Tag: books

Review | Divining the Leaves by Shveta Thakrar

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From critically acclaimed author Shveta Thakrar comes a beautifully imagined contemporary fantasy about two teens, one a believer of magic who yearns to belong, the other a skeptic searching for an escape, who find themselves embroiled in a twisty world of court intrigue when they venture into a forest ruled by yakshas, mysterious woodland spirits drawn from Hindu and Buddhist folklore.

Plant-loving Ridhi Kapadia and popular Nilesh Batra were friends once.

Now, seventeen and alone, Ridhi blends natural perfumes, wears flower crowns, and wanders her local woods, listening for the leafy whispers of her beloved trees. Pleading for the yakshas to admit her into their enchanted forest kingdom, where she knows she truly belongs.

After learning his parents’ perfect marriage is a sham and getting suspended from school, a heartsick Nilesh lands at Ridhi’s doorstep—the last thing either of them wants. So when a pretty yakshini offers him the distraction of magic, the same magic he mocked Ridhi for believing in, he jumps at it.

Furious, Ridhi strikes a bargain with a noblewoman named Sulochana. In return for helping restore her reputation, Sulochana will turn Ridhi into the yakshini she yearns to be—and teach her to divine the trees’ murmurs.

But when Nilesh ends up trapped in the yakshas’ realm, Ridhi realizes the leaves might be telling a disturbing story about the forest her heart is rooted in—one that, even if the two of them band together, threatens to shred the future like so many thorns.

First things first, the writing in this book is wonderful. I felt it was very atmospheric and immediately drew me in, that part I absolutely loved. The story itself did seem to move slowly, though that can be good in more flowery prose, it can also drag the story a bit. That being said, there was a lot to love about the characters, who felt like fully formed individuals. Though I don’t know a lot about Desi or Hindu culture, I still really enjoyed all of the cultural touches. I do feel there could be improvement to make the story pacing a bit better, but all in all an enjoyable read.

Happy reading!

Blog Tour | The Keeper of Lonely Spirits by E.M. Anderson | Review

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For fans of UNDER THE WHISPERING DOOR by T.J. Klune, the sweet comfort of THE VERY SECRET SOCIETY OF IRREGULAR WITCHES is combined with the endearing grump of A MAN CALLED OVE, in this cozy fantasy about an immortal ghost hunter who must forgive himself for his tragic past in order to embrace his found family.

In this mesmerizing, wonderfully moving queer cozy fantasy, an immortal ghost hunter must confront his tragic past in order to embrace his found family.

Find an angry spirit. Send it on its way before it causes trouble. Leave before anyone learns his name.

After over two hundred years, Peter Shaughnessy is ready to die and end this cycle. But thanks to a youthful encounter with one o’ them folk in his native Ireland, he can’t. Instead, he’s cursed to wander eternally far from home, with the ability to see ghosts and talk to plants.

Immortality means Peter has lost everyone he’s ever loved. And so he centers his life on the dead—until his wandering brings him to Harrington, Ohio. As he searches for a vengeful spirit, Peter’s drawn into the townsfolk’s lives, homes and troubles. For the first time in over a century, he wants something other than death.

But the people of Harrington will die someday. And he won’t.

As Harrington buckles under the weight of the supernatural, the ghost hunt pits Peter’s well-being against that of his new friends and the man he’s falling for. If he stays, he risks heartbreak. If he leaves, he risks their lives.

Buy Links | HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I didn’t know what to expect going into this book, but the synopsis intrigued me so I definitely wanted to pick it up. The characters had so much depth and it’s obvious the author really took their time crafting them. On the surface level this may sound like a story simply about a man who is essentially immortal who helps find ghosts and move them on, but it’s so much more than that. It’s a wonderfully woven story about grief, loss and learning to find your place in the world. I found myself taking my time with this story rather than speeding through it so I could truly absorb the story and the characters. It was really atmospheric and cozy and I look forward to reading more from the author.

E.M. Anderson (she/they) is a queer, neurodivergent writer and the author of The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher. Her work has appeared in SJ Whitby’s Awakenings: A Cute Mutants Anthology, Wyldblood Press’s From the Depths: A Fantasy Anthology, and Dark Horses: The Magazine of Weird Fiction. They have two master’s degrees and a feral passion for trees, birds, pole fitness, and Uncle Iroh. You can find them on Instagram, BlueSky, and Tumblr at @elizmanderson.

Social Links | Author Website | Facebook | Instagram | Tumblr | Bluesky

Happy reading!

Review | The Age of Video Game by Jean Zeid

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Press Start on an immersive journey revealing the pixels, polygons, and people that revolutionized entertainment forever. Join journalist Jean Zeid, artist Émilie Rouge, and their console pal Roby to learn how digital dreams built an industry now worth hundreds of billions of dollars. This engaging and comprehensive graphic novel is a knowledge power-up for hardcore gamers and curious noobs of all ages!

Time travel to pivotal moments in video game history with a wistful millennial Jean Zeid, extremely online zoomer, Émilie Rouge, and their robot sidekick Roby in a lively, action-packed conversation all generations of gamers will enjoy. Émilie’s massive portal cannon takes the team from era-to-era, lab-to-lab, revealing the real people, inventions, and breakthroughs in gaming. Go right with them as they clear levels in 8-bit sidescrollers, combat games, simulators, multi-player RPGs, and more — but watch your step! Includes a full index and acknowledgements.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

As an avid gamer I was excited to pick up this one. Anything that is a deep dive, especially into the history and evolution of video games or different technologies is probably something I will find interesting. I really enjoyed the format of the graphic novel, not just taking us chronologically through the history of video games, but also touching on a wide range of different aspects of video games and how they progressed. I think for anyone there are going to be games they wished had been mentioned, but there’s no way to name everything and I felt the author did a good job of not only naming huge titles, but also highlighting a lot of other titles as well, all the way from the beginning of the industry to today. Plus, I loved that even through I’ve been gaming all my life pretty much there was a lot I didn’t know and tons of little factoids that ranged from nuggets of knowledge to humorous tidbits.

Happy reading (and gaming)!

Review | The Last One by Rachel Howzell Hall

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Explosive and enthralling romantasy debut from New York Times bestselling author Rachel Howzell Hall…

Thrown into a desolate land of sickness and unnatural beasts, Kai wakes in the woods with no idea who she is or how she got there. All she knows is that if she cannot reach the Sea of Devour, even this hellscape will get worse. But when she sees the village blacksmith fight invaders with unspeakable skill, she decides to accept his offer of help.

Too bad he’s as skilled at annoying her as he is at fighting.

As she searches for answers, Kai only finds more questions, especially regarding the blacksmith who can ignite her body like a flame, then douse it with ice in the next breath.

And no one is what—or who—they appear to be in the kingdom of Vinevridth, including the man whose secrets might be as deadly as the land itself.

I haven’t read a ton of romantasy, but was anticipating this one and excited to read it. I thought the premise had amazing potential and sounded unique, but the overall execution didn’t really hit the highs I wanted it to. I thought the worldbuilding was really well done and though I’m not a huge fan of slow burn all the time, I did feel like this story did it well. There were times where it almost felt like the tone changed a little, almost like it was kind of shifting to more simplistic, so that wavering of tone did break me out of the story and was a distraction. That being said, I would be interested in seeing how the story and world continued to build in following books as the characters were compelling and had depth. There were a lot of good points to this story and I feel it was a solid first venture into romantasy.

Happy reading!

Review | Desert Echoes by Abdi Nazemian

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From Abdi Nazemian, the award-winning author of Like a Love Story and Only This Beautiful Moment, comes a suspenseful contemporary YA novel about loss and love.

Fifteen-year-old Kam is head over heels for Ash, the boy who swept him off his feet. But his family and best friend, Bodie, are worried. Something seems off about Ash. He also has a habit of disappearing, at times for days. When Ash asks Kam to join him on a trip to Joshua Tree, the two of them walk off into the sunset . . . but only Kam returns.

Two years later, Kam is still left with a hole in his heart and too many unanswered questions. So it feels like fate when a school trip takes him back to Joshua Tree. On the trip, Kam wants to find closure about what happened to Ash but instead finds himself in danger of facing a similar fate. In the desert, Kam must reckon with the truth of his past relationship—and the possibility of opening himself up to love once again.

Desert Echoes is a propulsive, moving story about human resilience and connection.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

From the description I could tell there were going to be some heavy topics in this book, but I was not expecting it to have the depth that it did. There are so many complex themes packed into this book, from experiencing and getting over your first love to loneliness and loss. There are a lot of important conversations happening here and the dual timelines really make it more impactful as you find out just what happened in the then timeline and how it has impacted the now timeline. It was really a beautiful story that will definitely tug at your heart once things are fully revealed.

Happy reading!

Review | A Misfortune of Lake Monsters by Nicole M. Wolverton

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When legends bite back…

Lemon Ziegler wants to escape rural Devil’s Elbow, Pennsylvania to attend college―but that’s impossible now that she’s expected to impersonate the town’s lake monster for the rest of her life. Her family has been secretly keeping the tradition of Old Lucy, the famed (and very fake) monster of Lake Lokakoma, alive for generations, all to keep the tourists coming. Without Lemon, the town dies, and she can’t disappoint her grandparents . . . or tell her best friends about any of it. That includes Troy Ramirez, who has been covertly in love with Lemon for years, afraid to ruin their friendship by confessing his feelings.

When a very real, and very hungry monster is discovered in the lake, secrets must fall by the wayside. Determined to stop the monster, Lemon and her best friends are the only thing standing between Devil’s Elbow and the monster out for blood.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This book was a wild ride. On the surface it seemed like a fun lake monster story, following a trio of teenagers – Lemon, Troy and Darrin – in a town where the claim to fame (and tourism) is a lake monster akin to Nessie or Champ. I really enjoyed that we get a dual POV between Lemon (our main character who has to shoulder a lot of family responsibility) and Troy (one of her best friends who is in love with her). Just when I thought I knew where this story was going it got a lot more twisty and out there. Lemon herself deals with a lot of resentment towards the responsibilities she has to shoulder as well as pressure from her family that results in her feeling like she has to give up all of her aspirations. There are definitely characters I had instant dislike for, her grandfather for example, who had a his way or the highway kind of thinking, but even he had a lot of character growth in the story. Overall this was a thoroughly enjoyable story that had a lot more depth than I expected when it came to the characters.

Happy reading!

Review | Asking for a Friend by Kara H.L. Chen

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This charming YA rom-com follows a strong-willed, ambitious teen as she teams up with her childhood frenemy to start a dating-advice column, perfect for fans of Emma Lord and Gloria Chao.

Juliana Zhao is absolutely certain of a few things:

1. She is the world’s foremost expert on love.

2. She is going to win the nationally renowned Asian Americans in Business Competition.

When Juliana is unceremoniously dropped by her partner and she’s forced to pair with her nonconformist and annoying frenemy, Garrett Tsai, everything seems less clear. Their joint dating advice column must be good enough to win and secure bragging rights within her small Taiwanese American community, where her family’s reputation has been in the pits since her older sister was disowned a few years prior. Juliana always thought prestige mattered above all else. But as she argues with Garrett over how to best solve everyone else’s love problems and faces failure for the first time, she starts to see fractures in this privileged, sheltered worldview. With the competition heating up, Juliana must reckon with the sacrifices she’s made to be a perfect daughter—and whether winning is something she even wants anymore.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I did not expect this story to go as deep as it did, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. There’s a lot of exploration not only in the enemies to lovers dynamic, but also there’s a deep dive into family dynamics and relationships and how those can shape a person. I really felt for Juliana as she went through her journey in this book, not only navigating her relationships, but also her internal struggles, grief and more. What I thought was going to be a lighter read definitely much more than that. I really enjoyed Juliana as a character and her counter in Garrett is great throughout the story. All in all it was a really great read and had far more depth and heart than I had initially thought it would.

Happy reading!

Review | The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai

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The Kamogawa Food Detectives is the first book in the bestselling, mouth-watering Japanese series for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold.

What’s the one dish you’d do anything to taste just one more time?

Down a quiet backstreet in Kyoto exists a very special restaurant. Run by Koishi Kamogawa and her father Nagare, the Kamogawa Diner serves up deliciously extravagant meals. But that’s not the main reason customers stop by . . .

The father-daughter duo are ‘food detectives’. Through ingenious investigations, they are able to recreate dishes from a person’s treasured memories – dishes that may well hold the keys to their forgotten past and future happiness. The restaurant of lost recipes provides a link to vanished moments, creating a present full of possibility.

A bestseller in Japan, The Kamogawa Food Detectives is a celebration of good company and the power of a delicious meal.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Seeing books marketed at comparable to Before the Coffee Gets Cold immediately draws my interest, so when I saw this one I had to pick it up. In this one we follow a father and daughter who run a restaurant, which they make almost impossible to find except for those that really want to locate them in order to locate dishes from their past. It’s very slice of life with a lot of emotions and reminiscing as each person experiences the dish and memories that they were yearning for. The book is made up of connected vignette like stories, similarly to Before the Coffee Gets Cold, but there’s not magic/supernatural aspect to it. I look forward to the following books in the series getting published in English as I want to see what customers find them as well as the relationship between father and daughter.

Happy reading!

Review | What You are Looking For is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama

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For fans of The Midnight Library and Before the Coffee Gets Cold, this charming Japanese novel shows how the perfect book recommendation can change a reader’s life.

What are you looking for?

This is the famous question routinely asked by Tokyo’s most enigmatic librarian, Sayuri Komachi. Like most librarians, Komachi has read every book lining her shelves—but she also has the unique ability to read the souls of her library guests. For anyone who walks through her door, Komachi can sense exactly what they’re looking for in life and provide just the book recommendation they never knew they needed to help them find it.

Each visitor comes to her library from a different juncture in their careers and dreams, from the restless sales attendant who feels stuck at her job to the struggling working mother who longs to be a magazine editor. The conversation that they have with Sayuri Komachi—and the surprise book she lends each of them—will have life-altering consequences.

With heartwarming charm and wisdom, What You Are Looking For Is in the Library is a paean to the magic of libraries, friendship and community, perfect for anyone who has ever found themselves at an impasse in their life and in need of a little inspiration.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

After reading Before the Coffee Gets Cold, I’ve definitely been in the mood to read more translated fiction – especially since this one has a similar format to that book. We follow a number of different characters in loosely connecting stories as they all find their way for some reason at the library of a community center. In each of their stories they get help from a librarian who asks them nothing more than what they are looking for. While she often gives them books similar to what they requested, she also recommends something entirely different before sending them on their way. In each case their lives and struggles are different, but they each find a way to work through their inner turmoil or current life struggles with the help of her suggestions. Since it is a translation there are certainly some cultural references that might put off some people but the stories and individuals are charming and very touching reads.

Happy reding!

Review | The Adventures of Penguin and Panda: Surprise! by Brenda Maier

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In the tradition of Narwhal and Jelly, here is a playful and humorous graphic novel series about two besties who could not be more different from each other.

Penguin and Panda should not be friends. The very idea is absurd. Penguin likes to build things and Panda likes to nap. Panda munches bamboo and Penguin gobbles cheese puffs and jam-banana sandwiches. Penguin never powers down and Panda has a hard time powering up. There is no way their friendship would ever work. Except somehow, it does.

Penguin and Panda demonstrate kindness, understanding, and support for each other, showcasing the positive aspects of companionship. The books are infused with humor, often through Penguin’s whimsical outlook on life and Panda’s more pragmatic responses.

Each book is composed form multiple short stories and STEM related fun facts. The graphic novel format makes the series accessible to a wide range of readers, including those who may be transitioning from picture books to chapter books.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

A graphic novel featuring a penguin and panda as friends? Yes, please. This contains a few different stories detailing the adventures of these two, along with little facts and tidbits here and there. It’s absolutely adorable and the art style is colorful and fun. I thought the addition of guides on how to draw both characters was a nice touch as well.

Happy reading!