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littlelizzieborden's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
tense
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
redvelveting's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
2.5
The aunties of this book are reminiscent of my own and even my mother lol. Not a read to take seriously, complete with cheesy and sometimes trashy comedy; not everything needs to be sophisticated anyhow :) My biggest issues with this book were with the number of characters (we constantly switch between subplots, making it hard to keep up sometimes) and the frequency of sentences along the lines of “and you’ll never guess what happened next!!!!” It’s fine occasionally but damn sometimes I just want to find out myself without needing it to be announced beforehand.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, and Abandonment
Minor: Child death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Colonisation, War, and Classism
ittywitty's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Well-written. Took a while to get into, but I’m really glad I read it! It’s kind of like a modern Joy Luck Club meets Crazy Rich Asians with a little bit of a Crazy, Stupid, Love twist. Think messy Vietnamese women all dealing with generational trauma and trying to survive the pressures of duty to family and society. All of which have been unlucky in love due to a family curse. Enjoyed hearing about these families and the culmination of hilarious drama that ensues! Also the portrayal of Vietnamese culture felt pretty accurate to me, which I always appreciate in AAPI authors, especially those also named Carolyn. ❤️ Would love to see this story made into a movie!!!
Content Warnings
Minor: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, and Gaslighting
just_one_more_paige's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Shoutout to Libro.fm for the ALC of this book. I've been waiting for when I needed a light and fun read to pick it up, since everyone I've seen review it has mentioned that it's a little over the top. I've really been in the mood for escapist reads lately, so lots of fantasy and romance, but then I remembered this contemporary book waiting on my TBR and decided to mix up the escapism a bit.
Generations ago, Oanh left her marriage for true love, and in the ensuing backlash, was cursed by a witch so that her descendants would give birth to only daughters...and would never find true love or happiness. In the present day, three mostly estranged sisters, descendents of Oanh, live in Little Saigon in Orange County, CA: Mai (the oldest and most know-it-all/in charge), Minh (the middle and the mediator of the siblings), and Khuyen (the youngest, who may or may not run Little Saigon's "underground"). Mai is not only estranged from her sisters (and mother), but also on rocky relationship footing with her three daughters as well, whose love lives she cannot seem to stay out of. There is also Minh's daughter and Khuyen's two daughters, all of whom have strained relationships with each other. Plus, there is a half-sister, whose reappearance with her own two daughters a decade ago was the catalyst for the family's current estrangement. When Mai consults a psychic about concerns for her daughters, she is told that this year may be her last chance to repair broken relationships, and thus begins the dramatic tale in these pages, a story of births and deaths and marriages and romances and maybe, just maybe, curse-breaking.
Well alright. This was some phenomenally entertaining full-force family drama storytelling. Like, this is an intergenerational family story of fifteen Vietnamese women, that could easily have been told in a serious and intense way, but instead Huynh gives readers a more lighthearted experience. She makes precision observations about the emotional manipulation and guilt and expectations stereotypical to Asian/immigrant parent child (mother daughter) relationships, but with a sharp and humorous eye. So, while these observations are genuine, the delivery is a darkly humorous tone that fantastically delivers. That tone felt, to me, reminiscent of Kwan's Crazy Rich Asians series, though this book has less of the "rich" and more of the "everyday" style of success and livelihood. There is also a distinct air of soap opera to the overall plot, as it were. With the reality of estrangement and small communities comes the coincidences of overlapping relationships that, when all the family comes together for the "finale" scenes, explodes with spectacle that, yes, is a bit absurd, but also, if you picked up this book with accurate expectations, exactly right in its hilarity.
These characters are all endearing in their dysfunction - there are parts of each of their stories that any reader can see themselves in. That universal, "I'm trying to be better but in reality not *really* learning from my mistakes" is something that everyone has experience with, if they're being honest. Similarly, the way people (in this case, mothers) fight to make things different (better) for future generations, but that overcorrecting can cause its own issues, is so relatable. And seeing all that addressed with such humor makes it easier, legitimately fun, to read about such recognizably human foibles. Plus, setting it within the context for learning about Vietnamese culture, in general and for immigrants to the US, gives lovely added depth and context.
I struggled just a bit with the pacing of the story - not within itself, as it was page-turning from start to finish, but as part of a greater context - as it felt unmoored from anything happening outside the family. There is a chance that was purposefully done, to keep the focus on these women and their lives separately and together, fighting for individuality and cohesion both. And I do understand that bringing in more outside context could have necessitated a more serious tone, versus the "keeping it lighter" vibe that the author was going for. So I tried to just kinda let myself get pulled along and not worry too much about that aspect. So, in the end, I finished listening to this having been fully entertained by these gorgeously messy women, and totally recommend this to anyone looking to simply have a great time reading a book.
“These two souls before them had never dreamt that romantic love could happen at their age, in their lifetime, within this cosmos. The type of love blossoming right now was the very thing that they'd been taught was unattainable. It wasn't pragmatic for people like them because they needed to worry about men with guns, picking a side in the war, putting food on the table, finding work, providing for children, and figuring out how to survive in a foreign country. These things came first.”
“Not like a woman of color, a quiet Asian woman, a dutiful daughter or a model minority. But a desired woman who just wanted a man to look at her the way he did.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: Miscarriage, Medical content, and War
victoriaharris001's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
heatherjchin's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Infidelity, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Minor: Racism, Xenophobia, and War
The first half was triggering with the inter generational trauma and emotional abuse, while the latter third was uproariously funny. Stark contrast, but works out. A trigger warning would be helpful.
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