Take a photo of a barcode or cover
amandasbrews's Reviews (454)
Sweet, cute, funny, light, fun, encouraging, delightful, adorable
Gouda Friends is an absolutely adorable romantic comedy. It’s full of cheese puns and reconnecting with your long-lost friend group and your long-lost best friend. All of this together makes for such a comforting read, perfect for your cozy romcom moods. Romance books are the best when they’re not entirely about romance and Gouda Friends truly finds that balance because it feels mostly about friendship, trust, and helping each other grow. But it definitely doesn’t leave out the sweet romance!
Quick Summary: When Tam gets sent home from a work trip early, she comes home to her shared apartment to find her long-term boyfriend in bed with another woman. After leaving their previously shared apartment, Tam has nowhere to go, so sitting alone in a diner she calls her long-lost best friend with their old “my entire life is falling apart” emergency code word. Without missing a beat, Josh buys her a flight back to Ponto Beach to stay with him for a much-needed vacation.
Gouda Friends is about so much more than romance, it’s about finding yourself with the help of those who love you. It’s about listening to yourself about your needs and learning how much that benefits you. When Tam goes back to Ponto Beach to be with her long-lost friend group, no one misses a beat and they accept her with open arms, even though she hasn’t spoken to them in years. It’s the perfect comfort that so many readers need when they feel like everything is lost because sometimes we need a reminder that the answer has been there all along.
Full review on my blog Bookish Brews
Bookish Brews | Ko-Fi | Twitter | Pinterest | Tumblr | Facebook
Gouda Friends is an absolutely adorable romantic comedy. It’s full of cheese puns and reconnecting with your long-lost friend group and your long-lost best friend. All of this together makes for such a comforting read, perfect for your cozy romcom moods. Romance books are the best when they’re not entirely about romance and Gouda Friends truly finds that balance because it feels mostly about friendship, trust, and helping each other grow. But it definitely doesn’t leave out the sweet romance!
Quick Summary: When Tam gets sent home from a work trip early, she comes home to her shared apartment to find her long-term boyfriend in bed with another woman. After leaving their previously shared apartment, Tam has nowhere to go, so sitting alone in a diner she calls her long-lost best friend with their old “my entire life is falling apart” emergency code word. Without missing a beat, Josh buys her a flight back to Ponto Beach to stay with him for a much-needed vacation.
Gouda Friends is about so much more than romance, it’s about finding yourself with the help of those who love you. It’s about listening to yourself about your needs and learning how much that benefits you. When Tam goes back to Ponto Beach to be with her long-lost friend group, no one misses a beat and they accept her with open arms, even though she hasn’t spoken to them in years. It’s the perfect comfort that so many readers need when they feel like everything is lost because sometimes we need a reminder that the answer has been there all along.
Full review on my blog Bookish Brews
Bookish Brews | Ko-Fi | Twitter | Pinterest | Tumblr | Facebook
the magic in this book is as pretty as the cover
Bookish Brews | Twitter | Pinterest | Tumblr | Facebook
Bookish Brews | Twitter | Pinterest | Tumblr | Facebook
Sweet, comforting, fun, sweet, family-focused, light
Tokyo Dreaming is a wonderful addition to Izumi’s story. Though I loved Tokyo Ever After more (which is common for me and sequels), this still holds a special place in my heart. Tokyo Dreaming gives us a glimpse into Izumi’s life as she learns to blend her two selves. Just like any other major life change, when we settle down into everyday life again, we start to grapple with how to reconcile our two selves from before and after the event. I love Tokyo Dreaming because it doesn’t let us get swept up in the whirlwind of excitement of becoming an overnight princess and a happily ever after, it’s about the challenges that came after a major life change and a major change in family dynamic. In this sequel, we’re allowed to see Izumi and her family struggle with their new normal. We get to see them decide how they want to find their voice and build their lives.
Quick Summary: After Izumi learned her father was the Crowned Pince of Japan, she became a princess overnight. Now, she’s finally settling into her life as a princess when she overhears that the Imperial Household Council refuses to approve the marriage of her parents, Izumi pledges to become the picture-perfect princess to make up for her mother’s lack of status. Unfortunately trying to be someone you’re not isn’t all it’s cut out to be. As Izumi starts to become what everyone wants her to be, she starts to lose herself in the process. In the process of giving her mom and dad a happily ever after, will she lose her own?
Tokyo Ever After was one of my favorite reads of 2021. It was the first book I’ve ever read where the Asian American protagonist went to the country where her parents are from and is accepted. Izumi may not have been fully accepted easily as the princess of the nation, that always has to come with struggles, but she was never questioned on whether she was Japanese. Izumi was able to go to a place where everyone looked like her and everyone accepted that she looked like them as well. I cried a lot.
As a mixed race person, this is a magical phenomena I could never imagine for myself, but inside this series, I’m able to dream. Tokyo Dreaming picks up from Izumi learning how to exist in Japan in the previous book and allows her to begin her life where her heart is. It is a delightful extension to that dream that Tokyo Ever After made possible for me. It helped me imagine what that could be like and I never want to let it go. This series takes The Princess Diaries, one of my favorite movies as a kid, and gives it back to Asian Americans. Tokyo Ever After gives us our magical princess story and Tokyo Dreaming gives us our princess life.
Bookish Brews | Twitter | Pinterest | Tumblr | Facebook
Tokyo Dreaming is a wonderful addition to Izumi’s story. Though I loved Tokyo Ever After more (which is common for me and sequels), this still holds a special place in my heart. Tokyo Dreaming gives us a glimpse into Izumi’s life as she learns to blend her two selves. Just like any other major life change, when we settle down into everyday life again, we start to grapple with how to reconcile our two selves from before and after the event. I love Tokyo Dreaming because it doesn’t let us get swept up in the whirlwind of excitement of becoming an overnight princess and a happily ever after, it’s about the challenges that came after a major life change and a major change in family dynamic. In this sequel, we’re allowed to see Izumi and her family struggle with their new normal. We get to see them decide how they want to find their voice and build their lives.
Quick Summary: After Izumi learned her father was the Crowned Pince of Japan, she became a princess overnight. Now, she’s finally settling into her life as a princess when she overhears that the Imperial Household Council refuses to approve the marriage of her parents, Izumi pledges to become the picture-perfect princess to make up for her mother’s lack of status. Unfortunately trying to be someone you’re not isn’t all it’s cut out to be. As Izumi starts to become what everyone wants her to be, she starts to lose herself in the process. In the process of giving her mom and dad a happily ever after, will she lose her own?
Tokyo Ever After was one of my favorite reads of 2021. It was the first book I’ve ever read where the Asian American protagonist went to the country where her parents are from and is accepted. Izumi may not have been fully accepted easily as the princess of the nation, that always has to come with struggles, but she was never questioned on whether she was Japanese. Izumi was able to go to a place where everyone looked like her and everyone accepted that she looked like them as well. I cried a lot.
As a mixed race person, this is a magical phenomena I could never imagine for myself, but inside this series, I’m able to dream. Tokyo Dreaming picks up from Izumi learning how to exist in Japan in the previous book and allows her to begin her life where her heart is. It is a delightful extension to that dream that Tokyo Ever After made possible for me. It helped me imagine what that could be like and I never want to let it go. This series takes The Princess Diaries, one of my favorite movies as a kid, and gives it back to Asian Americans. Tokyo Ever After gives us our magical princess story and Tokyo Dreaming gives us our princess life.
Bookish Brews | Twitter | Pinterest | Tumblr | Facebook
I'm just here to support more Viet authors always
6.15.2022 OKAY LET'S DO THIS
6.15.2022 OKAY LET'S DO THIS