Here I was thinking that perhaps dark academia wasn’t for me, but then The Atlas Six comes along, and satisfies my craving for a deeply philosophical novel centered around magic. From the six different magicians, to the competition racing to the death, the philosophical discussions about life, knowledge and magic, this was everything I wanted and more. […]
With a title like Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution, you can already tell that this isn’t going to be an easy, quick read. The title already reads like an encyclopaedia or PhD thesis and the subject matter already stretches the brain. Let me tell you, I […]
An Arrow to the Moon is a magical realism read with some Chinese fables woven in: the story of Chang’e, the moon goddess, and the legend of Hou Yi, the archer. Due to the nature of the magical realism, you do have to suspend your disbelief at times. An Arrow to the Moon is told […]
I’m a few months behind, but I’m really proud to say that I’ve finally finished House of Sky and Breath (HOSAB)! With two little ones, including a baby, I haven’t been reading much at all lately. But I did manage to do a reread of the first Crescent City in anticipation of this book – and let […]
Gallant is a middle grade Gothic tale, about Olivia Prior, a 16 year old girl with mutism who discovers her haunting past from snippets of her mother’s journal. It is a beautifully written book, almost poetic, but many of the concepts felt familiar. As Olivia is mute, the book heavily focuses on the descriptions of her […]
How We Fall Apart is a YA mystery thriller with Asian main characters, and I really enjoyed it! Set at an elite private school, it explores the immense pressure of academic performance on students, in particular Asian students. It touches on important themes such as friendship rivalry, classism and the illusion of being perfect, mental […]
If there’s anything that we love in YA, it’s definitely stories about fighting against the patriarchy. Iron Widow certainly gives us that – and it gives us a good does of anger, rage and female empowerment at that. Add in some giant fighting mechas, Chinese culture and history, with a queer, polyamorous relationship as a norm […]
For the girl who has never been kissed, imagine finding out all the past beaus in your life who had a crush on you before – and meeting up with them to find out the signs that had been missed. This is exactly what Zoe Kelly does after starting her internship at Bumble, so she […]
As an avid lover of Asian fantasy, Jade Fire Gold sounds like everything I would love in a book – soul-stealing abilities, a Dragon Prince, and an Asian fantasy setting. So how did it hold up? As my first book of 2021, I really wanted to love this and persisted even though I put the […]