Review: Milkman, by Anna Burns

Rating: ★★★★☆

Genres: Literary Fiction

Goodreads / Amazon

Milkman tells the story of an unnamed girl in an unnamed city, where the social rules to belonging are strict and don’t allow for straying too far. When the gets the unwanted attention of the Milkman and becomes the center of gossip in the city, she knows she’s in danger.

It took me several days to actually finish Milkman, because this gorgeous and witty book demands focus and can be dense to read at times. There isn’t a lot of dialogue going on and the paragraphs can be long, which by no means makes it a boring read at all, just a slower one if you’re used to, say, reading thrillers or other fast-paced stories. Although this was 350 pages long, it did feel more like 450-500 pages.

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Review: The Pisces, by Melissa Broder

Rating: ★★★★☆

Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Magical Realism, Erotica

Goodreads / Amazon

The Pisces is the most infamous book I’ve seen in a while, getting the same kind of reaction from people as did Fifty Shades of Grey when it came out – a snobbish dismissal and fascinated curiosity. When it came out, the only blurb I heard of was this was a book about fish sex. Then it made the longlist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction and I heard people I really trusted saying that this book was amazing and to disregard its abysmal 3.23 rating on Goodreads. I am SO thankful for those people convincing me to read it! So shout-out to the Women’s Prize Squad: Hannah, Sarah, Callum, Steph and Rachel. Definitely check out their reviews, they’re amazing.

eARC Review: A Prince on Paper, by Alyssa Cole

Rating: ★★★★☆

Genres: Romance, Contemporary

Goodreads / Amazon

I have received this book via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

A Prince on Paper is the story of Nya Jerami, knows very well what it means to have people assume things about her. Simple, fragile, perhaps in cohort with her traitor father. She went to NYC for her post-grad trying to turn herself into the strong heroine she has seen in so many movies, and failed. On the way back to Thesolo for the wedding of her cousin and friend Ledi, she realizes she will be seeing a lot of the playboy prince Johan. The insufferable, over-confident, handsome prince the tabloids seem to love. To keep the news away from his brother, and to stop people from still associating her with the treason from her father, they come up with a plan: they will pretend to be dating. Surely nothing can go wrong with this plan?

Review: An American Marriage, by Tayari Jones

Rating: ★★★★☆

Genres: Contemporary Fiction

Goodreads / Amazon

An American Marriage was the fourth book I read from the Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist for 2019, and my curiosity was even bigger for this one because this book was also picked for Oprah’s Book Club and I’ve been seeing several positive reviews from people I know.

Celestial and Roy have been married for a bit more than a year. She’s an artist and he’s a young executive. One night, during one of their worst fights, he walks out of the hotel room and helps an older woman – who then just hours later will accuse him of raping her. Incarcerated although he is innocent, Roy watches the life he knew shatter. The both of them must find out hard lessons on loyalty, justice, race, Black womanhood and Black manhood.

Review: Ordinary People, by Diana Evans

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Genres: Contemporary Fiction

Goodreads / Amazon

This is exactly the kind of book that draws me in, with the couples trying to figure out if staying together will eventually heal their relationship or if it will break them. Those are always emotional reads that make me look into my own self and reflect on my choices. I was ready to let Ordinary People destroy me.

Ordinary People is the story of two couples, Michael and Melissa, and Damien and Stephanie, living in London and trying to make their relationships work while staying true to who they are. Melissa finds it difficult to be who she truly is, consumed with housework and her children. Michael sees Melissa growing colder and colder towards him and cannot seem to get their relationship to be how it used to be… which makes him look at other women with different eyes. All Stephanie ever wanted was to have her family and a lovely home, but since Damien’s father died, it has been nearly impossible to have any kind of relationship with him. He’s distant, quieter and in his heart he feels like he doesn’t belong.

Review: Number One Chinese Restaurant, by Lillian Li

Rating: ★★★★☆

Genres: Contemporary Fiction

Goodreads / Amazon

Number One Chinese Restaurant is the story of the decades-long loyalties and tensions in the restaurant from the Hans, inherited from father to son, a place where once politicians went to, actors, even presidents – but somehow has not met real prestige yet. Jimmy, the manager, has big dreams for a restaurant of his own. His older brother Johnny worked so hard for so many years on the restaurant that he became distant from his own daughter. Nan has worked there for decades together with Ah-Jack and yearns to be with him. With all of the underlying drama waiting to boil, no one notices when Pat and Annie get themselves into trouble.

They were all friends, if one defined friendship as the natural occurrence between people who, after colliding for decades, have finally eroded enough to fit together.

Review: Sourdough, by Robin Sloan

Rating: ★★★★★

Genres: Contemporary, Magical Realism

Goodreads / Amazon

Sourdough is such a gem of a book. It tells the story of Lois, a software engineer who just got what should be her dream job: programming robotic arms to perform tasks and earning more than both her parents combined. She made it! A big job not long after graduating! However, as the work goes on, she slowly finds herself feeling discouraged, demotivated and with stomach pains that the company restaurant food seems to aggravate. One day, she finds a menu at her doorstep, and decides to try their spicy soup and sandwich – and it’s love at first bite. Her love for the spicy food and the amazing sourdough slowly helps heal her stomach pains and anxiety, but the restaurant owner must leave and close the delivery service. Before leaving, he gives her a starter to make their famous sourdough. She must keep it alive, feed it everyday and play music for it. As she learns how to bake (at first rather disastrously), she finds a passion for it she didn’t expect at all – and her sourdough comes out with faces on the bread crust for some mysterious reason.

Review: After I Do, by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Rating: ★★★★☆

Genres: Contemporary

Goodreads / Amazon

Taylor Jenkins Reid slowly makes her way towards my favorite authors of all times. After I Do is the story of Lauren and Ryan, who fell in love at 19 and now find themselves eleven years later falling out of love with each other.

I loved this book very much. It starts with the story of Lauren and Ryan falling in love, meeting so young and finding in each other someone they wanted to be with all their lives. It was sweet to read about, but nothing too special. I wasn’t taken by story then just yet – it wasn’t unlike any other “marriage struggles” stories I’ve read before. But then.

Review: Nine Perfect Strangers, by Liane Moriarty

Rating: ★★★★★

Genres: Contemporary fiction

Goodreads / Amazon

I had absolutely no idea what this book was about, but once I saw it in the bookstore, I knew I had to have it. I am a fan of Liane Moriarty’s books and this one was a pleasant surprise!

Normally, I’m not too keen of books with several POVs, several main characters and several ARCs, but sometimes it just works, and this is one of those times. This flew by and I read it in two sittings!

Nine Perfect Strangers tells the story of nine people who book ten days at a health resort that promises to change their lives. Some are there for stress relief, others for weight loss, and others aren’t so forthcoming with their reasons (even for themselves). But there is more to this health resort than any of them expected, and something is not quite right with the owner. She couldn’t possibly be dangerous… could she?

Review: Based on a True Story, by Delphine de Vigan

Rating: ★★★★☆

Genres: Contemporary, Mystery

Goodreads / Amazon

Based on a True Story is the elegant story of the relationship of Delphine (the author) and a woman named only as L. throughout the novel. As Delphine deals with the writer’s block and depression after her last autobiographical book about her mother’s mental illness and eventual suicide, L. becomes very close to her. Little by little, L. starts taking over Delphine’s life, becoming her.

What an interesting book! I wouldn’t call this a thriller, this book is a slow burner, and most of the it is about the relationship of the two women, and discussions about fiction and fact, autobiography and bias.