"This is it. The root of it all. The real history of Asian people in America. Two hundred years of being perpetual foreigners.”

Interior Chinatown is a unique commentary on what it’s like to be Asian in America, written mostly as a screenplay. The format is brilliant, honestly, bringing in characters such as “Generic Asian Man” “Ethnically Ambiguous Girl,” and “Kung Fu Guy,” while also focusing on Chinese American family dynamics and overall racial status in America. While this book is short, entertaining, and funny, it is also packed with hard truths that help unpack racial dynamics at play for Asians in our country. I highly recommend this read!

“Unofficially, we understood. There was a ceiling. Always had been, always would be. Even for him. Even for our hero, there were limits to the dream of assimilation, to how far any of you could make your way into the world of Black and White.”

Wow. An absolutely stunning YA fantasy romance with great narration by Carlotta Brentan and Michael Gallagher. Emily Thiede created such spectactular characters that you can't help but cheer for throughout the entire book. Not to mention, who doesn't love a forbidden romance with a "bad boy"? The world and magic system in this book is easy to understand, unique, and intriguing. I loved the Biblical parallels with the savior / antichrist and end times. It played out so well in this book, creating an atmosphere where peril and hope are on opposite sides of a balanced scale. I'm very emotionally invested and could use book two like, yesterday, based on that ending! This will definitely be going on my list of favorites of the year!

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the copy of this ALC.

"They thought he was a helpless old man. They were wrong."

WHEW what an opening chapter. We start And There He Kept Her knowing who the bad guys are and knowing what's happening to our two missing teenagers... but the Sheriff's Department and newly-returned-to-town Sheriff Ben Packard are still trying to figure it out. But we're still left with a handful of questions that make the book increasingly more suspenseful as it goes on. I found myself unable to put this down because I wanted to see how everything would play out. And There He Kept Her is a dark, disturbing, and spectacular debut. 

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC!

Maggie Moves On was such a fun and heartwarming read with lots of tender romance, a treasure hunt, and a "found family" made in Kinship, Idaho. From his first appearance in the book, our male MC Silas is swoon-worthy (as "Hot Landscaper Guy") and he has the biggest goofball dog, Kevin, who just makes for the perfect sidekick. I love Silas's personality of helping everyone around him and how he helped Maggie see the bigger picture and what really matters in life. I can totally relate to Maggie as a Type A person who just wants to get everything done all the time, and also get how she needs someone like Silas to balance her out. There was some fun history in the house that Maggie was renovating, really wonderful side characters, and an ending that just perfectly tied everything together. I'm a little disappointed this is a standalone instead of a series to revisit some of my favorite characters in Kinship, but I'll definitely be checking out more Lucy Score books after loving this!

Thanks to Forever Pub for the copy of this book.