emily_mh's review
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death
Moderate: Car accident, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Violence, and Addiction
Minor: Body shaming, Medical content, Alcohol, Sexism, Bullying, Racism, Xenophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, Blood, Grief, Abandonment, Deportation, Ableism, Fatphobia, Alcoholism, Addiction, Misogyny, Colonisation, Death of parent, Vomit, Drug use, Hate crime, Gun violence, Homophobia, and Physical abuse
Major: medical emergency, false legal accusations Moderate: imprisonment, break-in Minor: loss of a loved one, gambling, police corruption, extortion, disordered eating, blackmail, sick loved onealyssamakesart's review
lighthearted
mysterious
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder and Misogyny
Minor: Racism
msbarnesela's review
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, and Murder
Minor: Injury/injury detail, Sexism, Violence, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Addiction, Body shaming, Alcohol, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, and Racism
pastelwriter's review
lighthearted
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
2.5
This book made me wish I liked cozy mysteries...but I just don't. For some reason, trying to make murder lighthearted just doesn't do it for me. I know it "softens" mysteries for some readers in a way that makes the story consumable...but it makes it absolutely cringe-y and fake for me.
Part of why I wish this book had worked for me is because I loved the Filipino family at the heart of it. If this book had removed the cozy element and just been a mystery or just been a romance or just a contemporary novel, I probably would have loved it. The characters had the workings of a large cast I would grow fond of. As it is, though, the characters simply were not enough for me to love this story and be willing to continue on with the series.
Something else I wish had been enough to make me love this book were the descriptions of food. The descriptions of food made me so hungry as I read! I wanted to eat everything the author described. Wish I had access to all these vegetarian friendly dishes. Sad sigh.
Part of why this book didn't work for me was because it was very formulaic. Most of it was following the protagonist moving from interview to interview as she tried to piece together who was responsible for the murder(s) that happened in the book. It made the story incredibly bland.
In addition, the culprits of the murders were painfully obvious. It was ridiculous how obvious most of them were. It's probably considered a spoiler to say there's more than one, but that becomes so obvious early on that it doesn't really feel like a spoiler to bring it up.
FURTHERMORE, Detective Park was absolutely ridiculous. He had no real evidence to support all his suspicions on Lila, but somehow he kept going after her. It made him seem like the most absurd character in this book. If there had been more realistic evidence pointing to Lila consistently, this would have made more sense. But at some point it was just completely ridiculous.
All in all, I would recommend this only to fans of cozy mysteries. Otherwise, I can see readers struggling to thoroughly enjoy this one. I found things to like, but it was simply not enough.
Part of why I wish this book had worked for me is because I loved the Filipino family at the heart of it. If this book had removed the cozy element and just been a mystery or just been a romance or just a contemporary novel, I probably would have loved it. The characters had the workings of a large cast I would grow fond of. As it is, though, the characters simply were not enough for me to love this story and be willing to continue on with the series.
Something else I wish had been enough to make me love this book were the descriptions of food. The descriptions of food made me so hungry as I read! I wanted to eat everything the author described. Wish I had access to all these vegetarian friendly dishes. Sad sigh.
Part of why this book didn't work for me was because it was very formulaic. Most of it was following the protagonist moving from interview to interview as she tried to piece together who was responsible for the murder(s) that happened in the book. It made the story incredibly bland.
In addition, the culprits of the murders were painfully obvious. It was ridiculous how obvious most of them were. It's probably considered a spoiler to say there's more than one, but that becomes so obvious early on that it doesn't really feel like a spoiler to bring it up.
FURTHERMORE, Detective Park was absolutely ridiculous. He had no real evidence to support all his suspicions on Lila, but somehow he kept going after her. It made him seem like the most absurd character in this book. If there had been more realistic evidence pointing to Lila consistently, this would have made more sense. But at some point it was just completely ridiculous.
All in all, I would recommend this only to fans of cozy mysteries. Otherwise, I can see readers struggling to thoroughly enjoy this one. I found things to like, but it was simply not enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Murder, and Violence
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