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Soledad by Angie Cruz
“Could it be that that’s just the way things go between people? Irreconcilable differences, which can’t really be explained or solved.” What could have been a polyphonic tragicomedy exploring trauma, abusive and dysfunctional relationships, generational and cultural divides, sex, love, and desire, is let down by a cast of cartoonish characters, repetitive dialogues and interactions,…
1990s, 2000s, 20th century, abuse, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, adolescence, Adult, America, Angie Cruz, Contemporary, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), Dominican American author, dominican republic, drama, Dreams, family, female authors, girlhood, grandmothers, illness, intergenerational, jealousy, latin america, latin american, latin american diaspora, latinx author, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+ side, MAGICAL REALISM, MELODRAMA, men who are sleazy, migration/immigration, motherhood, mothers & daughters, navel gazing, NEW YORK, no quotations marks, published in 2001, read in 2023, sex, sex scenes that are yikes, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SEXUALITY, Soledad, style over character, trauma, trying and failing @ feminism, unrequited love, womanhood/femininity -
Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm by Laura Warrell
Between Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm and The Ten Loves of Mr. Nishino I have now come to the conclusion that books about sleazy womanizers and the women who at some point or other loved them are not for me. Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm appealed to me because I find that ensemble-cast books usually make for…
2 STARS, Adult, affairs, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, bad love, Black & Black heritage authors, BOSTON, cheating, Contemporary, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), divorce/separations, drama, fathers & daughters, female authors, female solidarity…where?, FLORIDA, Laura Warrell, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, Massachusetts, MELODRAMA, men who are sleazy, Miami, music, musicians, polyphonic, pregnancy, published in 2022, queer side characters, read in 2022, ROMANCE, sex, sex scenes that are yikes, SEXUALITY, snapshots, Sweet Soft Plenty Rhythm, toxic relationships, unrequited love -
Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok
Despite the many moments of poignancy that appear throughout the course of Searching for Sylvie Lee, the novel is ultimately diminished by unnecessary melodrama and convoluted (yet predictable) soap-opera-ish twists. At its heart Searching for Sylvie Lee is a family drama about long-held family secrets. The narrative switches between three points of view: a mother and her two…
1st pov, 3 STARS, Adult, America, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, chinese american author, Contemporary, DEATH, drama, family, female authors, gay side characters, grandmothers, incest, Italy, Jean Kwok, lgbtq+ side, MELODRAMA, migration/immigration, missing persons, missing women, musicians, My reviews, MYSTERY, Netherlands, NEW YORK, published in 2019, read in 2022, reading, Searching for Sylvie Lee, secretiveness, SISTERS, suicide -
The World Cannot Give by Tara Isabella Burton
this is my fault. i should know by now that titles claiming to have dark academia or sapphic vibes should be approached with extreme caution. DISCLAIMER: I did not like this book and my review reflects of that. I will be brutally honest about my thoughts on this novel so if you want to read…
1 STAR, 3rd pov, academia, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, ANGST, boarding/private school, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about writers, cheesy, Christianity, cliques, Contemporary, dark academia, drama, eating disorders, f/f side, female authors, horrible friends, lesbian side characters, Longing, maine, MELODRAMA, music, My reviews, MYSTERY, obsession, philosophical, published in 2022, queer, read in 2022, reading, Religion, sex, SEXUALITY, SUSPENSE, Tara Isabella Burton, teen angst, The World Cannot Give, toxic relationships, unrequited love, weak prose, weak worldbuilding -
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 -
Honor by Thrity Umrigar
Previously to reading Thrity Umrigar’s Honor I’d read another novel with the same title and subject matter. Both books make for harrowing reads, however, whereas I found Elif Shafak’s more thoughtful tone to be more appropriate to the subject fitting, here, well, Umrigar’s undermines her social commentary by throwing into the mix a rushed romantic…
2.5 STARS, Adult, American, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, class, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), distressing reads, female authors, graphic content, hinduism, Honor, honor killings, India, indian american author, insta love, Islam, journalism, MELODRAMA, MURDER, My reviews, PRIVILEGE, published in 2022, read in 2022, reading, Religion, revenge, ROMANCE, Thrity Umrigar, trauma, violence, violence against women -
Love and Other Natural Disasters by Misa Sugiura
For the love of Jupiter, Nozomi was such a detestable main character. It had been a while since I so wholeheartedly hated and rooted against the main character of a novel…but here we go. Love and Other Natural Disasters is the kind of romance YA novel that pretends to critique and be self-aware of the…
1st pov, 2 STARS, America, American, ANGST, bi side characters, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books i hate, California, Contemporary, drama, ENEMIES TO LOVERS, f/f, fake dating, female authors, japanese american author, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, Love and Other Natural Disasters, love quadrangle, MELODRAMA, Misa Sugiura, My reviews, published in 2021, queer, read in 2021, reading, rom-coms, ROMANCE, sapphic, YOUNG ADULT -
I’ll Be Right There by Shin Kyung-sook
“Is this life? Is this why the relentless passing of time is both regretful and fortunate?” I feel rather conflicted about I’ll Be Right There. The first two chapters certainly held my attention and some of the discussions that occur later in the narrative were thought-provoking, but, alas, many of the dialogues came across as…
1980s, 3 STARS, academia, Adult, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, DEATH, drama, eating disorders, female authors, friendships, GRIEF, HISTORICAL FICTION, I'll Be Right There, Korea, Korean, korean author, loneliness, MELODRAMA, MEMORY, mental health, My reviews, published in 2010, read in 2021, reading, Seoul, Shin Kyung-Sook, suicide, TRANSLATED FICTION, trauma, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE -
What’s Mine and Yours by Naima Coster
Riding the coattails of Little Fires Everywhere and The Vanishing Half, What’s Mine and Yours not only tells a blow-by-blow predictable tale but one that failed to entertain or elicit any feeling other than frustration in this particular reader. What’s Mine and Yours, ya basic. To call the writing in this novel ‘prose’ seems misleading…
1990s, 2 STARS, 2000s, 2010s, 3rd pov, abortion/miscarriage/bodily autonomy, affairs, America, American, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, cheating, class, Contemporary, Dominican American author, drama, f/f side, family, female authors, FRANCE, HIGH SCHOOL, HISTORICAL FICTION, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+ side, MARRIAGE, MELODRAMA, motherhood, mothers & daughters, My reviews, Naima Coster, North Carolina, Paris, published in 2021, RACE, read in 2021, reading, SISTERS, social issues, weak prose, What's Mine and Yours -
Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
How to describe Queenie? Cringe comedy without the comedy meets misery porn? Unfunny caricatures galore? Low-key offensive towards ethnic minorities? Look, I knew that Queenie would not be like Bridget Jones, and to be honest, that is a plus in my books (i watched the film adaptation when i first moved to britain and i…
1st pov, abortion/miscarriage/bodily autonomy, abuse, Adult, anxiety, bad love, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, British author, Candice Carty-Williams, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, drama, england, female authors, LONDON, MELODRAMA, mental health, millennial, My reviews, office, published in 2019, Queenie, RACE, read in 2021, sex, social issues, toxic relationships, trauma, work culture
luce [is reading] 