pleasantly moved by this debut, which tackles memory, writing, love, and stories so deftly and emotionally. had me tearing up on a bus ride home

a british misogynist will never prosper as long as i'm around inshallah

a quick contemp litfic read... heron you may have your reasons but you are a chopped hoe for doing that like dawn got her lick back 

not my favorite book by tjr; the writing felt oddly flat and i didn't find myself as fully immersed asi have been in her previous works

however i will say this is the most romantic tjr has ever been; some of these passages were so achingly romantic i felt like i was intruding like DAMNNN

when joan says that she wants to show vanessa every good thing she's ever found that was just so profound...and those last few pages?? when vanessa asks joan if she knows that vanessa loves her very much?? jesus

 so i have never read the original pride and prejudice...i get the gist one is prideful one is prejudiced yup yup but i have no idea about the characters except for darcy and elizabeth. that being said, after reading the wikipedia page of the characters i felt ready to dive into this novel.

this novel follows charlotte collins as she grows closer to mary bennet (one of the bennet sisters if you couldn't tell) after mary comes to charlotte's house to provide her with company after charlotte's husband passes away. as they grow closer, charlotte tries to figure out her newfound feelings that have emerged with mary's company.

so firstly i will say that i did notice a few sentences that could have proper comma placement but i will say this is an arc and so i'm willing to just assume they could have tidied it up. otherwise, this is a pretty sweet romcom that should please fans of the original novel. lots of characters from pride and prejudice pop up in this novel, and interesting new characters such as the servants at canterbury and mr. mellor. i think the relationship between charlotte and mary is developed and paced well; it didn't seem too fast like most romance novels usually seem to me. it's also interesting seeing charlotte discuss her feelings of grief and wifehood and the culture of remarrying/marrying in victorian(?) england. i also liked how mary was interested in minerals and flowers and these interesting science topics; it helped flesh her out.

overall i was pretty satisfied with this romcom! i'm not a big romance reader but i think this is a great romcom that can either stand on its own or be read next to the og pride and prejudice. 

holden mama you need to get on lexapro STATTTTT

 an eerie and sharp story that explores familial grief, racism, and trauma.

this novel follows cora zeng as she deals with the murder of her sister while living through the covid-19 pandemic, and how she and her coworkers start to notice a scary pattern in the crime scenes they clean up. the writing is graphic, immersive, and profound. the author explored the real-life ramifications of racism, xenophobia, and hatred. this is definitely a horror novel; some of the scenes were very scary #tome (i don't read horror much). i also enjoyed the threads of chinese culture and folklore that were interwoven into cora's investigations.

cora is such an interesting character to me; she's very multifaceted, even if you think that her only identity is being wrapped up in her sister. i really liked the relationships developed in the novel; harvey, yifei, and cora were a really interesting dynamic with all of them being chinese and dealing with xenophobia/racism, and auntie zeng and cora, with auntie zeng's spiritual and cultural knowledge versus cora not believing in it at first.

gory, haunting, and intriguing; this book really draws you in and places you in the horror of cora's world as she fights both the hungry ghots emerging, a closed-down world in the wake of an illness spreading around the world, and the racism and xenophobia directed towards not only her, but many asian people. i would recommend this book to people who like literary or horror novels

thanks to netgalley and harlequin trade publishing for the arc! 

take a shot every time that damn varicose ulcer is mentioned my god you'll be drunk before the end of the book

mind-blowing, funny yet depressing, and honestly one of the most inventive and creative books i've ever read. 

i'm trying to get in my #nonfiction bag this year so for women's history month i decided to read about women!

i've never heard of fu pei-mei before, but her life story was so interesting, from her growing up and traveling around, to her settling down (with her ho of a husband) and becoming the julia child of taiwan (or julia child being the french fu pei-mei). 

i love books about food, and the wide range of dishes discussed in this novel made me hungry when i was reading it. i also thought the interviews of women in king's life really grounded this book. 

a well-researched and written autobiography where you can really feel the respect for fu pei-mei. now i want her cookbooks! anybody have a link to fu pei-mei's volume 1 cookbook please lmk