aimeebenish's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
meagangrace's review
medium-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
2.5
I feel like I read this at the wrong time for me. I struggled to connect with the main character Lila, and I did not enjoy the vibes as much as I wanted to. The story felt very drowsy in it's structure/pacing. Stuff was happening, but I had trouble connecting to it and caring for the characters. The plot turned out to be actually kinda nonsensical imo. One thing I found interesting is that this is the first time I have read a mystery where the amateur sleuth is actually amateur and doesn't have a special knack for solving crime. Not sure if it was entirely on purpose on the author's part, but as a mystery fan and it was kind of refreshing to see.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Murder, Infidelity, Addiction, Death, Alcohol, Grief, and Racism
Minor: Violence, Stalking, and Drug use
elledinglasan's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Racism, Violence, Addiction, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, and Murder
katesio's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This book will make you hungry and likely go out and try to find Ube Extract from your local Asian grocery store.
The author has a disclaimer at the beginning that sets the tone for light hearted crime novel.
I think the plot is… not great. There are a lot of holes and parts that just don’t make sense for the main character to be doing or the process of a criminal investigation.
In saying all that, the crime part I believe is secondary to the wonderful culture of the main characters family. It brings a warm, wholesome Filipino-American hug with descriptive writings of food, a drizzle of family guilt and a pinch of body shaming.
It’s an easy read, don’t take it too seriously and enjoy the Tita Rosie family.
But I did have flashbacks of family members criticising you.
The author has a disclaimer at the beginning that sets the tone for light hearted crime novel.
I think the plot is… not great. There are a lot of holes and parts that just don’t make sense for the main character to be doing or the process of a criminal investigation.
In saying all that, the crime part I believe is secondary to the wonderful culture of the main characters family. It brings a warm, wholesome Filipino-American hug with descriptive writings of food, a drizzle of family guilt and a pinch of body shaming.
It’s an easy read, don’t take it too seriously and enjoy the Tita Rosie family.
But I did have flashbacks of family members criticising you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, and Murder
dorianablu83's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
AMAZING. I loved it from start to finiscmh, it was amazing to see more of such a beautiful culture and the mistery was quite fun.
I loved the characters, the protagonist is a tiny bit annoying sometimes (but I love her) and the rest of the characters are great.
I loved the characters, the protagonist is a tiny bit annoying sometimes (but I love her) and the rest of the characters are great.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Death, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use
mfrisk's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Addiction, Drug abuse, Murder, and Drug use
I enjoyed this read for the most part - great descriptions of food and places, well written characters and relationships and mystery. The reveal was also well done. That being said I’m only rating it lower as I think it could have been even more interesting in terms of discussion of grief and family.puffy_'s review
3.75
It’s been a while since I was able to read something and this was able to pull me though my reading slump so that was nice. I have an appreciation for books that incorporates description of food and the process of making food. However, Lila’s logic and motives were a little hard to follow which made things confusing. There were also certain conflicts that were not satisfactorily resolved or done in what seemed to be a little haphazard. There was also a “love triangle” (?) of some sort that was introduced that did not go anywhere. I think there is a sequel, so that might be why that is the case but it I wish we either got more out of that or it was not introduced at all.
Spoiler
(particularly about Lila’s fight with Adeena)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Death, and Drug abuse
Minor: Fatphobia and Infidelity
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
caramiaculpa's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Nice fluffy mystery.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder and Violence
Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Domestic abuse
kinahgrace's review
adventurous
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Drug abuse