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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 -
Queen of the Tiles by Hanna Alkaf
“But life, like Scrabble, is like that—you get the rack you get, and you just have to figure out how to make do.” Queen of the Tiles is an entertaining mystery romp that belongs to that subgenre of YA books that combines a whodunnit type of storyline with the kind of teen dynamics at play…
1st pov, 3.25 stars, anxiety, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, Contemporary, female authors, friendships, games, gossip & scandals, GRIEF, Hanna Alkaf, lgbtq+ side, light reads, Malaysia, Malaysian author, murder mystery, Muslim rep, My reviews, MYSTERY, mystery puzzle, non-binary side characters, published in 2022, Queen of the Tiles, read in 2022, reading, trauma, whodunnit, YOUNG ADULT -
Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw
and this was supposed to be a horror story? the only unsettling thing about this novella is that cover. Nothing But Blackened Teeth was probably my most anticipated October 2021 release, and boy, did it disappoint. I mean, given that N.K. Jemisin called it “Brutally delicious!” I went into this novella with high expectations. After…
1st pov, 2 STARS, Adult, American, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Cassandra Khaw, drama, FANTASY, female authors, ghosts/spirits, haunted house, HORROR, japan, lgbtq+, Malaysian author, My reviews, Nothing But Blackened Teeth, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, PARANORMAL, published in 2021, read in 2021, reading, wedding drama -
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
“He spoke the spell under his breath, still a little uncertain after the agonies he had endured. But magic came, ever his friend—magic answered his call.” Written in a playful pastiche style Sorcerer to the Crown will certainly appeal to fans of Susanna Clarke, Neil Gaiman, and Diana Wynne Jones. Cho’s bombastic prose, characterized by…
1800s, 1810s, 19TH CENTURY, 3rd pov, 4 STARS, academia, Adult, adventure, all girls school, alternate history, bombastic style, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, curses, DRAGONS, FAERIES, FAIRYLAND, FANTASY, FANTASY OF MANNERS, favourite authors, female authors, HISTORICAL FICTION, HUMOR, MAGIC, magic school, Malaysian author, My reviews, playful style, published in 2015, re-reads, read in 2016, read in 2021, reading, Regency era, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, Sorcerer Royal, WARLOCKS/WIZARDS, WITCHES, Zen Cho -
Edge Case by YZ Chin
“[I]f I could make Americans laugh, then I would be accepted. I would be embraced and admired.” Realistic, subtly off-beat, and keenly observed, Edge Case couples an indictment of the rampant misogyny that permeates the tech industry with an unsparing depiction of the everyday inequities and hurdles immigrants face in their pursuit of green cards…
1st pov, 3.5 STARS, Adult, ALIENATION, America, American, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, cultural dissonance, eating disorders, Edge Case, female authors, introspective, language, LITERARY FICTION, Malaysia, Malaysian author, MARRIAGE, mental health, migration/immigration, missing men, missing persons, mothers & daughters, My reviews, NEW YORK, office, PSYCHIATRISTS & THERAPISTS, psychological, published in 2021, read in 2021, reading, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, social issues, trauma, work culture, YZ Chin -
Black Water Sister by Zen Cho
Having loved Cho’s Sorcerer Royal books I was so hyped to read this…and now that I have, I am high-key disappointed. Whereas Sorcerer Royal is a fantasy of manners (a la Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell), Black Water Sister is an urban fantasy with a contemporary setting. The premise and cover for this novel definitely…
1st pov, 3 STARS, Adult, adventure, America, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Contemporary, curses, f/f, family, favourite authors, female authors, ghosts, ghosts/spirits, gods, HUMOR, intergenerational, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, Malaysia, Malaysian author, millennial, My reviews, netgalley, PARANORMAL, published in 2021, queer, read in 2021, Religion, sapphic, URBAN FANTASY, Zen Cho -
The True Queen (Sorcerer Royal #2) : Book Review
The True Queen by Zen Cho★★★★✰ 4.5 stars Now, this is what I call a great companion novel. “Relations are a terrible burden to a girl with magical ability.” It’s not easy to describe this series. A mad fantasy romp? A fantasy of manners? A pastiche of 19th-century literature?I strongly recommend reading Sorcerer to the Crown before…
19TH CENTURY, 3rd pov, 4.5 STARS, academia, Adult, adventure, alternate history, bombastic style, DRAGONS, england, f/f, FAERIES, FAIRYLAND, FANTASY, FANTASY OF MANNERS, favourite authors, lgbtq+, MAGIC, magic school, Malaysia, Malaysian author, playful style, queer, re-reads, READ IN 2019, read in 2021, Regency era, ROMANCE, royals, sapphic, SISTERS, Sorcerer Royal, The True Queen, The True Queen (Sorcerer Royal #2), Zen Cho -
THE NIGHT TIGER: BOOK REVIEW
The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo ★★★✰✰ 2.5 out of 5 stars “[His] voice was icy. He’s an ass if he can’t tell you’re obviously a virgin.” …and they say romance is dead. On paper The Night Tiger has a lot of potential but there were several things that prevent it from being a really…
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THE WEIGHT OF OUR SKY: BOOK REVIEW
The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf ★★★✰✰ 3 of 5 stars This is a promising YA debut. While there were a few elements that stopped me from being fully ‘immersed’ by the story and its characters, first I want to praise Alkaf’s depiction of OCD. The story follows Melati Ahmad who is a…
luce [is reading] 