Category: Book Review

Review: You Brought Me the Ocean by Alex Sandchez and Jul Maroh

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review3 Comments
48639623. sy475

Goodreads | Waterstones

Jake Hyde doesn’t swim—not since his father drowned. Luckily, he lives in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, which is in the middle of the desert, yet he yearns for the ocean and is determined to leave his hometown for a college on the coast. But his best friend, Maria, wants nothing more than to make a home in the desert, and Jake’s mother encourages him to always play it safe.
There’s nothing “safe” about Jake’s future—not when he’s attracted to Kenny Liu, swim team captain and rebel against conformity. And certainly not when he secretly applies to Miami University. Jake’s life begins to outpace his small town’s namesake, which doesn’t make it any easier to come out to his mom, or Maria, or the world.
But Jake is full of secrets, including the strange blue markings on his skin that glow when in contact with water. What power will he find when he searches for his identity, and will he turn his back to the current or dive headfirst into the waves? 

I’m here with my first ever DC graphic novel and I am so happy about it. My boyfriend Mark bought me this and Shadow of the Batgirl for me for Christmas and I was so excited to pick this up. Once I did, I couldn’t put this down and I sped through this in an evening. It is a stunning book with an absolutely beautiful muted, blue colour pallette that showcases Jake’s ability perfectly.

This book was so emotional, diverse and centers around a friendship. I really enjoyed that the friendship took such a big role in the story, as we don’t often see male/female protagonists as best friends. Jake is struggling with a lot of things in his life – being gay, wanting to apply to a different university to his best friend, and the strange blue markings on his skin. I really loved how this story begins completely normally, with Jake and his friend Maria on a hike in the desert where they live. We are introduced to Jake’s ability alongside him, in a cautious and uncertain manner, and I really enjoyed how it was weaved subtly throughout the story.

This is very much a coming-out story, and I really enjoyed reading about Jake and Kenny’s romance. The only slight disappointment for me was that this relationship felt a little insta-love, which I think is partly due to this being a graphic novel and therefore not giving quite as much space for the characters to get to know each other. However, I really liked the side-characters, and I loved how it included Jake’s relationships with his friend Maria’s parents. I related to some of the conversations he had with them so much, specifically because Maria’s dad said the same line as my friends dad said to me at an emotional time in my life, and therefore reading that scene made me cry!

Alex Sanchez on Crafting Aqualad's Coming Out Story in You Brought Me the Ocean
Copyright DC Comics 2020

The diversity in this book is absolutely brilliant, with Jake being Black, Maria being Latin, Kenny being Asian and the teacher, Mrs Archer, being Native American. There was a section at the end of the graphic novel about the characters, and it included a paragraph about Mrs Archer and how important the authors felt it was to include a Native American character. On top of the diversity, You Brought Me the Ocean explores some very heavy themes, such as homophobia, bullying, physical assault, friendship issues and loss of parents.

Overall, this felt like a perfect graphic novel to introduce me to reading DC as the superhero factor takes a backseat and is definitely subtler than you may expect. This was a quick but emotional read and I really loved it!

★★★★
4.5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

| Shop | Goodreads | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | Facebook |

www.etsy.com/uk/shop/thebooksareverywhere

Review: Red Queen (#1) by Victoria Aveyard

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review7 Comments
22369406

Goodreads | Waterstones

This is a world divided by blood – red or silver.
The poverty-stricken Reds are commoners, living in the shadow of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.
To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from the Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.
Then Mare finds herself working at the Silver palace, in the midst of those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control. 

I hardly ever re-read books, but this one I knew I needed to. I read this book the first time when only this one was out, and it’s taken me a while to gather copies of the rest of the series. Now I finally own all of them, I decided to re-read the first one almost five years later. I read this (mostly) on audiobook as a test of whether I could run and listen to an audiobook at the same time, and I really enjoyed re-reading it!

I interestingly feel similarly to how I did the first time I read this book, and I quickly found I couldn’t remember much about it at all. I’m glad I couldn’t, because it gave me such an element of surprise all over again. Plot twists come out of nowhere in this book and I was constantly being surprised by them. Red Queen is very intense and has an interesting premise of a world split between ‘Reds’ (the poorer people, who do not have powers) and ‘Silvers’ (the people who hold the power, rich, have special powers). Mare Barrow, our protagonist is, somehow, a Red with special powers.

I see a world on the edge of a blade. 

I really liked the concept of Red Queen. It is an elaborate game of power, of courts, of royalty. Of those with power and those forced to be a slave to them. It is a story of betrayal and family. It is intense without being daunting or overwhelming, a fantasy that is relatable and easy to read. The premise provides opportunities for some interesting and deep discussions of class divide, and I really liked how they were interwoven throughout this story. The writing was still beautiful the second time around, and I found myself able to picture the world clearly. The world-building was detailed, and allowed me to be drawn into the story and life in the palace.

As with the first time I read this book, the characters let it down for me. I find Mare makes for a good protagonist and I enjoyed reading her story and felt sympathetic towards her and her family. But again, I struggled to understand the love triangle, as the characters just felt kind of distant. I just didn’t feel close to either of the Prince’s, and I found myself rolling my eyes a little at the mention of Mare being attracted towards either of them.

Without balance, it will fall.

I’m looking forward to finally carrying on with this series and hopefully finding out more about the characters introduced to us in Red Queen. I can’t wait to see where this goes, and I feel like this story could just be the beginning…

★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

| Shop | Goodreads | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | Facebook |

www.etsy.com/uk/shop/thebooksareverywhere

ARC Review: Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow by Benjamin Dean

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review1 Comment
55922563. sy475

Goodreads | Waterstones

My name’s Archie Albright, and I know two things for certain:
1. My mum and dad kind of hate each other, and they’re not doing a great job of pretending that they don’t anymore. 
2. They’re both keeping a secret from me, but I can’t figure out what.
Things aren’t going great for Archie Albright. His dad’s acting weird, his mum too, and he all he wants is for everything to go back to normal, to three months before when his parents were happy and still lived together. When Archie sees a colourful, crumpled flyer fall out of Dad’s pocket, he thinks he may have found the answer. Only problem? The answer might just lie at the end of the rainbow, an adventure away. 
Together with his best friends, Bell and Seb, Archie sets off on a heartwarming and unforgettable journey to try and fix his family, even if he has to break a few rules to do it…

Thank you to Simon & Shuster and Waterstones for a copy of this book in exchange for honest review.

Happy book birthday to this beauty, which is released today!

I’ve been so excited to read this book after seeing the beautiful ARC copies going around. I was lucky enough to be part of a Zoom Q&A through work with the author, who spoke so beautifully about this book and made me so excited to read it. I picked it up almost immediately and couldn’t put it down, reading it in around 24 hours.

This book was so much fun and so beautiful. It is the epitome of a modern and diverse adventure story, and is centered around London Pride. It really transported me back to the magic of the only Pride event I have attended, which happened to be Dublin! I am so happy to be safe in the knowledge this will help so many young people learn about LGBTQIA+ relationships and diversity. Archie, the main character, is so charming and lovable, and the tone of this book draws you in immediately. I love how Archie spoke to the reader directly, it made me feel very involved in the story.

I love how Archie and his two best friends, Bell and Seb, are discovering the world of Pride, and I imagine it will teach so much to young readers who are also navigating this world for the first time. It has such a diverse cast of characters, as two of Archie’s older friends are gay, and they meet all kinds of beautiful people at Pride, including trans people, non-binary people and drag queens who help them along the way. The conversations the trio have with these people are so heart warming and accessible to the reader. Some of the other conversations that Archie has with those closer around him were also beautifully written and will stick in my head for a while to come.

This was my first middle grade book of the year, and I’m so glad it happened to be this one. Reading this gives me so much hope and excitement for the way literature is changing for children, and becoming so much more diverse. This was beautiful, emotional and full of love, and I couldn’t recommend it more.

★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

| Shop | Goodreads | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | Facebook |

www.etsy.com/uk/shop/thebooksareverywhere

Review: The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review1 Comment
52021504. sy475

Goodreads | Waterstones

Tiffy Moore needs a cheap flat, and fast. Leon Twomey works nights and needs cash. Their friends think they’re crazy, but it’s the perfect solution: Leon occupies the one-bed flat while Tiffy’s at work in the day, and she has the run of the place the rest of the time.
But with obsessive ex-boyfriends, demanding clients at work, wrongly imprisoned brothers and, of course, the fact that they still haven’t met yet, they’re about to discover that if you want the perfect home you need to throw the rulebook out the window…

This was such a heartwarming read. I’ve heard some really good things about this book and have been looking forward to it for a long time – I bought it for my mum, who adored it and passed it to me a while ago! I had a feeling I would like it, but I didn’t know I’d be finding a new favourite that I just couldn’t put down.

This story follows Tiffy, who is an Assistant Editor about to move out of her ex-boyfriends flat with not much cash and nowhere to go. She ends up flatsharing (or bedsharing!) with Leon, a palliative care nurse who works nights. They share the flat, and the bed, but work opposite shifts and never expect to meet…

Remind myself that there is no saving of people —people can only save themselves.

This was a story full of strength, growth and friendship. Acceptance, love and forgiveness. It was beautiful, and it made me laugh and cry (sometimes at the same time!). There are so many stories in this, as it follows both Leon and Tiffy in alternate points of view. As well as their story sharing the flat, they have stories and lives of their own. Tiffy is recently out of an abusive relationship and is trying to find herself again. Leon is in a relationship of his own that doesn’t feel quite right somehow, and has a brother who is wrongly imprisoned.

I could not put this down. Once I got to 100ish pages, I was absolutely and utterly sucked into Tiffy and Leon’s story. I wanted to find out what happened to them and everyone else in this story, and I read the last 250 pages in two sittings and on the same day. The short and alternating chapters made it too easy to fly through, and I just loved it. At first, I found Tiffy a little annoying, and I found Leon’s chapters a little hard to read (he skips a lot of words and writes just as I imagine he thinks, with very few words!), but that quickly became easier and quicker to read.

The best you can do is help when they’re ready.

This book was so heartwarming and emotional, with depth and real characters. I really fell in love with it and the characters, and I couldn’t put it down. I would definitely recommend it and I’m looking forward to reading more by this author!

★★★★★
4.5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

| Shop | Goodreads | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | Facebook |

www.etsy.com/uk/shop/thebooksareverywhere

Mark’s Review: Spider-Man: Life Story by Chip Zdarsky and Mark Bagley

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review, Mark's postsLeave a comment

Hi everyone! I have something new and exciting to share with you today. We’re here to welcome my boyfriend Mark to The Books Are Everywhere. He’s going to be posting reviews for you every so often, and today he’s here with his first post – a review of Spider-Man: Life Story!

44286872. sy475

Goodreads | Waterstones

In 1962’s Amazing Fantasy #15, fifteen-year-old Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider and became the Amazing Spider-Man! 57 years have passed in the real world since that event – so what would have happened if the same amount of time passed for Peter as well? To celebrate Marvel’s 80th anniversary, Chip Zdarsky and Spider-Man legend Mark Bagley unite to spin a unique Spidey tale – telling an entire history of Spider-Man from beginning to end, set against the key events of the decades through which he lived! Prepare to watch Peter Parker age through 57 years of groundbreaking history – and find out what happens to him, and those he loves the most!

I can’t decide if you need to have knowledge of the intricacies of 60 years of Spider-Man comics to follow this, or if it’s the perfect standalone entry way for the uninitiated reader. The truth is, it might be good enough to achieve both.

This graphic novel collects all 6 issues of the Spider-Man: Life Story comic book from 2019. Starting from Peter Parker’s earliest days as Spider-Man in the 1960s, we jump a decade at a time with each instalment, visiting with this alternate version of the web-slinger throughout his life in real time. In the main Marvel series Peter Parker started as an awkward teenager and, while he has grown up somewhat, he has aged at a glacial pace. The character has also been subject to a number of resets and continuity changes to meet the wider Marvel cannon. This is were Life Story is so unique.

Set outside of standard continuity, we are allowed to witness Parker, his compatriots and adversaries all grow and age from their inception. We as an audience effectively witness short interludes in each decade. Often coinciding with the major storylines that were happening in the comics of those eras, these episodes are now imagined with a realistic weight of age and lasting consequences. In the 60s we see a young and familiar Peter deal with his friends leaving for Vietnam while learning his new powers and grappling with the dilemma of perhaps joining them. The 70s takes a revisionist look at the notorious ‘Clone Saga’. While the 80’s finds an ageing group of heroes battling in a spin on the ‘Secret Wars’ storyline. This continues through the to the modern day tackling elements of very big storylines and weaving them into an increasingly different take on Spider-Man as a hero who encounters elements of both the comic and real worlds.

Copyright: Marvel (2019)

In comics the idea is often to change things while reinforcing the continuity, I have read enough to know that very few who die are ever really gone, so Life Story seems quite moving by comparison. I have enough knowledge to know all the stories Life Story is riffing on even if I haven’t read them (although I think I may have!). Seeing all these elements weaved into a more consequential narrative might not seem wildly revolutionary, but when paired with such a familiar character, it’s a really interesting proposition. The book also managed to side swipe me with some of realities for side characters, if Peter has to age from 15, then so does Aunt Mae or Tony Stark, so do his adult villains which over a 57 time period means the inevitable. Something I really hadn’t prepared for but I won’t delve into too much here.

With Spider-Man regular Mark Bagley doing the art and the often more comedic Chip Zdarsky writing I thought this was going to be a breezy ride through 60 years of spider-history. Not a more intense look at the potential realities of the usual comic book form, with all the ups and downs of a real life story.

-Mark

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

| Shop | Goodreads | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | Facebook |

www.etsy.com/uk/shop/thebooksareverywhere

Review: Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review1 Comment
35959131. sy475

Goodreads | Waterstones

Joanna Gordon has been out and proud for years, but when her popular radio evangelist father remarries and decides to move all three of them from Atlanta to the more conservative Rome, Georgia, he asks Jo to do the impossible: to lie low for the rest of her senior year. And Jo reluctantly agrees.
Although it is (mostly) much easier for Jo to fit in as a straight girl, things get complicated when she meets Mary Carlson, the oh-so-tempting sister of her new friend at school. But Jo couldn’t possibly think of breaking her promise to her dad.
Even if she’s starting to fall for the girl. Even if there’s a chance Mary Carlson might be interested in her, too. Right?

I picked this book up almost a year ago in Gay’s the Word while on a tour around some of London’s bookshops, as I’d seen good things about it and it appealed to me! Although this book wasn’t perfect, it made for an enjoyable contemporary with some deep and meaningful discussions. This story follows Joanna, who moves from being out and proud in Atlanta to being in a much more conservative small town. Her dad is in a new marriage, and asks her to lie low for the last year of high school because of possible judgement from those in and around the family.

This story was a journey of self-discovery for Joanna, who initially feels her life is much easier pretending to be straight and therefore not being judged by everyone she meets. But then she meets Mary Carlson, who makes her question whether it’s really worth staying closeted for the sake of those around her. I really liked the message this book portrayed of having to come out more than once. This is something LGBTQIA+ people face every day, all of their lives. There is not just one big coming out and you’re done. There will be more places and more people and that will involve more worry and concern about how they may react and the judgement you might face. Joanna definitely faces coming-out more than once throughout the course of this book!

I want to feel proud and happy about my selflessness. 

Joanna’s relationships with those around her really develop throughout this novel as she begins to question everything again, despite already having an out and proud life back in Atlanta. I really enjoyed Jo’s relationship with her new stepmother, and seeing how they connected throughout the story was so heartwarming. Although her dad was not without his problems, I really liked his willingness to understand his daughter at the end of it all.

Reading about a character with a connection to faith was really interesting and I don’t feel like it’s something we see a lot of in YA. Although I’m not religious myself, I didn’t feel like Joanna’s own views overpowered her story, or that I couldn’t relate to her as a character. Although I felt some of the characters were problematic, there is an undertone of acceptance that meant I couldn’t judge them as much as I felt I would have done in other situations.

But sadly, there is a few things I disliked about this book. The plot seemed far-fetched and frankly, I don’t know why Jo really followed along for so long with what her dad was asking of her. The situation her dad put her in also felt really unfair and made me feel quite uncomfortable at times. I also feel like the ending was rushed, not thought out, and that the character of Deirdre was unrealistic and lacking in any character development. It almost felt as though she was only placed into the end of the story to allow for the ending to happen the way it did, and was not really mentioned throughout the rest of the story or given any opportunity to be more than her actions in the scenes that showed up in the book.

 But what happens when being selfless takes away a big part of your self?

Overall, this was a diverse contemporary with some hard hitting discussions that felt like they were handled fairly well. I’m glad I picked it up and I flew through it super fast, so if you’re looking for a quick but hard-hitting sapphic romance this one could be for you!

★★★★
3.5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

| Shop | Goodreads | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | Facebook |

www.etsy.com/uk/shop/thebooksareverywhere

Review: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review4 Comments
40381319. sy475

Goodreads | Waterstones

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction—but assassins are getting closer to her door.
Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.
Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.
Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

It has taken me way too long (almost two years) to finally pick up this book. I was so daunted by it because it is such a large book, but I challenged myself to read it in a week between my semesters at uni and I managed to read it in 6 days! All I knew about this book was that 1) it has an LGBT relationship, 2) it has dragons and 3) it is one of Alex’s favourite books. And if that wasn’t enough to entice me, I don’t know what else would.

This is an epic fantasy. A complex and intricate world that has so much to reveal. The biggest disappointment for me (and the part I was most worried about when I went into the story) was that I felt a bit lost. I struggled to connect to the characters because there was just so many, and it took me a while to get into it. I found myself latching onto a particular character (in my case, Ead), because I really enjoyed her storyline. Although I felt a bit lost in the other parts of the story, I’m glad I did focus on her because I felt much more connected to her character. I was so happy when the book became more and more focused on her particular story.

Some truths are safest buried. Some castles best kept in the sky.

The romance in this book was one of my favourite aspects of it. There is a slow burning, female/female romance which felt honest, raw and complicated. I appreciated their relationship so much, and the way they tackled life together reminded me of my own relationship with my boyfriend. They were honest with themselves and each other and I adored that about them. I also really enjoyed how this book explores gender issues and talks about women in power. It was so refreshing and some of the quotes were so good, I had to tab them!

I really liked most of the characters, and especially the mythical beings and animals. The way they were incorporated into the story felt so different and refreshing, I adored them. For some reason I expected the dragons to appear part way through the book, but I loved how they were in the story basically from the very start.

There’s promise in tales that are yet to be spoken.

I did have mixed feelings about this book, but I feel like it could have easily been a 5 star read for me if I understood a little more about the characters, the world, the politics and the royal families. There is just so much to take in and that this book has to give, and I feel like I’d love to reread it in the future, whether that be in a physical or audio version. I feel like it’s something I will enjoy more if I reread it, because this book will have something new to give with every read.

★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

| Shop | Goodreads | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | Facebook |

www.etsy.com/uk/shop/thebooksareverywhere

Review: Capturing the Devil (#4) by Kerri Maniscalco

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review1 Comment
37539001

Goodreads | Waterstones

Audrey Rose Wadsworth and Thomas Cresswell have landed in America, a bold, brash land unlike the genteel streets of London they knew. But like London, the city of Chicago hides its dark secrets well. When the two attend the spectacular World’s Fair, they find the once-in-a-lifetime event tainted with reports of missing people and unsolved murders.
Determined to help, Audrey Rose and Thomas begin their investigations, only to find themselves facing a serial killer unlike any they’ve heard of before. Identifying him is one thing, but capturing him—and getting dangerously lost in the infamous Murder Hotel he constructed as a terrifying torture device—is another.
Will Audrey Rose and Thomas see their last mystery to the end—together and in love—or will their fortunes finally run out when their most depraved adversary makes one final, devastating kill?

I really didn’t know if Kerri could top Escaping from Houdini and then she pulled this out of the bag. I knew I was saving that half star for a reason and she didn’t let me down! I’ve been reading this series with my lovely friends Amy and Jo and it’s been so fun – we’re also going to be buddy reading Kingdom of the Wicked soon and I can’t wait to read it. This series improved ever so slightly with every book and I could see Kerri’s writing getting better and more enthralling.

The characters in this book are my absolute favourite and I adore them. I became more connected to Thomas and Audrey Rose with each book and I really went on a rollercoaster with them throughout Capturing the Devil! It left my gasping, shocked, in tears and also with a warmth in my heart. Even though I had an idea of where this book would lead, I was absolutely hooked at the twists and turns.

Love is immortal. 

Audrey Rose is honestly one of my favourite female leads ever. Her character and romance with Thomas is absolutely timeless. Her determination and individualism is amazing, especially for the time, and I admire her so much. She suffers from an injury at the end of Escaping From Houdini that leaves her with a limp and she uses a cane throughout this book. Not only is this disability rep, but is also Own Voices as Kerri has a disability herself!

I adored the setting of this book and I really enjoyed reading about New York and Chicago! Reading about the Chicago World Fair was enchanting and I loved that element of the book, it allowed me to really picture it. I also really enjoyed the Author’s Note at the back of the book which explained the inspirations for the story, what was based on real events and places, and even how to visit where the locations of this book are set! I really appreciate Kerri adding these little details as it fascinated me.

Death can neither touch nor steal it.

Overall, this was an epic rollercoaster of a conclusion to a series I’ve really enjoyed. It has some of the best characters I’ve read and has made me fall in love with a historical series which I would not usually pick up! Thank you Amy for introducing me and Jo to this series!

★★★★★
5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

| Shop | Goodreads | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | Facebook |

www.etsy.com/uk/shop/thebooksareverywhere

Review: Hungry Hearts by Various Authors

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review1 Comment
35858798. sy475

Goodreads

A shy teenager attempts to express how she really feels through the pastries she makes at her family’s pasteleria. A tourist from Montenegro desperately seeks a magic soup dumpling that can cure his fear of death. An aspiring chef realizes that butter and soul are the key ingredients to win a cooking competition that could win him the money to save his mother’s life.
Welcome to Hungry Hearts Row, where the answers to most of life’s hard questions are kneaded, rolled, baked. Where a typical greeting is, “Have you had anything to eat?” Where magic and food and love are sometimes one in the same.
Told in interconnected short stories, Hungry Hearts explores the many meanings food can take on beyond mere nourishment. It can symbolize love and despair, family and culture, belonging and home. 

Thank you to MTMC tours for a copy of this book – I won a book of my choice in their giveaway and I chose this one! I’ve known about this one for a while and I really wanted to pick it up as I enjoy reading about food. Any descriptions of food in books or scenes that centre around food captivate me for some reason, I think it might be something to do with feeling connected to the book itself! One of my favourite examples is the patisserie in Serpent & Dove – I really started to fall in love with the book when I reached that scene.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s an anthology made up of 13 different stories about food and love by different authors. All of the stories centre around Hungry Heart Row, a place that has a lot of amazing restaurants and food ingrained into the occupants lives. Where people believe in magic, and think that magic and love are integral ingredients to any dish. Something I really loved about these stories, other than how integrated they are with one another, is that one particular character showed up in every single story (I think) to give the main character of that story a treat. I thought that was a delightful way to connect all of the stories, and it made me smile when that character appeared with a sweet pastry or treat!

I’m going to rate each story out of 5 and discuss a little about each below.

Rain by Sangu Mandanna – ★★★★★

A contemporary story about loss and family. This was an absolutely beautiful introduction to this anthology, a short story centering around a main character who has travelled from England to stay with her Aunt who lives near Hungry Heart Row. I adored this story, it had a beautiful discussion of grief and made me feel warm inside at the way food connected the family.

Kings and Queens by Elise Chapman – ★★★★

A dark contemporary story about gangs and Chinese restaurants. A really interesting and dramatic story full of plot twists. This is not something I expected and definitely showed me that this anthology was not going to be full of sweetness and fluff!

The Grand Ishq Adventure by Sandhya Menon – ★★★★★

A contemporary romance story about stepping out of your comfort zone. I was so excited to see that Sandhya Menon had a story in this book – I have one of her books on my TBR and I was so glad to have an introduction to her work. I loved this story, which centered around being brave and trying new things. It was so cute and easy to read, but also provoked a lot of internal reflection for me that I really liked, it had a lot of depth to it!

Sugar and Spite by Rin Chupeco – ★★★

A fantasy story, and also the only one by an author I had already read books by! I was so glad that Rin Chupeco had taken on the story of this particular restaurant, as it was infused with magic and fantastical elements. It was a beautiful story, but unfortunately I found it difficult to get into because of the second person narrative that I’m not used to!

Moments to Return by Adi Alsaid – ★★★★

I really enjoyed this story, which centered around a character who had travelled to Hungry Heart Row after hearing about it online. Their experience of depression made me very emotional, and I could feel their desperation jump off the page. This had a beautiful moral about finding magic in the every day and being grateful for what we have.

The Slender One by Caroline Tung Richmond – ★★★★★

This one was a ghost story, and I loved it. Again, it centered very much around family and upholding family legacy. The concept was so interesting and I could picture it so easily. It also discussed friendship and relationships and the expectations we have from those around us. Such a fascinating read that made me feel warm and fuzzy!

Gimme Some Sugar by Jay Cole – ★★★★★

Another beautiful story that looked at family relationships and being brave for those around us. The discussion of anxiety in this story felt visceral and jumped right off the page. I really related to how the main character felt and admired him for what he went through. The discussions of food were so lovely and warmed my heart! (Also, amazing title that made me smile.)

The Missing Ingredient by Rebecca Roanhorse – ★★★★

A story about a girl who just wants her mum back, when she becomes engrossed in the running of her restaurant. This one had a dark undertone and creepy twist I didn’t see coming, but I really felt for the main character and thought this was an interesting and different (darker) look at food and restaurants.

Hearts à la Carte by Karuna Riazi – ★★★★

Another one with a twist that I didn’t see coming and I thought it was really fun! I don’t want to say anymore than that because I will spoil the story – but I enjoyed how this one was set outside and around a family street food cart which I loved, as I could visualise more of Hungry Heart Row!

Bloom by Phoebe North – ★★★★

A story that centered around relationships and the way we see people. I really liked this one, it felt emotional and raw and honest. It was a unique romance story about discovering who you are yourself, loving yourself and had such an interesting discussion of how we present ourselves to other people.

A Bountiful Film by S.K. Ali – ★★★★

I knew I would enjoy this story as soon as I realised it was about film and the cinema. I noticed the cinema on the map in the front of the book and I was so happy to find it mentioned in a book! This one had such interesting stories about the neighbourhood interwoven throughout, and I really liked the discussions of family, friendship and connection.

Side Work by Sara Farizan – ★★★★★

This was one of my favourite stories in the whole anthology, it was so cute and anything I wanted from the story was quickly delivered. It had a quiet, queer, beautiful romance and a really lovely story about how food connects us to our families.

Panadería ~ Pastelería by Anna-Marie McLemore – ★★★

I was so excited to get to this story as it included the character who was mentioned throughout the book in every story, but this fell a little flat to me. It was extremely short (I know all of these are short stories, but this one was shorter than most), and I just didn’t connect to the main character in the way I wanted to. However, this bakery was probably one of my favourite parts about this book and the pastries sounded delicious! This story also had a trans love interest and was very diverse.

In fact, this whole anthology was diverse and I really adored the discussions of different cuisines and cultures. It was one of my favourite things about this short story collection! In no particular order, my favourite 5 stories were Rain, The Grand Ishq Adventure, The Slender One, Gimme Some Sugar and Side Work.

★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

| Shop | Goodreads | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | Facebook |

www.etsy.com/uk/shop/thebooksareverywhere

Review: Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker + Wendy Xu

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review5 Comments
44774415. sy475

Goodreads | Blackwells

A story of love and demons, family and witchcraft.
Nova Huang knows more about magic than your average teen witch. She works at her grandmothers’ bookshop, where she helps them loan out spell books and investigate any supernatural occurrences in their New England town.
One fateful night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods. As a werewolf, Tam has been wandering from place to place for years, unable to call any town home.
Pursued by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options, Tam turns to Nova for help. Their latent feelings are rekindled against the backdrop of witchcraft, untested magic, occult rituals, and family ties both new and old in this enchanting tale of self-discovery.

I’ve wanted to read this since before it was released. In fact, I even had an e-arc on Netgalley, but unfortunately I couldn’t download the file for some reason. I’ve been looking for a copy ever since but could never find them, and I finally managed to get one a month or so ago! I think they’ve been reprinted as there is still a few available on Blackwell’s and Forbidden Planet if you’re looking for one.

I was a little hesitant that this wouldn’t live up to expectations as I’ve wanted to read it for over a year, but it really did. This was gorgeous. The artwork was absolutely beautiful and the colours were stunning. As soon as I opened the book I knew I was going to love the art style. I devoured this and read it in two sittings (it would have been one if I didn’t stop for a phone call in the middle!).

I loved that this was a contemporary book with paranormal elements that just feel ‘normal’ for the story. It talked about family, friendship and relationships but also demons, magic, witches and werewolves. And I felt like it just worked. Nothing felt forced, it was a perfect combination. There was also so much diversity, with Asian-American main characters, a non-binary main character, queer relationships and even a main character with a hearing impairment. This all felt natural and flowed really well in the story, but are still discussed in relation to it. Nova’s hearing impairment was discussed in relation to her magic, and is not ignored in the face of anything.

I adored everything about this. The characters are lovely and so well written – I related to them instantly and loved their relationships. The world was super interesting. The plot was adventurous, but the story didn’t shy away from important and hard-hitting discussions. The artwork was vibrant and utterly addictive. I’m so, so glad I read this, it felt like a hug, a warm blanket, a cup of hot chocolate. I feel like it’s one I will re-read again and again!

★★★★★
5 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

| Shop | Goodreads | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | Facebook |

www.etsy.com/uk/shop/thebooksareverywhere