Review: Beach Read (by Emily Henry)

My Rating: 3.5 stars

I’m not much of a romance reader and I tend to get really picky when it comes to love stories, so under normal circumstances, I probably would not have chosen to read a book that is billed as a “romantic comedy” (which is where Emily Henry’s latest work Beach Read falls into), especially when I have a boatload of other books I need to read.  But with everything that has been going on the past few days – both here in the U.S. as well as around the world (plus the pandemic situation) – I wanted a departure from all the “heavy” books I’ve read lately and instead, read something uplifting, positive, and that wouldn’t require me to think too hard.  Coincidentally, my library hold came through a few days ago and since I already had this book on my list of “to reads” from the Summer Reading Guide for one of the book clubs I belong to, I decided to set everything else aside and read this one first.  It turns out that this book was just what I needed during this time – a fun, light-hearted read with characters who were realistically flawed (and also living “messed up” lives) but were still likable and relatable.  January and Gus were characters written in a way that made me automatically want to root for them, even though I already knew full well that no matter what obstacles they may face, they will likely still end up together as most couples in romantic comedies do.  But actually, this was not the typical “rom-com”, nor was it a “fluffy beach read” as most people may expect after seeing the title (pretty sure the irony behind the title was deliberate on the part of the author) – rather, the story had substance in that it dealt with ome difficult subjects in ways that didn’t make light of them, but also weren’t heavy-handed.  There was a good balance of biting humor versus serious reflection that permeated January and Gus’s story consistently from beginning to end, which for me, made them as characters more accessible and the story itself heartfelt as well as emotionally resonant.

With all that said, one complaint I had about the story is that I wish there had been a little more focus on the “bookish” part of the story line.  The premise of having 2 authors switch genres is an interesting one and while we do get glimpses of the book that January tries to write as part of the “bet,” we don’t hear much about Gus’s book outside of a brief mention near the end.  But then again, perhaps that’s asking for too much, since the point of the story wasn’t really the 2 books, but rather the romance that blossomed as a result of it.

Overall, this is a well-written romance that is also clever, smart, and funny, yet at the same time, had a raw, down-to-earth element to it that made the story and characters easy to connect with (at least for me).  I definitely enjoyed this one and even though it didn’t change much for me in terms of reading romances (I’m still not much of a reader of this genre and remain picky on which ones to read), it did make me want to explore this author’s backlist and try a few of her other books when I have time.  If you’re thinking about picking this one up, I heartily recommend it, though a word of caution that there are some racy scenes in here that might be uncomfortable to read for some (especially those who don’t read contemporary romance too often) – though fortunately, those scenes are brief enough to skim without affecting the rest of the story much.

Review: The Library of Legends (by Janie Chang)

My Ratings:  3.5 stars

The first thought that popped into my head after I finished reading this book was how different it turned out to be from what I had expected.  From a historical perspective, this is a story I greatly appreciated, as it covered a portion of history not widely known, set during a time period not often depicted in novels about the World War II era.  The year is 1937 in Nanjing, China — as Japanese bombs begin to fall on the city, students and faculty at various schools are ordered to evacuate, heading 1000 miles on a journey toward the safety of China's western provinces.  Minghua University student Hu Lian and her classmates, led by revered teacher Professor Kang, head toward the city of Chengdu, where the university will reassemble to wait out the end of the war.  The journey is tenuous, as the students not only need to avoid the constant threat of Japanese air raids, they also need to make much of the trip on foot.  Additionally, the Minghua students have also been tasked with the responsibility of bringing with them one of the university's greatest treasures — a set of encyclopedias containing ancient myths and folklore collectively known as the Library of Legends.  Along the way, Lian grows close to several of her schoolmates, including second year classmates Yee Meirong and Wu Ying-Ying as well as wealthy fourth year classmate Liu Shaoming and his maidservant Sparrow Chen.  But Lian lives in the shadow of a family secret that she has carried with her most of her life — a secret that, if found out, she fears could destroy everything she worked so hard to achieve.  Later in the journey, Lian discovers a connection between those in her group and the story of The Willow Star and the Prince, which is one of the mythological tales contained in the Library of Legends.  Beyond that though, Lian soon learns that transporting the books awakens various immortals and guardian spirits who are headed on a journey of their own.

Overall, I enjoyed this story well enough, but I wasn't as mesmerized by it as I thought I would be.  Part of the reason is because, while I liked most of the characters, they were written in a way that I found it difficult to connect with them. I felt there was a lack of emotional depth to the characters (and to the story itself, in some aspects), which made it hard for me to feel anything for them when various things happen.  Also, the crossing over of genres – this one incorporated historical fiction, romance, and fantasy --  didn't work as well for me in this instance.  I think the problem for me is that I was expecting the story to lean more toward historical fiction and perhaps feel a little more "epic" in scope (especially given the premise and the setting), but instead the historical elements were too brief and, in my opinion, mostly overshadowed by the fantasy aspects with the mythological tale involving The Willow Star and the Prince and the love story associated with it.  Some parts of the story felt a bit all over the place and didn't flow together as well as it could have, which I think was due to the attempt to blend multiple genres.  The story did have a light-hearted, hopeful tone to it though, which made it a good choice to read during this time of uncertainty.

With historical fiction, I oftentimes enjoy reading the Author's Note almost as much as reading the story itself, and this instance was no different.  Reading about the real life events that certain details in the story were based on and seeing how the author adapted these details is always fascinating and, for me, the additional insight often puts the fictional story in better perspective.  Prior to reading this book, I had heard about the evacuation and temporary relocation of China's universities during the war, but had not read anything substantive about it until now.  I appreciate that author Janie Chang decided to cover this largely overlooked historical event, though of course, I would've preferred for the historical aspect to be stronger as I had mentioned earlier.  But that's just me – overall, this was still a worthy read, one that I would heartily recommend, especially for those who enjoy historical fiction with quite a bit of fantasy (more along the lines of magical realism I guess) mixed in.

Received ARC from William Morrow (HarperCollins) via Edelweiss.

Review: These Women (by Ivy Pochoda)

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Six women from different walks of life.  A series of murders, fifteen years apart.  One particularly destitute area of South Los Angeles where chaos and violence run rampant. A society that collectively ignores the pleas of those women who are deemed to be of dubious moral character, based solely on preconceived notions, imagined or otherwise. A place where prejudice goes beyond merely the color of one’s skin, extending also to one’s occupation, the way one speaks, and overall way one lives their life.  This is the world where author Ivy Pochoda sets her heartbreaking yet masterfully told story, and in so doing, gives voice to women who are often forsaken, their thoughts and feelings usually dismissed, their words rarely ever believed. 

Though this is billed as a mystery / thriller, it is apparent very early on in the book that “solving the mystery” of the murders, while necessary, is not as important as letting the stories of these women be told, allowing their voices to be heard. As is expected, of course the perpetrator of the crimes is identified in the end — it was an easy guess, one already figured out a few chapters in, before the first narrative segment was even over.  The way he is found out though is anticlimactic, downplayed, sparse on details — we don’t know too much about him, his background, why he became the way he was, even the details of how he committed his crimes are not entirely clear.  But that is the beauty of how Pochoda structured the narrative — there’s no need to dwell too much on the killer because in the end, who he is doesn’t really matter.  What matters are the women — the victims of his crimes and the family members who get left behind to deal with the aftermath.  Especially poignant are the segments about the mothers — Dorian, Mrs. Holloway, etc. — whose only way to grieve is to make sure their children’s deaths are not ignored and brushed aside as though their existence never mattered in the first place;  their mission then, becomes making sure what was done is never forgotten.  

For me, despite having already figured out the “mystery” way early on, I kept turning the pages because I wanted to know whether justice would prevail in the end, and whether these women, ignored for so long, would finally be heard.  Reading this book made me reflect on a lot of things.  It made me think about family, society, the impact of individual actions and behavior, etc. — most importantly, it served as a reminder of the differences in each of our circumstances and the dangers of passing judgment, especially in those situations where there the understanding of those circumstances is lacking.

These Women is a powerful story, one that absolutely deserves to be read.  With that said though, this is not an easy read by any means — many of the scenes are dark, gritty, gruesome, violent, and there is profanity galore.  It can also be a frustrating read, at times even painful, especially in light of the blatant injustices that take place time and time again throughout the story.   But yet, there is also grace, hope, resilience, and most significantly, the steadfast courage of these women who, despite being constantly ignored, still refuse to be silenced.  A difficult read, but definitely a worthy one!

Received ARC from Ecco (HarperCollins) via NetGalley.

Review: Lovely War (by Julie Berry)

My Rating: 4 stars

This was a delightful read, one that I was a bit apprehensive going into it, but ended up really enjoying!  The premise of the story is a unique one: two young couples — Hazel and James, Colette and Aubrey — fall in love amongst the turbulence of World War I, their story narrated not by any human characters, but rather by a few famous gods and goddesses from Greek mythology.  After being caught by her husband Hephaestus in an affair with a fellow god (Ares, god of war), Aphrodite, the goddess of love, seeks to avoid judgment on Mount Olympus by spinning the story of these 2 couples and the love that they share despite the world around them descending into chaos.  But yet, this story isn’t just about love — it is also about the bonds of friendship and the unifying power of music, about courage in the face of adversity and destruction, about the possibility of hope after heartbreak, resilience after devastation.  Ultimately, in a battle of Love versus War, will Love triumph or will War succeed in destroying everything in its path?

This book is largely categorized as historical fiction, but at the same time, it can also be appropriately grouped under romance, YA, and fantasy.   I will be honest in saying that, based on these genres, this is a book that I probably would not have picked up on my own to read due to the fact that, while I love historical fiction (and the author, Julie Berry, certainly did a great job with the historical elements in here – there were ample historical details but not to the point of dragging down the story), I’m not too keen on the other 3 genres.  I don’t read much YA because I’m not the target audience for that genre and so I usually find it harder to appreciate the story and characters; with romance, I can be quite picky and usually don’t handle “overly sappy” stories well; and with fantasy, that’s just not really my thing.  But given that this was the May selection for one of my book clubs, plus the story sounded interesting based on the summary and it came highly recommended by trusted friends, I decided to give this one a try and hope for the best.  Well, this book ended up surprising me, but in a good way – all the genres blended together really well, the story was engaging, and the writing was lovely, but most important for me were the characters, all of whom I couldn’t help but love dearly.  It’s not often that I feel like I don’t want a story to end because I want to keep reading about these characters and spend more time with them – this was definitely one of those instances!

One thing that I think has to be mentioned, especially since the entire premise of the book hinges on this aspect, is the Greek mythology angle and the unique structure of having Aphrodite and the other gods narrate the main characters’ stories.  From the various reviews, this aspect seemed to be a mixed bag in that it worked for some people but not for others.  For me personally, it worked really well – in fact, I loved the cleverness of the way Berry structured the story, with having the appropriate god or goddess narrate the chapters based on their areas of expertise (for example – the chapters heavy on music were narrated by Apollo, the ones that revolved around the war battles were narrated by Ares, sections related to death or injury were narrated by Hades, and of course, the overall love story with the main characters was narrated by Aphrodite).  Perhaps it is because I already had a certain familiarity with Greek mythology going into this, since I had studied it extensively back in my school days (albeit that was eons ago), so it helped me appreciate those aspects in a way that I probably would not have otherwise.  With that said though, in terms of the sections where the gods (and goddess) interacted with each other, while I did find some of their banter funny, it got a bit old after a while, which made me somewhat impatient for them to get back to the actual story.

The other thing that I felt this book did really well was balance – parts of the book were fun to read but the parts related to the war and its aftermath as well as other historical events were treated seriously as it needed to be.  The story itself had substance, yet it wasn’t dense to the point of being overly complicated or hard to follow.  This is one of those books that manages to blend the YA and adult aspects pretty well, without sacrificing the elements that also make this a worthwhile historical fiction read.  Definitely recommended!