Surprising amount of warm and fuzzies for the sequel to A Deadly Education! Well at least until the finale. A lovely message of international cooperatSurprising amount of warm and fuzzies for the sequel to A Deadly Education! Well at least until the finale. A lovely message of international cooperation and looking out for others....more
Nella has been the only black girl working at Wagner Books since she started, so when Hazel appears in the cubicle next to her, she is thrilled to havNella has been the only black girl working at Wagner Books since she started, so when Hazel appears in the cubicle next to her, she is thrilled to have an ally at last. Hazel seems to befriend everyone she meets and fits in immediately. When Nella receives an anonymous note telling her to leave Wagner now, she can’t believe Hazel would have left it, but then who else, after all this time?
With the whole What Kids Taught Me debacle in UK publishing right now, The Other Black Girl seems more relevant than ever. I could believe some of the conversations Nella has with her colleagues happening in real life, and as the only black girl in the office until now, there’s been a lot of pressure on her to be the sole representative for black voices. But she’s only an assistant and speaking out can put her job at risk.
From the get-go you know there’s something sinister going on as it tells of an editor fleeing New York in the opening pages. Then it returns to the present and where Nella discovers the new girl is black. She’s so happy to have someone on her side. The presence of Hazel gives Nella the courage to point out the racist stereotype in a bestselling author’s book, and then things start going wrong.
Soon Nella starts to get paranoid. Is Hazel out to get her? She seems so nice to her face. Is there someone else who wants her gone from the company? The bulk of the story is Nella’s perspective but it does switch to the past, telling the story of a black editor and her author who were at Wagner before her, as well as a mysterious woman who is part of a resistance.
Just to warn you if you’re expecting a wholly realistic tale, it does veer off into Black Mirror territory. Pay close attention to all the reference to hair care. After reading Emma Dabiri’s Don’t Touch My Hair earlier in the year, I felt that the book wanted space to explore that part of being black, and it was clever how that was brought into the plot.
It talks about code-switching, putting on a different personality for work purposes, which I think is something a lot of people have to do to get by. I can understand both sides of the OBG argument, wouldn’t life be easier if you could just coast on through without worrying or being angry? Is it worth giving up a part of yourself? It also raises questions of allyship, should we really expect Hazel and Nella to want exactly the same things because they’re both black?...more
After breaking up with her boyfriend, Lila Macapagal moves back in with her family in the small town of Shady Palms, her dreams of becoming a pastry cAfter breaking up with her boyfriend, Lila Macapagal moves back in with her family in the small town of Shady Palms, her dreams of becoming a pastry chef drifting away. Her Tita Rosie’s restaurant is in financial trouble and she’s been tasked with saving it, when a food critic, who happens to also be her ex, drops dead right in the middle of his dessert. Soon Lila is tasked with proving her innocence and finding out the real culprit.
I will admit to picking up Arsenic and Adobo due to that cover, it’s bright, intriguing and has a cute doggo. I really don’t read that many cozy mysteries after dipping my toe in the genre with Agatha Raisin over a decade ago and not enjoying that at all. But I’m glad I gave the genre a second chance. This was really cute and fun, and yes Lila does have a Dachshund, named Longanisa after a type of Filipino sausage.
There is so much yummy sounding food in this book. As well as her family’s Filipino restaurant, Lila’s investigation takes her all around town, having to eat at all the places Derek trashed in his reviews. It turns out they all serve amazing food, so he was definitely up to something.
The mystery rattled along at a good pace, with just enough clues to take a guess without being too obvious. Of course, we don’t believe Lila did it!
I loved the emphasis on friendship too. Lila’s family might be keen to help her find a new man, but she spends time making friends, including inviting the dentist out to dinner because he doesn’t really know anyone outside his family. And OK, there might have been some romantic hints, but it’s definitely more mystery than romance.
I listened to it on audio and Danice Cabanela does a great job making Lila come across as friendly and kind, even if sometimes she’s a little indignant....more
The Wolf and the Woodsman is set in a world frequented by religious persecution. The official religion of the country is the Patrifaith, sacrificing pThe Wolf and the Woodsman is set in a world frequented by religious persecution. The official religion of the country is the Patrifaith, sacrificing parts of themselves to Saint Istan to be gifted power in return. The Patritians wish to rid their land of both pagans and Yehuli, a religion that represents Judaism in this world. I liked that while they all had their different beliefs, that belief all gave them magic of a kind. Not one religion was “the right one”.
The one-eyed Woodsman turns out to be no ordinary Woodsman, and soon him and Évike are on a quest to find a mythical beast that might just be the answer to both their problems. Évike might have been bullied all her life but she still sees herself as a wolf girl, she still doesn’t want to see her home and her family destroyed, even if she doesn’t like them very much. This is not a story with clear cut morality.
The throne is at risk to being lost to a charismatic individual, one who indoctrinates hatred through his impassioned speeches, blaming the country’s problems on the Yehuli, calling the pagans witches out for trouble. He represents a leader who can whip up hatred and create the path towards genocide. The story is based on Hungarian and Jewish history and mythology, and I’m guessing that history is around World War II and the rise of fascism in the early 20th century.
I loved the mythology so much. The religions were all connected but separate, at times brutal when characters lop off bits of themselves in order to be favoured by a god. Évike talks about some of the stories and myths, during her travels, helping to create a well-rounded picture of this world. The creatures that populate it include both the wonderful and the creepy.
It’s also lovely to have a fully formed standalone fantasy like this. There is a proper ending! ...more
In 1596, young Judith comes down with a fever and lumps around her neck. Her twin brother Hamnet goes for help, but no one will come. Their mother AgnIn 1596, young Judith comes down with a fever and lumps around her neck. Her twin brother Hamnet goes for help, but no one will come. Their mother Agnes is tending her bees, and their father is away in London. In a few short days, Hamnet will be dead.
I needed to read a winner of the Women’s Prize for Popsugar and I saw so many people praising Hamnet last year that I thought this would do. Honestly, if I hadn’t had needed it for Popsugar I would have not carried on past the first few chapters. Why is it necessary to tell me what happens at the start? This is why me and Literature don’t get along. However, I persevered and somewhere long the way I started to like it.
Someone told me the other day it wasn’t a plague book, but a good portion of the book is taken up by two kids suffering from bubonic plague. It’s about the effect of having someone taken from you suddenly by an awful disease that you can do nothing about. It’s about not being there for the death of a loved one. Isn’t this starting to sound familiar?
Among all the people saying they resolutely didn’t want to read anything pandemic related last year, I was really surprised to find out this book was centred around the plague. It’s not the big Plague, but still, even Maggie adds an author’s note to acknowledge that her book came out amid a pandemic and that there were similarities.
Me being me, that it was a plague book made me like it more. I liked the section where Maggie follows the infected flea and its ancestors over the seas, showing how this particular bacterium got into Stratford. It shows the ridiculous cures people tried, like tying a dead toad to the inflicted, but also how the “doctors” just left people to fend for themselves because they were too scared of the pestilence. Thankfully, our doctors have changed a lot over the centuries.
There is also a magical realism element, Agnes is a witch by many standards. She treats people with herbal medicine but also she can tell someone’s fate by feeling the skin between thumb and forefinger. She knows she will have two children at her death bed, she knows her husband has great potential.
So onto the husband. The big selling point of this book is that it’s about Shakespeare’s son. Very little is known about the man who was William Shakespeare and this story is based on just two parish records; the birth and death of Hamnet. In the story Shakespeare is never called by his name, I don’t know if it was intended for it to be a surprise that he was William’s son, but all the marketing ruined that. He’s actually a bit annoying as a character.
It’s mostly about Agnes. The story alternates between the children’s illness and her past, how she met her husband and the difficulties of living with his family. I found her stepmother was a bit of stereotypical evil stepmother and could have done without all that.
There is a lot of beautiful writing, that I can appreciate in small doses but it’s not really my favourite kind of book. I did end up enjoying it, so I guess thank you Popsugar for making me persevere....more
This is ridiculous, and hilarious! Perfect entertainment for a bank holiday afternoon.
Full review: Dial A for Aunties was a ridiculous delight! It’s prThis is ridiculous, and hilarious! Perfect entertainment for a bank holiday afternoon.
Full review: Dial A for Aunties was a ridiculous delight! It’s pretty rare for me to laugh out loud at books, but Jesse Sutanto managed to elicit multiple laughs through this madcap rom-com.
The women in Meddy’s family are cursed. First it was Chinese curse, the men in their lives fated to die before their time, but since moving to California the curse now just makes all the men leave them. This is partly why Meddy so easily gave up the love of her life, who we meet through flashbacks to her college days. Despite her closeness to her mother and three aunties, she never told them about him. So of course, they assume she’s just terrible at dating, and her mother decides to impersonate her on a dating site…leading to the aforementioned death. Her mother’s use of the aubergine emoji is just priceless.
The hiding of the body is the main purpose of the book, but there is also a second chance romance, if only Meddy can avoid getting caught. In a series of unfortunate events, the body ends up at the wedding, and they run round trying to save the event whilst coming up with ideas for the body. It’s a riot!
Meddy and her family are Chinese-Indonesian, as are their clients, so we get to see some of their wedding traditions when things aren’t going wrong. There’s a lot in it about family obligations and loyalty, but it is kind of heart-warming how that translates into their matter-of-fact help with the body. They never doubt Meddy that it was self-defence and they don’t bat an eyelid at the situation. They are awesome aunties, even if they have their own sisterly rivalries....more
Alice isn’t well, the legacy of her father Tuoni is making her ill, and there’s nothing conventional medicine can do for her. On the other side of theAlice isn’t well, the legacy of her father Tuoni is making her ill, and there’s nothing conventional medicine can do for her. On the other side of the Marble Arch, the Rookery may hold an answer, if she can embrace her unknown mother’s Mielikki side, and join their house, she can drink the draught made from the Summer Tree. And that might just save her.
When I read The Nightjar I loved the alternate London setting with worldbuilding inspired by Finnish mythology. What I didn’t love so much was the main character, but I can say I thawed a little to Alice in this second instalment and I enjoyed it a whole lot more.
I was a bit concerned that I’d forgotten what had happened previously but there is just the right amount of recap at the start of The Rookery to help you get your bearings. The Rookery is a copy of London which deviated in the 1930’s meaning it doesn’t have the war damage and some of it is a little old fashioned. The place is run by four houses, one for each of the main lineages. Mielikki have power over plantlife, Pellervoinen can open doorways and manipulate stone, Ilmarinen can wield fire and Ahti can control water.
Alice has taken a job as a research assistant in the alternate London, supposedly helping Professor Reid study souls, something Alice knows more about than the average citizen. She is an aviarist, able to see the nightjars that guard the souls of the Väki, but since this is a closely guarded secret she can’t really tell Reid that. Mostly she spends her time photocopying (or using the Ditto machine, as it’s known in the Rookery).
Meanwhile she must take the tests to join House Mielikki, so she can access the power of the Summer Tree. But something isn’t quite right in the house, is it possible the tree is growing, and is there someone who doesn’t want Alice to join?
I really enjoyed the quasi-academic setting of this one and there are several mysteries to be solved. While there were times that I was frustrated with Alice for not letting people in, it was mostly for the best, and she does seem to have more rounded relationships with people now. I can’t say she’s one of my favourite fantasy protagonists but the rest of it completely made up for anything she was lacking. I actually cared about her this time.
You Should Me Me in a Crown has such a joyful cover and it sure did live up to it. Liz’s high school is prom obsessed, like the whole school works towYou Should Me Me in a Crown has such a joyful cover and it sure did live up to it. Liz’s high school is prom obsessed, like the whole school works towards this one thing. There are rankings, community service and a recreation of a drink driving accident, complete with gory make-up and prom dresses. It’s a riot! They have their own social media app and Liz’s friends formulate an algorithm to work out where she stands in the rankings. She’s hardly the frontrunner, but slowly she starts to win people round by being herself.
Meanwhile, she meets the new girl in town and instantly crushes on her. Mack is also running for Prom Court but Liz can’t help but fall for her. The problem is, Liz isn’t out yet, and being queer could seriously harm her chances.
Liz might not be the biggest fan of the whole prom scene at the start, but I think she starts to fall for its magic too, at the same time that the rest of the kids come round to the idea that the King and Queen don’t need to be the usual suspects, from the usual families.
I liked that the majority of characters were good kids, so easily these books fall into tropes where it’s the protagonist against the world. Yes, there is one in particular who is mean and deserves to be the villain, but for the most part, it left me with warm fuzzy feelings for the whole thing.
It’s also the first time I’ve read a novel with a character with sickle cell disease, a hereditary disease mostly affecting those with African ancestry. It’s something I remember learning about at school, but since then I have never really heard about it. I think it’s great that these things are included in books which are otherwise fun, as it raises awareness when we might not feel like a reading a book that focuses on illness. It is a serious condition, as highlighted by the early death of Liz’s mother, but is also manageable as shown through her brother.
Liz feels a lot of responsibility towards her brother and her grandparents, who have given up a lot to look after them. She doesn’t want to burden them with the cost of her education and she feels it’s her job to look after her brother. It’s a lot to shoulder at a time in her life when she should be having fun. As often with these stories, a lot could be solved by just being honest but overall I found it a fantastic, escapist read.