Reading Wrap-Up (April)

Hello! For the blog post this month I'm going to do some mini-reviews of some of the books I've read since my last reading wrap-up in September. I finished 2023 having read 33 books, 2 poetry collections, and one play. As of April 2024, I have finished 10 books and am four chapters into number eleven. Not great numbers, honestly, but between working full-time in a new role, participating in two staged readings for Waterworks, and some persisting health struggles from being sick during late February and early March, it's the best I can do.

Star-Crossed by Minnie Darke 

Goodreads Summary: "Sometimes even destiny needs a little bit of help. When childhood sweethearts Justine (Sagittarius and serious skeptic) and Nick (Aquarius and true believer) bump into each other as adults, a life-changing love affair seems inevitable. To Justine, anyway. Especially when she learns Nick is an astrological devotee, whose decisions are guided by the stars, and more specifically, by the horoscopes in his favorite magazine. The same magazine Justine happens to write for. As Nick continues to not fall headlong in love with her, Justine decides to take Nick’s horoscope, and Fate itself, into her own hands. But, of course, Nick is not the only Aquarius making important life choices according to what is written in the stars."

Technically this post is about some of my 2024 reads and I read this in Winter 2023; however, I enjoyed this romantic contemporary story so much I had to include a review here! I especially enjoyed the structure of this book--most chapters are from Justine or Nick's points of view but we also get several chapters from the perspectives of other characters (some closely related to them, some very loosely connected) whose choices and life paths are affected by Justine's alterations to the horoscopes. It was cool to see how Justine's seemingly harmless act rippled through the community, often helping complete strangers find love and success (which was especially entertaining considering her attempts to manipulate the stars usually backfired on her own plans). The chapter from the dog's perspective was especially fun to read. 

Darke's writing style is charming and lush, full of details to flesh out the world and the characters living in it. The plot moved naturally, probably thanks in large part to the astrology element and how the excuse of "destiny" allowed certain pieces to fall into place. As a theatre person, I particularly enjoyed the parts involving Nick's subplot of playing Romeo in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. While I did judge Justine on some occasions for her inability to just stop meddling, her intentions never crossed the line to the point where I stopped rooting for her. The promise of something more than friends between Justine and Nick simmered in every one of their scenes, making it easy to hope for their happy ending while also savoring the journey of unintended consequences and missed opportunities. 

The Lily of Ludgate Hill by Mimi Matthews (Belles of London series #3)

Goodreads Summary: "Lady Anne Deveril doesn’t spook easily. A woman of lofty social standing known for her glacial beauty and starchy opinions, she’s the unofficial leader of her small group of equestriennes. Since her mother’s devastating plunge into mourning six years ago, Anne voluntarily renounced any fanciful notions of love and marriage. And yet, when fate puts Anne back into the entirely too enticing path of Mr. Felix Hartford, she’s tempted to run…right into his arms. No one understands why Lady Anne withdrew into the shadows of society, Hart least of all. The youthful torch he once held for her has long since cooled. Or so he keeps telling himself. But now Anne needs a favor to help a friend. Hart will play along with her little ruse—on the condition that Anne attend a holiday house party at his grandfather’s country estate."

Anne and Felix appeared in both the previous novels in the series (The Siren of Sussex and The Belle of Belgrave Square, both which I reviewed here), and while I liked Anne's headstrong, loyal personality, I found Felix to be a bit of a bully to her and her friends, especially in the first novel. While he did exhibit some good moments in the second novel (coming to Julia's aid at a ball and being one of the only people to publicly extend friendliness to Blunt), his character still took many opportunities to be immature and annoying. Well, he won me over in this one! Unfortunately, while Felix proved himself to be an honorable, patient, creative, and self-sacrificing man of integrity underneath the reckless facade, his characterization had two sticking points for me as a reader: firstly, because Felix had occupied such a specific role in the previous novels, many of the scenes showing his positive qualities in this one felt less like they were revealing new facets to a character and more like damage control written specifically to convince me that he was worthy of the male hero role. Secondly, I found Felix's plotline significantly more interesting and in some ways more sympathy-inducing than Anne's, to the point where his journey overshadowed hers entirely. In previous novels, Anne's bright and lively energy hinted at her inner struggle over fulfilling her thirst for excitement or honoring her stifling responsibility to her mother. In this Anne-centric story, that inner struggle is supposed to be the catalyst for her conflict with Felix and her overall arc throughout the story, but her spark just wasn't there. Her character felt flat and aimless in her introspective moments, and in the scenes where she is meant to show her spark by bickering with Felix, their arguments felt petty and mean-spirited instead of humorous or burgeoning with unresolved tension. I don't enjoy enemies to lovers anyway, so maybe someone who does would feel differently, but the frequency and intensity with which they bickered made Anne seem like she really didn't like him whatsoever. The amount of times we'd have a scene where they fought, followed by a scene where someone cautiously extended an olive branch or revealed a vulnerability, only to have what felt like the exact same argument a scene later really wore me down. Many of their scenes together felt repetitive to the point of monotony. Although I usually don't see the need for flashbacks, I think it was a mistake not to show what their prior relationship had been like--for much of the novel, Felix's motivation was finding out why Anne had changed and how he could bring back the "old" Anne, but because we never saw what he was talking about, it read more like a relationship where they couldn't get past their mistakes and so they should just move on. 

Then there were a few other problems--setting up suspenseful plot points that were left unresolved, taking forEVER to actually get to Ludgate Hill as well as the Christmas party, a little bit too much "the rich have problems too!!" for my taste, etc. 

I don't mean to make it sound like this book was terrible--as I said, Felix's character arc, his overall storyline, and his methods of courtship were all quite interesting, Stella was finally promoted to a secondary character (allowing us to get to know her better and setting up her romance ahead of the the fourth installment in the series), and the original conflict of Anne attempting to "rescue" Julia (unnecessarily) was fun to read. I liked the new characters that were introduced, even though the lack of some of the other characters we'd gotten to know previously made me a little sad. While it's probably my least favorite of the series, it's still an 8/10 overall. 

The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami

Goodreads Summary: "Objects for sale at the Nakano Thrift Shop appear as commonplace as the staff and customers that handle them. But like those same customers and staff, they hold many secrets. If examined carefully, they show the signs of innumerable extravagancies, of immeasurable pleasure and pain, and of the deep mysteries of the human heart. Hitomi, the inexperienced young woman who works the register at Mr. Nakano's thrift shop, has fallen for her coworker, the oddly reserved Takeo. Unsure of how to attract his attention, she seeks advice from her employer's sister, Masayo, whose sentimental entanglements make her a somewhat unconventional guide. But thanks in part to Masayo, Hitomi will come to realize that love, desire, and intimacy require acceptance not only of idiosyncrasies but also of the delicate waltz between open and hidden secrets."

This book was arranged like a 10-episode doroma--although some parts of each chapter often related to what had happened previously, the events of each part were portrayed episodically. The author wielded brevity like weapon, injecting scenes with silence and stillness to emulate Hitomi's (and often Takeo's) awkwardness, loneliness, distance, or self-consciousness. At first, I felt like maybe I wasn't smart enough to "get" what was going on, but after a while it became easier to pick up on what was being left unsaid. I didn't love how some of the topics went unaddressed (the creepy photographer who had run off with a student, the normalization of Mr. Nakano's cheating) but I understand that those elements had their place within the larger picture of the story. If I had to describe the overall message of this book, I think it's about making connections and the way introversion can limit one's perspective and understanding--keeping oneself emotionally distant can provide self-protection and prevent embarrassment, but often with the consequence of unintentionally misunderstanding or dismissing other people. This creates a vicious cycle where people want to get closer to one another but are too afraid to risk the vulnerability needed to do so, effectively pushing each other away and making it even harder to connect with them. I was rooting for Hitomi and Takeo to find their way to each other, and I was satisfied with the ending. The dynamic between the shop employees was delightful, and the "slice of life" depiction of the story was refreshing. 

The Stand-in by Lily Chu

Goodreads Summary: "Gracie Reed is doing just fine. Sure, she was fired by her overly “friendly” boss, and yes she still hasn’t gotten her mother into the nursing home of their dreams, but she’s healthy, she’s (somewhat) happy, and she’s (mostly) holding it all together. But when a mysterious SUV pulls up beside her, revealing Chinese cinema’s golden couple Wei Fangli and Sam Yao, Gracie’s world is turned on its head. The famous actress has a proposition: due to their uncanny resemblance, Fangli wants Gracie to be her stand-in. The catch? Gracie will have to be escorted by Sam, the most attractive—and infuriating—man Gracie’s ever met."

The setup for this book reminded me of a contemporary Chinese drama; however, the execution was more down-to-earth than I expected. The author set Gracie up with a strong motivation (her mother's care) and a realistic backstory that includes interesting and nuanced struggles lots of readers can relate to, such as sexism/harassment at work, financial issues, caring for a parent with Alzheimer's, and racial identity. While taking a more serious approach was a smart decision in some ways--it tempered the outlandish premise and drew a clear contrast between Gracie's "normal girl" life and Fangli and Sam's "celebrity" lives--in other ways, it created some pitfalls. The biggest problem was how it affected the romance, which I did not buy at all. Had the novel fully leaned in to the fluffy, unrealistic drama of its premise, Sam's character would have worked. His journey from "haughty, arrogant ice prince who could have any girl in the world" to "wounded movie star who loves his art, is plagued an overbearing family, and just wants to be loved for the real him" would fall perfectly in line with the leading male tropes in the genre. When the events and characters experiencing them are more over-the-top, it's easier to accept over-the-top reactions and decisions--that's what makes the journey entertaining. A less-than-realistic relationship dynamic within a more realistic universe is a lot harder to write successfully, and I wouldn't say the author achieved it. Sam's attitude didn't feel fun or funny, it just felt mean. 

What's more, Sam's hostility towards Gracie for her mistakes wasn't just rude, it was uninvited. He knew pretending to be Fangli was not her idea, he knew she initially turned down the offer, and he knew that she was in no way a professional stand-in, nor was she adequately prepared for the job by Fangli's assistant (which was the assistant's responsibility). His judgment towards her didn't come off as his being protective towards Fangli or like he was suspicious of her motives, it just made him seem like a jerk. Within this down-to-earth universe, his 180-degree turn from jerk to perfect guy who loves dad jokes and is sweet to sick children feels manufactured and, in terms of pacing, instantaneous. Had this side of his personality come out more gradually, maybe I could have accepted it, but to me it felt like a switch had been flipped. Also, one of my pet peeves is when the main character is like "I know [love interest] is a massive jerk to me for no reason...but omg he's also so hot." For me, physical attraction isn't enough to build a lasting, believable romance between characters, and a perfect face/body will never be a get-out-of-jail-free card--the characters have to really work through their conflicts in order for me to root their relationship. Not to say all the problems lay with Sam's characterization--Gracie's character made a lot of mistakes, which is great, but rarely did those mistakes contribute to her growth as a character. One particular bad choice regarding Sam and her mother was, in my opinion, handled dismissively and could have opened up an interesting conversation that never really happened.

Interestingly, I felt that the strongest relationship in the book was between Gracie and Fangli. On her own, Fangli was a character with a lot of depth, and I wish we'd gotten to see more of her (as well as more of her friendship with Sam). One specific topic I thought was handled pretty badly was sexual harassment--although perhaps the author didn't intend so, the messages that I received were that 1) perpetrators are obnoxious and obvious in their abuse, and 2) sexual harassment in the workplace is entirely avoidable if women just stand up for themselves; "being a doormat" is basically an invitation to further abuse. I don’t agree with either sentiment, and I think the book made a mistake in pushing those messages, intentionally or not. To be fair, initially the sexual harassment was depicted as being more covert, so not every scene failed in this regard. But the way the climactic scene perpetuated this type of victim-blaming made me uncomfortable. Otherwise, there was some good stuff here: the author's use of Fangli's plotline to discuss mental health struggles and illustrate the differences between Western celebrity culture and Eastern celebrity culture was interesting and informative. Additionally, I appreciated the moments related to racial identity and being multi-racial, language barriers, being a caretaker for a sick parent, and being the child of an immigrant. Gracie's mother's choices were handled with compassion, and I appreciated that element especially. 

The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton

Goodreads Summary: "Known as Agent A, Alice is the top operative within the Agency of Undercover Note Takers, a secret government intelligence group that is fortunately better at espionage than at naming itself. From managing deceptive witches to bored aristocratic ladies, nothing is beyond Alice’s capabilities. She has a steely composure and a plan always up her sleeve (alongside a dagger and an embroidered handkerchief). So when rumors of an assassination plot begin to circulate, she’s immediately assigned to the case. But she’s not working alone. Daniel Bixby, otherwise known as Agent B and Alice’s greatest rival, is given the most challenging undercover assignment of his life— pretending to be Alice’s husband. Together they will assume the identity of a married couple, infiltrate a pirate house party, and foil their unpatriotic plans."

This book was one of the wittiest and well-edited books I've read in a minute. The beats were immaculate, and the humor was engaging and unpredictable. I picked this up without reading any of the other books in the series (as advised by my sister) and while that made some elements unexpected--pirates, witches, flying houses, oh my--and made the cameos from previous characters a little less exciting for me since I had no idea who they were, 95% of the time I didn't have any trouble keeping up. 

The romance between the main leads was unique and ultimately adorable! Both Alice and Daniel are autistic (although not officially diagnosed in the book, as it's set in the Victorian era), and although they each have their own traumas, triggers, and nuances, their personalities were a perfect complement to each other. I appreciated a fresh take on the fake marriage plot, especially since they were kind of terrible at pretending to be a couple. There were a few steamy scenes I ended up skipping, but doing so didn't impede me from recognizing the chemistry between them, which I would say is a good sign! The plot was juicy, but written in a lighthearted fashion focusing more on comedy with only a tiny dash of angst here and there. I could tell that the author had a great time, and so did I!