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redvelveting's reviews
49 reviews
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
2.5
This was the first Agatha Christie novel I’ve ever read, and I understand the appeal but don’t think I’ll be reading anymore. I was a fan of the way the story was laid out, as it made it much easier to follow the clues and eventual conclusions, especially with so many characters.
This book was definitely a book of its time. I am not a big mystery reader, so I wonder how it holds up to modern day mysteries.
The “victim” was a murderer, and the “murderers” were victims. This concept I was a fan of, and I imagine the whole moral grey area of it all made this book a standout at the time it was published. The whole damn train was in cahoots with each other, but it made the confusion of all the evidence crystal clear. Genius lol.
Personally I was a bit confused when Poirot just figured this out all of a sudden, essentially solving the case by guessing but perhaps that’s his thing. It felt like he never really struggled in the book, and the characters of M. Bouc and Dr. Constantine served mainly as exposition devices for Poirot to explain to the audience how things fit in the case and what the objectively correct answers were. With such blunt writing I can’t see this having been as big as it was if it was released in 2024.
This book was definitely a book of its time. I am not a big mystery reader, so I wonder how it holds up to modern day mysteries.
Personally I was a bit confused when Poirot just figured this out all of a sudden, essentially solving the case by guessing but perhaps that’s his thing. It felt like he never really struggled in the book, and the characters of M. Bouc and Dr. Constantine served mainly as exposition devices for Poirot to explain to the audience how things fit in the case and what the objectively correct answers were. With such blunt writing I can’t see this having been as big as it was if it was released in 2024.
Family Trust by Kathy Wang
3.0
It was like Crazy Rich Asians but with an Asian-American family (and not as crazy rich). I honestly found it more interesting though. Sometimes I find that books that switch perspectives every chapter are difficult to follow, but I found it to be pretty digestible in this book. Overall, mostly a fun read but I think we glossed over some of the more problematic events too easily, like Stanley fully knocking his daughter out with little to no comeuppance ever is damn crazy. I wish they explored the complexities of Stanley’s relationship with his children are; all things considered, they treated him pretty nicely despite all the fucked up stuff he did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, and Sexual harassment
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I learnt a lot from this book and I know it covered all of human history, but I must say, it also did a good job of preparing me for bed. I did actually enjoy the book overall, as there were moments of “oh wow, that’s fascinating” or “oh damn, that’s a new take that completely changed my perspective,” I just couldn’t read it for more than an hour or so at a time.
Desiderium by Julie Furxhi
3.0
Overall, it was interesting to follow the three different generations and see how their timelines would eventually connect, however, I found that some parts were very abrupt which made me confused as to how or why things happened. It also became a bit cheesy at the end with the romances, particularly with that of Dita’s, which I felt took away from her story.
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
5.0
I don’t typically read books like this but this came as a recommendation from a friend and I certainly don’t regret it.
The author, Isabel Wilkerson, did an amazing job conveying all the different aspects of caste in the history of humanity; I was personally a fan of all the analogies and anecdotes she used to drive her points home. It can be a challenging read with all the depressing or infuriating content, but it should be — it’s a reminder of how toxic the disease of caste is.
The author, Isabel Wilkerson, did an amazing job conveying all the different aspects of caste in the history of humanity; I was personally a fan of all the analogies and anecdotes she used to drive her points home. It can be a challenging read with all the depressing or infuriating content, but it should be — it’s a reminder of how toxic the disease of caste is.
Blackmail and Bibingka by Mia P. Manansala
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
2.5
I read this thinking it was the second in the series lol. The writing style is the same — cheesy, almost fanfic-like, which isn’t entirely negative as I do like a lighthearted book every now and then — but compared to the first, the grand reveal wasn’t so grand or shocking. I thought it was a lot more obvious who was behind the crime, perhaps more could’ve been done to make those characters less ostracized.
China Dolls by Lisa See
3.75
This book was a wonderful glimpse into Chinese American life during World War II and even more interestingly, the history of Asian American performers and clubs. Such a fascinating part of American history that I would never have known about. It’s clear that a lot of research went into creating this book and capturing the Chinese American experience at the time.
The book is told from three different perspectives and the author did a fantastic job of distinguishing them. I think the climax was dissatisfying (resolved quite quickly), but overall, I enjoyed the book.
The book is told from three different perspectives and the author did a fantastic job of distinguishing them. I think the climax was dissatisfying (resolved quite quickly), but overall, I enjoyed the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Confinement, Slavery, Terminal illness, and Abortion
The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
4.0
Again lots of different Greek myth references with just the right amount of tweaking. Titan’s Curse is definitely not my favourite of the PJO series but serves as crucial setup for the final two in the series.
Bumped up to 4 stars because bb Nico is introduced 🥺
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
This book is written so beautifully. While the plot may not be the most thrilling at times, I loved Klara’s characterization. I thought the author did a wonderful job portraying how someone like her would see the world. Typically, the vagueness would annoy me but somehow it worked really well in this book; it didn’t need all the nitty gritty details to make the characters compelling. The language and style were just so dainty and pretty.
Additionally, the human characters just felt so real. They all had their highs and lows and were full of so many different emotions and behaviours; there were even some that were more destructive or problematic and even illogical but still realistic and understandable. The author gave the characters a lot of dimension in this way.
I also loved the idea ofa solar-powered artificial intelligence basically worshipping the sun. Not only did it make a great allegory for religious devotion and faith, but it just made sense.
Honestly when I was approaching the end I was originally going to rate this lower but the ending really sold me.Klara is content in the life she was able to live but it made me so sad to see her just thrown away like that after everything she did; a hard truth in real life I suppose.
Additionally, the human characters just felt so real. They all had their highs and lows and were full of so many different emotions and behaviours; there were even some that were more destructive or problematic and even illogical but still realistic and understandable. The author gave the characters a lot of dimension in this way.
I also loved the idea of
Honestly when I was approaching the end I was originally going to rate this lower but the ending really sold me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, and Classism