Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala

6 reviews

karcitis's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Drug use

Moderate: Violence, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racism, Vomit, Lesbophobia, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Confinement, Blood, and Addiction

sydnaayy's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Chronic illness

Minor: Death of parent

tays_books's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Body shaming, and Fatphobia

Minor: Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Infidelity

caseythereader's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

 - ARSENIC AND ADOBO was my first cozy mystery, and I can't wait to read more. I love a book where you know it's gonna be okay in the end.
- I loved Lila's family - really the whole town they lived in. I'm not a small town kind of person but Shady Palms was so lovely. And the food! So many wonderful descriptions, displaying Filipino food with such love.
- This book wasn't perfect - some clunky dialogue, some rushed exposition - but that hardly mattered while we were trying to catch the murderer.
- I was also a fan of the fact that while Lila has love interests, they aren't her main priority (she hardly even notices one of them!). The book isn't terribly interested in having her paired off at the end. Also! Bonus queerness! Her best friend is a lesbian and there's mention of a few other queer people as well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Addiction, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Racism, Drug use, and Alcohol

readwithde's review

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious 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? No

4.5

I absolutely loved everything about this book. 

Lila was a great narrator and main character; despite getting distracted and running late, she was smart, remembered things, and did pay attention. She was very insightful and reasonably emotional without being uncaring or explosive.

I loved the supporting cast, who had enough character to be fun without taking over the narrative or unnecessary time.

Spoiler

Her semi-romances with Amir and Jae were fun without turning the story into a rom-com or annoying love triangle. Even her friendship with Adeena was colored by her time away in Chicago, leaving some tension and secrets between the two.

Spoiler

As for the twist, Kevin seemed weirdly connected, but when he helped clean the restaurant and spent time with Lila's family, he seemed disconnected from the Longs and what had been going on. Though I correctly guessed that he might be involved with the inspection scheme, I had no idea how much he had actually done -- it made a lot of sense and only added to the rest of the story.

While this book could stand on its own, I'm glad that the next story has been announced, and I'm hopeful that this will become a long running series of fun, foody mysteries.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Murder

Minor: Alcohol, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, Racism, and Violence

kylieqrada's review

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious 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? No

4.0

This was so good????? I don't think I've ever read a cozy mystery before, but I think I will be trying some after reading this, and I can't wait for the next book in the series. The writing was fast paced and lighthearted, while still managing to navigate difficult topics effectively. I loved Lila as a main character, and there are a ton of side characters that I'd like to see more from. The plot was entertaining, and I didn't see the twist coming. I also really appreciated the Author's Note at the beginning addressing the content warnings. Huge fan of this one. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Biphobia, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders