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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, Childrens, 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 -
The Embassy of Cambodia by Zadie Smith
This is the first story I read by Zadie Smith that I actually didn’t hate. In fact, one could even say that I quite liked The Embassy of Cambodia. Smith’s adroit storytelling is characterised by a razor-sharp social commentary and a trenchant sense of humor. While I was overall able to appreciate this short story, […]
3 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, Black & Black heritage authors, British author, class, Contemporary, england, female authors, LITERARY FICTION, LONDON, migration/immigration, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, politics, PRIVILEGE, published in 2013, RACE, read in 2021, rich people, satire, short stories, sitter/au pair/governess, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, The Embassy of Cambodia, ZADIE SMITH -
Win Me Something by Kyle Lucia Wu
Weirdly enough, at first, I rather disliked this book but, the more I read, the more I found myself warming up to its protagonist Willa Chen.I initially picked this book up because of its ‘nanny’ premise as Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid and Nothing To See Here by Kevin Wilson are all-time favourites of mine. After […]
1st pov, 4 STARS, Adult, ALIENATION, America, American, asian american, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, chinese american author, class, coming of age, Contemporary, female authors, food & cooking, introspective, Kyle Lucia Wu, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, My reviews, navel gazing, new jersey, NEW YORK, PRIVILEGE, published in 2021, re-reads, read in 2021, read in 2022, reading, rich people, sitter/au pair/governess, the female malaise, win me something -
Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King
“You become a creature I can’t understand, my mother sometimes said to me.” Having loved Lily King’s Writers & Lovers I was looking forward to reading more of her work and I can happily say (or write) that her first-ever collection of short stories did not disappoint. More often than not I find short story […]
4 STARS, Adult, age gap, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, books about writers, collection of short stories, Contemporary, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), family, favourite authors, female authors, holidays, introspective, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, m/m side, rich people, short stories, sitter/au pair/governess, Summer, summer reads, unrequited love -
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Such a Fun Age is a engaging, if ultimately frustrating, read. The premise brought to mind two favorites of mine (Lucy and Luster, both focus on young black women living with white middle-class couples and taking ‘care’ of their child). Given the buzz around Such a Fun Age I had rather high expectations and when […]
3rd pov, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, bad love, Black & Black heritage authors, class, Contemporary, drama, female authors, female friendships, friendships, HUMOR, influencers, Kiley Reid, millennial, motherhood, parenting, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, published in 2019, RACE, read in 2021, rich people, rom-coms, satire, sitter/au pair/governess, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, social issues, social media, Such a Fun Age, Summer, summer reads, work culture -
Lucy by Jamaica Kincaid
“Everything I could see looked unreal to me; everything I could see made me feel I would never be part of it, never penetrate to the inside, never be taken in.” From the very first page, I was enthralled by Lucy’s deceptively simple narration. To begin with, I was struck by the clarity of her […]
1980s, 1st pov, 20th century, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, Adult, ALIENATION, ambiguous protagonist, America, Antiguan author, beautiful prose, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Caribbean, caribbean author, class, CLASSICS, cold tone, coming of age, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, female authors, GRIEF, identity, introspective, ISLAND, Jamaica Kincaid, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, Lucy, MEMORY, migration/immigration, modern classics, mothers & daughters, My reviews, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, Postcolonial, psychological, published in 1990, queer undercurrents, RACE, re-reads, read in 2020, read in 2021, read in 2022, reading, SEXUALITY, sitter/au pair/governess, the female malaise, unnamed country, VILLETTE -
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë — book review
“Who blames me? Many, no doubt; and I shall be called discontented. I could not help it: the restlessness was in my nature; it agitated me to pain sometimes.” Jane Eyre is not only considered a classic (if not the classic) in feminist literature, but an exemplary piece of Romantic Gothic literature. Personally, I view […]
1830s, 1840s, 1st pov, 3.75 stars, age gap, beautiful prose, bildungsroman, boarding/private school, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, British author, british classics, CHARLOTTE BRONTË, CHILDHOOD, class, CLASSICS, england, favourite authors, female authors, friendships, GOTHIC, growing up, HISTORICAL FICTION, identity, illness, introspective, jane eyre, madness, manor/big house, Mr. Rochester, orphans, psychological, published in 1847, READ IN 2019, Religion, sitter/au pair/governess, St. John Eyre Rivers, Thornfield, VICTORIAN, victorian madness -
Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson — book review
“I had the children. They caught on fire. I had to keep them from catching on fire.” As soon as I read Kevin Wilson’s dedication (“for Ann Patchett”) I had a feeling that I was in for a treat (and I was right).There was something about Wilson’s surrealism that reminded me a bit of Charlie […]
1990s, 20th century, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, Adult, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, Booklr, favourite authors, friendships, HUMOR, Kevin Wilson, KIDS WITH POWERS, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, MAGICAL REALISM, male authors, manor/big house, Nothing to See Here, parenting, published in 2019, queer, re-reads, READ IN 2019, read in 2021, sitter/au pair/governess, SLICE OF LIFE, Summer, summer reads, surreal, tennessee, unrequited love, uplifting reads, weird
luce [is reading] 