• ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    A Heart to Trust by A.L. Brooks | ARC Review

    30th November 2020
    Cover of A Heart to Trust (A.L. Brooks)

    A Heart to Trust by A.L. Brooks

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    Content warning: mention of disowning, manipulation, divorce, inebriation

    While I loved Brooks’s previous book, Dare to Love (my review here), I only felt a fraction of that enjoyment for A Heart to Trust. That being said, I did enjoy all the interactions of the main characters with their respective friends but just not with each other.

    When C&V Inc acquires Jenny Quinn’s (29, gay) company, her job is in jeopardy. There are three PA openings for four candidates, so she has to prove her worth during the Project Catwalk collaboration with her friend Maxwell and two other PAs from C&V, Olivia Sinclair (lesbian) and Chrissy. Soon, there is evidence of sabotage but no one is sure what is going on. The only sure thing is the growing attraction between Jenny and Olivia, but Olivia is married to motor-racer Broderick Sinclair (31, ace/aro). What Jenny doesn’t know is that it is a fake marriage as Olivia struggles between her own sexual desires and previous arrangements with her close friend Broderick.

    Read More
  • Book Reviews,  Fiction

    Cantoras by Carolina De Robertis

    24th November 2020
    Cover of Cantoras (Carolina De Robertis)

    Cantoras by Carolina De Robertis

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    Content warnings: homophobia, sexism, infidelity, government censorship, torture, abuse (cigarette burns), rape, sexual assault, pedophilia, loss of family, alcohol abuse, forced hospitalization (conversion therapy), electric shock, suicide, blood, miscarriage, death of prominent character (spoiler in white text)

    “I think you know how to love.”

    You know the question people like to ask: if you were only to read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be? I never had an answer; never, until today. I’d gladly read Cantoras a thousand times over; I’d hug this book to my heart forever if I could.

    Read More
  • Rent a Boyfriend banner
    ARCs,  Blog Tour,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    Blog Tour: Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao [EN/ZH-TW]

    13th November 2020
    Cover of Rent a Boyfriend (Gloria Chao)

    Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Book Depository | IndieBound

    Ta-ke hó*! I am Hsinju (she/they/他), a born-and-raised Taiwanese currently residing in Illinois. Today (November 13th, 2020) is my Hear Our Voices Book Tours blog stop for the adorable Taiwanese American, fake-dating YA romance Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao! Mostly set in Palo Alto with a few chapters in Chicago (yay, Illinois), the story opens with Chloe Wang and her family meeting her boyfriend—ahem—hired boyfriend, whose real name is Drew Chan, for the first time on Thanksgiving.

    * “Ta-ke hó” is “hi, everyone” in Taiwanese.

    Read More
  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    Two to Tangle by Melissa Brayden | ARC Review

    6th November 2020
    Cover of Two to Tangle (Melissa Brayden)

    Two to Tangle (A Tangle Valley Romance #2) by Melissa Brayden

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    Food, wine, and softball games with a sexy chef and hot contractor? I’m in love.

    “You’re a good chef.”

    [Gabriella] paused. “Ryan. I’m the best chef. Stop by my truck one day.”

    Chef Gabriella Russo (34) moved from the East Coast to the West with her best-friend-cum-ex-girlfriend Madison LeGrange (31) after Tangle Valley Vineyard owner Joey Wilder’s (31) job offer. Soon the restaurant of her dreams is under construction, and Gabriella finds herself in the constant presence of the gorgeous contractor Ryan Jacks (28), who might also be the woman of her dreams. Too bad Ryan is a player and too young for her.

    Read More