vickycbooks's reviews
871 reviews

I loved this! It was exactly what I wanted to scratch the itch of romance set in historical China. A nice level of romance between a no-nonsense heroine and golden retriever hero, with a hefty dose of intrigue and murder. About to devour all of Jeannie Lin's backlist now!

I can see why a lot of people like this book--it's fun and doesn't take itself too seriously, letting you enjoy the shenanigans of Cin, Fallon, and everyone else who joins them along the way. 

At the same time, it felt a little...unpolished to me? I think my biggest criticism is that I felt like there was a lot of whiplash: both moods and scenes would change very quickly, almost in a manic way, which is very in line with Cin's character, and I was hoping for something a little smoother. It almost felt like a Wattpad novel, for lack of better description. I don't say that as a denigrating descriptor, more of an observation that THAT TIME I GOT DRUNK AND SAVED A DEMON shares a lot of qualities with the Wattpad novels that I consumed voraciously as a teen. From the pithy title (anyone remember I SOLD MY SOUL TO THE DEVIL FOR VINYLS...PITIFUL, I KNOW?) to the fast and loose worldbuilding, THAT TIME I GOT DRUNK AND SAVED A DEMON is something that's written purely for enjoyment, regardless of how silly the plot ends up being. I appreciate that a lot about this, and wholeheartedly agree that we need more of books that don't take themselves too seriously. 

Still, the book just felt a little...immature. From the not-like-other-girls start to the random rape threats by burglars to the possessive super powerful demon dragon mate, I felt like the tropes did end up a little overboard. 

I think I'd be excited to read other things Lemming writes, especially as they mature more as a writer, but I'll admit that THAT TIME I GOT DRUNK AND SAVED A DEMON wasn't quite in my ballpark. I definitely think if the story appeals to you, you should try it, though! 

(Also, can we talk about how the Orbit cover is not canon compliant? It drives me a little nuts. When Cin's hair is pink, she has braids. The braids only get taken out when the pink dye is already grown out, like the original cover shows...)

I went into this knowing that a lot of people didn't actually enjoy it (3.2 is a depressingly low rating), but I was still intrigued by the premise and wanted to read it anyways. 

And, after finishing the story, I can see why it hasn't appealed to the general audience -- the worldbuilding feels clunky, overburdened with loads of near-future dystopian references (I'm making these up, but think of things like AI cheer-up chatbots and neural-linked auto-responsive sex toys and nanotech fat reducing implants and whatever mashup of tech, science, and other jargon you can think of) that are mentioned off-hand and rarely delved into. While on the other hand, the relevant near-future technology (the concept of Flow being essentially social media, with Flowers (pronounced Flow-ers, not like flowers) being influencers) is, in my opinion, woefully underdiscussed. 

The reader is essentially thrust into this world of Joey's where she's a "Reality Controller" -- which is essentially some near-future amalgamation of manager, social media consultant, video editor, script writer, and producer for Flow influencers. In the beginning, it can be hard to pick through all the worldbuilding and understand what is relevant and meaningful, and what's essentially atmospheric fluff. 

But, even still, I did actually think the underlying concepts of the story were interesting. Basu essentially builds up this story of Joey, who wants to make meaningful change, but lives in a surveillance state where even your toothbrush spies on you and sends your data to outside parties, where hired cleaning services will bug your house, where everyone has smartatts that monitor your well being. She struggles with her parents -- who didn't grow up in a surveillance state and remembers times where rebellion could happen in outspoken ways, or at least could be discussed within the privacy of one's own home. She struggles with her own privilege of having a job managing an influencer who is her ex, the danger that her family's domestic helper is in when she goes to protests but doesn't let Joey come, and the inequalities around her. But the message is somewhat shrouded -- both because Joey herself isn't able to express these views in the surveillance state she lives in, and also because of Basu's chaotic worldbuilding. 

Still, I felt like I was able to pick up on Joey's subtle thread of rebellion, so the direction the novella goes wasn't unsurprising. I liked how Rudra's story ties in as well, although he is more minor of a protagonist than Joey. 

The heart of THE CITY INSIDE is something interesting and thought-provoking -- leading readers to question the nature of rebellion, data privacy, and where our world might go. But the execution will turn off many readers who will struggle with the overwhelming nature of this near-future dystopian world, its complex geopolitical landscape, and its plethora of ungrounded references. 

At first I didn't understand why Shibli wrote such a distinct divide between the first part (Summer of 1949) and the second near-present day part,  but upon finishing the work, I feel like Shibli was very much affirmed in the choice to structure the story that way. Without the full context of the first part, a lot of the second part would have fallen flat -- the reader wouldn't be able to understand the symbolism of a lot of the imagery Shibli builds (the yellow bottom of a girl in a photograph, the dogs, the old woman, even the strong water pressure in the guest house). 

Shibli does an expert job of weaving a story that highlights the suffering of Palestinian people under occupation and the gruesome colonial history behind it. I can't comment on the accuracy of the translation by Elisabeth Jaquette, but the story felt meticulously written, every scene, every motif chosen with intent. 

Siiri Scott did a great job with the narration, especially in the second half.

Listened at 1.7x speed on Libro.fm. 

I'm pretty apathetic towards this book. There were some parts I liked, some parts I didn't like. Some parts I understood, some parts that were confusing. Some parts that felt too direct, some parts that felt too subtle. 

I haven't read Mona Awad's debut, but ROUGE was...a book. Sometimes I felt like it was really deep and emotional, like the way that Awad explored Belle's relationship with her mother and all the nuances within, especially within the context of the ending. That her mother (who is white, while Belle is biracial with an Egyptian father) was racist -- buying Belle music like Walk Like an Egyptian and putting on 'ethnic' clothes like a costume. But at the same time, her mother was trying to shield her from pressures surrounding conventional beauty and similar topics, and Belle was grieving her death. 

But sometimes it felt super trite -- the way Belle obsessed over beauty wasn't explored as deeply as I liked, despite it being tied directly into Belle's biracial identity and obsession with beauty being a huge part of the book. 

Sometimes the book felt dreamy, with a rich, dark fairytale-esque quality, while other times, it felt too obvious in what it was trying to do. For example, it felt too blunt the way Awad kept integrating the ominous slip-of-the-tongues in, without there really being any direct connection between a lot of the slips-of-the-tongue (sever, for instance) to what I felt like was happening to cause the phenomenon.

I thought the plotline with Hud Hunter (? is that his name) was a little obvious, but not inexcusable. In a way, it was almost comforting; serving as an expected normality, a tiny thread for the reader to hold onto among many different confusing elements and say, "Yes, I know what the fuck is happening because at least I know/can guess what Hud Hunter is doing." Was it cliche? Sure. But cliches are fun and keep readers engaged. I shudder to think what would become of ROUGE without the Hud Hunter storyline to push it along.

I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with confusing books or storylines (other than confusing books are inherently harder to keep readers engaged, but that doesn't mean they're bad books). But I felt like it was hard to sometimes see where the story was going to go in the beginning. It makes sense in the end, but for the first half, I mostly felt like I was being bombarded with mysterious elements without any crumbs to keep me reading, other than willpower that I didn't want to DNF another book. 

The one shining part of ROUGE was all the symbolism -- it was the one thing I felt Awad did really well in a distinct and meaningful fashion. I think with the story, it would have been very easy for another writer to fall back on something overly gory, instead of building up symbolism to make something dark and creepy, but not blood-soaked. This isn't a book about blood. This is a book about hearts and roses and souls and mirrors.  

 I did think I also enjoyed the ending -- it was satisfying and a little comforting and validated a lot of the symbolism that Awad set up. But was the reading experience worth it? Ehh.  

ROUGE is a lot of mystery, a little bit cult-y, a little bit fairytale, a little bit introspective mother-daughter fiction. I think if the summary appeals to you, you should go for it, but I think a lot of "average" readers won't quite click with ROUGE. It's one of those books that you either love or you feel very apathetic to. 

I did think Sophie Amoss' narration was great and she executed a lot of the linguistic details (slip-of-the-tongues) very well, as well as immersed you in the story. Thanks to Libro.fm for the complimentary copy! I listened on 2-2.3x speed. 

actually so good it hit every mark and did not miss!!!

Emily Woo Zeller's narration was great, as always! DEEP AS THE SKY, RED AS THE SEA is almost more of a character study than a swashbuckling adventure -- we dive deep into Shek Yeung's character: her motivations, her hopes, and her history, all set against the backdrop of a new period in her life after her husband dies and she must manage the changing politics of a pirate fleet. Chang-Eppig builds a very layered character in Shek Yeung, who struggles with her desire to keep power as it wars against her urges for freedom. 

Thanks to Libro.fm for the complimentary copy! I listened on 2.0-2.4x speed.

I flew through this so fast -- it's such a perfect addition to the YA romcom landscape and would definitely make my list of top YA romcoms. Adib Khorram really never misses, and KISS & TELL is fun and thoughtful and trope-y, while still dealing with serious moments. 

What KISS & TELL does really well, besides just being a fantastic YA romcom, is how it takes a gentle and nuanced approach at intersectional struggles without being overly moralistic. It can be really easy to either write something that preaches at teen readers. On the other hand, it can be really easy to write YA in a way doesn't seem relatable or oriented at teen readers. I think KISS & TELL balances this perfectly -- although I'm a fair number of years off from being a teen reader -- as KISS & TELL brings up these nuanced, complex topics that really have no good answer (how to be part of a community or communities, how to balance the struggles of existing as a marginalized person and wanting to hide away, while also balancing the desire to help make good change for your community and be active, etc.) and is thoughtful and intentional about them within both the writing style's approach and framing of the topics as well as Hunter's choices and learning throughout the story. 

KISS & TELL is a fun, fast-paced read, and although it has its heavy moments, they only help emphasize the immense joy that queer teens can experience. It's honest and sometimes silly (the band's breakout was a joke song called 'Poutine'!) and overall another fantastic read from Khorram. 

I'm not generally a fan of modern crime novels, but I enjoyed how Emerson wrote Rita's story.  Even though Rita is a very level-headed protagonist she also goes through some really stressful experiences and this makes the book also a little bit stressful to read at times. I think Emerson did a good job of developing Rita's situation in the novel but I also felt like there was an excessive number of flashbacks. Maybe I'm overly biased because I'm not a fan of flashbacks in books, but I felt like even though there was a lot of character building, it also just wasn't super relevant to the main plot. For a lot of the book I was very interested in hearing what happened to Irma and having that part of the plot push forward. But after almost every chapter, we essentially jump back in time to Rita growing up and getting new cameras and changing her relationships with her mom and her grandmother and people in her community.

I think people who enjoy really solid characterization developed through flashbacks will enjoy SHUTTER. Charley Flyte did a great job narrating the story and especially conveyed a lot of the urgency and the fear associated with the ghost very well. 

Thank you very much to Libro.fm for providing the complimentary copy! I listened on 2 to 2.5x speed.