• Book Reviews,  Fiction

    Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo [EN/ZH-TW]

    22nd March 2021
    Cover of Last Night at the Telegraph Club (Malinda Lo)

    Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo, read by Emily Woo Zeller

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    AUDIOBOOK REVIEW IN EN & ZH-TW | 有聲書書評（中英對照）

    EN

    Content warning: racism, homophobia, manipulation, mention of miscarriage, alcohol (underage drinking)

    She couldn’t find the right words for this dammed-up feeling inside, as if she were denying herself something absolutely vital, and she didn’t know why.

    Last Night at the Telegraph Club is less about the romance between Lily and Kath but more about Lily trying to grasp her identity as a Chinese American lesbian in the 1950s.

    In the prologue, four years before the main story (1950), thirteen-year-old Lily Hu (胡麗麗) and her childhood best friend Shirley Lum attend Miss Chinatown Contest with their families. I’d say this one chapter is the summary of the entire book in one way or another as we see Lily becoming aware of skin and bodies and the interactions between her and Shirley.

    When Lily stumbles upon an ad for male impersonator Tommy Andrews’ performance at the Telegraph Club (1954), she is mesmerized, not quite understanding why. But she keeps the clip along with a few others in her copy of The Exploration of Space. All her dreams in one place, I think. As the new school year starts, there are only two girls left in Advanced Math—Lily herself and Kathleen Miller, who dreams of becoming a pilot. Their orbits never coincide until this very moment, and it makes all the difference.

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  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    The Clinch by Nicole Disney | ARC Review

    11th January 2021
    Cover of The Clinch (Nicole Disney)

    The Clinch by Nicole Disney

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    Content warnings: graphic sex, blood, d slur, homophobia/homomisia, child abuse, minor character drug addiction, mention of prostitution, recreational drinking, uses of ableist language, hospitalization

    Written in present tense, The Clinch is an incredibly vivid rivals-to-lovers sports romance, charged with immediacy.

    Eden Bauer (27, gay) holds an undefeated record and is the reigning UFC featherweight championship. When newbie pro Brooklyn Shaw (22, biracial, Black) challenges Eden for a title match, Eden reluctantly agrees. Their rivalry is strong, but when post-match Brooklyn comes knocking on the door of Eden’s gym, will they be able to put aside their differences and work together?

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

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