kiperoo's review against another edition
5.0
What a wonderful, wonderful book! I loved everything about it. Also, my family and I had dumplings and scallion pancakes all week as I kept craving them for some reason ...
pixiespice16's review against another edition
4.0
What a delicious and magical book full of both tradition and ingenuity. Be prepared to have a rumbling stomach!
danireys's review against another edition
lighthearted
sad
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
3.5
This was a a very quick read. Magical realism blended with realistic fiction. I appreciated the handling of how mental health is addressed in the Chinese community or at least the Chinese-American immigrant community.
marsha1268's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
saucyknits's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 or so.
The written book is probably a 4, but the narration of the audio version brings it down.
This book is uneven / very interesting in places, quite slow in others (especially the beginning).
It just makes me want to revisit Like Water for Chocolate....
The written book is probably a 4, but the narration of the audio version brings it down.
This book is uneven / very interesting in places, quite slow in others (especially the beginning).
It just makes me want to revisit Like Water for Chocolate....
natcommon's review against another edition
4.0
This book isn’t for everyone. I’d describe it as a Hallmark movie. There are some corny parts and parts that just happen without much explanation, but I really enjoyed it. If you like heart warming Hallmark movies about family, Chinese culture and community, I would recommend.
norimee's review against another edition
2.5
Overly sappy and at times infuriatingly shallow.
Entertaining read nonetheless.
Entertaining read nonetheless.
erin_is_reading's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
alivaster's review against another edition
3.0
I was super excited about this book and was happy to finally get a chance to read it. I greatly enjoyed reading a book that had food and references to a culture that I knew well and could relate to. The story idea was interesting, and somehow I didn't realize it was going to have a lot more fantasy-esque elements so I was caught off guard a little bit.
As much as I could connect to the culture and aspects of the main character, Natalie, my rating is really because there were just many parts where I felt it was very repetitive - the same line was used. I had moments where I thought, "...didn't I just read this?" and I would look back to find that I definitely had. These moments threw me out of the book, so a star was taken away due to that. Also, I came into this book thinking it was a romance, but while there was romance within it, it was a romance that was super fast and I didn't think it was well-developed. I wanted to love her love interest, Daniel, but I wanted to see a little more from him through her eyes. Perhaps it's because I've recently read really great romances lately, so this just felt undeveloped.
Overall, I found the book amusing and liked many aspects and lines of it landing it as a 3.5 stars for me.
As much as I could connect to the culture and aspects of the main character, Natalie, my rating is really because there were just many parts where I felt it was very repetitive - the same line was used. I had moments where I thought, "...didn't I just read this?" and I would look back to find that I definitely had. These moments threw me out of the book, so a star was taken away due to that. Also, I came into this book thinking it was a romance, but while there was romance within it, it was a romance that was super fast and I didn't think it was well-developed. I wanted to love her love interest, Daniel, but I wanted to see a little more from him through her eyes. Perhaps it's because I've recently read really great romances lately, so this just felt undeveloped.
Overall, I found the book amusing and liked many aspects and lines of it landing it as a 3.5 stars for me.
siannah's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0