Natalie Tan’s Book of Love & Fortune: A Nuanced Look Into Culture, Grief, & Community

This is a book that demands to be savored. And savor, I did. It’s beautiful and a little heartbreaking and absolutely a masterpiece. Sentimental, but subtle in its execution, Natalie Tan's Book of Love and Fortune is something truly extraordinary with how Natalie explores grief, intergenerational family, and culture, all wrapped up with subtle hints …

Double Review: We Hunt the Flame + Ayesha At Last

Today I'm so excited to bring to you two reviews in one (double the trouble!) with my thoughts on both Hafsah Faizal's YA fantasy debut, We Hunt the Flame, and Uzma Jalaluddin's adult romance, Ayesha at Last! Both are by Muslim authors--although Faizal's is inspired by Ancient Arabia, not Islam--so it's fitting I smoosh them …

If You Liked… #13: Adult Science-Fiction & Fantasy by Women!

Today I want to actually start of another year of If You Liked... posts by shouting out some adult science-fiction & fantasy novels by female authors! I picked this specific subset because oftentimes, these books are miscategorized as YA, for numerous reasons. A lot of it is definitely misogyny in both the YA and adult …

Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen (DRC): An Amazing Adult Sci-Fi Novel with Strong Family Themes

4.5 stars Kin Stewart used to be a time-traveling secret agent from 2142. Now, stranded in suburban San Francisco since the 1990s after a botched mission, Kin has kept his past hidden from everyone around him, despite the increasing blackouts and memory loss affecting his time-traveler's brain. Until one afternoon, his “rescue” team arrives—eighteen years …

The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty (ARC): Spoiler-Free Review of this Incredible Sequel

4.5 stars The Daevabad Trilogy (The City of Brass and The Kingdom of Copper, currently) is a sweeping adventure that conjures a world where djinn summon flames with the snap of a finger and waters run deep with old magic; where blood can be dangerous as any spell, and a clever con artist from Cairo will alter the fate of a kingdom. …

Walking a Tightrope: The Fine Line between YA and Adult Fiction

Due to recent controversy, I've got another discussion post here for you today, with the prompt of how do we distinguish between young adult, new adult, and adult fiction? Recently, the lines between the genres (and the dying NA genre) have been blurring as adult fiction writers write YA and YA authors write adult and Sarah …