Books and Sensibility

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Yellowface by R.F Kuang

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

Lol, how did Rebecca get this published? She is eating the publishing girlies up in this biting critique of the publishing industry, bookish social media, and cancel culture. Yellowface follows June Hayword, a flop debut author who steals an Asian American woman’s work and becomes a literary star.

Audiobook Narrator Helen Laser understood the assignment. Her performance truly encapsulates the self-important NWL ‘I’m a liberal, so I can’t be wrong’ energy coming off of June.

For the past decade, I’ve casually observed the publishing industry from the sidelines and it definitely influenced my perception of this book. I’ve seen the sort of online book discourse/drama June gets mixed up in play-out IRL. I think this is uncanny look at online book culture is why this book has been so popular with book influencers.

I’m curious what the average reader who is not plugged into the bookish internet will think of this book. Will they think the Twitter beefs, think-pieces, and clapbacks are inventions of Kuang’s?

Personally, I don’t think this is a complete parody. I am sure Kuang has seen and heard some of the outlandish things June thinks and says IRL.

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

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Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

It Ends With Us follows Lily Bloom as a chance encounter with Ryle, a successful neurosurgeon, leads to a whirlwind romance. At the same time, Lily finds herself revisiting her childhood journals and remembering her first love–a homeless boy named Atlas.

I thought this book was fine. I don’t really understand why people so vehemently dislike it but I also don’t understand why it is so beloved. I think Hoover genuinely wanted to show how quiet domestic violence can be and I think she accomplished that. I think it was an interesting move on Hoover’s part to write Ryle as this perfect swoony hero for most of the book– then have his violent side come out by accident. The domestic violence is surprisingly nuanced. Ryle isn’t made out to be a monster. He has real empathy and regret –but the book wants you to understand that doesn’t make him less of an abuser.

I didn’t love that Atlas, who unexpectedly shows back up in Lily’s life, is the main reason Lily decides to leave Ryle. We hardly know who he is as an adult (or as a character) yet he becomes this huge catalyst in Lily and Ryle’s relationship. Atlas being the reason she leaves takes away from her agency, in my opinion.

The book felt like a redux of those old Lifetime movies where the woman falls into a whirlwind relationship only for it to end badly. Those movies were very popular so perhaps that is why this CoHo book resonates with people ? I also have a theory this book’s popularity has to do with the cover. It’s super aesthetic. Just saying…

Side Note

Lily’s diary entries are written as letters to Ellen DeGeneres–which did not age well…

Jess’ End of The Year Mini Reviews

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No One Will Miss Her by Kat Rosenfeld

Rating: 3 out of 5.

A vicious murder-suicide at an idyllic lake house leaves a small town reeling. and a society housewife on the run.

I found this to be an enjoyable quick read. It’s a study in class and the choices afforded to those with money and privilege. Rosenfeld does deep dives into her characters, which can sometimes leave the plot wanting.

I hate to be that person but I clocked the twist in this book by the 4th chapter. I read this on audio and print– the print makes the twist very obvious. I think the author is somewhat aware of this and the ‘reveal’ actually comes in the middle of the book instead of the end.

Now that we are firmly in the 2020’s I’m finding more books are having to consider social media when delving into the character’s past. If a character is between 18-30 years old you can’t talk about their high school experiences without considering what their high school Facebook or Instagram looked like.

Heartbreak Symphony by Laekan Zea Kemp

My first impression of this book was wow…this feels like it could be a prestige television show. It was this down-to-earth and character-driven book with an ominous narrative twist. Aspiring DJ Aarón Medran embarks on a series of clandestine humanitarian missions around his small barrio at the behest of La Maquina, a celebrity DJ and hometown hero Aarón is never alone on these missions as La Maquina’s 7-foot-tall robot mascot has been following him since his mother’s death. This seemingly friendly robot has a foreboding nature and leads to some of the more poignant and moving parts of the story. I liked this strange aspect of the story. I always enjoy YA books that go for a high or unusual concept.

We also follow Nina, a high school senior whose self-doubt has kept her from pursuing her dreams and performing the trumpet she loves dearly. Her story honestly felt like it could have been a companion book. I felt like both stories could have stood on their own.

Kemp masterfully balances grief, hope, and forgiveness in this emotion-packed read.

Blood Trials by N.E. Davenport

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Jess’ Review

Blood Trials is a Sci-Fi series that follow Kenna Amari–a nineteen-year-old military graduate embarking on a brutal trial to join the Pratorieans, an elite military branch. Kenna has ulterior motives for undergoing the trials–her true mission is to find out who among the Pratoerins killed her grandfather.

Initially, I was all in for this plot, it reminded me a lot of Legend by Marie Lu (spoiler alert this also meant I clocked the reveal of the murderer). I was up for learning how this world worked and the trials. But the so-called Blood Trails turned into The Squid Games real quick and then this whole book fell apart for me.

Right out the gate we learn that the trials they undergo are intentionally fatal and I”m like….WHY WOULD THAT BE A THING? Tasks include surviving cannibals, cage-match beatdowns, and surviving extreme cold. WHAT DOES THIS TEACH YOU ABOUT BEING A SOLDIER?

Kenna is ethnically different from her fellow recruits and endures a lot of racism from their leader Chance and several other recruits. One of these brutally racist recruits seems to get redeemed at the end and is shown grace by Kenna ?

Kenna also gets tangled up with Reed. A praetorian who was close to her grandfather. We learn that Reed is ‘white’ passing. The book kind of treats this like a twist reveal but it’s not seen like that by the characters. It makes no sense. If Reed wasn’t actually passing why did he not tell Kenna so she could know she wasn’t alone? Why didn’t her Grandfather or anyone else mention it?

I feel like this duology should have been a trilogy because of the pacing felt. The last 20% felt like a different book. It’s such a jarring shift in narrative. By the time we get to the final chapters, it’s like I’m supposed to believe everyone is one big happy quippy found family. I see the vibe Davenport was going for but we (the readers) needed time to catch up.

My biggest gripe with this book is the way Kenna was written as a Strong Female Character–there was zero nuance. Kenna is a strong female character because she can outsmart, outfight and out-drink the boys. Her strength comes from her ability to be better than all the men around her.  This is a way to write a strong female character but, to me, it’s the least interesting route.

This book does have some spice for the girlies. Davenport writes spice like a seasoned romance writer. Unfortunately, this scene added very little to the story. The scene happens out of nowhere and adds nothing to the plot. It just felt like a weak attempt at sexual tension.

Jeanette Illidge does an admirable job as a narrator but I don’t think her narration style was ideal for a book with so many characters. Because she doesn’t do a ton of voices– I got very confused toward the end and couldn’t tell who was talking.

Kat’s Review

Overall, I found this book intensely uninteresting.

Books about Black people existing in overtly white supremacist societies are not my jam but I am really over books about (typically) Black women risking life and limb to be accepted into a white supremacist group. Especially when there is a community of Black people two steps to the left. 

I am just not the reader for it. 

Jess and I had this idea of doing a Black SFF book club with our brother who only reads SFF and, if not for that, I would have DNF’d this book.

And, yes, it’s mostly on me for not reading past the first paragraph of the description.

I told myself I wouldn’t rant but my biggest problem with this book is that I never bought why Ikenna put up with the trials and virulent racism. She could have run to the Black kingdom in the first chapter and the stakes would have been the same since having blood magic is taboo there too. The titular Blood Trials didn’t make any sense to me. Not only do they add nothing to the plot but you’re telling me these people spend all this money and effort to make the best soldiers and then kill almost all of them?  The trials added nothing to the story or world. 

SPOILER: I went into this book knowing Reid was white-passing and I expected the reveal of his race to have more heft or be a turning point and it was just…nothing? 

Shoutout to audiobook narrator Jeanette Illidge. I enjoyed her in a contemporary middle grade I listened to and her performance here solidified her as an auto-buy.

That said, I am interested in reading Davenport’s romance book, I think that could be a good move for her.

Joint Review : Once Upon a K-Prom by Kat Cho

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Wild is The Witch by Rachel Griffin

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On the romance blog Kat mentioned that the thing with enemies-to-lovers is that if it is not done well you end up hating both characters and Wild Is The Witch gets real close.

Wild is the Witch is set in a contemporary world where witches live out in the open. The story follows Iris , a young witch who has recently settled in the Pacific Northwest.

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