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Showing posts from December, 2023

Fake Dates and Mooncakes Review

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The PERFECT romance book! Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee is about Dylan, a teenage boy who works at his Aunt Jade's Singaporean Chinese takeout shop. His family has been struggling financially, and they are worried they won't be able to keep the shop open. Dylan finds out about a mooncake making contest run by a celebrity chef named Lawrence Lim. The winner will get their restaurant showcased on Lim's TV show. Dylan decides to enter the contest, thinking if the shop makes some publicity, they might get more customers.  Then, one day Dylan accidentally gets the order wrong of a rich customer named Adrian, and Adrian makes a big deal out of it. Adrien's equally rich friend Theo, who was there when the incident happened, makes up for it by visiting and eating at the takeout shop. Eventually Theo and Dylan become friends, and Theo decides to make a donation to Dylan's aunt Jade to keep the shop afloat for much longer. Dylan's family is very happy about it. Th

My Top 10 Personal Favorite Books of the Year

These are not all 5 star books, as you can see. These are books (and two series that's still ongoing) that I read this year that now just have a special place in my heart 😍. Tell me your favorite books of the year! Sleeping Around by Morgan Vega The Witch Hat Atelier manga series by Kamome Shirahama Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan One Piece manga series by Eichiro Oda Jane of Lantern Hill by LM Montgomery The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty The Last Cherry Blossom by Kathleen Burkinshaw Nevermoor Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

ALL the 5 Star Books for This Year!

  Aka the best books of this year, along with their respective reviews. Tell me your best books of the year! Here are mine... Among the Brave by Margaret Peterson Haddix Heartstopper Volume 4  by Alice Oseman Heartstopper Yearbook by Alice Oseman Legends and Lattes  by Travis Baldree Sleeping Around  by Morgan Vega Talli: Daughter of the Moon  by Sulhya Among the Enemy by Margaret Peterson Haddix Among the Free by Margaret Peterson Haddix Bone Volumes 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 by Jeff Smith Milk and Honey  by Rupi Kaur Nancy Drew and the Bungalow Mystery  by Carolyn Keene Witch Hat Atelier Volumes 1 , 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, and 10 by Kamome Shirahama Nancy Drew and the Mystery at Lilac Inn  by Carolyn Keene Garlic and the Vampire  by Bree Paulsen Garlic and the Witch by Bree Paulsen Laziness Does Not Exist  by Devon Price Chef's Kiss  by Jarrett Melendez The Doll People set Sail by Ann M. Martin How to be Ace  by Rebecca Burgess One Piece Volume 1 by Eichiro Oda Cheer Up! Love and Pompoms

She Gets the Girl Review

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Have you ever been unsure if you were going to like a popular book, but you give it a try and you end up liking it? That's what happened to me with this book! She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippencott and Alyson Derrick is about two young women in their first year of college--Alex and Molly. Alex does not have the best life at home (parents had a nasty divorce, mother fell into alcoholism, financial struggles, etc.) and she just broke up with her girlfriend, Natalie. Molly is very shy and had friendship troubles in high school, and she wants to get out of her comfort zone in college and finally make some real friends. Alex and Molly meet at a party and Alex finds out about Molly's crush on another girl named Cora. Cora actually went to Molly's high school and is now at the same university. Alex befriends Molly and they make a deal to help Molly get Cora. Alex also makes a deal with her ex-girlfriend Natalie to show her that she is capable of opening up to people by befriend

Akane-Banashi Manga Review

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  I think I found a new favorite manga series! Akane-Banashi by Yuki Suenaga and Takamasa Moue is about Akane, a teenage girl who grew up watching her father practice and perform rakugo. Rakugo is a traditional Japanese art where a sole performer tells a short story and plays all of the characters, usually while seated. While she was in elementary school, Akane's father and a bunch of other candidates took an exam to rise up in the rankings of rakugo performers, but for some reason the judge proctoring the exam decided to expel all of them. Akane's father gets a job in construction work, and Akane decides to take his place in being a rakugo performer to showcase that rakugo can be a real job. Over the years she starts taking secret lessons from her dad's old instructor, and during her teen years she slowly makes herself known among his other pupils and rakugo fans, all while trying to perfect her craft.  I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this! I saw this manga

The School For Whatnots Review

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It's been a while since I read a Margaret Peterson Haddix book. The last one I read was the last book of the Shadow Children series in the first half of this year. The School for Whatnots by Margaret Peterson Haddix is about Max, a rich 10 year old boy whose rich family wants him to grow up with the best life possible. So his parents sign a contract for him to go to school with whatnots. Whatnots are very humanoid robots that look like real children, but they are all super well behaved and polite. Max does not know that he went to school with a bunch of humanoid robots, until he receives a strange note from his best friend from school, a girl named Josie. Josie herself has her own secret, too. She is actually a real human. Her family is very poor but her father agreed to let her sign up for the high-class whatnot school as it guarantees great education--which could be a key to a financially better future--as long as Josie pretends to be a robot.  Anyway, Josie's note to Max r

Conan Gray Book Tag

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I was tagged once again by @books.below.stars over on Instagram to do this tag (thank you tahlia!) So here are my answers to the Conan Gray Book tag! As usual, feel free to do this tag if you see it. 1. heather (a popular book you love) Loveless by Alice Oseman 2. movies (book with a movie adaptation) Coraline by Neil Gaiman 3. little league (a nostalgic book) Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery 4. best friend (book with found family) A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers 5. yours (emotional read) The Last Cherry Blossom by Kathleen Burkinshaw 6. footnote (a book on your TBR for too long) Little Women by Louisa May Alcott! I gotta read it next year... 7. wish you were sober (favorite book from this year) I will tell you 3 of my many favorite books from this year: Sleeping Around by Morgan Vega, Jane of Lantern Hill by LM Montgomery, and Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty. 8. people watching (book you can relate to) Kisses and Croissants by Anne-Sophie Johan

Magical Boy Volume 1 Review

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I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this! The first volume of Magical Boy by The Kao is about Max--a trans guy who is descended from a line of magical warriors who have to protect the earth from these giant bug monsters who feed off of peoples' negative feelings. The magical warriors of his family got their powers from the goddess Aurora. Max doesn't like this new magical warrior responsibility at first, as his outfit looks really feminine, and his mother (the previous magical warrior) expects him to do his magical duties the traditional way. That includes "acting" really feminine, something Max is obviously uncomfortable with. But with the help of his friend Jen, a new friend named Sean, and an enemy turned friend named Pyper, Max begins to do things his own way. They work together to try to stop the bug monsters from destroying the Earth. His magical outfit also looks less feminine over time.  This book was a blast! I loved this take on a magical warrior

November Wrap Up

I read a total of 7 books! It was a great reading month. Links to full reviews will be applied when necessary. Let me know how your reading month went! 1. The Last Cherry Blossom by Kathleen Burkinshaw -a historical fiction book set during and after WW2 in Hiroshima, in Japan. We follow the everyday life of 12 year old Yuriko as she deals with new changes within her own family and also best friend, Machiko. We also see her deal with the aftermath of the Hiroshima bombing. It is loosely based off of the author's mother's own life. This book will take you through a rollercoaster of emotions! I gave it 5 stars . Full review here . 2. Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend -a middle grade fantasy book about Morrigan Crow, an preteen girl who doesn't have the best life. She was born on Eventide--considered an unlucky day in her community. She is blamed for everything bad that happens, and her curse dooms her to die on her 11th birthday. But on her birthday,