read in 2022, satire, short stories, snapshots, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, work culture -
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
This makes for a very wholesome read that will definitely appeal to fans of T.J. Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea. Set in Britain, we follow Mika Moon, a witch who has learnt to live an isolated life in order to successfully hide her magic from others. Like other witches, she is an orphan…
3 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, british indian author, cheesy, Contemporary, cozy mystery, england, FANTASY, female authors, found family, gay side characters, grumpy/sunshine dynamic, HUMOR, lgbtq+ side, light reads, m/m side, MAGIC, NORFOLK, orphans, playful style, published in 2022, queer side characters, read in 2022, ROMANCE, Sangu Mandanna, sitter/au pair/governess, teachers, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, WITCHES -
Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao
Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor is an engaging start to an action-driven fantasy series that is written in a winsome prose that is guaranteed to appeal to fans of Rick Riordan. Like Riordan’s books, Zhao combines an action-driven quest with a coming of age tale exploring the highs and lows of being a 12yr…
3.5 STARS, 3rd pov, action, adventure, asian american, battles, belonging, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, bullying, China, chinese canadian author, coming of age, Contemporary, FANTASY, gaming, history, HUMOR, identity, KIDS WITH POWERS, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, middle grade, middle school, Muslim rep, myths, near future/alternate reality, playful style, published in 2022, queer, quests, read in 2022, reading, social issues, technology, travel, URBAN FANTASY, Xiran Jay Zhao, Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor -
Mad about You by Mhairi McFarlane
2022 is proving to be an underwhelming reading year. With the exception of Either/Or by Elif Batuman and re-reads, I have only dished out 3, 2 and even a few 1 star ratings. So, when I got an arc for Mad About You I was convinced that McFarlane would be the one to break this…
1st pov, 3 STARS, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, Adult, BOOK REVIEWS, British author, Contemporary, drama, england, favourite authors, female authors, gay side characters, HUMOR, lgbtq+ side, light reads, Mad About You, MARRIAGE, My reviews, orphans, published in 2022, read in 2022, reading, ROMANCE, romcom, toxic relationships, wedding drama -
The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka
The first two chapters of The Swimmers, ‘The Underground Pool’ and ‘The Crack’ are highly reminiscent of the author’s acclaimed The Buddha in the Attic. Like that novel The Swimmers at first seems to implement a playful choral ‘we’ as our perspective. The ‘we’ in question are the people who regularly swim at a local…
3 STARS, Adult, ageing, Alzheimer, America, asian american, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about writers, Contemporary, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), female authors, gay side characters, greek chorus, GRIEF, HUMOR, interconnected stories, japanese american author, lgbtq+ side, MEMORY, mothers & daughters, My reviews, place as character, playful style, published in 2022, read in 2022, reading, satire, self-inserts, sports, subject over characters/story, The Swimmers -
Joan Is Okay by Weike Wang
Studying so much had its consequences. It caused me to wonder, for instance, if I might be a genius. Bursting with wry humor and insight Joan Is Okay makes for a quick and quirky read about a woman who doesn’t want to change to fit in with society’s standards. In spite of what the people…
1st pov, 3.25 stars, Adult, America, American, American dream, asian american, China, chinese american author, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, doctors, family, female authors, GRIEF, HOSPITAL, HUMOR, intergenerational, introspective, Joan Is Okay, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, medical, mental health, migration/immigration, Neurodiversity, NEW YORK, pandemic, published in 2022, quirky reads, read in 2022, sardonic humor, siblings, SLICE OF LIFE, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, weike wang, work culture -
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
Having recently enjoyed reading Kevin Kwan’s A Room With A View re-telling, I was seriously expecting to love Crazy Rich Asians. I went into it hoping for a light-hearted and fun read but was instead met with a snooze-inducing story, a horrid cast of poorly developed characters, and an abundance of crass humor. I grew…
2 STARS, 2010s, 3rd pov, Adult, affairs, America, American, asian american, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, bullying, cheating, China, class, Contemporary, Crazy Rich Asians, cultural dissonance, drama, girls hating girls, gossip & scandals, hong kong, HUMOR, kevin kwan, LGBTQ+ Author, male authors, MARRIAGE, MELODRAMA, My reviews, NEW YORK, Not Like Other Girls, playful style, published in 2013, read in 2022, reading, rich people, romcom, singapore, singaporean, singaporean american author, wedding drama -
The Maid by Nita Prose
edit: after some reflection i have decided to lower my rating as i am frustrated by the way autistic-coded Nina is presented as so exaggeratedly ‘quirky’ & ‘naive’, someone who we will inevitably find ‘endearing’ The Maid could have been a solid escapist read. This is less of a cozy whodunnit than a ‘trying hard too hard…
1st pov, 2 STARS, Adult, arc, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, bullying, canadian author, Contemporary, cozy mystery, CRIME, female authors, friendships, grandmothers, hotel, HUMOR, light reads, loneliness, maids, MURDER, My reviews, MYSTERY, netgalley, Neurodiversity, Nita Prose, read in 2022, reading, SUSPENSE, The Maid, unnamed country, whodunnit, work culture -
Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan
In many ways Sex and Vanity was exactly the pulpy light-hearted read I was in dire need of. Kevin Kwan’s engrossing and entertaining storytelling made me speed through his book and I ended up finishing it in less than a day. As retellings go, this manages to be both (fairly) faithful and rather refreshing. What…
1st pov, 2010s, 3.5 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, America, American, asian american, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, cheating, class, Contemporary, dialogue heavy, drama, E.M. Forster, family, gossip & scandals, holidays, HUMOR, Italy, kevin kwan, LGBTQ+ Author, light reads, Long Island, male authors, MARRIAGE, My reviews, NEW YORK, new york state, PRIVILEGE, published in 2020, read in 2021, reading, RETELLINGS, rich people, ROMANCE, romcom, satire, Sex and Vanity, singaporean american author, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, summer reads, travel, wedding drama
luce [is reading] 