ALC Review: Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev

I received an ALC from Harper Audio in exchange for an honest review.

Release date: May 26, 2020

Rating: 3/5

Note: There is a content warning at the very end of my review. Look for the “Scroll down further for the content warning” sign.

Persuasion is hands down my favourite Jane Austen book. It is the original second chance romance. It is the gold standard for second chance romance. It has the best love letter (and love declaration) of all time. The ULTIMATE pining and yearning. My deep love for Persuasion is partly why I’ve never actually read a Persuasion retelling before this one. Recipe for Persuasion has the honour of being my very first Persuasion retelling. If I had to sum up Persuasion in one sentence:

ARC Review: The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa

I received an ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

Release date: Feb 4, 2020

Rating: 4/5

I was really nervous to read this book because of the mixed reviews. Luckily, I ended up enjoying my very first Mia Sosa book. Was it perfect? No. But the good outweighs the bad. It also helps that this book gave me My Big Fat Greek Wedding vibes, Brazilian version, of course.

ARC Review: The Wives by Tarryn Fisher

I received an ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

Release date: December 30, 2019

Rating: 2.5/5

Hm, looks like I’m in the minority with this book. I’ve taken some time to process the story, but I can safely conclude that I just didn’t like it. This review will be brief because it is practically impossible for me to go into further details without spoiling the book, which I don’t want to do.

ARC Review: Aurora Blazing by Jessie Mihalik

I received an ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

Release date: October 1, 2019

Rating: 3/5

Aurora Blazing is the second book in Jessie Mihalik’s kickass Consortium Rebellion series. It can be read as a standalone, but I think it’ll definitely be easier for the reader to adapt to this world if they’ve read the previous book. While I enjoyed the romance in Aurora Blazing, my preference lies with Polaris Rising, the first book in the series because Polaris Rising had a more equal balance of romance and action. 

ARC Review: The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai

I received an ARC from HarperCollins Canada in exchange for an honest review

Release date: July 2, 2019

Rating: 2/5

”No one’s universally liked. Beyonce isn’t universally liked. Has that stopped her? No. Be like Beyonce.”

I was really excited to read The Right Swipe because I had heard so many great things about Alisha Rai. Her writing in itself is glorious – her prose flows smoothly and hits all the right points. But if I ever came across The Right Swipe on a book dating app (hey, this could be a thing!), I would swipe left on it.

ARC Review: The Chai Factor by Farah Heron

I received an ARC from HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review.

Release date: June 11, 2019

Rating: 1/5

Your enjoyment of The Chai Factor all boils down to your expectations.

If you are looking for a multicultural romantic comedy, then this is not the book for you.

If you are looking for a social justice guide on Islamophobia, racism, sexism, systemic discrimination, mental illness, drug addiction, the infantilization of Asian women, white boy guilt, and homophobia, then The Chai Factor is the book for you. Don’t get me wrong: according to the Internet, I am a social justice warrior. But this is not what I’m looking for in my romance novels.

ARC Review: Pride and Prejudice and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev

I received an ARC from HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review.

Release date: May 7, 2019

Rating: 4/5

Pride and Prejudice and Other Flavors is my first Sonali Dev book and I’m absolutely enchanted with her prose. This book is a multicultural retelling of Pride and Prejudice that not only does justice to the timeless classic, but also remains true to the characters Dev created. After having read Ayesha At Last by Uzma Jalaluddin (a Muslim Pride and Prejudice retelling) last year, I am convinced that more authors of colour should write their own unique retelling of this classic. There’s also a delicious twist in Dev’s retelling: gender-swapped Darcy and Elizabeth.

ARC Review: The Rose by Tiffany Reisz

I received an ARC from HarperCollins and the Harlequin Publicity Team in exchange for an honest review.

Release date: April 16, 2019

Rating: 4.5/5

Well, this book completely took me by surprise. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when I first opened it. People generally had a hard time categorizing this book and I understand where they’re coming from. The Rose is a lush and evocative erotic fantasy romance infused with Greek mythology and magical realism. The book is set in our contemporary world, which is connected to a fantasy world through a Rose Krylix cup that the heroine, Lia, is gifted as a graduation present. The fantastical elements feel like fantasy and realism at the same time. It sounds strange, but it is strange in the best possible ways.

ARC Review: The Perfect Girlfriend by Karen Hamilton

I received an ARC from HarperCollins and the Harlequin Publicity Team in exchange for an honest review.

Release date: March 26, 2019

Rating: 4/5

I was in Europe 2 weeks ago (feels just like yesterday) and I thought this book would be the perfect read during my flight from Canada to France because the protagonist is a flight attendant. I’m glad I didn’t finish it during my return flight because otherwise I would have been suspicious of all the nice flight attendants.