Sunday Salon: The New Person by Loretta Nyhan

 A five star review: 

The New Person: A Novel by Loretta Nyhan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publication: November 29, 2022; Lake Union Publishing

Genre: women's fiction, family drama, contemporary fiction

Single mother Roxy, desperate for money to fight for joint custody of her child, becomes a surrogate for Owen and Nora, after their former surrogate suffered a miscarriage and was unable to carry their biological child to term. 

The novel focuses on these three individuals - surrogate and would be parents - their hopes, their conflicts, and their total dependence on one other for the desired outcome. 

The supporting characters in the story, Roxy's nine-year-old son, Aero; her ex Caleb and his media loving wife Liv; and a new friend and romantic interest for Roxy fill out the story in interesting and unusual ways.

I liked that the ending is not predictable and that the three find a conclusion that brings them to a new place, making a new person of each of them.Nothing is sugar coated, and I liked the realism as well as the compassion that went into the exploration of this subject matter - surrogates and the couples who rely on them.

In my mailbox:

Death on a Winter Stroll

(A Merry Folger Nantucket Mystery #7)

by 

Francine Mathews 

Publication: November 1, 2022; Soho Press

Genre: mystery, crime fiction

In this new mystery from Francine Mathews, Nantucket detective Merry Folger must face her toughest adversaries yet when wannabe Hollywood stars take over the island in the midst of quarantine.

Chief among Nantucket Island’s cherished traditions is Winter Stroll, when evergreen trees line Main Street and tourists and islanders share the spirit of the season in shops and restaurants gilded with firelight. This year, however, is different—the pandemic still threatens the lives of everyone determined to spend a long weekend thirty miles out at sea, with the closest ICU a helicopter flight away. (publisher)

Currently reading:

Ways to Die in Tokyo

by 

Thomas Ran Garver

Genre: thriller

Published: April 2022; ebook from NetGalley

For years Hank Fisher has chased his dream of becoming a mixed martial arts champion. Now he's on a losing streak in his adopted home of Tokyo, Japan, and realizing maybe the dream was never meant to be.

Broke, divorced, and alone, he hasn't seen his ex-wife and twin sons in two years and has no idea where they are. He also finds himself on the run from ruthless gangsters. (publisher)

Also reading:

I Spy China: Irreverent Insights from an Ex-Expat

by 

Antonia Petniunas

Published July 7, 2021; ebook from NetGalley 

Genre; memoir of an expat, nonfiction, travel

Called "laugh out loud funny, touching, sometimes stomach-churning," by reviewers, this genre-bending book reveals what it was like to live in a big, smoggy, industrial town in China before the twin plagues of Trump and COVID-19. (goodreads)

I'm eager to see what it's like to be an expat in a country where you don't know the language, are unfamiliar with the place, but approach the experience with a good sense of humor.

What are you reading this week?

 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday

Sunday Salon: Welcome Autumn and Possibly a New Ereader

 A short post this week:

I've just traded in online two of my Kindles -  an old Paperwhite and and a failing Kindle Fire. I now have to package them and slap on Amazon's prepaid labels and take to UPS. Phew!

What shall I get to replace them? I have a newer Paperwhite which I'm happy with.  With my cell phone, I should be covered media wise till I get a new ereader. Do I need one?

Books:

I've been jumping about with the ebooks and books, not in the mood for this one or that one, or bored with another one. There are so many ARC ebooks to choose from, it's hard to ignore them in favor of the paper library books I also borrowed.

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy

by 

Jamie Ford,  looks promising. A library loan. Published August 2, 2022. 

Description: a powerful exploration of the love that binds one family across the generations. 

I learned a new term looking at the forward to this book - 

epigenetic inheritance, which describes memories, similar activities and inclinations passed down through the generations. 

What has Afong Moy passed down from generations past?

Rom  Coms: I'm slowly falling out of love with this contemporary genre, as I've read more mediocre than really good and humorous ones. Either the plots are two tame or lacking in originality,  the humor is lacking, the sex scenes too over the top, and the writing just so-so.

 I'll keep looking, though.

Have a great beginning of autumn!

What are you reading this week?

 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday

Romance and Rivalry in Graduate School : The Make-Up Test by Jenny L. Howe

Romance and Rivalry

The Make-Up Test by Jenny L. Howe

Published September 13, 2022; St. Martin's Griffin

Genre: romance, contemporary fiction
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As a lit major myself, I enjoyed reading about the graduate students of medieval literature discussing and competing for awards and recognition in their work. The romance between Colin and Allison was also interesting as they were rivals in academics as well as former lovers. This provided the tension in the novel, in addition to Allison's estranged father always reviling her for being overweight.

I only wished the descriptions of Allison's physical attraction to Colin, her former college boyfriend, were not so detailed and frequent. They became repetitive after a while. About one-eighth of the book could have been cut if edited in this way.

An unusual plot and characters in an academic setting, however, that made this a four star rom com.

Book Beginning:

Chapter I

If one more person used the word hegemonic, Allison Avery was going to scream. 

After almost two full week of classes at Claremore University, she should be more adjusted to the quirks of graduate-level literature courses, but it still felt like ...a lot.

Visit Book Beginnings at Rose City Reader.

Library Books: Thriller, Family Drama, Cozy Mystery: Sunday Salon

Thank heavens for our library system which seems to have almost all the books I request, and many that are new to me as well. 

The It Girl was a book I saw often on blogs and social media. I joined a long waiting list at the library and finally got it.

Author: Ruth Ware, published July 12, 2022 

Genre: psychological thriller

About: April Coutts-Cliveden was the first person Hannah Jones met at Oxford.

Vivacious, bright, occasionally vicious, and the ultimate It girl, she quickly pulled Hannah into her dazzling orbit. Together, they developed a group of devoted and inseparable friends—Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily—during their first term. By the end of the second, April was dead.

My goodreads review: This thriller kept me riveted until the very end. I sort of guessed who the real culprit might be and I was right! The one you least expect, of course. Glad it had a happy ending for the woman who had been haunted for so many years for her evidence that convicted a man who might not have been the guilty one.

Worth reading.

Family Trust

by 

Kathy Wang, published October 30, 2018, William Morrow

Genre: family drama, domestic drama, multicultural interest

About: 

Meet Stanley Huang: father, husband, ex-husband, man of unpredictable tastes and temper, aficionado of all-inclusive vacations and bargain luxury goods, newly diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. 

For years, Stanley has claimed that he’s worth a small fortune. But the time is now coming when the details of his estate will finally be revealed, and Stanley’s family is nervous.

Arsenic and Adobo (my review)

(Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery #1)

by 

Mia P. Manansala

Published May 4, 2021, Berkley Books

About: The first book in a culinary cozy series full of humor and delectable dishes….

When Lila Macapagal moves back home to recover from a horrible breakup, her life seems to be following all the typical rom-com tropes. She’s tasked with saving her Tita Rosie’s failing restaurant, and she has to deal with a group of matchmaking aunties who shower her with love and judgment. 

But when a notoriously nasty food critic (who happens to be her ex-boyfriend) drops dead moments after a confrontation with Lila, her life quickly swerves from a Nora Ephron romp to an Agatha Christie case.

Those are my library books, but I have a load of ebooks on my list as well, too many in fact. 

What are you reading this week?

 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday

Well, That Was Unexpected by Jesse Q. Sutanto, Book Review

      

Well, That Was Unexpected

by 

Jesse Q. Sutanto 

September 27, 2022, Delacorte Press

Genre: YA romance, rom com, multicultural

My goodreads/NetGalley review:

The author describes the book as a "love letter to Indonesia," the country of her birth and current residence. This is a YA romance novel, with an Indonesian-American teen meeting family in Indonesia for the first time, and falling for a handsome young Chinese-Indonesian from a wealthy family.

I like that the two teens discover feelings and attitudes in common which are too modern for their traditional Chinese=Indo families. I also learned a lot about Indonesian culture, cities, geography, and food from following young Sharlot as she discovers her mother's homeland and is shown around by her new friend, George Clooney Tanuwijaya.

This indeed a love letter to Indonesia, and I came away with a new appreciation for its food, its cities, and a new understanding of its traditions. The budding romance between Sharlot and George is a plus to this YA novel, with its ups and downs along the way to their full understanding of each other.

Sunday Salon: A Thriller and a YA Rom Com

 I read and reviewed fewer books last week, with so many other things going on. But I sneak in a few minutes here and there and managed to finish this first book and start the second one. 

ARC Review

All the Dangerous Things

by 

Stacy Willingham, author of A Flicker in the Dark

Publication: January 10th 2023 by Minotaur Books

Source: thanks to NetGalley

Isabelle Drake woke up one morning to find her baby Mason gone from his crib and room. After fruitless searches by police and neighbors and a seeming dead end, her husband wants Isabelle to accept Mason's disappearance and move on with life. But she persists in trying to find out what really happened to him.

I found themes of sleep walking and memory loss intriguing, as well as Isabelle's searching into her past for answers that keep eluding her. Her childhood and memories of her younger sister Margaret tie this plot together in the dual timeline of the story.

The book kept me curious to the finish although I had some idea of what the ending might be. An enjoyable and suspenseful psychological thriller.

Currently reading something light:

Well, That Was Unexpected

by 

Jesse Q. Sutanto, author of Dial A for Aunties

September 27th 2022 by Delacorte Press

About:

A humorous YA rom-com about a girl who's whisked from LA to her mother's native Indonesia to get back to her roots and finds herself fake-dating the son of one of the wealthiest families there, (publisher)

What are you reading this week? 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday

Sunday Salon: The Stand-In, Searching for Sylvie Lee, Letters from Singapore, and Cocoon

 

The Stand-In: A Novel by 

Lily Chu

May 3, 2022, Sourcebooks Casablanca

Genre: rom com, family drama, contemporary, multicultural 

Setting: Toronto 

My comments: 

Gracie Reed wants her mother to live in more expensive senior care facility, but although she has several jobs, she can't afford the facility she has in mind for her mom. When famous Chinese actors Sam Yao and Wei Fangli visit Toronto to star in a play, and Gracie is discovered to be a doppelganger for Wei, they offer her $150,000 to act as a stand in for Wei for two months in her many public appearances. 

Gracie accepts the offer, somewhat reluctantly, but happy to leave a sexually harassing boss at her current job. How she learns to behave and act like Wei Fangli is central to this romantic drama, which involves the handsome Sam Yao. 

A humorous romance, the book focuses on the  personalities of Gracie, Sam, and Wei Fangli, their differences making this novel much more interesting. Themes of  duty versus career goals, family expectations, abandonment and mental health, are also central themes in the book.

I gave The Stand-In a solid five stars, for the plot complexities, character development, the romance, and the social topics it covers.

Also reading:

Searching for Sylvie Lee by JeanKwok 

June 4, 2019, William Morrow

Family drama, suspense, multicultural interest, immigrant fiction

My comments:

A novel about an immigrant family from China who are unable to support their family in the U.S. and forced by circumstances to give up their first daughter, Sylvie, to her grandmother and cousin who live in the Netherlands. 

Sylvie is reunited with her real family years later in NYC at age nine, but returns to the Netherlands some 20 years ahead when her grandmother dies. Sylvie's younger sister Amy then travels from the U.S. to Holland to find her sister, who has mysteriously disappeared on that trip.

Immigrant culture and conflict, Chinese culture and family norms, anti-Asian sentiment in the Netherlands, and other crucial elements of society combine to define Sylvie Lee's disappearance.

A moving picture of family dynamics, love and desire, which all reminded me of a Greek tragedy taking place  in the two cultures - Asian and European.

Letters to Singapore by Kelly Kaur

Published May 1, 2022; Stonehouse Original

Genre: epistolary novel, contemporary fiction, multicultural interest
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My comments: 

Simran avoids an arranged marriage in Singapore when she gets her parents' approval to first attend the University of Calgary, Canada for an undergraduate degree. While in Calgary, Simran's views and experience broaden, so much so that she is delighted to be offered a scholarship to get her Master's Degree after graduation. But her mother writes that it's time for Simran to come home, back to Singapore and her family's traditional way of life.

This is an easily read epistolary novel, with the story of Simran in Calgary revealed in back and forth letters to her friends and relatives in Singapore. I enjoyed learning about life in an Indian community in Singapore and the contrast of Simran's growing love for her life in Calgary.

The novel seems to be partly autobiographical as the author, Kelly Kaur, left her island home in Southeast Asia to study in Calgary. She brings an interesting perspective of an international student first vising and living in North America.

I gave this four enthusiastic stars.

Thanks to Wiley Saichek for a review copy of this book.

 

 
Cocoon by Zhang Yueran

Publication: October 4, 2022; World Editions
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

China: the past as seen in the grandparents, the present as seen in the parents, and the future as seen in the children who don't understand.

I had the impression of young people wanting to understand their grandparents who went through the Cultural Revolution, and their parents, who are in the midst of a new capitalist-minded China, struggling to get ahead in life, leaving behind the traditional way of life of the old China.

Young people have to deal with grandparents they don't understand, parents who leave them behind to search for a future, or divorced parents who go separate ways and let the children be taken care of primarily by the grandparents. The stories are sometimes raw and everything sordid or good is shown to the reader.

I think this novel is so specific to time and place that the readers for which it was intended, the people in China, will get much more from it than readers in another culture, reading a translated version, and trying to understand the context and complete underlying message.

I can see why this author is popular in her home country.

View all my reviews

What are you reading this week? 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday