Reviews with content warning for Medical content - Arsenic and Adobo

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.

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emily_mh's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious fast-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

4.0

This was enjoyable and entertaining, which is all I really ask of a “cosy mystery”. I was really pleasantly surprised that this one went deeper by bringing in a complicated family dynamic: Lila felt a lot of tension over wanting to support her elders in thanks for their sacrifices, while also wanting to be independent and do her own thing. I also love how much food was centred in the story. It was mouthwatering to read about and themed the narrative well.

The plot itself was investigation-focussed with multiple avenues being explored at once, which was fantastic for me as it drove the story and also meant I could speculate and form different theories. The resolution ended up being well-suited.

The characterisation was excellent. This book has a large cast but each character felt distinct, including Lila the MC who was stubborn, loving, and confused about what she wanted. She was a realistic depiction of a 25 year-old, as someone who is very nearly 25. I do think that her character development could have been better realised, though, as it felt a little quick.

I have two other criticisms. The first is that the romance (in the form of a love triangle) was totally unnecessary, and there was also no chemistry whatsoever with either LI. The second is that Lila was smart enough to have figured out more of the mystery on her own, but instead we got a little villain monologue.

But overall, as I said before, I enjoyed this read. I definitely want to continue with the series!

Rep: Filipina-American MC, Filipino-American SCs, Muslim Pakistani-American LI, biracial white/Korean-American LI, lesbian Muslim Pakistani-American SC, biracial white/Korean-American SC, sapphic Mexican-American SC, Black SC, Japanese-American SC

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maggies's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Perhaps cozy mysteries are not for me. I really wanted to like this book, but it was too slow, too long, with too much reminiscing and not enough action. Loved the yummy-sounding food, but that also took up so much real estate of the book, so a bit of a double edged sword. Never really warmed to Lila, either.

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gabyhat's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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marissasa's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious relaxing 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

4.0

This was my first cozy mystery type book and although it was lighthearted and not as tightly focused on the murder as I thought it would be, I enjoyed it and found the characters well-written and likable. The *freeze frame* "yep that's me, you're probably wondering how I got here" style of narration and abundance of explanatory details in the writing were so cheesy, but that honestly made this book feel even more Filipino than it already was with its very realistic depiction of the aunties and lola, its notion of "family = relatives + every family friend in existence", and the mouth-watering traditional foods that seem to be in every chapter, because if Filipinos are anything, its cheesy! The book wasn't perfectly paced and I did predict who the true killer was at around the 2/3 mark so the reveal in the last couple chapters wasn't a shocking one, but it was a fun read and a treat to listen to on the audiobook complete with proper Tagalog pronunciation and Filipino accents. I'll definitely listen to the rest of the books in the series in the future.

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aimzthereader's review against another edition

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funny 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? Yes

4.0

A cozy mystery that will make you very hungry. Loved the emphasis on family and culture especially with all of the Filipino food ! This book does a great job describing all the food and makes your mouth drool. It’s very much a cozy mystery because the deaths are a bit outlandish and they aren’t taken very seriously . there are clues throughout the. Ok but I only solved half the mystery. The family and friendship relationships with very slight romance storyline really makes this a fun and light mystery. There were times that I found myself rolling my eyes at the choices and some of the nonchalance about death but that’s to be expected from a cozy. Overall this was fun, cute, comfy, and delicious . Bonus is that there are recipes at the back of the book

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