• Book Reviews,  Fiction

    SWIM by Eric C. Wat | Audiobook Review

    14th January 2022
    Cover of SWIM (Eric C. Wat)

    SWIM by Eric C. Wat, read by Feodor Chin

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    This book blew me away. I didn’t know what to expect when I started SWIM. That it was queer and Asian sold it for me, no questions asked. And I got so much more out of it than I could ever have imagined.

    At first glance, the story felt somewhat mundane, but I happen to love fiction that shows us people’s everyday lives, no matter how unexciting, so I loved it from the start. Sometimes, I needed to remind myself that this wasn’t a memoir, because Carson Chow (周遠和; 40, gay, Hongkongese American) speaking to me in first-person made it feel like one. His family immigrated to the US from Hong Kong when he was a child, and the nuances of an immigrant family are threaded throughout the storytelling.

    Read More
  • Book Reviews,  Fiction

    Requiem for Immortals by Lee Winter

    22nd April 2021
    Cover of Requiem for Immortals (Lee Winter)

    Requiem for Immortals (The Law Game #1) by Lee Winter

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    Content warnings: dub con, graphic sex, death, poison, human trafficking, animal cruelty, choking, erotic asphyxiation, torture, threaten, abuse, manipulation, gaslighting, blood, fatphobia

    Side effect: developing an obsession with cellists.

    Professional cellist Natalya Tsvetnenko (41) is also a professional assassin. As Requiem, Natalya is known for her skills of getting her jobs done. When her newest target Alison Ryan (34) seems to be nothing like her usual ones who reek evilness, Natalya is intrigued and unexpectedly strikes up a friendship with Alison. However, she never anticipates just how unexpected this assignment is going to lead her.

    Read More
  • Book Reviews,  Fiction

    Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers

    26th February 2021
    Cover of Record of a Spaceborn Few (Becky Chambers)

    Record of a Spaceborn Few (Wayfarers #3) by Becky Chambers

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    ‘I am seventy-nine years old. If I want dessert twice . . . I get dessert twice.’

    Tamsin

    Content warnings: catastrophic spaceship accident resulting in ~44k deaths, bodies, death of prominent character, equivalent of underage smoking of weed?, PTSD?

    When I read a few reviews stating that there is virtually no plot in this installment, I was excited that it must be very character-driven. Sadly, there were a bit too many characters, similar to The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet (my review here) but with looser bonds. Since it took me a month to read the book, that could also be a reason why I failed to connect with any of the characters and felt that the plot dragged a little. That being said, I love the pureness of them all and also the philosophical questions Record of a Spaceborn Few decides to tackle.

    Read More
  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    Hotel Queens by Lee Winter | ARC Review

    22nd December 2020
    Cover of Hotel Queens (Lee Winter)

    Hotel Queens by Lee Winter

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    Content warnings: blackmailing, homophobia/homomisia, misogyny, abuse, manipulation, mention of drugs

    This is my second Winter’s book and I am so thrilled to continue with my recent streak of wonderful reads.

    VP of the Europe division of Hotel Duxton International Amelia Duxton (46, lesbian) has been sent stateside to deliver a speech at a conference in place of her brother Oliver, VP of Duxton USA. At the conference at Duxton Vegas, VP of Grand Millennium Hotels Kai Fisher (43), The Closer, arrives from New York in an attempt to negotiate a deal on Mayfair Palace, which the Duxtons are also after. Both VPs are in Vegas for work-related projects; neither expects to find the other, one fire, one ice, in steamy encounters.

    Read More
  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    Lockset by Brenda Murphy | ARC Review

    8th October 2020
    Cover of Lockset (Brenda Murphy)

    Lockset (University Square #2) by Brenda Murphy

    Content warnings: death of parent, infidelity (side characters), homophobia, arson, drug addiction, violence, blood

    This is book two of Murphy’s new series University Square, and while there are a few recurring characters, it can absolutely be read as a standalone. But book one On the Square (review) has a wonderful storyline with a Blasian butch (focusing on her Chinese roots) that is worth a read.

    Eun (은) Park (42, lesbian), an attorney in Chicago, is estranged from her family because of her sexuality. When her father calls in hopes of reconnection, Eun gives in and agrees to visit. However things don’t go as planned, and Eun soon finds herself back home, fatherless, and meets a sweet butch Morgan Wright (42), who is taking care of Eun’s father’s dog Rudy, at the worst possible timing for dating. The chemistry between Eun and Morgan is undeniable, but Eun has a life back in Chicago and Morgan’s locksmith shop is in this small town. The pair has to decide if their encounter is merely for sex, or something more.

    Read More