hermusings's Reviews (303)

I found this to be delightfully enjoyable. With any magical realism where some sort of element is constantly changing, there’s the risk of the story growing tired before anything truly happens. In The Husbands Gramazio sets a fast pace from the beginning that keeps you engaged. I also found that main character Laura would get tired of the revolving door of husbands just as I did which allowed for the story to turn into a quest for a suitable husband (or life) for her to stay with. 
This was the perfect level of introspective and outlandish.

This may be my favorite Christmas short story I’ve read so far.
Loved the prose and powerful messages weaved throughout the story. Also how authentic and earnest main character Bill Furlong is.

This is a strong feminist story about a sex bot gradually gaining consciousness and desire for freedom.

This was hard to put down as you soon find yourself rooting for Annie and wonder where her journey will lead her. Along with great commentary on humanity, feminism and AI.

Loved the premise. It was sweet and had me go down a mastectomy rabbit-hole while also being informative within the narrative. 

Also!! This is a holiday season read!! Perfect time for it.

Quirky and cringe yet fun, sexy, & thoughtful

With the Foxx Bourbon series, Wilder does a good job at building a romance with intrigue and suspense. This sequel does not fail to deliver on those fronts and more.

Although at face value this book is a suspense romance, I was pleasantly surprised by how much was also centered around sisterhood. It also built beautifully on the story from the previous book which I think added dimension to the town and the characters.

Excited to see how this series will conclude with Ace & Hadley’s story.

Thank you to Victoria Wilder for an arc in exchange for an honest review. 

This not only found me well but at the right time! 

Natalie Sue wrote a corporate comedy with depth, introspection and juicy office drama. I devoured it and found it timely for me on a personal level but also as a good respite from the state of the world. I went into this blind which allowed me to have a delightfully funny and surprising experience.

Also, the audiobook narration by Nasim Pedrad was phenomenal!! 

They truly never want to let the girly pops live 😭
This should be mandatory reading — informative, concise and real. 
Also beautifully illustrated.

Read this during elections week and that’s honestly my biggest regret. 😭 

 

Mulan is one of my favorites so knowing that this was a retelling was all I needed to know to pick up this book. Essentially, I went into it relatively blind.

I loved that it felt more grounded than the Disney version (shocker) – from opium addictions to class and political dynamics. 

Along with Song’s incorporation of a magical realm, made this story feel elevated while still being true to what we know. It was immersive in nature and the story telling incorporating the folklore with beautiful proses was wonderful to read.

 

The ending to this story leaves off on a note that makes you think “surely this is not the end of Meilin’s story” as the series is meant to continue it aims to leaving you wanting to find out more. However, I left feeling the opposite. The characters felt two-dimensional and hard to root for. The main driving force is the intrigue of this forbidden magical realm/creatures and how it unravels in their lives. At the end, so much of the magical aspect had been revealed that the occult lies within the characters that had little pull for me. 

 

I think If you are familiar with Mulan’s story and do not read a lot of fantasy because of the dense world building, this may be a good choice as you already have a leg up on the main plot.

 

Also, physically, this book is gorgeous. The only physical edition right now (in US) is the first edition hardcover and it’s insane they made it look so good. Even down to the type of paper it’s printed on.