July Book Reviews:
Book Lovers, 8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster, The Edge of Water and Yellowface
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Hallmark romance
Book Lovers was…not it. I’m so sad that I spent money on this one and annoyed at the online reviews that told me this was worth the read!
As much as we know not to, let’s just be honest, we all judge a book by it’s cover a little. This was precisely one of those books. To me it screamed “not worth the read”. However, I tried to be a little adventurous and trusting of online strangers (ya, I hear it too). I made it about 7 chapters in holding onto hope that the story was going to get deeper but by chapter 8 I had to call time of death, I just couldn’t anymore.
Big city girl reluctantly ends up in a small town, crosses paths with a guy unlike anyone she’s dated before, they bond over saving some sentimental town relic, and (shock of shocks) fall in love. Happily ever after, roll credits 🙄.
I bailed right after the small-town meet-cute. Honestly, this book was so disappointing that I don’t think I’ll be picking up another Emily Henry anytime soon.
8 Lives of a Century Old Trickster by Mirinae Lee
Historical fiction, drama and coming of age
Eight lives, one woman, and a story that almost had me…until the ending.
It was eye opening reading about the different lives that one woman could have lived at a time in Korean history when being a woman was one of the hardest things to be.
Mook Miran is our main character, our storyteller. She was forced into becoming 8 different versions of herself because of societal expectations, affects of the Korean War and the struggle for survival.
We sit with an obituary writer as we hear first hand about the incredible and sometimes unbelievable life of Mrs. Mook. The stories are not chronological and we aren’t always sure which version of Mook Miran is being told but we’re captured by the story nonetheless.
But the ending, agh… it ruined the whole book for me. It dragged on far longer than it needed to and in my opinion took away from the beautiful storytelling of the rest of the book. I ended up glancing over the last few chapters just to find out how the story concluded.
An incredible premise, beautifully written in parts—but ultimately a story that lost me at the finish line.
The Edge of Water by Olufunke Grace Bankole
Family drama, immigration, historical fiction and folklore & myth
Utterly brilliant! An entirely moving story of Nigerian women and their fierce desires for a better life than the generations before them.
This story spans 3 generations entering on Ester and Amina; mother and daughter. The story kicks off with an introduction to young Ester. We follow her journey into female independence and young motherhood. Ester’s upbringing is deeply impacted by the patriarchal culture that she tries to fight against sometimes without succeeding.
In between we see a narrative switch to hear Amina’s story. Unlike her mother, Amina has a more empowering support system that allows her to not only dream bigger but to push relentlessly for those dreams to be reality. We watch as mother and daughter navigate lives on different continents and the tolls it takes on their relationship.
I don’t think I can put into words how deeply beautiful I found this story. The concept of leaving a life you were born into to pursue another. The recognition that we often walk paths begun by those before us, even if they never reached the destination. And the understanding that in the pursuit of independence and the breaking of generational chains fear is inevitable but the reward can be greater than you imagine.
And this was Bankole’s debut novel🤯!
Yellowface by Rebecca F. Kuang
Satirical, psychological fiction, suspense, cultural appropriation and racial identity
Never before have I read (and enjoyed) a book that made me want to reach into the pages and strangle the main character. I almost didn’t want this story to end.
June Hayward, a struggling white author, finds herself in a morally questionable situation (to say the least) when her friend and very well established author Athena Liu dies of a freak accident. June in a split-second decision takes Athena’s just-finished manuscript and well… let’s just say every decision she makes from this point on spirals further into entitlement and self-destruction.
This story will have to frustrated and infuriated at the sheer audacity of what plays out. But you’ll be waiting to see if justice will ever catch up to June, or if she’ll continue her reckless climb.
Sharp, satirical, and impossible to look away from, Yellowface is the kind of book you finish breathless.
Hayward is one of the MOST infuriating main characters I’ve ever read, but I couldn’t look away.
