atamano's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
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? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Trafficking, Drug abuse, and Violence
maggies's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Grief, Drug abuse, Death, and Blood
mamawantsbooks's review
mysterious
medium-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? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Death of parent, Death, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Drug use
karcitis's review
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
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
marissasa's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Addiction, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
fivecatsinacoat's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is a typical cozy mystery full of fun characters, recipes, murder (off-page), and a main character who gets themselves into ridiculous situations. I think I would have liked this audiobook more with a different narrator.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Grief, Bullying, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Blood and Confinement
greatexpectations77's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
4.0
Super cute and a nice light mystery. I've always been a fan of cooking mysteries (such a weird and wonderful niche of the mystery genre), and I'll be back for Ms. Manansala's tales and recipes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Bullying, Drug use, Grief, Addiction, and Blood
Minor: Infidelity and Lesbophobia
kbairbooks's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I love how good based this book was, I love the diversity, the friendships, and the culture. But I didn’t like the fat phobia and the aunties …. at all. I didn’t like the romances and she didn’t have chemistry with anybody. Her reactions to everything were so dramatic for a 25 year old. The ice at the end was random and I really didn’t connect with this book at all. Not for me I guess. Probably won’t read book 2.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Vomit, Hate crime, and Panic attacks/disorders
blandblanket's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Pros: Diverse cast, easy to follow, pretty decent mystery, good writing, developing love triangle (if you like that!)
Cons: One of the worst fictional detectives, rushed ending, loose emotional ends (family/friendships)
So wonderful to see some Filipino representation in this genre! It's what attracted me to the book in the first place.
I wouldn't say it's a light read (more on that later), but it is an easy read in terms of pacing and language. There is also a diverse cast who have their own styles about them, though some get more fleshed out than others as there is a large cast. The mystery was also decent and not super-complicated.
While I did enjoy the book (binged it in one day!), it was kind of stressful to go through as a woman of color. Mysteries tend to be stressful with characters doing spur-of-the-moment things that put them in danger or they have awkward questioning sessions -- I get that. But I dreaded whenever Detective Park would appear in a scene because it always led to Lila or another person of color being accused of a heinous crime in such a bizarre way that barely made sense.
Plus, I have to echo other reviewers regarding the ending as it felt rushed with no real sense of pay-off aside from knowing who did it. Detective Park offering some "comfort" to the main character did not help the ending either as he felt more like an antagonist until maybe the end -- and that's a generous "maybe". No other character who actually helped Lila really got that "check-in" moment her at the end which caused the ending to land flat a little bit in terms of emotion.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia, Hate crime, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Racism, and Blood
Minor: Confinement and Fatphobia
While it does not contain police brutality, it does contain stressful moments with law enforcement that BIPOCs may find stressful/tiring/enraging.aimzthereader's review
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, and Death
Moderate: Racism, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, and Infidelity
Minor: Body shaming and Alcohol