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

May 14, 2024 DeAnneLeave a comment

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.

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

April 16, 2024 DeAnneLeave a comment

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.

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!

Review | The Orange and Pink Sunset: A Sapphic Poetry Chapbook by Ivy L. James

April 8, 2024April 8, 2024 DeAnneLeave a comment

In The Orange and Pink Sunset, Ivy L. James weaves a tapestry of her life as a queer woman, from childhood crushes to the labels she’s tried on to religious discrimination. Her raw words express agony and joy in equal measure. She provides a refreshing perspective with an understandable voice, and her narrative style feels like sharing a pot of tea with a close friend. This impactful poetry chapbook is a vulnerable discussion of what it’s like to find herself as a lesbian, and in the end, James chooses love over hate, even in moments of pain. Content warning: Some poems touch on the author’s experiences with familial homophobia and religious homophobia. This collection also includes mild adult language, sensual content, and brief violent imagery.

Amazon | Goodreads

I’m always looking for books or collections that are a different experience from my own so was happy to check this poetry chapbook out when the author reached out to me. This collection is short and sweet, not only exploring the happiness the author has found in exploring their identity and finding their partner but also delving into the hardships and negativity they experienced in both their coming out but being accepted by their surrounding community, family and friend – while also learning to accept themselves. I’m very picky about poetry and which types I enjoy, but I loved the lyrical language and imagery. Also, acknowledgements as a poem? Brilliant. I did find myself wanting to read more once it was done, which was the only downside for me since it was over. All in all a wonderful collection full of raw emotion that will speak to many.

Make sure to look for this one when it releases on April 30th! Thank you again to the author for sharing this collection with me – happy reading!

Review | Kindling by Traci Chee

April 7, 2024 DeAnneLeave a comment

From bestselling and award-winning author Traci Chee comes a standalone fantasy set against a war-ravaged world where kindling warfare—the use of elite, magic-wielding teenage soldiers—has been outlawed. In this rich and evocative novel, seven kindlings search for purpose and identity as they prepare for one final battle. For fans of the classic films Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven.

Once, the war was fought with kindlings—elite, magic-wielding warriors whose devastating power comes at the cost of their own young lives.

Now, the war is over, and kindlings have been cast adrift—their magic outlawed, their skills outdated, their formidable balar weapons prized only as relics and souvenirs.

Violence still plagues the countryside, and memories haunt those who remain. When a village comes under threat of siege, it offers an opportunity for seven kindlings to fight one last time. But war changed these warriors. And to reclaim who they once were, they will have to battle their pasts, their trauma, and their grim fates to come together again—or none of them will make it out alive.

From bestselling and award-winning author Traci Chee comes a gut-wrenching, introspective fantasy about seven lost soldiers searching for the peace they once fought for and the future in which they’re finally daring to believe.

I had to sit with this one a little bit after finishing it. In Kindling we follow a group of warriors (definite found family aspects in some ways) who were trained from childhood to wield magic and fight in a war. Since the war ended they are adrift in a way since that is all they have ever really known. Though the individual characters were in similar situations being Kindlings, some of them had vastly different experiences, which was really interesting to see. They are all dealing with their own issues, there’s lots of touches on PTSD and what war has done to them. It’s shocking to realize throughout the book that these are all teenagers, not adults, because they were dealing with and processing very difficult and traumatizing things. The only part of this book that I didn’t really love (and this is totally a me thing) is that its 2nd person and that’s not something I personally love. Also, I felt some characters were far more fleshed out than others, which made it feel like I didn’t really know some of them, but those that were well developed were wonderful. I would enjoy seeing more in this world and seeing more world building upon what has already been established, but it’s also a complete story in and of itself.

Happy reading!

Blog Tour | May’s Laws of Love by Alina Khawaja | Review

March 27, 2024 DeAnneLeave a comment

Maya Mirza’s unlucky-in-love past seems to be turning around when she ends up in an arranged marriage to the on-paper perfect man. But as she heads to her wedding in Pakistan, she finally meets the man of her dreams—and what could be more unlucky than that?

Murphy’s Law is simple: anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and no one knows that better than Maya Mirza.

Maya Mirza has always been unlucky in love. When she was in grade one, one of the mean girls told her crush that she liked him and he loudly proclaimed he hated her because she had cooties. When she was in grade six, she wrote her new crush an anonymous love letter, only to realize later she signed her name without realizing it. In grade twelve, she gathered the courage to ask out her crush, only to hurl all over him. Bottom line—romance sucks.

However, it seems like Maya’s luck may finally be turning up when she secures a marriage proposal from Imtiaz Porter. Imtiaz has everything—good family, great job, charming personality; everything, except Maya’s heart. But that’s okay. Love can grow after marriage, right?

Just when Maya thinks she’s finally broken her curse, it all comes crashing down when she gets on a plane to go to Pakistan for her wedding and ends up sitting next to Sarfaraz, a cynical divorce lawyer who clashes with her at every possible turn. When an unexpected storm interrupts her travel plans, Maya finds herself briefly stranded in Switzerland, and despite their initial misstep, she and Sarfaraz agree to stick together until they reach Pakistan.

Over the several days they travel together, disaster after disaster happens, from their bus crashing to having to travel on foot to getting mugged. However, the more time they spend together, the more Maya realizes she and Sarfaraz may have more in common than she thought. But of course, this is when she realizes her unlucky in love curse will always be with her—because how unlucky is it that she may have finally met the man of her dreams while on her way to her own wedding?

BUY LINKS | HarperCollins | Bookshop.org | B&N | Amazon

If you’re looking for a cute and fun romcom that is clean, with lots of cultural influence thrown in, this is a good debut to pick up. I found it to be really fun though some of the pacing throughout the story didn’t feel completely smooth. There were certainly some things that happened that weren’t entirely believable, but it was still a cute read and a fun time. I think with some real work on pacing this could have been a super quick read for me and besides that the writing style was easy to read and consume. For a debut I felt like this is a great start and would look forward to seeing what else the author had in the future.

Alina Khawaja is an author from Ontario, Canada, with a never-ending love-hate relationship with the snow. She is a graduate from the University of Toronto, where she majored in English and double minored in History and Creative Writing, and is now pursuing a Master’s degree in the Literacy of Modernity at Ryerson University. Alina can be found studying, writing, or bingeing k-dramas when she is not sleeping.

SOCIAL LINKS | Author website | Instagram |Twitter

Happy reading!

Review | Before the Coffee Gets Gold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

March 16, 2024 DeAnneLeave a comment

Down a small alleyway in the heart of Tokyo, there’s an underground café that’s been serving carefully brewed coffee for over a hundred years. Local legend says that this shop offers its customers something else besides coffee—the chance to travel back in time.

The rules, however, are far from simple: you must sit in one particular seat, and you can’t venture outside the café, nor can you change the present. And, most important, you only have the time it takes to drink a hot cup of coffee—or risk getting stuck forever.

Over the course of one summer, four customers visit the café in the hopes of traveling to another time: a heartbroken lover looking for closure, a nurse with a mysterious letter from her husband, a waitress hoping to say one last goodbye and a mother whose child she may never get the chance to know.

Heartwarming, wistful and delightfully quirky, Before the Coffee Gets Cold explores the intersecting lives of four women who come together in one extraordinary café, where the service may not be quick, but the opportunities are endless.

I cannot really express how much I loved reading this book, while also having my heart ripped out. I loved the little vignettes/stories and how each one featured both familiar and new characters. The regulars at the café are people we get to know pretty well over the course of the book, but there are also still some mysteries. I loved the premise of how the café’s time travel worked and the fact that nothing anyone did in the past could affect the present. The writing itself is beautiful and lyrical, honestly this book was like a warm hug at times, but also will make you cry. I can’t wait to dive into the following books to see what may happen to the characters in the future.

Happy reading!

Review | The Jump by Brittney Morris

March 11, 2024 DeAnneLeave a comment

From the acclaimed author of SLAY and The Cost of Knowing comes an action-driven, high-octane “thrill ride” ( Kirkus Reviews ) about a group of working-class teens in Seattle who join a dangerous scavenger hunt with a prize that can save their families and community.

Influence is power. Power creates change. And change is exactly what Team Jericho needs.

Jax, Yas, Spider, and Han are the four cornerstones of Team Jericho, the best scavenger hunting team in all of Seattle. Each has their own Jax, the puzzler; Yas, the parkourist; Spider, the hacker; and Han, the cartographer. But now with an oil refinery being built right in their backyard, each also has their own problems. Their families are at risk of losing their jobs, their communities, and their homes.

So when The Order, a mysterious vigilante organization, hijacks the scavenger hunting forum and concocts a puzzle of its own, promising a reward of influence, Team Jericho sees it as the chance of a lifetime. If they win this game, they could change their families’ fates and save the city they love so much. But with an opposing team hot on their heels, it’s going to take more than street smarts to outwit their rivals.

Goodreads | Amazon

A book about a mysterious scavenger hunt taking four friends all over the Seattle area, while also delving into their own problems, worries and lives? Yes please. This was not only a fun read, but really delved deep into a lot of real world issues while keeping the story moving. There’s talks of racism, diversity, gentrification and more in chapters told from the perspective of the four members of Team Jericho – Jax, Yas, Han and Spider. There’s typical moments of fractures between friends when there are disagreements or worries about each other, but also banding together to protect each other as they delve deeper into the clues and missions that are being handed out on the scavenger hunt forum. At the root are teenagers struggling to find their place while also caring about those they love, and their loved ones very real worries as well. It’s a fantastic read with a lot of fun elements but also real deep issues that are discussed.

Happy reading!

Review | Small Gods of Calamity by Sam Kyung Yoo

February 29, 2024 DeAnneLeave a comment

A tightly woven blend of myth, magic, and the ties of a found family.

Ghosts that speak in smoke. Spirits with teeth like glass. A parasitic, soul-eating spirit worm has gone into a feeding frenzy, but all the Jong-ro Police Department’s violent crimes unit sees is a string of suicides. Except for Kim Han-gil, Seoul’s only spirit detective. He’s seen this before. He’ll do anything to stop another tragedy from happening, even if that means teaming up with Shin Yoonhae, the man Han-gil believes is responsible for the horrifying aftermath of his mother’s last exorcism.

In their debut novella, Sam Kyung Yoo weaves a tale of mystical proportions that’s part crime-thriller, part urban fantasy.

I won’t lie, I was initially interested in this one because it was centered in Korea and then was even more drawn in when I read the synopsis and learned that it followed a detective who also deals in the supernatural and is on the hunt for a specific type of spirit that they have been following for years. There is a lot of talk about Spiritualism in both Kora and Japan, especially when Han-Gil internally reflects on his memories of his mother and goes searching for those who might have information regarding the person he suspects is the current victim of the spirit.

I was immediately sucked in and found a lot of the descriptions very well fleshed out. There were some passages, especially when Han-Gil or other characters were being introspective. I did not expect the emotional depth and introspection that happens later in the book and found it really wonderful as Han-Gil especially finally processed some of the events of his past. All in all, I really enjoyed the adventure of this read and would definitely pick up any future books by this author.

Happy reading!

Review | The Baker and the Bard by Fern Haught

February 19, 2024 DeAnneLeave a comment

Author-artist Fern Haught weaves an enchanting, gentle fantasy tale of friendship, determination, and respecting nature in their debut graphic novel.

Juniper and Hadley have a good thing going in Larkspur, spending their respective days apprenticing at a little bakery and performing at the local inn. But when a stranger places an unusual order at the bakery, the two friends (and Hadley’s pet snake, Fern) set out on a journey to forage the magical mushrooms needed to make the requested galette pastries.

Along the way, Juniper and Hadley stumble across a mystery too compelling to ignore: Something has been coming out of the woods at night and eating the local farmers’ crops, leaving behind a trail of glowing goo. Intent on finally going on an adventure that could fuel their bardic craft, Hadley tows Juniper into the woods to investigate.

What started as a simple errand to pick mushrooms soon turns into a thrilling quest to save some furry new friends―and their caretaker, a soft-spoken little fey named Thistle―who are in danger of losing their home.

If you enjoy graphic novels such as The Tea Dragon Society and others that are similar, you will probably want to pick up this one. It’s exactly as described, a cozy fantasy adventure, and so wholesome and wonderful. I loved Juniper and Hadley’s little adventure and their misadventures, especially Hadley’s enthusiasm throughout. They played really well off of each other and were wonderful companions. The art style is whimsical and a joy to read, suiting the cozy world and characters that Fern Haught created. I’ll definitely be looking for more of their work in the future.

Happy reading!

Review | Before You Know It by S.K. Williams

February 18, 2024 DeAnneLeave a comment

Sometimes, beneath the weight of the world, we find ourselves drowning. Let this collection of poetry breathe life back into your lungs and remind you of everything that you’ve already overcome.

SK Williams dives back into their past with Before You Know It , a collection of poetry made up of two stories told in tandem, recalling the ages of 18 to 28, when the world laid waiting at their fingertips and the pressure of figuring everything out was never too far away.

Featuring four chapters, divided into two parts each— “In the Beginning,” “Uncharted Water,” “Beneath the Storm,” and “At the End” —this collection compares two peoples’ life experiences to one another and sees how similar we all really are. Through this book, Williams explores themes of youth, uncertainty, ambition, anxiety, depression, powerlessness, isolation, and body image.

At moments nostalgic, freeing, and youthful, and other times pushed down beneath the mounting pressure and responsibility of young adulthood, these two perspectives ask us to take a moment to appreciate how far we’ve come and to trust where life will take us.

Me and modern poetry aren’t always friends, so I always like to find new collections that I enjoy. This collection delves into a number of issues one might face when growing up and becoming an adult, navigating adult spaces. I enjoyed the writing styles of both perspectives, but I do wish that the different perspectives were better identified throughout the collection as I often found myself losing track of which perspective it was I was reading from. I did really enjoy the imagery and atmosphere created through the dual voices and found the talk of depression, anxiety, growth and learning who you are – plus talk about some of the struggles facing younger generations in the current day to be very raw and real, as well as relatable.

Happy reading!