Definitely a book that I think anyone who is interested in linguistics/language and how much it has an affect on the socio-economical aspects of life should read. Be prepared to take your time with this one because you’ll have moments where you’ll need to stop and sit with your thoughts (in a good way) and also moments of absolute rage (specifically with how some things are STILL very prominent today).

Definitely my favorite of the trilogy! Very much everything that I wanted from a friends-to-lovers book while also highlighting the still prevalent misogynistic tendencies that exist in Asian culture.

Great balance of enemies-to-lovers and wedding planning gone awry!

Peak grumpy x sunshine that also sheds a lot of light on the cultural customs of our characters!

Picked this series up from a friend of mine and this was such a fun ride! Great combo of spy action and fantasy! For fans of ‘Archer’ and ‘Agatha All Along.’

Definitely wanted this to be a full-length novel because they pacing was a bit slow and I wanted to get a better dynamic of the character dynamics and more peril (still a fair amount for a novella, which I liked). I DO really enjoy this author’s descriptive and cinematic writing style so I will absolutely be reading more from them.

Tbh not my favorite art-wise, but I think Malaka’s story can be relatable to a lot of children (and in my case, grandchildren) of immigrants. Definitely saw a lot of my own experiences in her story, and was also reminded about which parts of my culture I want to make sure to preserve for my kid.

The ending could have been a little better, but honestly I can look past that for almost 400 pages of getting the heebie jeebies in writing form. Definitely recommend daytime reading or at least being prepared to read on when the creepy shit is happening.

 I feel like there can absolutely be more that can be added to continue the story. I do get more of an understanding of the characters and the overall politics, but I still want more. Definitely hoping that there is a 3rd volume but I can also see this being used an open-ended conclusion to the 1st volume. 

Considering Ms. Collins releases a new Hunger Games book when she’s got something to say, I still wasn’t expecting this to be as brutal as gut-wrenching as it was! Also, cue the “is this fucking play about us” dumbasses that are gonna be up in arms realizing that she’s calling them out with how overtly blatant this particular book is.