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amandasbrews's Reviews (454)
This is one of my new favorite books, ahhhh I really really loved this book!!! Read my full buddy read review here!!! :)
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Charming, beautiful, validating, clever, personal, relatable, irreplaceable
Tokyo Ever After is a book I have been waiting to read since I was a little girl watching The Princess Diaries. I always had in my mind this little voice saying, “oh, but that would never happen to you, I mean, you’re Asian.” And as much as I loved the Princess Diaries, I never, ever, thought for one second that a similar story could even exist. Until Tokyo Ever After. I can’t even begin to tell you how monumental this book was for me.
Quick Summary: Tokyo Ever After follows Izumi, a normal Asian American girl, who has created a comfortable safe space in her group of Asian friends in a majorly white town. While trying to find out more information about her father, one of Izumi’s friends finds him, but he is not what they expect. It turns out “Mak from Harvard” is the Crown Prince of Japan and Izumi is his only heir, making her a Japanese princess.
It was such an easy read, but I found myself crying nearly every chapter. It was even worse because I read nearly the entire book waiting in line for rides at Universal Studios (the lines are worse than at Disneyland!!), so I was crying in public the entire time. When I tell you how much I cried, I should probably also tell you that this book is not sad. It was just really personal and emotional for me. It hit me so personally that I couldn’t help it. Every small detail hit me so hard, that I can confidently say this is one of my new favorite books.
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Here's a preview:
Charming, beautiful, validating, clever, personal, relatable, irreplaceable
Tokyo Ever After is a book I have been waiting to read since I was a little girl watching The Princess Diaries. I always had in my mind this little voice saying, “oh, but that would never happen to you, I mean, you’re Asian.” And as much as I loved the Princess Diaries, I never, ever, thought for one second that a similar story could even exist. Until Tokyo Ever After. I can’t even begin to tell you how monumental this book was for me.
Quick Summary: Tokyo Ever After follows Izumi, a normal Asian American girl, who has created a comfortable safe space in her group of Asian friends in a majorly white town. While trying to find out more information about her father, one of Izumi’s friends finds him, but he is not what they expect. It turns out “Mak from Harvard” is the Crown Prince of Japan and Izumi is his only heir, making her a Japanese princess.
It was such an easy read, but I found myself crying nearly every chapter. It was even worse because I read nearly the entire book waiting in line for rides at Universal Studios (the lines are worse than at Disneyland!!), so I was crying in public the entire time. When I tell you how much I cried, I should probably also tell you that this book is not sad. It was just really personal and emotional for me. It hit me so personally that I couldn’t help it. Every small detail hit me so hard, that I can confidently say this is one of my new favorite books.
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Stunning, dazzling, glamorous, imaginative, smart, insightful, magical
The Chosen and the Beautiful is a book that I’ve been excited about since the moment I heard about it. A queer, Asian reimagining of The Great Gatsby sounds incredibly ambitious and I was so interested to see what Nghi Vo would do with it. While reading it was immediately clear that there is so much thought in every detail. The way that Vo redirects our attention to certain phrases or ideas that were less critical in the original because of the time period and the way that she mimics the style is nothing short of stunning.
Jordan Baker grew up with the wealthy and glamorous in NYC in the socialite circles of the 1920s. She has it all: money, education, invitations to the most lavish parties of the time. But she is also a queer, Asian, adoptee, being treated as exotic and doesn’t have the same doors open to her as her peers. However, she wields something that no one else has, a papercutting magic that allows her to feel the spark in paper grow into a flame.
To review the chosen and the beautiful you must discuss The Great Gatsby. To me, The Great Gatsby is one of those classics (whatever that means) that, when we read it in high school, everyone seemed to be obsessed with it, except for me. The world was sweeping, glamorous, beautiful, exciting, but it just wasn’t written for me. I could never see myself in the pages in the way my classmates dreamed that would one day be them, swept up in the glamor and high society that can be New York City. The world just has never shown me that would be possible for me.
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The Chosen and the Beautiful is a book that I’ve been excited about since the moment I heard about it. A queer, Asian reimagining of The Great Gatsby sounds incredibly ambitious and I was so interested to see what Nghi Vo would do with it. While reading it was immediately clear that there is so much thought in every detail. The way that Vo redirects our attention to certain phrases or ideas that were less critical in the original because of the time period and the way that she mimics the style is nothing short of stunning.
Jordan Baker grew up with the wealthy and glamorous in NYC in the socialite circles of the 1920s. She has it all: money, education, invitations to the most lavish parties of the time. But she is also a queer, Asian, adoptee, being treated as exotic and doesn’t have the same doors open to her as her peers. However, she wields something that no one else has, a papercutting magic that allows her to feel the spark in paper grow into a flame.
To review the chosen and the beautiful you must discuss The Great Gatsby. To me, The Great Gatsby is one of those classics (whatever that means) that, when we read it in high school, everyone seemed to be obsessed with it, except for me. The world was sweeping, glamorous, beautiful, exciting, but it just wasn’t written for me. I could never see myself in the pages in the way my classmates dreamed that would one day be them, swept up in the glamor and high society that can be New York City. The world just has never shown me that would be possible for me.
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I think I learned a lot on specifics of the harm that police do (like statistics & numbers etc), but I think the text was a bit dry & could've been a bit more direct in some places. If I wasn't listening to an audiobook, I think I would have gotten bored. Anyway, I liked how it structured each problem, things that the world has tried to varying degrees of success, and then ideally how we could move forward and be better.
I actually adored this book, it's so good! Check out my review HERE!
Delightful, challenging, fun, hilarious, weird, silly, light, adventurous
Left Hand of Dog is wonderfully charming and beautifully weird. I’ve read and adored SI Clarke’s Livid Skies, so when she reached out to me to read this I was immensely excited. This book still blew me away. I can’t stop thinking about how delightful this book is. It is exactly what I needed!
Quick Summary: Lem and her dog, Spock, have been kidnapped by aliens. Though no one would have chosen Lem to be humanity’s first contact with aliens, it looks like humanity’s doesn’t get to choose. Through a series of hilarious and charming events, Lem and Spock must band together with the others who have been kidnapped to find their way back home. Packed with preposterous scenarios, quirky characters, and oodles of humour, The Left Hand of Dog tackles complex subjects such as gender, the need to belong, and the importance of honest communication.
Left Hand of Dog is not only hilarious and light, but compelling and challenging. This book has taught me that speculative fiction can absolutely be incredibly weird and still make a valuable statement. Progress can happen even if we don’t take ourselves too seriously, because that can burn us out. I’m so impressed with the way SI Clarke was able to keep a light and humorous mood but still challenge our thinking on so many crucial topics. It was wonderful!
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Delightful, challenging, fun, hilarious, weird, silly, light, adventurous
Left Hand of Dog is wonderfully charming and beautifully weird. I’ve read and adored SI Clarke’s Livid Skies, so when she reached out to me to read this I was immensely excited. This book still blew me away. I can’t stop thinking about how delightful this book is. It is exactly what I needed!
Quick Summary: Lem and her dog, Spock, have been kidnapped by aliens. Though no one would have chosen Lem to be humanity’s first contact with aliens, it looks like humanity’s doesn’t get to choose. Through a series of hilarious and charming events, Lem and Spock must band together with the others who have been kidnapped to find their way back home. Packed with preposterous scenarios, quirky characters, and oodles of humour, The Left Hand of Dog tackles complex subjects such as gender, the need to belong, and the importance of honest communication.
Left Hand of Dog is not only hilarious and light, but compelling and challenging. This book has taught me that speculative fiction can absolutely be incredibly weird and still make a valuable statement. Progress can happen even if we don’t take ourselves too seriously, because that can burn us out. I’m so impressed with the way SI Clarke was able to keep a light and humorous mood but still challenge our thinking on so many crucial topics. It was wonderful!
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Lyrical, sensory, beautiful, magical, stunning, warm, rich, aromatic, bright
A Magic Steeped in Poison swept me away in an aromatic and enchanting story. The very first thing I noticed after picking up this book was the beautiful writing matches the cover so perfectly. The writing is lyrical, flowing, beautiful, and steeped in stunning Chinese imagery. I found myself smiling to myself at small moments of calm and beauty. The way that the writing is entwined with tea is breathtaking and brought me so much joy. I have never read a book that weaves the central theme into a book so well as A Magic Steeped in Poison. It was really stunning.
After losing her mother to poisoned tea, Ning blames herself because she was the one who served the tea. Now she might lose her sister to the very same poisoned tea. In what feels like her last hope, Ning hears of a competition in the kingdom to find the greatest shennong-shi—masters of the ancient and magical art of tea-making. Desperate to save her sister, Ning travels to the kingdom and enters the competition in hopes of winning a favor from the princess.
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Bookish Brews | Twitter | Pinterest | Tumblr | Facebook
A Magic Steeped in Poison swept me away in an aromatic and enchanting story. The very first thing I noticed after picking up this book was the beautiful writing matches the cover so perfectly. The writing is lyrical, flowing, beautiful, and steeped in stunning Chinese imagery. I found myself smiling to myself at small moments of calm and beauty. The way that the writing is entwined with tea is breathtaking and brought me so much joy. I have never read a book that weaves the central theme into a book so well as A Magic Steeped in Poison. It was really stunning.
After losing her mother to poisoned tea, Ning blames herself because she was the one who served the tea. Now she might lose her sister to the very same poisoned tea. In what feels like her last hope, Ning hears of a competition in the kingdom to find the greatest shennong-shi—masters of the ancient and magical art of tea-making. Desperate to save her sister, Ning travels to the kingdom and enters the competition in hopes of winning a favor from the princess.
Continue Reading...
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Aaaaah this book was light, fluffy, sweet and delightful in all of the best ways! Read my full review here!
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Happy publication day to Elizabeth Lim! This book is just as good as her other books, it's so fun and magical that it feels like you're in a fairytale. Elizabeth Lim really writes such a delightful magical world, I really like her books! Go check out this one!
Check out my full review here!
Check out my full review here!
