Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - Arsenic and Adobo

Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala

12 reviews

jeo224's review against another edition

informative lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This book has been on my radar since it was released; it also is on lists I trust every few months since. When it was available I jumped at the chance to read it - and it was so worth it! The author begins with trigger warnings, though this is definitely a cozy mystery. It explores the plot realistically and there are touches of darkness because of this. I loved the main character, her best friend and the way they interacted. It was well written and I am looking forward to others in the series. The narrator was excellent, as well, and I appreciated how having a good narrator added even more to this book. Great book to read or listen to!

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merebear87's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

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ednam0dewannabe's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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emily_mh's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious 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? No

4.0

This was enjoyable and entertaining, which is all I really ask of a “cosy mystery”. I was really pleasantly surprised that this one went deeper by bringing in a complicated family dynamic: Lila felt a lot of tension over wanting to support her elders in thanks for their sacrifices, while also wanting to be independent and do her own thing. I also love how much food was centred in the story. It was mouthwatering to read about and themed the narrative well.

The plot itself was investigation-focussed with multiple avenues being explored at once, which was fantastic for me as it drove the story and also meant I could speculate and form different theories. The resolution ended up being well-suited.

The characterisation was excellent. This book has a large cast but each character felt distinct, including Lila the MC who was stubborn, loving, and confused about what she wanted. She was a realistic depiction of a 25 year-old, as someone who is very nearly 25. I do think that her character development could have been better realised, though, as it felt a little quick.

I have two other criticisms. The first is that the romance (in the form of a love triangle) was totally unnecessary, and there was also no chemistry whatsoever with either LI. The second is that Lila was smart enough to have figured out more of the mystery on her own, but instead we got a little villain monologue.

But overall, as I said before, I enjoyed this read. I definitely want to continue with the series!

Rep: Filipina-American MC, Filipino-American SCs, Muslim Pakistani-American LI, biracial white/Korean-American LI, lesbian Muslim Pakistani-American SC, biracial white/Korean-American SC, sapphic Mexican-American SC, Black SC, Japanese-American SC

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dorianablu83's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

AMAZING. I loved it from start to finiscmh, it was amazing to see more of such a beautiful culture and the mistery was quite fun.
I loved the characters, the protagonist is a tiny bit annoying sometimes (but I love her) and the rest of the characters are great.

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bookhoarderbea's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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supernova_reader's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

The book is billed as a lighthearted cozy mystery and while there are great descriptions of food and small town antics, there is too much of the uncomfortable realities of the world to truly qualify it as cozy. Too real, and the mystery’s a little obvious. I appreciate the warning at the beginning of the book though, it does warn you about its “real”ness, I should have taken it more seriously.

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blandblanket's review against another edition

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adventurous tense medium-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

Pros: Diverse cast, easy to follow, pretty decent mystery, good writing, developing love triangle (if you like that!)

Cons: One of the worst fictional detectives, rushed ending, loose emotional ends (family/friendships)

So wonderful to see some Filipino representation in this genre! It's what attracted me to the book in the first place.

I wouldn't say it's a light read (more on that later), but it is an easy read in terms of pacing and language. There is also a diverse cast who have their own styles about them, though some get more fleshed out than others as there is a large cast. The mystery was also decent and not super-complicated.

While I did enjoy the book (binged it in one day!), it was kind of stressful to go through as a woman of color. Mysteries tend to be stressful with characters doing spur-of-the-moment things that put them in danger or they have awkward questioning sessions -- I get that. But I dreaded whenever Detective Park would appear in a scene because it always led to Lila or another person of color being accused of a heinous crime in such a bizarre way that barely made sense.

Plus, I have to echo other reviewers regarding the ending as it felt rushed with no real sense of pay-off aside from knowing who did it. Detective Park offering some "comfort" to the main character did not help the ending either as he felt more like an antagonist until maybe the end -- and that's a generous "maybe". No other character who actually helped Lila really got that "check-in" moment with her at the end which caused the ending to land flat in terms of emotion.

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fern_gulley's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious fast-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

4.25

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meganpbennett's review against another edition

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adventurous informative lighthearted mysterious medium-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? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed reading Arsenic and Adobo. It was a great series starter, and made me want Filipino food.

Lila has recently moved back to her small hometown, and is working at her Aunt's restaurant, serving traditional Filipino food, and wanting to experiment with fusion and new flavors. Her ex-boyfriend has become a restaurant critic, known for hammering a restaurant for a month or so with bad reviews. If this sounds like a Hallmark movie, it is. Just on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries, as he dies after eating at the restaurant. And, of course, her family are the prime suspects in his murder.

Arsenic and Adobo is a pretty standard cozy mystery, but it plays its tropes extremely well.

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