Okay, so I thought I read a lot last month, but I surprise myself continuously. This month, I read 19 (!!!!) whole books! That is crazy! I imagine I was procrastinating actually doing things (like wedding planning, clearing out the weeds in my yard, a variety of other daily things), but dang. Though I am proud that I listened to several audiobooks this month, as that has been one thing I tended to struggle with. Hoopla is a savior, and I have been travelling a lot, so plenty of time to listen (re-listen? re-read? listen re-read?) to one of my favorite series. There were several novellas, short stories, poetry, full-length novels, manga, audiobooks, such a wide variety of formats and lengths, which contributed to the amount of books read this month, but in my goal of diversifying content, genre, and style, this was a good step in the right direction! Sometimes, as we all do, I get burnt out when I consume too much of one thing, so hopefully this will help with burnout.
Still on a huge fantasy kick but getting back into scifi and exploring other genres (to avoid said burnout), but there is just so much! to read! all the time!!!
- Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping on A Dead Man by Jesse Q. Sutanto
- A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim
- Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim
- Tomb of the Sun King by Jacquelyn Benson
- Dallergut Dream Department Store by Miye Lee
- Dallergut Dream Making District by Miye Lee
- Heaven Official's Blessing (Vol. 2 & 3) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
- Side Notes from the Archivist by anastacia-renee
- Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
- Gor For It Again, Nakamura by Syundei
- Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy by Martha Wells
- The Cat Who Saved the Library by Sosuke Natsukawa
- A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft
- All Systems Red by Martha Wells
- Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
- Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells
- Exit Strategy by Martha Wells
- The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't A Guy At All by Sumiko Arai
Rapid Fire Book Reviews (with a few in-depth ones for my favs)
Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping on A Dead Man by Jesse Q. Sutanto
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
- audiobook; audible
Vera will always be the grandmother I
hold in my heart; her character writing is amazing, and she genuinely is like
every other grandmother. The amount of nosiness and well-meaning but terribly
acted-upon things she does in this book both warms my heart and makes me
cringe. I also loved Millie/Penxi so much; she deserves so much love. I fr
cried in some scenes, both from how sad things could be, but also from how much
love surrounds the characters in this book Xander, TJ, Robin, Aimes, Qing Wen,
and literally everyone that Vera interacts with have such unique yet similar
struggles, and the relationships they build with one another are so cute and
refreshing.
This book made me laugh out loud so
many times. I'm sure everyone who saw me listening to this book thought I was
crazy, but it felt easy to relate to this book and find joy and love inside of
it. I non-stop recommend this series to people, both as a murder mystery, but
also just as a light, enjoyable read. There are many serious conversations held
by Vera and by the other characters in here, but mostly, this is a story about
finding family and love in places that you would never expect.
A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
- hardback; owned book
This was my introduction to Lim's works, and I absolutely
loved it. The imagery and detail of the world and the painting that Tru created
were beautiful. The relationship between Tru and Elang was complex and
developed very well, acknowledging both their feelings, situations, and
backgrounds as they navigated political drama, love, and curses in a world
neither of them felt safe in. The landscape that Lim built was gorgeous and
very unique. I enjoyed exploring the Kingdom of A'landi (or, underwater dragon
land, as I called it in my head) through Tru as she finds beauty in Elang's
home.
As others have mentioned, the true beauty of this work is
how Lim explores themes of inner beauty, transformation through love and
self-confidence, and what it means to be monstrous and afraid, yet unwilling to
back down. Lim uses her fantasy setting to examine questions about racism, the
self vs other, family bonds, love, and identity, especially in a world that
does not want you. A Forgery of Fate does an excellent job of
presenting these difficult and painful topics wrapped up in a beautiful love
story.
Gorgeously breathtaking, this book shows love, art, and very
delicious food as the key to not only finding your true self, but also finding
happiness.
Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- e-book; kindle unlimited
I have too many thoughts about this
book bouncing around my brain to make a reasonable review, but just know that
it was amazing. The familial relationship between Shiori, her stepmother, her
father, and her brothers was so relatable and heartbreaking in the lengths of
pain they would endure for one another. The curse that her stepmother, Raikama,
put on her was very unique as well, and while I was skeptical about how it
would all play out, the overall complexity and conclusion of the curse and its
solution were amazing, and I loved seeing how multilayered it was. I am not
fully convinced of Shiori and Takkan's love, but I think it's cute tbh, and who
am I to get in the way of that. I am very interested to see how Seryu plays
into all of this, but that is for later.
My only complaint with this book is
that the writing can sometimes be a little childish; however, given the FMC's
personality and situation, it does fit fairly well.
Tomb of the Sun King by Jacquelyn Benson
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- hardback; borrowed from uni library
Bless up for Goodreads' ability to make notes when you update your page count (that is something I would like to be implemented in Storygraph because we're trying to get away from Goodreads, but that is a convo for another time). Some of my live responses while reading this book:
- "While I appreciate the author's want to address colonialism and misogyny, if Ellie ruins one more regular fuckin conversation with her ability to willfully misunderstood people's intentions, I will go crazy."
- "I will strangle Neil with my bare hands for his idiocy, the Fairfax siblings always got something to fuck up 🙄"
- "Not a complaint, but definitely a note of how much that Benson forces her characters to acknowledge their privilege in society as white, English academics, and sometimes it can be a bit heavy-handed, but the character growth is crazy."
Anyways, the book was good, the vibes were The Mummy-esque, I will absolutely be reading The Arrow of Fortune when it comes out, and while I do have my issues with the characters and their idiocy (see above), this is still a very enjoyable read.
Dallergut Dream Department Store by Miye Lee
- ⭐⭐⭐
- e-book; kindle own
This is so cute!! We get to meet the wonderful world of dreams, and Penny and Dallergut, and all the managers in the Dallergut Department Store.
Now I will say, this book is entirely vibes, not a lick of plot in sight, which is great if you're expecting just vibes, and not great if you're expecting plot.
I think the atmosphere is very lighthearted and dreamy (lol), and is such a nice, casual, fun read, and while the characters are not super complex or in-depth, their personalities are interesting, and it was sweet to see Penny's development as she learns more at the store.
Would recommend for a light, funny read for all ages.
Dallergut Dream Making District by Miye Lee
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- book; borrowed from public library
This was a cute little follow-up, and it was nice to see the evolution of Penny's career as she works side by side with dream makers, and the longer she works at Dallergut. Once again, all vibes, very little plot, but for a light-hearted, upbeat read, this is wonderful.
Heaven Official's Blessing (Vol. 2 & 3) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
- ⭐⭐⭐
- e-book; libby
Word for word, what is written in my reading journal for both volumes:
GAYYYY! 🫵 (I love them so much)
Side Notes from the Archivist by anastacia-renee
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- e-book; kindle own
love love love the layout of this book, the sections are formatted so well and the endnotes and footnotes!! how cool!!
Exploring the author's childhood and identity was beautiful, poetry proves to be one of the best ways to not only connect with others but also to self-reflect on yourself, society, culture, and life as we go through it.
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
- ⭐⭐⭐.5
- paperback; owned book
They deserve each other, I'm not gonna lie, this book was both cute and creepy because what do you mean he is reading her emails?? And then she stalks him?? weirdos in love
While I enjoy the characters because their personalities are cool, and I like the vibes, the whole premise of how they got together is weird, but self-aware weird?? Like they knew it was kinda weird, but it didn't bother them enough to 1) stop them from doing said creepy actions and 2) stop them from getting together, yet somehow I was still rooting for them?? idk, would recommend as a casual read, but def with forewarning
Gor For It Again, Nakamura by Syundei
- ⭐⭐⭐
- paperback; borrowed from uni library
Peak gay teenage crush, this was such a cute read, and Nakamura is so real, I also remember being embarrassingly awkward around the people I liked, and on top of that, being gay? puberty is rough, and I sympathize.
Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy by Martha Wells
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
- e-book; kindle own
I love Peri so much, this was such a nice look into Peri's feelings & evolution as a machine/transport/advanced intelligence/thing.
The Cat Who Saved the Library by Sosuke Natsukawa
- ⭐⭐⭐.5
- e-book; libby
I really enjoy the connection that these characters build with their local community and their relationship with books, because as someone who devoured books my entire childhood, I would have done the same thing as miss girl in here if I knew someone was destroying books or turning them into carbon copies of each other, with nothing new allowed. I feel like this book also accurately represents literacy skills as we delve more and more into a technology-driven world, and if you live in the U.S., the rise in censorship and book bans. This will forever and ever be a problem, but that does not make the point less poignant.
A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
- e-book; libby
This book was so gorgeous, and once again, I thank the ability to make notes on Goodreads updates + publishing highlights and notes from my kindle. Live reactions:
- "this book is gayyyy, and I fuck with it hardcore"
- "Lorelai. girl. to be in love or to not be in love, what is the answer to this question"
- "they're actually quite funny when they are not literally at each other's throats trying to kiss/kill each other"
- "OOOOOOOOO WE HAVE A CONFESSION!! I gotta say, these are the two most intelligently stupid people I have met"
- "bitch ass mf"
- "these kids got some trauma for real, but ngl, he deserved that"
This book was gothic, dark, heartbreaking, and so beautiful. I absolutely loved the complexity of each character and Saft's discussion of identity in relation to culture and ethnic identity when faced with racism, religious persecution, and those who wish to conquer and erase them. While yes, we are dealing with enemies-to-lovers in an academic murder mystery, we also have a gorgeous background of political drama amongst culturally diverse (very traumatized) warrior embassies who all have their own countries and personal wants to fight for. Some of these people needed to die (evilness), but none of them deserved the trauma that shaped the way they are now, and now we have to deal with complex sympathetic villains. There were a couple areas where I was like hm. which is why this book is not 5 stars, but I highly recommend this book and kinda wish I read it peak spooky season, cause the vibes were certainly spooky.
All Systems Red by Martha Wells, narrated by Kevin R. Free
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- audiobook; hoopla
Although short, the exploration of human identity and overall dry, sarcastic humor is so enjoyable to both read and listen to! Murderbot/MB/SecUnit is so relatable in regards to human emotion and life experiences, and while yes, he can sometimes be an ass, his character is such a well-written take on cyborg characters, and I will foreverrrrrr recommend this series to new and long-time science fiction fans. (And no, I have not watched the show yet.) This is my first time listening to the audiobook, and it was a short listen and very enjoyable! I did not listen to the dramatized version because that was too much for me, but Kevin R. Free does an excellent job and provides the human warmth that is present in SecUnit's voice (as a bot construct) but still expresses his monotonous, dry voice (the construct part), which provides an excellent auditory dichotomy.
Artificial Condition by Martha Wells, narrated by Kevin R. Free
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- audiobook; hoopla
Genuinely one of my favorite books in the series, besides the first book, as we get to see SecUnit develop on its own, and we meet ART!! my fav!! Seeing SecUnit take on new roles and develop emotionally as a bot construct was really interesting, as it is not human, but not a bot, and it being a free agent is not only scary and confusing for Dr. Mensah and the others, but also for SecUnit itself. We also get to meet new people and see how SecUnit develops relationships and ultimately makes serious changes to itself and its worldview to adapt and stay safe, but also to not lose its weird identity (crisis).
Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells, narrated by Kevin R. Free
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- audiobook; hoopla
While this book is not one of my favorites, it does portray a very interesting dynamic between SecUnit and other bots, and we get some more information on SecUnit's continuously developing sense of identity. Miki is so sweet, and it was honestly very tragic to see the friendliness and care that is displayed between Miki and Don Abene compared to the pain and heartbreak that SecUnit is accustomed to. We also see SecUnit's recognition of its relationship with Dr. Mensah and the others, as it learns to identify how exactly it feels towards humans and bots (its family and friends). Plus, I imagine it was very satisfying to kill some of those small combat bots.
Exit Strategy by Martha Wells, narrated by Kevin R. Free
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- audiobook; hoopla
Ahhhhh Dr. Mensah, Ratti, Guathin, Pin-Lee, I missed them all. It was so cool to see bad-ass SecUnit again, and see how the others not only cared and missed it, but that SecUnit also cared and missed them too. Since we mostly see SecUnit's relationship with strangers for the past couple of books, this was a nice insight into the trust that SecUnit built with its family/friends, and how even though it is rogue, the skills that it has were developed specifically to help Mensah and the others. The evolution of SecUnit gets to shine in this book, and we get some more interesting world lore with the combat SecUnit's and SecUnit's interactions with them.
The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't A Guy At All by Sumiko Arai
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- paperback; borrowed from uni library
Gay gay gay gay gay, I loved seeing this relationship blossom, it was so cute and a neat concept! It's easy to relate to these characters, as they both hide their true selves and still try to enjoy the things they like that they feel ostracized for. It was sweet to see them bond, become friends, and eventually open up to each other.
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