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The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
“It seemed to me that in this confluence of cultures, we had acquired one another’s superstitions without necessarily any of their comforts.” A few years back I read and was positutely grossed out by Yangsze Choo’s The Night Tiger as I found its male love interest to be both a perv & bully. Thankfully, Yangsze…
1890s, 19TH CENTURY, 1st pov, Adult, adventure, afterlife, chinese myths, class, colonialism, dead boys, DEMONS, DRAGONS, drama, FANTASY, female authors, FOLKLORE, ghosts/spirits, girls hating girls, HISTORICAL FICTION, love triangle, Malaysia, Malaysian author, myths, PARANORMAL, published in 2013, read in 2022, ROMANCE, spirit realm, SUPERNATURAL, The Ghost Bride, Yangsze Choo -
The Dragon’s Promise by Elizabeth Lim
why are all my most anticipated 2022 releases so disappointing 😭 Please, let there be no love triangle If you’ve read my review for Six Crimson Cranes you know just how much I loved that book. While I was concerned that the sequel would include a wholly unnecessary love triangle angle, I wasn’t at all…
1st pov, 3 STARS, adventure, AMERICAN AUTHOR, bad guy is bad, BOOK REVIEWS, curses, DRAGONS, drama, Elizabeth Lim, FAIRY TALES, female authors, high fantasy, japanese inspired setting, love triangle, MAGIC, My reviews, myths, Not Like Other Girls, palace, published in 2022, read in 2022, reading, ROMANCE, royals, sea, Six Crimson Cranes, The Dragon's Promise, YOUNG ADULT -
Ophelia After All by Racquel Marie
While Ophelia After All wasn’t quite the cute & wholesome read I wanted it to be it still made for a better than okay read. The in-group drama, avoidable miscommunication, and one too many love triangles detracted from an otherwise compelling coming-of-age. If you are reading this expecting it to be a HEA romance, I…
1st pov, 3 STARS, ace side characters, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, bi side characters, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, coming of age, Contemporary, drama, female authors, friendships, HIGH SCHOOL, identity, latinx author, LGBTQ+ Author, love triangle, Ophelia After All, published in 2022, queer, Racquel Marie, read in 2022, reading, ROMANCE, SEXUALITY, social issues, unrequited love, YOUNG ADULT -
My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson
“I remember looking out at all those people, most of whom I’d seen or known over months or years—several of whom I loved. Everybody was yelling or cowering or sneering, angry or afraid.” My Monticello is a suspenseful novella that presents us with a scarily imaginable scenario (given all the alt-right & neo-nazi rallies that…
1st pov, 3 STARS, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, arc, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, cheating, Contemporary, female authors, history, love triangle, My reviews, netgalley, no quotations marks, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, published in 2021, RACE, read in 2021, reading, social issues, subject over characters/story, SUSPENSE, virginia -
Intimacies by Katie Kitamura
On paper, Intimacies is my kind of read. In actuality, well, turns out it is anything but. While it ticks all the ‘in’ boxes (an unnamed narrator, ambiguous storyline, no quotation marks), the ‘story’ and characters were dusty, dull, done-to-death. Our narrator is an interpreter who lives and works in The Hague and works for…
1st pov, 2 STARS, Adult, ambiguous protagonist, American, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, cheating, cold tone, ennui, female authors, Intimacies, japanese american author, Katie Kitamura, language, LITERARY FICTION, love triangle, My reviews, navel gazing, Netherlands, no quotations marks, published in 2021, read in 2021, reading, slow pacing, style over character, unnamed narrator -
Asleep by Banana Yoshimoto
“That feeling of security, that sweetness, that pain, that gentleness. I felt sure that every time I saw the green of the trees in my garden awash in light from the street, I’d be struck by a sudden flicker of remembrance—the tail of that soft melody—and I’d chase along behind it, as if sniffing my…
1980s, 1st pov, 3.5 STARS, Banana Yoshimoto, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, collection of short stories, DEATH, Dreams, f/f side, favourite authors, female authors, GRIEF, japan, JAPANESE AUTHOR, lgbtq+, love triangle, MAGICAL REALISM, My reviews, nostalgic reads, published in 1989, read in 2021, reading, restrained prose, short stories, summer reads, TRANSLATED FICTION, uplifting reads -
Writers & Lovers by Lily King
“I don’t write because I think I have something to say. I write because if I don’t, everything feels even worse.” In Writers & Lovers, Lily King portrays an intimate and profoundly heartfelt slice of life that brims with wry humor and precise observations on grief, loneliness, identity, and creativity. This is truly a gem…
1990s, 1st pov, 20th century, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, Adult, age gap, America, American, anxiety, bars & restaurants, beautiful prose, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about books, books about writers, BOOKS ON WRITING, BOSTON, DEATH, ennui, female authors, gay side characters, GRIEF, introspective, it’s about the *yearning*, lgbtq+ side, Lily King, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, love triangle, Massachusetts, mental health, My reviews, psychological, published in 2020, re-reads, read in 2021, read in 2022, reading, ROMANCE, she is not feeling good at all, SLICE OF LIFE, Summer, summer reads, teachers, the female malaise, uplifting reads, work culture, Writers & Lovers -
Build Your House Around My Body by Violet Kupersmith
As per usual I was swayed by a pretty cover. I mean, just look at it! Anyway, as much as I wanted to like Build Your House Around My Body, it left me feeling rather underwhelmed. The narrative seems very much intent—hellbent even—on nauseating its readers, at times adopting a playful tone to do so.…
1940s, 1980s, 2.5 STARS, 2000s, 2010s, 3rd pov, arc, Build Your House Around My Body, confusing for the sake of being confusing, creepy setting, curses, dark humor, DEATH, f/f side, female authors, FOLKLORE, ghosts/spirits, grotesque, HISTORICAL FICTION, HORROR, interconnected stories, lgbtq+ side, loneliness, love triangle, missing persons, missing women, MYSTERY, netgalley, playful style, published in 2021, queer side characters, read in 2021, revenge, sexual assault/abuse/rape, Vietnam, vietnam war, Vietnamese American Author, Violet Kupersmith -
The Mothers by Brit Bennett
“Grief was not a line, carrying you infinitely further from loss. You never knew when you would be sling-shot backward into its grip.” The first time I picked up The Mothers was back in 2017. After reading a few chapters I set aside thinking that it was not for me. And then came the advent…
2010s, 3 STARS, 3rd pov, abortion/miscarriage/bodily autonomy, affairs, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, beautiful prose, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Brit Bennett, California, cheating, Christianity, Contemporary, f/f side, family, favourite authors, female authors, female friendships, friendships, greek chorus, GRIEF, GUILT, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, love triangle, motherhood, mothers & daughters, My reviews, problematic, published in 2016, read in 2021, reading, Religion, SMALL TOWN, suicide, The Mothers -
Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust
Although I am no longer an avid YA reader, I do like to now and again pick up a YA title, especially if, like in the case of Girl, Serpent, Thorn, it promises to be sapphic. While Melissa Bashardoust’s prose is readable enough, even if it does occasionally veer into purple territories, her story and…
1st pov, 2.5 STARS, AMERICAN AUTHOR, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, curses, DEMONS, drama, f/f, FAIRY TALES, FANTASY, female authors, Girl Serpent Thorn, high fantasy, LGBTQ+ Author, love triangle, MAGIC, MELISSA BASHARDOUST, palace, persian inspired setting, published in 2020, read in 2021, RETELLINGS, ROMANCE, royals, sapphic, weak worldbuilding, YOUNG ADULT
luce [is reading] 