msteinhaus's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
The food descriptions and narration of this book are both wonderful, but this story itself is not for me!
The narrator is unbelievably self-centered. She has an agenda for every conversation in the book, ignoring or seeking out people only as they fit her investigative needs. She treats friends and family incredibly poorly, making up or seeking them out again only when she needs something else. And all of this happens in ways that, to me at least, go well beyond simple immaturity, especially given that she is supposedly in her mid-20s and has already lived on her own, learned some hard lessons in relationships, etc.
The narrator's emotional experience of events is also hard to understand. For example, she forgets finding the victim of a violent assault unconscious in a pool of blood, repeatedly. She also straight up ignores the victim's partner, with whom she was supposedly close, for an extended period of time after this traumatic event. This emotional disconnect combined with her self-centeredness makes her come across as almost narcissistic in her pursuit of her own agenda and ignorance of others' experiences.
Finally, whatever source recommended this book to me as a cozy mystery was misleading! There is intense on-page violence, racial and ethnic discrimination and exploitation, and the plot centers heavily around drug abuse and related violence/death. Oof.
The narrator is unbelievably self-centered. She has an agenda for every conversation in the book, ignoring or seeking out people only as they fit her investigative needs. She treats friends and family incredibly poorly, making up or seeking them out again only when she needs something else. And all of this happens in ways that, to me at least, go well beyond simple immaturity, especially given that she is supposedly in her mid-20s and has already lived on her own, learned some hard lessons in relationships, etc.
The narrator's emotional experience of events is also hard to understand. For example, she forgets finding the victim of a violent assault unconscious in a pool of blood, repeatedly. She also straight up ignores the victim's partner, with whom she was supposedly close, for an extended period of time after this traumatic event. This emotional disconnect combined with her self-centeredness makes her come across as almost narcissistic in her pursuit of her own agenda and ignorance of others' experiences.
Finally, whatever source recommended this book to me as a cozy mystery was misleading! There is intense on-page violence, racial and ethnic discrimination and exploitation, and the plot centers heavily around drug abuse and related violence/death. Oof.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Hate crime, Murder, and Violence
ashwaar's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Violence, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Fatphobia, Addiction, and Body shaming
things100's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A really enjoyed this book and the mystery elements and I can’t wait to read the second book in the series
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Murder, Medical content, and Death
Minor: Addiction, Grief, and Drug use
fanique87's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Death of parent, Murder, Fatphobia, Racism, Police brutality, Addiction, and Infidelity
eeviereads's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
It has recipes at the back :)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Deportation, Death of parent, Racism, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Drug abuse, Suicide, Medical content, Infidelity, and Addiction
meaghanslibrary's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This is a low 3.5. I am rounding up because I loved reading about a fellow Filipino family. I haven’t read a book like this before. I found the portrayal of the Titas and cousins very realistic. Also the food descriptions had my mouth watering and I liked the inclusion of recipes at the back of the book.
The reason for the low-ish rating: The book was a bit predictable and I do wish there was more love triangle drama. I hope to read that in future books.
The reason for the low-ish rating: The book was a bit predictable and I do wish there was more love triangle drama. I hope to read that in future books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Addiction, Medical trauma, Drug use, and Grief
Minor: Body shaming and Domestic abuse
merebear87's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Police brutality, Racism, Homophobia, Fatphobia, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Child death, Body shaming, Xenophobia, Addiction, Murder, and Drug abuse
nerp's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-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
5.0
This book was such a quick, enjoyable read. The author has described her books as “hallmark but with dead bodies,” and has discussed that she included as many tropes as possible due to what rejections her, which is to say the cast of queer and brown characters don’t belong in cozy mysteries.
Knowing all of that set the tone for me going into the book, and it was such a fun read (or, rather, listen; the narrator is fantastic). I haven’t listened to cozy mysteries in years, and it was such a blast getting into this one. I absolutely loved that i knew things would work out in the end (removing the anxieties related to the trajectory of a story), and I enjoyed following Lila and her family (found and blood). The side characters were fantastic. I love that it was set in Chicagoland, and I hope we see Lila go to the city once or twice (the author grew up there). As for the mystery—I had pieced together some things, but others took me by surprise! I enjoyed that a lot.
I’m impressed, also, at the underlying conversations happening in the book. They’re not dug into (which makes sense), but their presence deepens the story. (Another reason why I liked knowing it would be “okay” in the end is because we’re talking about queer/brown characters.)
(I also love the recipes at the end!! I didn’t find the food stuff tedious at all throughout the book—I absolutely love food and admire when someone can be this evocative about it.)
Looking forward to reading the next books!!
Knowing all of that set the tone for me going into the book, and it was such a fun read (or, rather, listen; the narrator is fantastic). I haven’t listened to cozy mysteries in years, and it was such a blast getting into this one. I absolutely loved that i knew things would work out in the end (removing the anxieties related to the trajectory of a story), and I enjoyed following Lila and her family (found and blood). The side characters were fantastic. I love that it was set in Chicagoland, and I hope we see Lila go to the city once or twice (the author grew up there). As for the mystery—I had pieced together some things, but others took me by surprise! I enjoyed that a lot.
I’m impressed, also, at the underlying conversations happening in the book. They’re not dug into (which makes sense), but their presence deepens the story. (Another reason why I liked knowing it would be “okay” in the end is because we’re talking about queer/brown characters.)
(I also love the recipes at the end!! I didn’t find the food stuff tedious at all throughout the book—I absolutely love food and admire when someone can be this evocative about it.)
Looking forward to reading the next books!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Homophobia and Fatphobia
eemadeeberry's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Drug abuse, Medical content, Racism, Addiction, and Blood
blackcatkai's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
CW: fatphobia, food shaming, ableism, alcohol, drug use, addiction, death, racism, domestic violence, police intimidation, evidence planting, infidelity, suicide mentioned
here are my ramblings: the first 25% was awful and packed full of horrid diabetes rep, the MCs talk about said diabetic character with the most fatphobic, body/food shaming words. for people who are supposed to be very positive towards food, especially their own, it's gross how they talk about a dead man who enjoyed the food they made just because he was a diabetic. the ableism is rampant and it did nothing but piss me off.
now, AFTER that nonsense passes, the last 75% is more enjoyable & less irritating. though honestly it feels like nothing really happened overall. just a lot of back and forth conversations of personal issues & dramas that I honestly would've enjoyed more in a different book, personally. I liked the way characters interacted with each other overall and they felt like real friends/family. I liked the hint of potential romance, it was cute. I could read just a slice of life style novella of those two characters getting to know each other and being cute if it were to be written, but I don't think I'll continue the actual series itself.
it just didn't feel much like a cozy mystery to me, but that mightve just been a me thing especially with how much the first quarter of the book grated on my being. I'm too deep into my anti-diet, pro body liberation, era to not notice when things are just really shitty in that way.
nobody owes anyone health of any kind, you don't get to make health assumptions about anyone based on their looks, diets, or disorders of any kind. you are not their doctor. you are not them. I don't care if they wronged you or you had a past or their an asshole jerk. YOU DONT KNOW A THING ABOUT THEIR HEALTH BASED ON LOOKS, DIET, ANYTHING. AGAIN, YOURE NOT THEIR DOCTOR. ITS NOT YOUR BUSINESS. WHETHER YOUR FICTIONAL OR NOT. THANK YOU.
here are my ramblings: the first 25% was awful and packed full of horrid diabetes rep, the MCs talk about said diabetic character with the most fatphobic, body/food shaming words. for people who are supposed to be very positive towards food, especially their own, it's gross how they talk about a dead man who enjoyed the food they made just because he was a diabetic. the ableism is rampant and it did nothing but piss me off.
now, AFTER that nonsense passes, the last 75% is more enjoyable & less irritating. though honestly it feels like nothing really happened overall. just a lot of back and forth conversations of personal issues & dramas that I honestly would've enjoyed more in a different book, personally. I liked the way characters interacted with each other overall and they felt like real friends/family. I liked the hint of potential romance, it was cute. I could read just a slice of life style novella of those two characters getting to know each other and being cute if it were to be written, but I don't think I'll continue the actual series itself.
it just didn't feel much like a cozy mystery to me, but that mightve just been a me thing especially with how much the first quarter of the book grated on my being. I'm too deep into my anti-diet, pro body liberation, era to not notice when things are just really shitty in that way.
nobody owes anyone health of any kind, you don't get to make health assumptions about anyone based on their looks, diets, or disorders of any kind. you are not their doctor. you are not them. I don't care if they wronged you or you had a past or their an asshole jerk. YOU DONT KNOW A THING ABOUT THEIR HEALTH BASED ON LOOKS, DIET, ANYTHING. AGAIN, YOURE NOT THEIR DOCTOR. ITS NOT YOUR BUSINESS. WHETHER YOUR FICTIONAL OR NOT. THANK YOU.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Ableism
Moderate: Infidelity, Medical content, Murder, Racism, Homophobia, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Alcohol, Domestic abuse, and Suicide