Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Homicide and Halo-Halo by Mia P. Manansala

22 reviews

agnesjlopez's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Infertility, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Infidelity, Death of parent, and Adult/minor relationship

ios_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I loved this book. Definitely a dark addition to Mia’s trilogy of stories starting with “Arsenic and Adobo”. I think it helped tie in some plots from the first book, gave us a new refreshing yet dark twist, and we see Lila grow and change in her own ways! Loved it and praise the author for the disclaimer prior to the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Gun violence, Infidelity, Infertility, Violence, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, and Medical content

Minor: Murder, Mental illness, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Pregnancy

kelly_e's review

lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Title: Homicide and Halo-Halo
Author: Mia P. Manansala
Series: Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery #2
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: February 8, 2022

T H R E E • W O R D S

Entertaining • Feisty • Delicious

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Things are heating up for Lila Macapagal. Not in her love life, which she insists on keeping nonexistent. Or her professional life, since she can't bring herself to open her new café. No, things are heating up quite literally, since summer, her least favorite season, has just started.

To add to her feelings of sticky unease, Lila's little town of Shady Palms has resurrected the Miss Teen Shady Palms Beauty Pageant, which she won many years ago--a fact that serves as a wedge between Lila and her cousin slash rival, Bernadette. But when the head judge of the pageant is murdered and Bernadette becomes the main suspect, the two must put aside their differences and solve the case--because it looks like one of them might be next.

💭 T H O U G H T S

Cozy mysteries are not a genre I pick up often, but every once in awhile the mood for one hits. I enjoyed Arsenic and Adobo, the first installment in the Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery series, so continuing the series seemed the most logical thing to do.

Similar to the first book, this one is packed with smart dialogue, delicious food, a meddling family, and a touch of romance. I appreciated getting to know Lila more - including details about her past and her relationship with her mother, which allowed me to understand her insecurities more. There is a pretty strong mental health aspect to this one as well, and that suited me just fine.

The thing that makes this series stand out for me is the depth. There is so much going on here than the typical whodunit plot line. The second installment delves deep into how the past and our relationships shape our lives. While this is definitely a plus, unfortunately, in this one the mystery took a back seat, and honestly didn't really interest me all that much.

Homicide and Halo-Halo was a nice palette cleanser from my recent more emotional reads. Although the mystery didn't piqued my interest this time around, I do look forward to continuing this series, and seeing what happens next.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers looking for a cozy with depth
• fans of the Dial A for Aunties series

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"I wondered at what age you stopped caring what other people thought about you and just spoke your mind."

"You're more than your work... More than whatever contributions you think you're supposed to be making. More than whoever people think you're supposed to be." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief

Moderate: Body shaming, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Infidelity, Fatphobia, Pregnancy, Sexism, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Gaslighting, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Gun violence, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail

PTSD, death of partner, predatory behaviour

auudrey's review

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Classism, Fatphobia, Murder, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Infidelity, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, and Bullying

bubblegirl858's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Misogyny

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Grief, Death of parent, and Violence

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

These books are so much fun, and the food always sounds absolutely divine. I'm also such a sucker for a book with recipes included. Shout out to younger me reading Diane Mott Davidson at age like ??? 14??? What a little weirdo. I will definitely keep reading this series and recommend them for a nice cozy mystery.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, and Murder

Minor: Bullying, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

genny's review

funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Lila was quite annoying for a good part of this book. I know she has trauma, but that doesn't excuse her being overdramatic and selfish...it's a good thing that the other characters call her out, because it'd be unbearable if the narration made her out to be correct all the time. Manansala also tends to over-explain things, like...Lila gave Jae a "Yoda Best Dentist" mug, and the author just HAD to clarify that this was a play on words because Jae was a dentist and a Star Wars fan. We get it. Absolutely no chemistry between Lila and Amir, by the way. I forgot there was supposed to be a love triangle.

The good thing is that the mystery here was much better than the one in the first book! Enough crumbs were sprinkled throughout the story for the reveal to make sense without being too predictable. Despite my criticisms, I genuinely had a fun time and I'm still continuing with the series, if only to support the idea of Filipino-centered mysteries.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Alcohol, Death, Infidelity, and Murder

Minor: Suicide and Car accident

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Mental illness

Moderate: Gun violence, Body shaming, and Murder

saurahsaurus's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Grief, Murder, Death of parent, Medical content, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Classism, Death, Infidelity, and Misogyny

Minor: Suicide, Infertility, and Body shaming

kimveach's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I enjoyed this even more than the first book, which is often the case with cozy mysteries.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Sexual content, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Classism, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual harassment