editorbrenna's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
carolynf's review against another edition
3.0
The epitome of a beach read, the story structure is formulaic but the details make it fun. Features a heroine who is a bit of a screw up, a diverse cast of characters, lots of great descriptions of food, and a cute dachshund.
artsymusings's review against another edition
3.0
'I loved natural remedies, dark color palettes, and made bewitchingly delicious baked goods, so I’d learned to lean into the bruha image. Everyone needed a personal brand.'
Okay so I love the amount of food that is in this and the two potential love interests, but how it didn't focus on romance pretty much at all. Could've been better overall, though. The murder mystery aspect left me a little underwhelmed since it went from being fun to kinda depressive throughout pretty quickly. Looking forward to reading the second book, though as well as foody adventures of Lila and her lesbian Muslim best friend, Adeena eeee
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10/10 would read this just because of that cover alone
Okay so I love the amount of food that is in this and the two potential love interests, but how it didn't focus on romance pretty much at all. Could've been better overall, though. The murder mystery aspect left me a little underwhelmed since it went from being fun to kinda depressive throughout pretty quickly. Looking forward to reading the second book, though as well as foody adventures of Lila and her lesbian Muslim best friend, Adeena eeee
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10/10 would read this just because of that cover alone
gracie_w's review against another edition
lighthearted
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? No
3.0
pinesandpages's review against another edition
4.0
It turns out "cozy mystery" is a genre I enjoy, who would have guessed. I'm curious about how this will be a series since it seems unlikely the average restaurant owner would have multiple people die mysteriously around them and that they would then have to solve the mystery before the police because otherwise they are the top suspect. But I look forward to finding out in the sequel!
happi_mess's review against another edition
2.0
Lila Macapagal moves back to The Shady Palms after breaking up with her ex-boyfriend, Derek. In one unfortunate day, Lila served Derek, a food critic, and moments later he dropped dead. The police are suspecting her and her family of killing the landlord's step-son.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Rating: ★★
This is one of my most anticipated releases of 2021 and I think I expected too much from this book. I felt a little let down with the turn of events. I am not sure I am going to be a fan of cozy mystery plots. Those doesn't really add up. Mystery is one of my favorite genres to date and unfortunately, I think this book is a poor mystery novel.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
The things that I like
I love all the Filipino references. I find myself salivating over all the talk of food! The Titas here are well represented. The environment, the way of living, the pressuring of getting a boyfriend and all that, even the having too many cousins culture. When I first flipped the pages, I was so happy to find a glossary of Filipino words. I was like 'YES, I'M GOING TO LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH!'.
Here's another thing that I would like to point out: this book tackled discrimination and made references with the terrible, TERRIBLE on-going campaign War on Drugs here in the Philippines. I love that the author put this here and create awareness of what is happening in our country as many families have still not gotten the justice that they deserve. All that evidence planting... you can search on Google and find a lot of stories about it.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
The things that I DID NOT like
Lila is a not a good main character. I did not get to relate to her. I did not feel that much for her. I guess I could say she's a little one-dimensional and she does not have the right reactions to what's happening around her. You're in the middle of a murder case, THEY ARE TRYING TO POINT YOU AS THE MURDERER, and yet she was cooking and having dinner with a cute dentist. It does not make sense AT ALL.
Another thing that I did not like about this book was that there was too much talking happening. We should be focusing on the murder case and not about Jae's history. At the end of the day I just want to know who killed Derek in the first place.
The ending was kind of nice, but it did not really have that much surprise. There were a lot of characters that got inserted in the story as we went along, maybe trying to confuse the reader from making conclusions on who is the killer but the desired impact was not reached.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
In sum: Maybe this book is not just for me. If you would like to know more about Filipino culture and cuisine, I would definitely recommend this book to you. Also, if you like cozy mysteries that revolve with family, friends, and relationships, then this might be for you too. However, if you're a hardcore mystery fan, I'd suggest you skip this one.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Rating: ★★
This is one of my most anticipated releases of 2021 and I think I expected too much from this book. I felt a little let down with the turn of events. I am not sure I am going to be a fan of cozy mystery plots. Those doesn't really add up. Mystery is one of my favorite genres to date and unfortunately, I think this book is a poor mystery novel.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
The things that I like
I love all the Filipino references. I find myself salivating over all the talk of food! The Titas here are well represented. The environment, the way of living, the pressuring of getting a boyfriend and all that, even the having too many cousins culture. When I first flipped the pages, I was so happy to find a glossary of Filipino words. I was like 'YES, I'M GOING TO LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH!'.
Here's another thing that I would like to point out: this book tackled discrimination and made references with the terrible, TERRIBLE on-going campaign War on Drugs here in the Philippines. I love that the author put this here and create awareness of what is happening in our country as many families have still not gotten the justice that they deserve. All that evidence planting... you can search on Google and find a lot of stories about it.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
The things that I DID NOT like
Lila is a not a good main character. I did not get to relate to her. I did not feel that much for her. I guess I could say she's a little one-dimensional and she does not have the right reactions to what's happening around her. You're in the middle of a murder case, THEY ARE TRYING TO POINT YOU AS THE MURDERER, and yet she was cooking and having dinner with a cute dentist. It does not make sense AT ALL.
Another thing that I did not like about this book was that there was too much talking happening. We should be focusing on the murder case and not about Jae's history. At the end of the day I just want to know who killed Derek in the first place.
The ending was kind of nice, but it did not really have that much surprise. There were a lot of characters that got inserted in the story as we went along, maybe trying to confuse the reader from making conclusions on who is the killer but the desired impact was not reached.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
In sum: Maybe this book is not just for me. If you would like to know more about Filipino culture and cuisine, I would definitely recommend this book to you. Also, if you like cozy mysteries that revolve with family, friends, and relationships, then this might be for you too. However, if you're a hardcore mystery fan, I'd suggest you skip this one.
deborah1's review against another edition
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? No
4.0