Personal Rating: 3.5 Stars Goodreads Rating: 4.04 Content Rating: PG-13 (for language and alcohol consumption) Izumi Tanaka has never really felt like she fit in—it isn’t easy being Japanese American in her small, mostly white, northern California town. Raised by a single mother, it’s always been Izumi—or Izzy, because “It’s easier this way”—and her mom against the world. But then Izzy discovers a clue to her previously unknown father’s identity… and he’s none other than the Crown Prince of Japan. Which means outspoken, irreverent Izzy is literally a princess. In a whirlwind, Izzy travels to Japan to meet the father she never knew and discover the country she always dreamed of. But being a princess isn’t all ball gowns and tiaras. There are conniving cousins, a hungry press, a scowling but handsome bodyguard who just might be her soulmate, and thousands of years of tradition and customs to learn practically overnight. Izzy soon finds herself caught between worlds, and between versions of herself—back home, she was never “American” enough, and in Japan, she must prove she’s “Japanese” enough. Will Izumi crumble under the weight of the crown, or will she live out her fairytale, happily ever after? (goodreads.com) I want to preface this by saying that I’ve never been to Japan, nor have I studied much about Japan or the Japanese Imperial Family, so I’ll withhold comments about whether this is realistic or not. I mean, the whole idea of being a secret princess is pretty unrealistic, but my goodness it is fun to read about. I have heard others say that the cultural aspects are not entirely realistic (though the author does say she fact checked a few things with her Japanese friends), but since I don’t have any base knowledge I’m not going to be passing judgement on that aspect of the book. Moving on. Basically, the premise of this book is pretty much the same as The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot, but not told in diary format and an Asian princess instead of a European one. Still in first person, but not written as a diary. I’ve never read The Princess Diaries (though now I sort of want to), but I did watch both movies (they are masterpieces and you can’t convince me otherwise, I mean, Stan Lee makes a cameo in the second one so how can you not love it, also Julie Andrews, Anne Hathaway, Chris Pine… need I say more?). I’ve always loved the idea of finding out that you are royalty. Even though I went through a tomboy-not-like-other-girls-phase from preschool through most of highschool and claimed that I was uninterested in “girly” things, I have always loved, loved, loved a good princess story. I mean, being royalty sounds very cool despite the fact that I would probably run a country into the ground. Yeah, I’m not so good at politics. So if I were a princess, it would hopefully be of a figurehead monarchy. Since I adore princess stories, it was not difficult for me to fall in love with this one. Izumi, while a little annoying, was a fun character and I liked her and her friend group’s shenanigans. Also, there was a romance, which was very cheesy and totally insta-lovey, but still cute. And, of course, there was royal intrigue, fancy dresses, conniving cousins, etiquette lessons, tabloids, and all of the fun that comes with a book like this. This is exactly the light summer read that I needed and I am thrilled to hear that there will be a sequel sometime next year. Not so thrilled that I have to wait a whole year because I need to know what happens next. It wasn’t a cliffhanger ending, but it did feel somewhat abrupt and I want more as soon as possible. Thanks for reading this review! TTFN, I need to dust off my tiara. Image source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54860605-tokyo-ever-after
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Personal Rating: 4 Stars Goodreads Rating: 4.10 Stars Content Rating: Strong PG-13 (for language, violence, smoking/drinking, and suggestive remarks) Trigger Warnings: Drug overdose, parent death, rape is alluded to, brief use of racist language. With her mama recently dead and her pa sight unseen since birth, fourteen-year-old Amelia is suddenly in charge of her younger brother and sister, and of the family gas station. Harley Blevins, local king and emperor of Standard Oil, is in hot pursuit to clinch his fuel monopoly. To keep him at bay and her family out of foster care, Melia must come up with a father, and fast. And so when a hobo rolls out of a passing truck, Melia grabs opportunity by its beard. Can she hold off the hounds till she comes of age? (goodreads.com) This book was fantastic. I won’t beat around the bush with “I found this book here” or “this book interested me because”—it doesn’t matter. All you need to know is that this is an amazing, heartbreaking, uplifting, giggle and tear inducing book with incredibly likeable (and one detestable) characters. That’s it. That’s all you need to know. Okay, maybe you need to know more than that. You’re probably wondering why, if this book is so wonderful, I only gave it four stars and not five. Or you might be wondering what exactly about this book was so good. You may even require some convincing that a book about a gas station could even be interesting. And, because you have so little faith in me, I will give you an actual review instead of just gushing about how much I liked this book. You’re welcome. First things first: why did I only give it four stars? There are a couple of reasons. The first being that there was unnecessary use of racial slurs. It was hardly there, and only popped up once or twice. And sure, it was probably accurate to something a person of that time would say, but it had nothing to do with the plot, the instance that I remember most clearly was really just in a throwaway line that didn’t add anything. It’s one thing if a slur or harmful language is important to the story, but it doesn’t sit well with me when that sort of thing is thrown around without cause. So that’s one of the reasons for losing a star. The other reason is just because I personally was not comfortable reading about some of the subjects I mentioned in the TW section above. Also, there was a heckin’ lot of foul language and you know how we feel about that round here in these parts. Apart from those things, I really did love this book. I’m a sucker for “found family” stories and this one played that trope out to perfection. It also had a unique setting in a gas station during the Great Depression in Virginia, which turned out to be a really interesting and fresh setting for a book. I loved the different ways the family in this book improved their gas station and the lengths they went to protect it from the disgustingly evil Harley Blevins (I really would have liked to punch this guy in the face… with a baseball bat… or a brick… a couple of dozen times). Reading about the different promotions they’d run to make a little extra cash, or the things they’d do to make the station nicer, or the meals they’d cook, was just my cup of tea. And the characters! Apart from Harley Blevins (aka the Scum of the Earth), the characters were so likeable it was ridiculous. The story is told from Melia’s (the MC) point of view and it is written the way she would speak, regional slang and all. She was such a strong and interesting character with actual development that didn’t feel rushed. I don’t think I have ever liked a first person narrator more. Her siblings, Earle and Janey were adorable and also had their own lives apart from being adorable children. They had their own wants and thoughts and motivations. Oftentimes, kid characters in YA and adult novels are so flat and boring and just there to be cute. But Earle and Janey were so much more than that and drove the plot in their own way. Then, of course, there was Hiriam, who you aren’t really sure what to make of when you first meet him, but I promise he grows on you. I could probably go over each and every character from this book and tell you about them, but I won’t do that because I don’t have the energy to type that long of a review. Suffice to say, that even the town snobs of the story eventually started to warm up. Pretty much everyone except Harley Blevins (the Poopiest Poop of this book and possibly all time) was likeable or interesting. I do want to throw out that Christians in this book are not portrayed in a good light, though it can be a realistic light unfortunately. They treat Melia and her family poorly because they don’t go to church and are just very judgmental and hypocritical in general. While the Christians in the town in this story eventually get better, it really irks me that Harley Freaking Blevins used God and religion as an excuse to do the things he does. He also sees his faith as a business transaction with God, which is not accurate. He sort of reminds me of Frollo from Hunchback of Notre Dame (the Disney movie, I’ve never read the book) using his position of power and the name of God to judge others and bend them to his will. Which is not what God is for. God isn’t a god of bargains, He is a god of unconditional love. Lucky Strikes was truly a compelling historical fiction and I may read it again at some point down the line. I absolutely recommend it to anyone who is interested in Depression-era fiction, gas stations of yesteryear, or just stories about finding family and yourself. Thank you for reading, I’m off to fill up my gas tank… no literally, it is getting low. Image source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23546616-lucky-strikes Personal Rating: 3.5 Stars Goodreads Rating: 3.64 Stars Content Rating: Light R (for violence) Trigger warnings: Mentions of suicide. In the kingdom of Lovero, nine rival Families of assassins lawfully kill people for a price. As a highly skilled member of one of these powerful clans, seventeen-year-old Lea Saldana has always trusted in the strength of her Family. Until she awakens to find them murdered and her home in flames. The Da Vias, the Saldanas’ biggest enemy, must be responsible—and Lea should have seen it coming. But her secret relationship with the Da Vias’ son, Val, has clouded her otherwise killer instinct—and given the Da Vias more reason than ever to take her Family down. Racked with guilt and shattered over Val’s probable betrayal, Lea sets out to even the score, with her heart set on retaliation and only one thought clear in her mind: make the Da Vias pay. (goodreads.com) This is a book that I picked up without knowing anything about it beforehand, which is something I used to do a lot (before I became a boring old grown up) and have been trying to do more of lately. Thankfully, this book was just the thing I needed to get me out of the reading slump I’ve been in (I blame social media, because, again… boring old grown up over here). There were good things and bad about this book, interesting and boring, but it kept my interest like no other book has for the past while. In the time between reading this book and The Book of Pearl, I picked up and then DNF’d about four books, which is never a good feeling, so I was glad Assassin’s Heart grabbed my attention and refused to let go. Even if the romance was a little forced and annoying. This story is told in first person perspective, which is never my favorite, but was fairly neutral here. I didn’t feel as though it enhanced the story or took much away from it, it was simply a tool that was used. But, if I’m being completely honest, when books have a lot of action like this one does, I typically prefer third person perspective just because it can get annoying to have all of the “I stabbed with my sword” or “I did a super awesome flip” or “I punched that dude so hard his teeth fell out” and the “I did this, I did that, I’m so amazing”, etc. I thought the world building for this book was interesting. It took me a while to figure out what time period had inspired this fictional world, but eventually—because of the fashion and the weaponry—I decided that it is probably inspired by 1400s Italy. This might be partially because the author and the marketing would try to make you believe that this is a Romeo and Juliet story. Or at least a story of forbidden love. And as cool as it would be to have Romeo and Juliet as assassins, that’s no what this book is about really. It is mainly focused on the revenge storyline as well as the theology of the made up gods and ghosts of the world it takes place in. I’m a little disappointed that this was not more about a shady underworld of assassins and criminals, but I was still invested in the revenge aspect of things. Much less so in the pantheon of wacky deities (the main goddess encourages murder and another god has a priest who who wears a top hat and carries a big glowstick) the characters worship, but you get what you get. The main character, Oleander “Lea” Saldana, was pretty cool. She had lots of weapons, poisons, and a hecking lot of angst (though her angst was totally valid, all things considered). I do think I would have found her more likeable if the book hadn’t been in first person POV, but that’s the case with many books I read. It is just hard for me to get attached to first person perspective characters sometimes. I liked the other main character, Alessio, well enough, but I really wish they hadn’t shortened his name to “Les” because it looks awfully similar to “Lea” and that made things kinda confusing for my poor eyes and brain. The plot didn’t go at all in the direction I was expecting, and while sometimes that was disappointing, for the most part I still enjoyed the path it took and I was left satisfied by the ending. There is a sequel/companion novel about a different character, which I am somewhat interested in, but sometimes it’s nice to just read one book and be done with the world it is set in. So, I’m not sure if I will pick up the second one or not, but if I do then I will let you know. Thanks for reading! I’m off to go polish my bone mask. Until next time! Image source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21421609-assassin-s-heart Yeah, the title of this post pretty much sums it up. My TikTok username is @corgisfield if you feel inclined to check out the rather granny-ish content I post. Enjoy! |
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