Review of “Dial A for Aunties” by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Sutanto, Jesse Q. Dial A for Aunties. New York: Berkley, 2021.

ISBN-13: 978-0593333037 | $16.00 USD | 309 pages | Contemporary 

Blurb 

A hilariously quirky novel that is equal parts murder mystery, rom-com, and a celebration of mothers and daughters as well as a deep dive into Chinese-Indonesian culture, by debut author Jesse Q. Sutanto.

1 (accidental) murder
2 thousand wedding guests
3 (maybe) cursed generations
4 meddling Asian aunties to the rescue!

When Meddelin Chan ends up accidentally killing her blind date, her meddlesome mother calls for her even more meddlesome aunties to help get rid of the body. Unfortunately, a dead body proves to be a lot more challenging to dispose of than one might anticipate, especially when it is accidentally shipped in a cake cooler to the over-the-top billionaire wedding Meddy, her Ma, and aunties are working, at an island resort on the California coastline. It’s the biggest job yet for their family wedding business—“Don’t leave your big day to chance, leave it to the Chans!”—and nothing, not even an unsavory corpse, will get in the way of her auntie’s perfect buttercream cake flowers.

But things go from inconvenient to downright torturous when Meddy’s great college love—and biggest heartbreak—makes a surprise appearance amid the wedding chaos. Is it possible to escape murder charges, charm her ex back into her life, and pull off a stunning wedding all in one weekend?

Review

4 stars 

Dial A for Aunties is one of those books that made me go “WTF was that?”…but in a good way. It’s absurd, but it has the self-awareness to know it is, feeling like a mix of my reading experiences of the Crazy Rich Asians books and My Sister, the Serial Killer. It’s hard to imagine a book that contains both over-the-top family drama and murder being funny, but this book does that perfectly. 

The relationship between Meddy and her mother and aunts plays a central role throughout. I liked how Sutanto was informed by her own blended experience as a Chinese-Indonesian to depict the ways in which the women have assimilated into their new cultures, while holding onto their old traditions, an element highlighted in the introductory author’s note as well as in the text itself. 

The plot itself is just fun, and it helps to not take it too seriously, especially when it comes to the issue of them disposing of bodies at a luxury resort which surely has security cameras. 

There is an element of romance that plays a secondary role in the plot, but compared to all the other shenanigans, it is fairly understated. 

This is an absolutely bananas read, and I’m excited to hear it’s getting both a sequel and a Netflix adaptation. If you’re looking for a fun light read with a mishmash of genres, I recommend picking this up! 

Author Bio 

Jesse Q Sutanto grew up shuttling back and forth between Jakarta and Singapore and sees both cities as her homes. She has a Masters degree from Oxford University, though she has yet to figure out a way of saying that without sounding obnoxious. She is currently living back in Jakarta on the same street as her parents and about seven hundred meddlesome aunties. When she’s not tearing out her hair over her latest WIP, she spends her time baking and playing FPS games. Oh, and also being a mom to her two kids.

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Review of “The Wolf and the Woodsman” by Ava Reid

Reid, Ava. The Wolf and the Woodsman. New York: Harper Voyager, 2021.

ISBN-13: 978-00062973122 | $27.99 USD | 432 pages | Fantasy 

Blurb 

In the vein of Naomi Novik’s New York Times bestseller Spinning Silver and Katherine Arden’s national bestseller The Bear and the Nightingale, this unforgettable debut— inspired by Hungarian history and Jewish mythology—follows a young pagan woman with hidden powers and a one-eyed captain of the Woodsmen as they form an unlikely alliance to thwart a tyrant. 

In her forest-veiled pagan village, Évike is the only woman without power, making her an outcast clearly abandoned by the gods. The villagers blame her corrupted bloodline—her father was a Yehuli man, one of the much-loathed servants of the fanatical king. When soldiers arrive from the Holy Order of Woodsmen to claim a pagan girl for the king’s blood sacrifice, Évike is betrayed by her fellow villagers and surrendered.

But when monsters attack the Woodsmen and their captive en route, slaughtering everyone but Évike and the cold, one-eyed captain, they have no choice but to rely on each other. Except he’s no ordinary Woodsman—he’s the disgraced prince, Gáspár Bárány, whose father needs pagan magic to consolidate his power. Gáspár fears that his cruelly zealous brother plans to seize the throne and instigate a violent reign that would damn the pagans and the Yehuli alike. As the son of a reviled foreign queen, Gáspár understands what it’s like to be an outcast, and he and Évike make a tenuous pact to stop his brother.

As their mission takes them from the bitter northern tundra to the smog-choked capital, their mutual loathing slowly turns to affection, bound by a shared history of alienation and oppression. However, trust can easily turn to betrayal, and as Évike reconnects with her estranged father and discovers her own hidden magic, she and Gáspár need to decide whose side they’re on, and what they’re willing to give up for a nation that never cared for them at all. 

Review 

5 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own. 

The Wolf and the Woodsman first drew my attention due to comparisons made to The Bear and the Nightingale, and my curiosity was further piqued when I heard about this book’s influences in Hungarian history and Jewish folklore. The result is a darkly beautiful story with allegories for relevant historical and socio-political issues such as antisemitism and ethnic cleansing.

While I’m neither Hungarian nor Jewish, I found the way these elements colored both the world building and Évike’s identity very compelling. She is half-pagan, half-Yehul, and her kingdom is hostile to both identities. And in spite of being pagan, she doesn’t have magic, which is deeply valued. 

A betrayal leads to her being offered as the sacrifice to the Woodsmen, and through a series of misfortunes, ultimately, it’s just her and disgraced Crown Prince Gáspar who form an alliance against his half-brother. While romance isn’t at the forefront, it is a fairly well-executed enemies-to-lovers subplot, as they grapple with their mutual mistrust and religious differences, the latter of which is explored sensitively. 

I enjoyed this book a lot, from the immersive descriptions of the woods to the characters, plot, and politics. It has something that will appeal to pretty much every fantasy reader, and especially those who loved The Bear and the Nightingale. 

Author Bio 

Ava Reid was born in Manhattan and raised right across the Hudson River in Hoboken, but currently lives in Palo Alto, where the weather is too sunny and the people are too friendly. She has a degree in political science from Barnard College, focusing on religion and ethnonationalism. She has worked for a refugee resettlement organization, for a U.S. senator, and, most recently, for an AI robotics startup. The Wolf and the Woodsman is her first novel.

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Review of “While Justice Sleeps” by Stacey Abrams

Abrams, Stacey. While Justice Sleeps. New York: Doubleday, 2021.

ISBN-13: 978-0385546577 | $28.00 USD | 363 pages | Thriller 

Blurb

While Justice Sleeps is a gripping, complexly plotted thriller set within the halls of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Avery Keene, a brilliant young law clerk for the legendary Justice Howard Wynn, is doing her best to hold her life together–excelling in an arduous job with the court while also dealing with a troubled family. When the shocking news breaks that Justice Wynn–the cantankerous swing vote on many current high-profile cases–has slipped into a coma, Avery’s life turns upside down. She is immediately notified that Justice Wynn has left instructions for her to serve as his legal guardian and power of attorney. Plunged into an explosive role she never anticipated, Avery finds that Justice Wynn had been secretly researching one of the most controversial cases before the court–a proposed merger between an American biotech company and an Indian genetics firm, which promises to unleash breathtaking results in the medical field. She also discovers that Wynn suspected a dangerously related conspiracy that infiltrates the highest power corridors of Washington.

As political wrangling ensues in Washington to potentially replace the ailing judge whose life and survival Avery controls, she begins to unravel a carefully constructed, chesslike sequence of clues left behind by Wynn. She comes to see that Wynn had a much more personal stake in the controversial case and realizes his complex puzzle will lead her directly into harm’s way in order to find the truth. While Justice Sleeps is a cunningly crafted, sophisticated novel, layered with myriad twists and a vibrant cast of characters. Drawing on her astute inside knowledge of the court and political landscape, Stacey Abrams shows herself to be not only a force for good in politics and voter fairness but also a major new talent in suspense fiction. 

Review

4 stars 

While Justice Sleeps is the hotly anticipated return to fiction from Stacey Abrams (her last Selena Montgomery romance was  published in 2009), and given everything she’s been involved with politically over the last few years, not to mention publishing two nonfiction titles, the book’s existence at all is amazing in itself, inspiring many marveling at her almost-superhuman work ethic. 

But when looking beneath the surface of the hype around the author herself, it does have a lot to offer in its own right. Abrams’ political career is an asset when it comes to providing insight on the issues she discusses, and she has a knack for drawing the reader into this complex political landscape and keeping them consistently intrigued. 

Avery took time to grow on me as a character, but I ended up really liking her and the role she played in the narrative. She finds herself up against many powerful politicians, a position that is disconcerting due to her position as a mere law clerk who found herself suddenly granted power of attorney over her boss, who is in a coma. 

I had mixed feelings about the shifting perspectives, and perhaps that’s why it took so long to become fully invested in Avery. I did like getting a sense of all the key players’ actions,  but felt that it resulted in the story feeling a bit detached at times. 

This is an enjoyable legal thriller, and while I haven’t read many in this particularly subgenre, I like Abrams’ take on the genre, and I’m excited to see what she does next as a writer. If legal thrillers are your jam, or you’re interested due to the hype around Stacey Abrams herself, I think it’s worth checking out. 

Author Bio 

Stacey Abrams is the two-time New York Times bestselling author of Our Time is Now and Lead from the Outside. She served eleven years in the Georgia House of Representatives, seven as Minority Leader, and became the 2018 Democratic nominee for governor of Georgia, where she won more votes than any other Democrat in the state’s history. She is the founder of Fair Fight, Fair Count, and the Southern Economic Advancement Project—organizations devoted to voting rights and tackling social issues at the state, national, and international levels. Her work played a pivotal role in the 2020 elections to the U.S. presidency and control of the U.S. Senate. 

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Review of “The Nature of Fragile Things” by Susan Meissner

Meissner, Susan. The Nature of Fragile Things. New York: Berkley, 2021.

ISBN-13: 978-0451492180 | $26.00?USD | 367 pages | Historical Fiction 

Blurb 

April 18, 1906: A massive earthquake rocks San Francisco just before daybreak, igniting a devouring inferno. Lives are lost, lives are shattered, but some rise from the ashes forever changed.

Sophie Whalen is a young Irish immigrant so desperate to get out of a New York tenement that she answers a mail-order bride ad and agrees to marry a man she knows nothing about. San Francisco widower Martin Hocking proves to be as aloof as he is mesmerizingly handsome. Sophie quickly develops deep affection for Kat, Martin’s silent five-year-old daughter, but Martin’s odd behavior leaves her with the uneasy feeling that something about her newfound situation isn’t right.

Then one early-spring evening, a stranger at the door sets in motion a transforming chain of events. Sophie discovers hidden ties to two other women. The first, pretty and pregnant, is standing on her doorstep. The second is hundreds of miles away in the American Southwest, grieving the loss of everything she once loved.

The fates of these three women intertwine on the eve of the devastating earthquake, thrusting them onto a perilous journey that will test their resiliency and resolve and, ultimately, their belief that love can overcome fear.

From the acclaimed author of The Last Year of the War and As Bright as Heaven comes a gripping novel about the bonds of friendship and mother love, and the power of female solidarity.

Review

5 stars

The Nature of Fragile Things has been on my radar due to wanting to read more from the author Susan Meissner, and I didn’t look into much else about it prior other than that it was set during the 1906 earthquake. But it ended up being a tensely beautiful treat, with a quiet, slowly building mystery progressing over the course of the book, taking my breath away with every twist and turn. 

Sophie’s story highlights the limited opportunities women had at the time, especially as an immigrant. As her story unfolds, you see how what seemed like a great opportunity to start over with a mail-order-bride union backfired as secrets about her husband’s double (triple? quadruple?) life of scams, betrayal, and murder. But she has her own secrets which come to light in the wake of the investigation into her husband’s disappearance, and it formed a great parallel between the two, where he did it for constantly self-serving reasons, while she did what she did as an initial act of self-preservation, and acted selflessly in almost every respect since. 

In that regard, I love her relationships with the other women impacted by the situation, Belinda and Candace, as well as Martin and Candace’s daughter, Kat. At first, she sees a motherless little girl in Kat who she takes on as her own, but upon finding out Kat’s mother is alive, Sophie reunites mother and daughter. Belinda is the one with whom Sophie first discovers the revelation of their husband’s polygamy and deceit, and I loved that they were able to see each other as support, thanks to the way Martin had used them both. 

This is so beautifully written, with the personal turmoil occurring in the midst of a life-altering disaster that is vividly drawn in the narrative, transporting you there. I felt personally invested in what was going on on every level, and pleased when things worked out in a believable yet optimistic way. 

This book is wonderful, and an absolute surprise, given I’ve read Susan Meissner before, but was never a diehard fan. If you love historical fiction with strong mystery/thriller elements, including somewhat of an unreliable narrator, you’ll want to check this one out! 

Author Bio 

Susan Meissner is a USA Today bestselling novelist with more than half a million books in print in fifteen languages. Her critically acclaimed works of historical fiction have been named to numerous lists including Publishers Weekly’s annual roster of 100 best books, Library Reads Top Picks, Real Simple annual tally of best books, Goodreads Readers’ Choice awards, Booklist’s Top Ten, and Book of the Month.

She attended Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego and is a former managing editor of a weekly newspaper. Susan’s expertise as a storyteller and her thoroughly researched topics make her a favorite author of book clubs everywhere. Her engaging and warm speaking style appeal to all manner of women’s groups, literary organizations, libraries and learning institutions, and service clubs.

When she is not working on a new novel, she enjoys teaching workshops on writing and dream-following, spending time with her family, music, reading great books, and traveling.

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Review of “Trouble Girls” by Julia Lynn Rubin

Rubin, Julia Lynn. Trouble Girls. New York: Wednesday Books, 2021.

ISBN-13: 978-1250757241 | $18.99 USD | 272 pages | YA Thriller 

Blurb 

“A fiery thriller.” —Kikrus

“Breathless.” —School Library Journal

A queer YA reimagining of Thelma & Louise with the aesthetic of Riverdale, for fans of Mindy McGinnis, Courtney Summers, and Rory Power.

Love on the dark side of freedom

When Trixie picks up her best friend Lux for their weekend getaway, they’re looking to forget the despair of being trapped in their dead-end rustbelt town. The girls are packing light: a supply of Diet Coke and an ‘89 Canon to help Lux frame the world in a sunnier light; half a pack of cigarettes that Trixie doesn’t really smoke, and a knife she’s hanging on to for a friend that she’s never used before.

But a single night of violence derails their trip, and the girls go from ordinary high schoolers to wanted fugitives. Trying to stay ahead of the cops and a hellscape of media attention, Trixie and Lux grapple with an unforgiving landscape, rapidly diminishing supplies, and disastrous decisions at every turn. As they are transformed by the media into the face of a #MeToo movement they didn’t ask to lead, Trixie and Lux realize that they can only rely on each other, and that the love they find together is the one thing that truly makes them free.

Julia Lynn Rubin takes readers on “a blistering, unapologetic thrill ride” (Emma Berquis) that will leave them haunted and reeling. Trouble Girls is a “a powerful, beautifully-written gut punch” (Sophie Gonzales).

Review

3 stars 

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own. 

Trouble Girls sounded like a lot of fun, but not without grit and darkness, due to the subject matter. And in a way, it is. It’s fast-paced and engrossing, and the prose does not let you go from the first pages. While the intensity means it won’t work for everyone, it’s still a fairly compelling read. 

Its strength is in conveying the aesthetic of the narrative, as well as the message about fighting back against sexual assault, and the lengths some may have to resort to for escape. There’s a dark poignance to the fact that these young lives were torn apart due to them defending themselves against a rapist. 

However, there isn’t a lot of substance to the two leads, Trixie and Lux, and I wasn’t super connected to them. And once the initial acts of violence are over, there’s a lot of going from place to place without any real purpose but fleeing their crimes. It results in the initial  thrills petering out as the story went on, even though being caught did remain a possibility. 

This book has a great idea, but I think it fails a bit in the execution. There is a lot to like here, but the characterizations being bland and the plotting feeling a bit uneven means it didn’t blow me away, although I can see why others would enjoy it. 

Author Bio 

Julia Lynn Rubin lives the writer’s life in Brooklyn. She earned an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults at The New School in 2017, and for three years, served as a writing mentor for Girls Write Now, New York City’s premiere writing program for high school girls.

Julia has been writing books, poems, and stories since first grade, and loves reading about everything from film analysis to psychology. Her short stories have appeared in publications such as the North American Review, Sierra Nevada Review, and The Lascaux Review, and she writes for a variety of online publications, including BuzzFeed, Penguin Random House (GetUnderlined.com), and Road2College.com, among others.

Julia is passionate about realism and diversity in teen literature. She hopes to one day own a French bulldog, pug, Boston terrier, or perhaps a mix of all three. She loves indie films, drag shows, and spending as much time as possible at the beach.

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Review of “Instructions for Dancing” by Nicola Yoon

Yoon, Nicola. Instructions for Dancing. New York: Delacorte Press, 2021.

ISBN-13: 978-1524718961 | $19.99 USD | 304 pages | YA Contemporary Romance 

Blurb 

#1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything and The Sun Is Also a Star Nicola Yoon is back with her eagerly anticipated third novel. With all the heart and hope of her last two books, this is an utterly unique romance.

Evie Thomas doesn’t believe in love anymore. Especially after the strangest thing occurs one otherwise ordinary afternoon: She witnesses a couple kiss and is overcome with a vision of how their romance began . . . and how it will end. After all, even the greatest love stories end with a broken heart, eventually.

As Evie tries to understand why this is happening, she finds herself at La Brea Dance Studio, learning to waltz, fox-trot, and tango with a boy named X. X is everything that Evie is not: adventurous, passionate, daring. His philosophy is to say yes to everything–including entering a ballroom dance competition with a girl he’s only just met.

Falling for X is definitely not what Evie had in mind. If her visions of heartbreak have taught her anything, it’s that no one escapes love unscathed. But as she and X dance around and toward each other, Evie is forced to question all she thought she knew about life and love. In the end, is love worth the risk?

Review

5 stars 

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own. 

I haven’t read Nicola Yoon before, although her books have been hyped in the  YA book community, especially with both her previous books having been adapted for film. So, I didn’t have much of a frame of reference for what to expect with Instructions for Dancing, although it looked like a great mix of fun and heartfelt. What I didn’t expect was that it would be a balm for my soul coming out of a particularly challenging couple weeks, complete with a min-reading slump. 

Evie is immensely relatable, being a formerly romantic soul whose heart has been hardened by her parents’ divorce. Where once she could catalog her love of romances by genre and trope, she now sees doom and gloom everywhere, even in the “gift” given to  her where she sees the trajectory of entire relationships before they happen, or while they’re in their early stages. 

There were moments when I feared the turn this would take, especially when she saw the potentially dark fate of her own relationship. But while many people dwell on the idea that love is always doomed, those people will fail to see the beauty in love itself while it happens. While the book still has a happy ending (and I would have broken things if it didn’t), I think it’s much sweeter when reinforced by the fact that endings aren’t the sole thing worth dwelling on. 

But ultimately, this is super sweet, and X is a great love interest who is totally perfect for Evie, even though she spends most of the book being a pessimist toward the idea of their relationship. 

This is a cute book that hits the essential romance plot beats while also tugging on your emotions as it unpacks those essential elements. Anyone looking for a sweet YA romance will love this. 

Author Bio 

Nicola Yoon is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything and The Sun Is Also a Star. She is a National Book Award finalist, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book recipient and a Coretta Scott King New Talent Award winner. Both her novels have been made into major motion pictures. Nicola grew up in Jamaica and Brooklyn, and lives in Los Angeles with her husband, novelist David Yoon, and their family.

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Review of “Come back to Me” (Waters of Time #1) by Jody Hedlund

Hedlund, Jody. Come Back to Me. Grand Rapids, MI: Revell, 2021.

ISBN-13: 978-0800738433 | $15.99 USD | 384 pages | Time Travel Romance/Christian Fiction

Blurb 

The ultimate cure that could heal any disease? Crazy.

That’s exactly what research scientist Marian Creighton has always believed about her father’s quest, even if it does stem from a desire to save her sister Ellen from the genetic disease that stole their mother from them. But when her father falls into a coma after drinking a vial of holy water believed to contain traces of residue from the Tree of Life, Marian must question all of her assumptions. He’s left behind tantalizing clues that suggest he’s crossed back in time. Insane. Until Marian tests his theories and finds herself in the Middle Ages during a dangerous peasant uprising.

William Durham, a valiant knight comes to Marian’s rescue and offers her protection . . . as his wife. The longer Marian stays in the past, the more she cares about William. Can she ever find her father and make it back to the present to heal her sister? And when the time comes to leave, will she want to?

Bestselling author Jody Hedlund is your guide down the twisting waters of time to a volatile era of superstition, revolts, and chivalry in this suspenseful story.

Review

2.5 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

Come Back to Me is a perfectly fine book. It’s well-written and has a decent premise. Yet, I read this book with more apathy than engagement, the second in a row that I’ve felt that way about, so it could easily be another case of my mood.

I did like that this book decided to change up the traditional time travel formula of having a lead with a useless profession to their predicament, with Marian being a scientist. I’d have liked more of how her knowledge impacted her interactions with others in the past, but otherwise there are good stakes, with her having to choose between helping her sick dad in the present and love in the past, even if the story didn’t fully resonate. 

But Will was not written in a compelling enough way to make the “stay in the past” choice viable. I didn’t get him at all, he was just the typical medieval Knight without a lot of nuance. And with so much of the story exploring Marian’s life, I feel like he wasn’t given much page time to grow. 

This book really fell flat, lacking a lot of the immersiveness and charm of Jody Hedlund’s other work that I’ve read. I can see a diehard fan of her work and that of similar Christian fiction authors liking it, but it’s not one I’d recommend enthusiastically. 

Author Bio 

Jody Hedlund is the author of over thirty historicals for both adults and teens and is the winner of numerous awards including the Christy, Carol, and Christian Book Award.

Jody lives in central Michigan with her husband, five busy children, and five spoiled cats. Although Jody prefers to experience daring and dangerous adventures through her characters rather than in real life, she’s learned that a calm existence is simply not meant to be (at least in this phase of her life!).

When she’s not penning another of her page-turning stories, she loves to spend her time reading, especially when it also involves consuming coffee and chocolate.

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Review of “Life’s Too Short” (The Friend Zone #3) by Abby Jimenez

Jimenez, Abby. Life’s Too Short. New York: Forever, 2021.

ISBN-13: 978-1538715666 | $15.99 USD | 370 pages | Contemporary Romance

Blurb

In the series

#1 The Friend Zone 

#2 The Happy Ever After Playlist

Review

Life’s Too Short is a classic case of “decent book, but maybe not for me.” I’m going through personal issues of my own, and it all sent me into a personal crisis, so it could be a timing thing too. Yet, despite knowing this book would delve into heavy topics, I had I hope I’d still enjoy it, like I did Abby Jimenez’s previous book. But it just didn’t stick the landing. 

I liked Vanessa’s story, being one about dealing with familial loss from ALS, and the real possibility she would receive the same diagnosis. The signs are grim, putting this book in the divisive happy-for-now territory, in that in ends on an optimistic note, but I feel like so many readers want their characters to live and thrive and run off happily into the sunset without complications, contrasting a lot from her first book, which had the “magic pregnancy” ending to solve the issue of infertility, although that isn’t entirely  a bad thing, given my and many others’ reactions  to The Friend Zone. On that note, I did also like that Vanessa did have a tubal ligation, even bringing up the issues that she faced as a young woman trying to get one, as well as rationalizing her reasoning of not wanting the same thing to happen to her child that happened to her family and is happening to her.

I did like the romance somewhat, although I admit I wasn’t super invested. Adrian lacked a lot of substance as a hero, and felt like he was there just because it’s meant to be a romance. There were things touched on with him, like his anxiety, but they never felt fleshed out. Oh, and he has a massive dick. I understand this is a Romance Hero thing, but it was annoying to read about that. I also think there was a passing mention to Josh’s penis size too, and I literally thought to myself, “so that’s how we explain away the magic pregnancy, Giant Dick Magic?” 

Also, I feel like while the humor worked at first, the clickbait nature of the chapter titles just stopped being a cute gimmick once the story got more serious, and failed in balancing the comic elements with the more serious ones. 

I didn’t care for this book, but a lot of people seem to enjoy it, so I’m likely in the minority on this one. If you don’t mind a slightly heavier read that still has comic moments, you could try it and see how it works out for you. 

Author Bio 

Abby Jimenez is a Food Network winner and New York Times best selling author. She founded Nadia Cakes out of her home kitchen back in 2007. The bakery has since gone on to win numerous Food Network competitions and has amassed an international cult following.

Abby loves a good romance, coffee, doglets, and not leaving the house.

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Review of “A Chorus Rises” (A Song Below Water #2) by Bethany C. Morrow

Morrow, Bethany C. A Chorus Rises. New York: Tor Teen, 2021.

ISBN-13: 978-1250316035 | $17.99 USD | 272 pages | YA Fantasy 

Blurb 

THE LATEST NOVEL FROM YA SENSATION BETHANY C. MORROW

Meet Naema Bradshaw: a beautiful Eloko, once Portland-famous, now infamous, as she navigates a personal and public reckoning where confronting the limits of her privilege will show Naema what her magic really is, and who it makes her.

Teen influencer Naema Bradshaw has it all: she’s famous, stylish, gorgeous–and she’s an Eloko, a charismatic person gifted with a melody that people adore. Everyone loves her–until she’s cast as the villain who exposed a Siren to the whole world.

Dragged by the media, and canceled by her fans, no one understands her side: not her boyfriend, not her friends, not even her fellow Eloko. Villified by those closest to her, Naema heads to the Southwest where she is determined to stage a comeback… to her family, her real self, and the truth about her magic. What she finds is a new community in a flourishing group of online fans who support her.

At first, it feels like it used to–the fandom, the adoration, the community that takes her side–but when her online advocates start targeting other Black girls, Naema will realize that–for Black girls like her–even the privilege of fame has its limits. And only Naema can discover the true purpose of her power, and how to use it.

“A watery and melodic crossroads of the real and the mythic, A Chorus Rises lures readers with its seductive and beautifully Black siren song. An enthralling tale of Black girl magic and searing social commentary ready to rattle the bones.” —Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Belles series

A Chorus Rises is a timely confrontation of the evolving nature of popularity in a society that chooses “exceptions” and rewards “model minorities.”

In the series 

#1 A Song Below Water 

Review 

4.5 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own. 

A Chorus Rises is the followup to last year’s A Song Below Water, which is definitely recommended reading before picking up this one. The events of the two books are very heavily linked, and it also helps to get to Naema, who played a major supporting role in that book, with ASBW’s  co-protagonist, Tavia, now in a supporting role here. 

Given that Naema was kind of the mean girl in book one, I was intrigued by how Bethany C. Morrow developed her character here. She’s flawed, and I’m glad it’s not a case where “she’s just misunderstood by the other characters,” with her own POV completely being out of character. She’s dealing with the fallout of her actions from the prior book, and in the process comes to discover more about herself due to being ostracized. 

I also liked how her character fed into the concept of toxic fan culture, as that comes to the forefront when some fans take their mission to protect her too far by hurting innocent Black girls and women. It also continues the conversations around racism posed in the first book, but also dipping into the issue of gender roles, especially those of the archetypal white women in relation to whiteness and the masculinity of Black men, and where Black women fit into the conversation. 

 Of the two books, I definitely liked this one more, due to the complexity of Naema’s character, although ASBW has grown on me more since I’ve read it. Bethany C. Morrow impeccably blends our fantastical elements with a narrative reflecting the present and all the issues young Black women face. If you enjoyed ASBW, I encourage you to give this a chance, even if you don’t like Naema, as the character growth is excellent. 

Author Bio 

Bethany C Morrow is an Indie Bestselling author who writes for adult and young adult audiences, in genres ranging from speculative literary to contemporary fantasy to historical. She is author of the novels MEM and A SONG BELOW WATER, which is an Audie, Ignyte and Locus finalist. She is editor/contributor to the young adult anthology TAKE THE MIC, the 2020 ILA Social Justice in Literature award winner. Her work has been chosen as Indies Introduce and Indie Next picks, and featured in The LA Times, Forbes, Bustle, Buzzfeed, and more. She is included on USA TODAY’s list of 100 Black novelists and fiction writers you should read.

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Review of “The Seduction of the Crimson Rose” (Pink Carnation #4) by Lauren Willig

Willig, Lauren. The Seduction of the Crimson Rose. New York: New American Library, 2008. 

ISBN-13: 978-0451224415 | $15.00 USD | 459 pages | Regency Romance/Contemporary Romannce

Blurb

Determined to secure another London season without assistance from her new brother-in-law, Mary Alsworthy accepts a secret assignment from Lord Vaughn on behalf of the Pink Carnation. She must infiltrate the ranks of the dreaded French spy, the Black Tulip, before he and his master can stage their planned invasion of England.

Every spy has a weakness and for the Black Tulip that weakness is beautiful black-haired women-his ‘petals’ of the Tulip. A natural at the art of seduction, Mary easily catches the attention of the French spy, but Lord Vaughn never anticipated that his own heart would be caught as well.

Fighting their growing attraction, impediments from their past, and, of course, the French, Mary and Vaughn find themselves lost in a treacherous garden of lies.

And as our modern-day heroine, Eloise Kelly, digs deeper into England’s Napoleonic-era espionage, she becomes even more entwined with Colin Selwick, the descendant of her spy subjects.

In the series 

#1 The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

#2 The Masque of the Black Tulip 

#3 The Deception of the Emerald Ring 

Review

5 stars

The Seduction of the Crimson Rose is one that has always stuck out most in my memory, and upon revisiting it, I can see why. It’s just all-around the strongest in the series in my opinion, and it has shaped a lot of what I look for in romance today, especially my love for the unlikable heroine. 

Mary and Vaughn are the sort of characters you love to hate in their other appearances, but you come to love them upon getting to know them. Vaughn has seen a lot of the world and experienced a lot of personal turmoil, and has become a hardened man primarily looking out for himself and his own interests first and foremost. Mary has always been the practical-minded, assertive one, and while it was obvious she was merely settling for convenience with Geoffrey and would have eaten him alive if things had turned out differently, she can’t help but have a chip on her shoulder at her continued single status while Geoff and her sister are happy.. The two work because they’re so similar, with each of them being able to handle the other’s strong personality, while unveiling something deeper and more vulnerable. 

And while I’ve loved the spy hijinks throughout the series, the intrigue of this one as the Black Tulip was about to be unmasked has always been one of my favorites, with a plot twist that still delighted me even though I remembered it. 

And while the melodrama of the Eloise storyline was a bit much over the past couple books, and I know more is coming, I do have a soft spot for this one, as it takes place in part in the Vaughn archives. And Eloise ingratiating herself more with Colin on a personal level, and finding out a bit more about the Evil Ex his sister was getting over, foreshadowing future books, was a rather sweet storyline. 

To sum it all up, this one is my favorite, and I’m so glad the time has come in the readalong to discuss it. If you’ve also recently (re)read it or plan to before then, make sure to register for the event this coming Thursday!

Author Bio

 

Lauren Willig is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than twenty works of historical fiction, including Band of Sisters, The Summer Country, The English Wife, the RITA Award-winning Pink Carnation series, and three novels co-written with Beatriz Williams and Karen White. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages, picked for Book of the Month Club, awarded the RITA, Booksellers Best, and Golden Leaf awards, and chosen for the American Library Association’s annual list of the best genre fiction. An alumna of Yale University, she has a graduate degree in history from Harvard and a JD from Harvard Law School. She lives in New York City with her husband, two young children, and vast quantities of coffee.

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