supernova_reader's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-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
The book is billed as a lighthearted cozy mystery and while there are great descriptions of food and small town antics, there is too much of the uncomfortable realities of the world to truly qualify it as cozy. Too real, and the mystery’s a little obvious. I appreciate the warning at the beginning of the book though, it does warn you about its “real”ness, I should have taken it more seriously.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Vomit
Moderate: Xenophobia and Racism
Minor: Police brutality and Hate crime
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.
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