Simone and Her Books

My Intro into Historical Romances

August 19, 2019
Recently, my friends and I started a new book club focused on reading romance and exploring the genre. So far, we’ve read one contemporary novel and two historical novels. We wanted to really deep dive into the genre and set aside our pre-existing opinions or notions about it. I feel like we get a lot of contemporary romcoms marketed at us with their cute illustrated covers, but not a lot of the other genres. So might as well look into it, right?

Well, it’s been quite an adventure especially now that we’ve read a few historical romances. When we were kids, my mom was really adamant about kids being kids so I read mostly Goosebumps and Babysitters Club books. But I knew a few friends in high school who loved themselves a historical romance and had a few sitting on their childhood bookshelves. As someone who’s never read a historical romance in earnest before, it was time for me to really get down and get dirty with them.

I picked three books by three different authors to try:
The Duke and I and Devil in Spring were book club picks, but I picked up Wicked and the Wallflower on my own. While all these books are backlisted titles, it gave me a good idea of what the genre was like and where it’s evolved to nowadays. But I read these with an open mind and the objective of finding if historical romances are the books I want to read. Here’s some of my learns:

Historical Doesn’t Mean Old and Tired

I mean, don’t get me wrong. There’s a lot of language here that’s dated, but it’s really there for effect. You’re reading historical fiction probably taking place during the 1800s in Britain and language needs to be accurate to the time. No one wants to hear a Duke call his friends “bros,” you know?

On that note, there’s quite a lot of antiquated thinking in these books. My friends and I struggled with some of the themes because they’re not the same as they are today. In historical romances, the patriarchy still dominates. Women are “ruined” by spending 10 minutes with a guy in a room alone. Women can try and own a business, but women are oddly owned by their husbands. It’s a lot of old thinking, but funnily enough it lends itself well to the stories.

You have to remember that these books are written for the time period. I think it’s good to remind ourselves how far we’ve come in terms of gender equality, but at the same time these authors are so good at taking these antiquated thoughts and turning them on their heads.

In each of these books, the women were fierce. They had sharp tongues and didn’t always listen to what the men said. I feel like despite the era these authors decided to write these books, they tried to keep in mind the generation of people reading it. Take for example, The Duke and I. For most of that book, I was a little bored with the parties and the coyness of both Simon and Daphne, but towards the end there were some huge moves that back in 2000 probably made women feel more empowered than they might have back in the real 1800s. It’s these little touches to the story that make them more intriguing to me.

There Are A Lot of Tropes

Whenever I read a review for a romance novel, I always see people get upset by certain tropes that come up. I can never tell by the review if the reviewer knows that these are tropes, but I figured that if you’re not a fan of these then you should steer clear.

But as a fan of tropes (I freaking love tropes I should write a whole blog post about my love for them), I really loved the ones in these books. I’m a huge fan of anti-heros, so I got my fill of them with Wicked and the Wallflower. I also loved fake relationships trope, which was in pretty much all three books I read. I’ll even take the royalty trope because each of these books had a member of the royal family somewhere.

I think the one thing you also need to be a fan of is the journey. When it comes to tropes, you can find that many books share the same themes and the same storylines and if you see books that way then you’ll get really bored of them. However, if you invest your time into reading the books and see how the author uses these tropes, you’ll find a much richer story that might be funny, serious, sad, or incredibly happy. It’ll also make it easy to weed out the books you don’t want to read if there are tropes you’re not a fan of. There’s a lot of tropes within the romance world and depending on your tastes, you can find ones you really love and avoid the ones you hate. I would strongly suggest checking out Smart Bitches, Trashy Books’ trope reference.

The Sex is Steamy

For a long period of time, historical romances were also known as the “bodice rippers.” I’ve learned from my friend, Leigh, that this phrase isn’t used to describe these books anymore and that’s totally understandable, but I like to think it explains the level of steam. Consensual as the love making is, it feels like authors don’t hold back. I’ve read some sexy contemporary romances, but these three books were probably sexier than those.

Maybe it’s because our brains automatically imagine women with pennies held between their knees and the extreme prudence you see in movies like Pride and Prejudice. So when you see characters literally ripping their shirts off and men getting down on their knees to do more than propose between your legs, it’s often shocking and surprising. But honestly, I loved it.

You can have your opinions on sex and they are totally valid, but I believe that sex between two partners can be a beautiful experience and in none of these books did I get the sense that the characters felt ashamed at their acts or judged by it. They did it. They loved it. And their relationships are somehow better for it. It also helps when authors tease the relationship so hard that the reader is just begging for sex to happen. lol.

Conclusion

So I only highlighted three parts of the historical romance here, but there’s ton. I’ll definitely be doing more research in the future and finding out way more in this subgenre than I’m starting with here. This is just my introduction into the genre and in conclusion, I like historical romances. I love that authors sees their time period as a challenge rather than a burden. I love seeing feisty women fall in love with their counterparts. I love the triumphs and surprises and twists. I love me a steamy book too, so that’s never wrong.

I also love that historical romances almost read like fantasy books. Take away the magical elements, the fairies, the elves, the fight for the throne, and you’ve basically got a historical romance. I couldn’t help imagining Wicked and the Wallflower taking place in some faraway world. Maybe it’s because it read like a sexy Six of Crows, that I liked it the best.

I honestly feel like the only issues I have with historical romances are more technical ones. There’s some repetitive language in Devil in Spring and there wasn’t very much action in The Duke and I. These technical issues are more issues with the writing style or the author’s approach, but that’s the whole point of me trying out these books. I want to find what works for me and I hope that this post encourages you to read a little historical romance and find it out for yourself.
I’m a Slow Reader (And That’s Okay)

August 16, 2019

If you don’t follow me on Instagram, then you might not know that I’ve been struggling to keep up with the books I’ve been reading. I want to read faster, but don’t know how to approach that when it comes to reading.

But after researching and watching videos, what I’ve learned is that speed reading isn’t a real thing. As readers, we know this but there are two objectives to reading: 1) Read the words on the page 2) Comprehend what they’re saying.

Of course our brains do both of these actions at the same time. We read, we comprehend, we move forward to see what happens next. The tone and pace of a novel will also help with this process especially if it’s written well.

But when you speed read (or push yourself to read faster), you sacrifice one of these objectives. You read the words on the page faster, yes, but your comprehension drops significantly.

Why? Because while your brain is busy reading the words, it doesn’t have time to make that synapse to comprehend what was just written. It could be a subtle difference like not knowing the color of a character’s eyes or it could be a big difference like skipping over an important plot point that will crop up sometime later. As a person who reviews books for a living, I need to comprehend otherwise my review may contain some biases I didn’t anticipate before.

I’m a slow reader and that’s freaking fine with me. While I wish my brain could read more words a minute, I cherish comprehending the book more than trying to finish it. I’ve realized that reading isn’t a race and it shouldn’t ever feel that way. The only person I’m competing against is myself and adding those arbitrary goals to yourself that mean little to anyone else means that I’m stressing out and I don’t need to be.

But I know that when I read I’ll be able to really immerse myself into the story. I’ll remember small details I might have overlooked. I’ll enjoy the time spent with my book because I’m not trying to finish it.

If you’re considering speed reading or quickening your pace, go for it. I don’t want to stop anyone from doing something they’re willing to try. However, I would keep track of how much you’ve comprehended and if you missed anything. It might make the difference as to whether or not speed reading is right for you.
I’m Ending My Reading Challenge Early

August 14, 2019

There’s a huge truth I need to get off my chest: I’m resenting reading. It’s the mid-year mark (well, a month late) and I’m starting to not read books. I can tell because I would rather spend my days with the TV on and laid out on the couch. Whenever I feel like I resent reading, I take a look at my goals either for the year or the month and find the culprit to my despair. What is going on that’s making me unhappy to read?

I think I’ve narrowed it down to one big thing: my reading challenge.

So I was excited because this year I was pushing myself to read 100 books. At the beginning of the year, it made a lot of sense. 100 books means about 10 books a month. Since I was already averaging 8 books a month, I figured I could probably just tack on an extra book or two to hit 100 before the end of the year. No problem!

What I didn’t realize is that reading this month is actually burning me out. With little time to think about what I just read, I would pick up another book and then tell myself I’ll catch up on my thoughts later. The process has made me delay reviews and sometimes not even review them.

Secondly, I’ve just picked up a job as a book reviewer so that adds a few more books to my monthly reading list and I feel like I’m inundating myself with way too much reading. I know, how can someone who loves to read think they’re reading too much? I don’t know.

So I decided I’m done trying to read 100 books a year. The reason isn’t because I can’t do it. I think it’s very possible for me to do it, but I think that for my own reading enjoyment having really aggressive goals like this takes away the fun of reading and points the focus on completing the challenge. I would much rather read 10 amazing books in a year than read 100 books I squeezed in between all the other activities I love.

Granted, anyone who can comfortably read 100 books or more a year should most definitely do it. I don’t want to deter anyone from their own goals, but I think the bigger learn I’ve gotten from this is that reading is a personal experience. I know I could read 100 books if I really pushed myself, but I’m not in the business of doing that anymore (or creating any monthly TBRs. Sheesh.)

What’s your reading challenge this year? Do you plan on breaking your own goals or just reading and seeing your outcome?
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware // Book Review

August 12, 2019
I became a late fan of Ruth Ware’s after reading The Death of Mrs. Westaway, so I picked up this one as well. Sadly, the ends didn’t make the means for me.

The Turn of the Key starts off with Rowan. She’s currently imprisoned for the murder of a little girl that she was taking care of. It then launches into Rowan’s story of how she came to meet this little girl and what happened. She recently landed a job as a live-in nanny with the Elincourts and their beautiful home in the Scottish highlands. Their home is bedecked with the latest technology making their house the Happy Home that takes care of everything from building grocery shopping lists to opening the front door. Immediately after interviewing with the Elincourts, she gets the job and heads on her way up to Scotland and live with this family.

However, the moment she gets there, the girls she’s nannying tell her that there’s ghosts and a mysterious girl who was murdered by the previous owner. Nervous about the rumors, Rowan starts to hear footsteps above her head, things go strangely out of place, and the girls don’t help with figuring out the truth. But as the scary noises and bumps in the night persists, Rowan starts to investigate what is causing these problems to finally find who the real killer is.

The whole book is written as a giant letter to a lawyer Rowan would like to represent her and her case. In these letters, she divulges everything to him including how this little girl ended up dying. I thought that reading letters from someone would create an unreliable narrator, but that’s the least of this book’s issues.

First off, it’s incredibly slow. I’ve read Ruth Ware before and I know that she’s a slow burner. She loves to suspend that thrill all the way until the very end, but I found myself really frustrated about 75% in the book and seeing that not much has happened. She does include her little hints and suspenseful moments to keep you going, but I think that if you’re really invested in the story and you want to know how the little girl died, then it’ll be motivation enough to read until the end.

That said, I was not happy about the ending. I don’t want to talk too much about this because I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but let’s just say that when the truth was finally revealed, I yelled “WAIT WHAT?!” My husband was so concerned by my reaction he stepped out of the other room and asked me if everything was okay. No, everything wasn’t okay.

On those two points alone, I felt like I could give this 2 stars, but after the shock of my initial reaction wore down I thought some more on this and realized some things.

First off, I really liked how Ruth Ware just straight up messed with us. You have to give her props for leading you in one direction and then sidelining you so hard you didn’t even see it coming.

Secondly, the suspense was incredible. Honestly, I was on the edge of my seat with every little nugget Ruth Ware gave us. While you can probably get upset with the extensive drawn out descriptions of their daily life, those pockets of information and the closer Rowan got to the truth really had me biting my nails. The atmospheric suspense made you really feel like you were there experiencing everything alongside Rowan.

So where does that leave me with my review? Well, in the middle. When I think about this book on some levels it was amazing. On other levels, it could definitely use with more editing. But when I think about the overall experience, I did read till the end. Ruth Ware did get my heart rate up and I did want to know what happened. It might have been a middle-of-the-road book for me, but it does have merits within it that made me finish the book.
- 3/5 Stars
- Find my review on Goodreads
- Find The Turn of the Key on Amazon
I received a copy of this book from Gallery Books for free in exchange for an honest review. My opinions have not been influenced by the publisher or the author.
Reading Thrillers and Becoming an Amateur Sleuth

August 9, 2019

A few months back, I saw this new Netflix movie called Murder Mystery. It’s supposed to be an Agatha Christie style comedic thriller movie where a couple goes to Europe on vacation and meets a man on the plane that invites him to spend their vacation with him and his family. Turns out, the family has a lot of messed up things going on and what was supposed to be the first vacation this couple goes on turns out to be a huge adventure-packed journey to find out who killed the patriarch of this family.

For all intents and purposes, this movie was made to be funny and funny it was. But what I loved the most about this movie is how it caters so much to thriller readers. You see, Jennifer Aniston’s character loves to read old crime fiction novels like Agatha Christie and when it comes to finding out the killer, she uses all her skills taught by her favorite hobby. If you want to watch the trailer for more, here it is.

And after reading The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware, I was thinking about my habits when reading a thriller. Similarly to Jennifer Aniston, the cogs in my head start to turn the moment I open the book and I try to decipher from the very first page who the killer is.

Whenever I dive into a thriller, it’s the only thing I think about. I mean, I also think about the plot and characters and all that, but I also think about the event taking place. If the killer is unknown, then these pages are the evidence I need to find out. If the killer is known, then the book is me determining if the killer could actually pull off what they’re doing.

Instantly, I become an amateur sleuth. I’m hunting the pages like a bloodhound for the clues up to the end. I’m Sherlock Holmes with a magnifying glass and my weird hat. It’s kind of what I love about the genre; citing moments that felt suspicious, taking into account each character and their motives, finding out who did it all and being utterly surprised. Of course, there are moments where I’m shocked beyond belief, but most of the times I put my bets on certain characters and see if I was right at the end.

I’ll always think of The Snowman by Jo Nesbo and how it gives you exactly that; just a few hints here and there that you may pass off as non-essential and then suddenly you’re seeing a half-naked killer without any nipples and your brain just triggers back to that moment when you read it. Ahh…memories.

But I always think that reading benefits people in some way and for me, it’s more than just finding out the killer. If anything, reading thrillers changes the way you think. While you’re enjoying the book, you’re also taking into account the finer details that would might normally overlook. And if you’re lucky, it might make you change the way you see people in the world. Granted, you’re not looking for a murderer in your real life, but you start to take into account the smaller details. Perhaps you can see that mug of juice that’s so close to the edge of your counter. Perhaps you need to find your phone that you left somewhere in your house. Perhaps a coworker presents you with a problem that needs to be solving and then all of a sudden your sleuth skills activate and you’re getting down to the bottom of it.

I also would argue it works your logic muscles. Being logical in thriller means that if someone says it’s ghosts, it’s most definitely not ghosts. It means that you’re not easily fooled by a macguffin or anything that reads like a red herring. In all actuality, you transform into one of the characters from my favorite movie, Clue. And honestly, I kind of like seeing the world through that lens every once in a while.

So what books turn you into an amateur sleuth? Are you a regular Holmes during your days?
Frankly in Love by David Yoon // Book Review

August 7, 2019
I recently received a copy of Frankly in Love to help promote the book before its release. So of course, I read it because what responsible blogger doesn’t read the book they’re promoting. Turns out, it was better than I thought it was going to be.

Frank Li is looking for a girlfriend. It’s the last year of high school and Frank’s working on applying to colleges, taking the SATs, and finishing up his AP classes. He’s ready for love and who else would be a better fit than Brit Means, a girl in his Calculus class with wit and as much smarts as everyone else.

But Frank has one dark secret, his parents want him to date a Korean girl. Every month, his family gathers with other Korean families that went to school together back in Korea. Amongst them is Joy Song, a girl in Frank’s class who just so happened to be dating a Chinese guy unbeknownst to her family.

When Frank decides to date Brit, he contacts Joy and sets up a system where he and Joy can date their respective partners without their parents finding out. For all intents and purposes, it looks like Frank is dating Joy, but no parents go on the dates so they don’t know.

However, things take a turn when Joy and Frank start to have feelings for each other. Now Frank has to figure out if he really loves Brit or if he’s falling for Joy and how to manage all of this without telling his parents.

This book is hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud a few times. David Yoon also has similar wit to say, the Green brothers (Hank and John). The witty one-liners and philosophies on love and life, and puns really made this book much better than just another story of a kid trying to date another kid.

It’s also filled with heart. I love how Frank is nerdy and talks about gaming and structures his sentences in weird ways. I love how he and his best friend Q play Dungeons and Dragons and that’s a fulfilling weekend. I love how intelligent Joy and Brit are and how their intelligence makes them more attractive to Frank. I think there are a lot of parts of this book that many folks will find funny and insightful. All of this and ton of representation? Count me in.

Let’s talk about themes

Ok, first off, the gatherings. This part freaked me out a little because my family would go to gatherings like this when I was a kid. My father’s high school friends who moved to the States would throw big barbecues in the summer and we would all get together, play games, eat some really amazing food, and just hang out. I remember us wearing matching t-shirts and meeting people our age and hanging out in a massive park somewhere. I thought my family was the only ones who did this, but I guess many Korean families try to keep the bonds of their friendships together even in America. I was shocked to hear this family do the same thing.

The second part I found surprising is that Frank’s parents were okay with him dating. When I was growing up, my main focus was always school. No dating for Simone because she’s gotta make sure to get into the best college at the time. But when it came down to dating in the future, the only prospects my family saw were Korean ones. Sadly, I already came to the conclusion that I was way too Americanized to be a Korean dude’s wife, so that ship sailed and my parents got over it. They probably also got over it because they realized they can’t control anything that happens in my life.

Third theme: racism. I wouldn’t say that this book is inherently racist, but there is a lot of racism used to explain the ethnocentric behavior of Frank’s family and friends. If you’re not aware, Asian people can be pretty racist and not only against other races, but also within the Asian community. I loved that David Yoon brought this up because I’ve grown up with this as well. Granted, nothing stuck and I love all races and people from Asian countries, but I don’t think it’s well known that Asian people can be really racist against themselves. I think it’s because we come from a country that’s been governed by different Asian countries in the past and that kind of merciless history can really make you think differently about them.

Fourth theme: fitting in. Frank describes the folks that live between two cultures as “Limbos” and I resonate so hard with this. It reminds me of all the times I grew up thinking “am I American or am I Korean?” There was a moment in my childhood where I went to two different churches. One was the American church and the other was the Korean church. My mom asked me and my sister to decide which church to attend because we couldn’t go to both every Sunday. I thought the American church because at least I can understand what the sermons were saying, but then I also thought the Korean church because I’ll meet more peers who live the same life as me. It’s a constant push and pull. I feel worthless as a Korean if I don’t know the new thing coming out of there or when people ask me about this Korean thing or that Korean thing. And many people in the US make an effort to emphasize the fact that I am Korean. Sadly, I wish I can figure this out, but I think it’ll be something that plagues me my entire life.

Finally, the way David Yoon wrapped up the story was interesting. I loved that in a state of family crisis, his parents were able to see that life is too short to be biased against people. They finally accept that race doesn’t count for anything and that egos need to be smoldered to grow. I don’t want to say more than this because I don’t want to spoil it.

I will say the only thing I wasn’t a fan of was the pacing. While witty and still hilarious, I did find that the ending dragged out a bit longer than I expected. I don’t think it really hurts the story, but it’s just something to keep in mind if you’re going into the book and noticed the same thing.
- 4/5 Stars
- Find my review on Goodreads
- Find Frankly in Love by David Yoon on Amazon
- Frankly in Love publishes on Sept 10, 2019
I received a copy of this book from Penguin Teen for free in exchange for an honest review. My opinions have not been influenced by the publisher or the author.
Like A Love Story by Abdi Nazemian // Book Review

August 5, 2019
Since I can’t speak to this book as well as someone who’s lived this life, I’m sharing a few reviews I’ve read on Goodreads for you. I hope this helps bring more understanding, but I encourage everyone to read this book. It made me cry and made me think and really made me want to read whatever Abdi Nazemian publishes next.

Book Reviews by Own Voices (pulled from Goodreads)
Where do I even begin? I started this book on Thursday and ended up spending almost my entire Friday reading it. I couldn’t put it down and I just wanted to read more.

The story is about three kids, Reza, Judy, and Art. Reza is a newly minted American by way of Toronto and Tehran. In Iran, being gay wasn’t something people knew anything about. All Reza knew is that he liked boys. That’s it. But the moment he steps off the plane in Toronto and sees the headlines, the first thing he sees is news about AIDS. He sees that it’s affecting the gay communities. He ingrains in himself that being gay means getting AIDS and dying a horrible death. So when he first starts going to school and meets Judy and Art for the first time, he denies the emotions he feels for Art and dates Judy instead.

Of course everything comes out. Judy finds out about Reza. Reza shares his real feelings for Art. Judy hates Art for betraying their friendship and dating someone she had feelings for. Then they make up and become friends again at the end of the novel. But to say that that is the gist of the novel wouldn’t be doing it justice.

The book is richly complex sharing the history of the LGBTQ community in New York City during the height of the AIDS crisis. It was absolutely brilliant. Abdi’s writing is subtle and easy to read. It’s a YA, so the book does carry its tropes but it doesn’t get in the way of the powerful messages coming across. I absolutely love how Abdi chose to show you how AIDS affects his characters, side characters like Stephen and Jimmy were the faces of the epidemic and this book wouldn’t have been good without them.

Judy’s uncle, Stephen, has AIDS. His partner died from the disease. His friends keep dying from the disease and slowly he’ll find himself in that same position. Every piece of media I’ve exposed myself to regarding the AIDS era has moved me in some way. Mostly because watching the devastation of thousands of innocent people die from a terrible disease will make you question things. Things like “why didn’t anyone do anything sooner?” “Why did we make it difficult for them?” “Why did they all have to die in such a painful and completely undeserved way?”

But from everything I’ve watched or read be it RENT or Philadelphia or Paris is Burning or Angels in America, I also learned that people can transcend. Which is what I think about when I think of Uncle Stephen and his causes in this book. He was dying. He was watching his friends and loved ones die. He saw his partner die. Throughout it all, he demanded justice. He fought for what was right and if I could go back in time and be a bit older than I was at the time (I was 4), I would have fought too. He saw less of himself as a dying man, but as a dying man who will use every ounce of energy and breath in his body to fight for cheaper drugs, better testing, and more drugs.

The story is also about sexual identity. Reza dates Judy to hide himself from everyone. He was so afraid of himself and somehow catching AIDS that he tried to push that deep down. That particular shame was probably the most interesting point in this novel especially as a YA book. I’ve read books Simon vs The Homo-sapiens Agenda and in that book, coming out almost feels magical. But this book felt real. Obviously, I can’t talk to this subject because I’m cis-gendered female, but I hope people read Like a Love Story and can see a part of themselves and their own personal journeys within Reza and Art.

But I think the most important thing this book is about is love. Love for yourself. Love for others. Love for people you may not fully understand but you accept them and love them for who they are. Love for Madonna! Love for your family. Love for the family you make. If you gather anything from this novel, it’s that love is the key. As quoted in the book “hate is just fear in drag.”
- 5/5 Stars
- Find my review on Goodreads
- Find Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian on Amazon
I received a copy of this book from BookSparks for free in exchange for an honest review. My opinions have not been influenced by the publisher or the author.
July 2019 Bookish Wrap Up

July 31, 2019

I can’t believe it’s already the end of July. I mean, can you? This month felt like it flew by and almost every weekend I had plans with friends either in town or visiting from New York. I loved spending my days with friends and talking about everything including books. But it also means my reading took a little hit from it. That’s okay! I still got to read some amazing books and finished the month with eight (hopefully nine if I can fit my current read in) books.

Looking back at my list of reads from the month, I read a lot of great books! Don’t you love it when each book you read is proceeded with another great read? Of course, there’s the inevitable downfall when you finally hit a book you have to DNF because it’s just not good or you’re not into it. Not looking forward to that.

Here’s my favorites from the month

The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez

This book got me in my feels this month. I mean, I had to put it down at one point and have myself a good cry because it was so good. The story about two people meeting through mutual acquaintances and fall in love. The only caveat? He wants a lot of babies when he’s married while she can’t have any babies at all. There are some seriously sad parts, but the rest is so funny. The ending, though. That will definitely get you. I can’t wait to read Abby’s next book because this was phenomenal.

Find my review on Goodreads

Recursion by Blake Crouch

I’m a fan or anything Blake Crouch. He’s an amazingly author who can really spin a tale and he does it again in Recursion. It’s the story of a woman who was trying to invent a machine that helps cure degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, but what she builds instead is a machine that allows you to travel back to your own memories and relive them IN REAL LIFE. It’s so twisted and the time jumping gets so messy and the ending leaves you feeling the way I felt after watching Inception.

Find my review on Goodreads

Wilder Girls by Rory Power

I was really blown away by this book. It was sad and terrifying, but also hopeful. It’s about this small island where an all-girls boarding school existed on. Somewhere along the line, everyone at the school (including the staff) are infected with a weird disease that mutates their bodies. Some girls are able to live after each painful mutation while others died immediately. It’s been 18 months since they’ve left the island and the girls want to go home. The story follows a trio who cling to each other like family because that’s all they have, but when one of them goes through another mutation, she’s whisked off somewhere and the other two take it upon themselves to find her.

Find my review on Goodreads

The Two Lila Bennetts by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke

This was also such a great read. It’s the story of criminal defense lawyer who’s really good at her job and also a big villain in her own life. One day, she’s kidnapped and threatened to make amends with the people she’s hurt in her life. But the story doesn’t stop there because the moment she’s kidnapped, her life is split into two. There’s one Lila Bennett that’s kidnapped and hoping to get out of there while the other Lila Bennett doesn’t get kidnapped, but now has to face the demons of her life. While you’re reading, you’re seeing this beautiful redemption arc for one side of Lila Bennett while praying that she gets rescued from her captors. The ending is such a surprise and really pulled the story together, so if you’re looking for a good thriller without too much of the suspense, definitely try this out.

Find my review on Goodreads

Dominicana by Angie Cruz

The final book of the month and it was amazing. It’s the story of a young girl named Ana who marries a man twice her age so she can move to America and live the American Dream. However, her husband isn’t so loving. She’s told to stay home and not talk to anyone. She’s basically a bird living in a tiny five-floor walkup in Harlem. When her husband goes back to the Dominican Republic to help fight in their cause, Ana finally feels a little bit of freedom and understands that America has a lot to offer her. Such a beautiful read about this young girl and how she makes the most of her time living in America.

Find my review on Goodreads

My plans for next month

Recently, I decided that I wanted to get my review game a little tighter. I love using Netgalley to request books especially since I’m shy and Netgalley provides you the opportunity to request books without having to email them directly. So, I plan on reading many of the books I have waiting for reviews including The Nickel Boys, The Paper Wasp, Descendants of the Crane, and more.

Also, I’ve been dying to read Jay Kristoff’s Nevernight series, so that’s another priority for me. I’ve been holding off on reading this one because a friend of mine would love to buddy read. I’m pretty terrible at buddy-reading, but with my new work schedule I think I can manage it.

And the last thing I want to read before the month is out is The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. I read a good portion of this book earlier in July, but I want to use August to finish it. My library hold on the book finally came in, so I do have a limited timeline to read this before it has to go back to the library. We shall accomplish our dreams!

How did you make out this month?
Dominicana by Angie Cruz // Book Review

July 29, 2019
A friend of mine recommend this book to me months ago. She read it for work and told me that it was definitely going to be something I would really enjoy. So, when I got the opportunity to pick up an ARC of the book, I grabbed it. After working with the publisher to give away two copies of the book, I decided it’s a great opportunity to read and whoa. The results blew me away.

Dominicana is the story of a young girl named Ana, who’s about to embark to New York from the Dominican Republic to marry Juan, a man twice her age. The reason? For the opportunity to make money in the country that promises a lot of big dreams. However, the reality of the “American Dream” comes fraught with a husband who doesn’t hesitate to hit her, who doesn’t let her leave the house, who doesn’t let her talk to anyone, who doesn’t give her anything but sadness and a baby. And all along the way, her family asks for money to send home and help them out.

So Ana begins to hustle selling suits, her home cooking, and doing small jobs from her little apartment while her baby continues to grow in her belly and Juan continues to mistreat her including sleeping with another woman.

But when Juan hears about the turmoil in the Dominican Republic, he rushes off to defend his country leaving Ana alone with his younger brother, Cesar. What Cesar provides to Ana is everything she wanted with Juan; nights at the movies, working together, going to Coney Island, eating a hot dog, and the security of someone who can navigate the twisted American streets. What Cesar provides is exactly what Ana wants including a loving companion and when Juan finally returns from his trip, she has to decide if she wants to run away with Cesar or stay at home with her husband.

When I was reading this at first, I thought this had a lot of the same feelings I had for A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum. But as you continue on, you find that this book is much more complex than just a woman struggling to find her voice in her family.

The story takes place over the span of a year during the 1960s right at the height of the Vietnam War, Malcolm X’s death, and around the time 42,000 US Marines are sent to the Dominican Republic to avoid another Cuba happening. Angie Cruz does a great job incorporating a little of this into her book, but with a lot of subtly. It was interesting to include this especially when Juan decides to go down to the Dominican to help. It would have been nice to have this incorporated more into the book, but I can also see how that would deter the reader from the main story. Also, I don’t fault fiction authors for leaving information out. That’s just up to the reader to look up later.

The biggest theme in this whole book is the American Dream. I found it so great that no matter what gets thrown at Ana, she just dusts herself off and creates a new dream for herself. Right before she left the Dominican, she and her family plans on how she’ll go to school in America, then send for some people to continue making money, and eventually getting her whole family to America. Each time her plans fail, she makes up a new plan on how she’ll prosper in this world. When I think about it, this is what we do all the time. We make big plans, try to bring them to fruition, and while we get knocked down by our circumstances or some third-party fails us, we continue to dream about the next thing that’ll get our families into America and hope for the best.

I really love the scenes where Ana’s age is obvious. For the entire book, she’s 15 years old. In some situations, she’s beholden to the “wife” role her mother put on her. She cleans the entire house. She cooks all the meals. She listens to her husband. But then there are moments where her age is apparent. She’ll be wearing Juan’s suits dancing around the house and mimicking him. She’ll listen to music on the radio so loud that the neighbor downstairs knocks on the floor for silence. She even feeds Juan a pigeon she catches on her windowsill just to see if he’ll get food poisoning. I love that Angie Cruz incorporates this into the story. I feel like a lot of times in these stories, the teenager ages way beyond their years because their situation forces them to. While this is happening for Ana, I love that she’s able to keep a little part to herself. It also reinforces the fact that all these terrible things are happening to a kid. Ana is someone you want to look out for because no one is really looking out for her.

Angie Cruz’s writing style also needs to be mentioned. While peppered with fragmented sentence structures and no quotations over the dialogue, I felt like it really embodied Ana and her youth. She’s young and the writing reads that way, but it also has a sense of maturity you don’t see in YA. The phrasing and word choices really make you think you’re reading from Ana’s mind and that immersion ties together her youth, her vulnerability, and her strength extremely well.

The last thing I want to mention is how desperate Ana is to find someone who will stay with her. Being alone in a country where she barely speaks the preferred language and with a husband that treats her poorly, she clings to the people she encounters. From Juan’s clients to her ESL teacher, she’s always looking for a kind hand to spend her days with. It’s obvious that she does feel something for Cesar especially since he’s such a kind person, but when she finally has her baby, she sees who’s the most important person that she knows she can rely on.
I received a copy of this book from Flatiron Books for free in exchange for an honest review. My opinions have not been influenced by the publisher or the author.
The Re-Emergence of the Rom-Com

July 26, 2019

I’ve been thinking a lot about romantic comedies. Back when I was a kid, I absolutely loved rom-coms. My mom and I would spend afternoons in front of the TV watching all these amazing actors falling in love, falling out of love, and being in the strangest but funny circumstances.

But the world of rom-coms is dead and all those actors who made so much money making people feel good about their lives now focus their time on creating social media brands, doing tons of commercials, working on really lame horror movies, or just fading into obscurity. At some point Hollywood made this executive decision to stop making romantic comedies (and pretty much anything else outside of Disney and bad horror movies).

Recently, it feels like the genre is finally re-emerging from its tireless slumber bringing more romantic stories to folks like me. While they may not be movies (even though that’s slowly coming back), I’ve been seeing it a lot in books. Adult romances with funny little covers and YA romances where complications of school and a relationship are appearing on bookstores shelves. It may not be Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, but it’s there. Authors like Christina Lauren, Jasmine Guillory, and Helen Hoang are proudly putting out funny yet heartfelt stories not only about love, but about relationships.

I guess you could be upset that it’s the same recycled story over and over, but romance has always been about the journey instead of the destination. If we all understand that they’ll end up happily ever after, then what makes readers continue to read these stories? For me, I think it’s because the approach is always different. If you’re a fan of the human condition, then knowing that the book ends happily doesn’t really affect the process of reading the book. Humans approach the world differently and that includes romantic pursuits and so in reading a romantic story, you’re looking less for the outcome and more for how they reach it. If that makes sense.

And the cherry on top of this beautiful romantic cake is diversity. Amongst the funny stories of boy meets girl, we have same sex couples, interracial couples, and couples of all shapes and sizes. Authors are exploring diversity and expanding the romantic universe beyond the faces it used to see. Even bestselling author Julia Quinn’s historical romance, The Bridgertons, are getting a diversity treatment in its Netflix adaptation with an African American male lead. Despite the naysayers who want producers and authors to stick with the race they’ve determined in their head, this re-emergence of romantic stories including diversity makes this genre much more appealing than many others.

So if you’re currently writing a romantic story or if you’re planning on doing it in the future, I encourage you to do so. There’s a place for romcoms in the world and it may not be on the silver screen. It may just be on the little one you hold in your hand.