Mary Shelley's Frankenstein serves as a point of departure for this story set in the turbulence of mid-aughts Baghdad. Told in an ensemble of perspectives, Ahmed Saadawi shines light on the political and social complexity of the city in 2005, the dangers and unique sociopolitical structure, and the murkiness of the notion of criminals and innocents.

This novel was so gorgeous. The writing was rich and lush, and Dhonielle Clayton has brought to life a beautiful, complex world, where nothing is quite what it seems. The world of Orleans is one where beauty is changeable and diverse, and the author explores the good and bad that comes with being able to change your appearance on a whim. I loved the imaginatively wrought world-building that Clayton brought to this first book of the series, taking what seems like a simple idea and weaving it into an amazing story. Camille is a spirited, amazing protagonist, with a depth of personality that gave realness to every page and every word. Very excited to see what comes next! And since she has five sisters, does this mean that we get five more books?!

This was amazing! I read it basically in one sitting. I loved this debut by Jasmine Guillory. Alexa and Drew are a great couple with a realistic modern-day relationship and I loved their story. Jasmine is a great writer and brought fully realized characters to the page with all of their mess and the complexities of their relationship. Alexa was so real that at several points I was like, yesss girl.

Okay, so I won this book in a Bookish First giveaway and I didn't have to review it but I did because it was awesome and everyone should read it!

This was one of those books that you know that you're reading something extraordinary within the first few pages. This novel was devastatingly amazing, a portrait of love and marriage and family and how circumstances conspire to complicate all of these relationships. What happens to a new, tender, fragile love when it's ripped up by its roots and thrown into a completely unexpected environment? Does it ever recover? Can it survive?

If we are spoken about, then we can never disappear.

Generally, I have a personal moratorium on books set in the 1940s because they seem to all be about World War II, and from a Western perspective. This book was different. It's set in a dual timeline between 1943 and 2011 about two Korean sisters, and the lasting effect of the Japanese colonization of Korea on them, their family, and Korean society at large.

Mary Lynn Bracht writes a devastingly gorgeous and heartbreaking story of the women whose lives were destroyed by the wars in Korea in the 1940s and 1950s. Her writing left me breathless with its intensity and impact. I was hopeful and fearful for both women as I read their stories, never knowing how their lives would develop because I'd never heard this kind of story told before.

We start the story following Hana, a haenyeo, one of several women on her island who dive for a living. These women are admired for their incredible strength and self-sufficiency, as they manage to support their families even through the time of Japanese occupation. We then meet Emi, another haenyeo living in 2011, reflecting on her life as it draws to a close, but also desperately searching for someone. We learn of both their stories as the novel progresses, a mere snapshot into the horrendous experiences of thousands of Koreans in the mid-20th century.

All the trigger warnings for rape, violence against women, etc. This is not a rose-tinted view of war at all. Mary Lynn Bracht does not shy away from the brutality that Korean faced during the Japanese occupation, World War II and the Korean War.

I received a copy of this book through the Penguin First-to-Read program. I did not have to review it here (favorably or otherwise) but I did because it's amazing and people should know about it.

This took me a while to finish, because it's so... atmospheric. So much happens in the lives of Elsie and Luljeta, and yet nothing really happens at all. A beautifully written novel about the struggle to overcome in a life with virtually no choices.

This collection of short stories was so different and so good. Every story was perfectly realistic, but not at all ordinary.

This debut collection of short stories by Alexia Arthurs was pretty amazing. She writes in the context of Jamaicanness in all its iterations: Jamaicans in Jamaica, new immigrants to the US, Americans of Jamaican heritage, Jamaican expats returning to Jamaica. Her stories use the language and culture of Jamaica to talk about race, class, sexuality, and so much more. Each story felt like a snapshot of one universe, a spotlight shone onto the life of a person that I might pass in the street. Looking forward to hearing more from this author in the future!