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
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
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.caseythereader's review
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.
- 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.
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
casey_sunshine's review
emotional
funny
mysterious
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? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Injury/injury detail, Grief, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Confinement, and Addiction
Minor: Drug abuse and Drug use
aargot1's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Drug abuse, and Death
Moderate: Body shaming, Confinement, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
wee_ramekin's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Confinement
anovelbeauty's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
tense
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? It's complicated
4.75
Book TW: drug trafficking, murder, infidelity, implied IPV, assault, police interrogation, substance abuse, implied racism/homophobia, fatphobia
Note: This is not an Own-voices Filipino-American review. Although I do come from a rural IL background and can speak to that viewpoint, I want to acknowledge that when it comes to the Filipino/BIPOC experiences in the book, I cannot speak to those aspects. I would encourage you to seek out and value own-voices reviewers when it comes to those aspects of the book.
I’m a sucker for a good food-themed cozy mystery and Arsenic and Adobo hit the spot for me! Add into that the fact that Shady Palms could essentially /be/ my hometown (rural IL town a few hours outside Chicago? Yup!) and Manansala bringing a delightfully diverse cast of characters to her town? I’m SOLD. I will absolutely be picking up the next instalment in this series!
One thing I adored was the balance of dealing with hard topics and still intentionally keeping the lighthearted nature that defines cozy mystery. Lila is a pretty standard set up for an amateur sleuth (moves back to small town after being jilted by an ex-fiancé and then gets thrown begrudgingly into shenanigans that implicate her so she must solve things herself [with help]), but she didn’t fall into blank slate territory at all. In fact, there are aspects of Lila that are flawed and I love that her friends are willing and do call her on her flaws. But she is not an unlikeable protagonist either, just human.
I loved all of the extended cast of characters and am really interested to see how they develop in future instalments. I especially loved Adeena and she’s probably my favorite character though I really love Jae too and Detective Park is equal parts interesting and sometimes infuriating.
This also may sound mildly on the preachy side, but I was so delighted that Shady Palms was diverse, ethnically, religiously, and even in terms of LGBT characters! One thing that’s common in fiction is to show small towns as homogenous (and usually white) spaces and imply that diversity only exists in urban areas. While this rural homogeny can certainly be the case sometimes, it is not always. Diverse people have always existed in rural spaces too, and it’s a shame their voices are not shown more often in fiction. However, the book also doesn’t entirely ignore prejudices either and shows how different characters have experienced growing up BIPOC in a rural setting and the very common “escape to the city or anywhere but here” mentality that is very, very common in rural youth. I feel like each of the younger characters shows a unique perspective on this view and how they handle still being in their hometown (even if they initially left). Speaking of, I thought the atmosphere seemed very similar to my own hometown, so this book really felt like a piece of home. I believe the author’s bio said she’s from Chicago, so I was pleasantly surprised that she got the vibes of the county hub rural town where “getting a Starbucks made the news” and has a little bit of a weird blend of hipster coffee shops and mom and pop diners along with the typical small town connections and wildfire gossip and badly maintained icy roads and... again- felt like home.
Lila’s family is also wonderful and the Calendar Crew is a motley network of Aunties (and Lola Flor) who both support and frustrate Lila in the way only family can. The plot follows a good standard, cozy mystery pace as well as an extremely short resolution. There were a couple things that I wish had been explored for a bit longer at the end, but I have a feeling they may be explored in future instalments. I do (unfortunately?) see a love triangle coming in future books, but I could also be totally off-base with that one. It’s just a guess. But I’ll be darned if there isn’t /at least/ one romance on the horizon in Book 2. If you like a cozy mystery, I think you’ll love this book. Oh!! And as always, huge and major props to the author for including a trigger warning at the beginning of the story. That always makes me so happy to see. Also, the recipes at the end made me so happy too! Especially considering the huge role that Filipino (and other) cuisine plays into the story! I was a little sad a recipe for Lila’s Ube Crinkles wasn’t included... but maybe next time? Anyway, read the book. I consumed it all in one sitting and it was so worth it!
Note: This is not an Own-voices Filipino-American review. Although I do come from a rural IL background and can speak to that viewpoint, I want to acknowledge that when it comes to the Filipino/BIPOC experiences in the book, I cannot speak to those aspects. I would encourage you to seek out and value own-voices reviewers when it comes to those aspects of the book.
I’m a sucker for a good food-themed cozy mystery and Arsenic and Adobo hit the spot for me! Add into that the fact that Shady Palms could essentially /be/ my hometown (rural IL town a few hours outside Chicago? Yup!) and Manansala bringing a delightfully diverse cast of characters to her town? I’m SOLD. I will absolutely be picking up the next instalment in this series!
One thing I adored was the balance of dealing with hard topics and still intentionally keeping the lighthearted nature that defines cozy mystery. Lila is a pretty standard set up for an amateur sleuth (moves back to small town after being jilted by an ex-fiancé and then gets thrown begrudgingly into shenanigans that implicate her so she must solve things herself [with help]), but she didn’t fall into blank slate territory at all. In fact, there are aspects of Lila that are flawed and I love that her friends are willing and do call her on her flaws. But she is not an unlikeable protagonist either, just human.
I loved all of the extended cast of characters and am really interested to see how they develop in future instalments. I especially loved Adeena and she’s probably my favorite character though I really love Jae too and Detective Park is equal parts interesting and sometimes infuriating.
This also may sound mildly on the preachy side, but I was so delighted that Shady Palms was diverse, ethnically, religiously, and even in terms of LGBT characters! One thing that’s common in fiction is to show small towns as homogenous (and usually white) spaces and imply that diversity only exists in urban areas. While this rural homogeny can certainly be the case sometimes, it is not always. Diverse people have always existed in rural spaces too, and it’s a shame their voices are not shown more often in fiction. However, the book also doesn’t entirely ignore prejudices either and shows how different characters have experienced growing up BIPOC in a rural setting and the very common “escape to the city or anywhere but here” mentality that is very, very common in rural youth. I feel like each of the younger characters shows a unique perspective on this view and how they handle still being in their hometown (even if they initially left). Speaking of, I thought the atmosphere seemed very similar to my own hometown, so this book really felt like a piece of home. I believe the author’s bio said she’s from Chicago, so I was pleasantly surprised that she got the vibes of the county hub rural town where “getting a Starbucks made the news” and has a little bit of a weird blend of hipster coffee shops and mom and pop diners along with the typical small town connections and wildfire gossip and badly maintained icy roads and... again- felt like home.
Lila’s family is also wonderful and the Calendar Crew is a motley network of Aunties (and Lola Flor) who both support and frustrate Lila in the way only family can. The plot follows a good standard, cozy mystery pace as well as an extremely short resolution. There were a couple things that I wish had been explored for a bit longer at the end, but I have a feeling they may be explored in future instalments. I do (unfortunately?) see a love triangle coming in future books, but I could also be totally off-base with that one. It’s just a guess. But I’ll be darned if there isn’t /at least/ one romance on the horizon in Book 2. If you like a cozy mystery, I think you’ll love this book. Oh!! And as always, huge and major props to the author for including a trigger warning at the beginning of the story. That always makes me so happy to see. Also, the recipes at the end made me so happy too! Especially considering the huge role that Filipino (and other) cuisine plays into the story! I was a little sad a recipe for Lila’s Ube Crinkles wasn’t included... but maybe next time? Anyway, read the book. I consumed it all in one sitting and it was so worth it!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse and Murder
Minor: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Racism, Homophobia, Alcoholism, and Confinement
peachani's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Addiction, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Medical content
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