Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Arsenic and Adobo

Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala

12 reviews

things100's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious fast-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

5.0

A really enjoyed this book and the mystery elements and I can’t wait to read the second book in the series

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blackcatkai's review against another edition

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slow-paced

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

2.0

CW: fatphobia, food shaming, ableism, alcohol, drug use, addiction, death, racism, domestic violence, police intimidation, evidence planting, infidelity, suicide mentioned

here are my ramblings: the first 25% was awful and packed full of horrid diabetes rep, the MCs talk about said diabetic character with the most fatphobic, body/food shaming words. for people who are supposed to be very positive towards food, especially their own, it's gross how they talk about a dead man who enjoyed the food they made just because he was a diabetic. the ableism is rampant and it did nothing but piss me off.

now, AFTER that nonsense passes, the last 75% is more enjoyable & less irritating. though honestly it feels like nothing really happened overall. just a lot of back and forth conversations of personal issues & dramas that I honestly would've enjoyed more in a different book, personally. I liked the way characters interacted with each other overall and they felt like real friends/family. I liked the hint of potential romance, it was cute. I could read just a slice of life style novella of those two characters getting to know each other and being cute if it were to be written, but I don't think I'll continue the actual series itself.

it just didn't feel much like a cozy mystery to me, but that mightve just been a me thing especially with how much the first quarter of the book grated on my being. I'm too deep into my anti-diet, pro body liberation, era to not notice when things are just really shitty in that way.

nobody owes anyone health of any kind, you don't get to make health assumptions about anyone based on their looks, diets, or disorders of any kind. you are not their doctor. you are not them. I don't care if they wronged you or you had a past or their an asshole jerk. YOU DONT KNOW A THING ABOUT THEIR HEALTH BASED ON LOOKS, DIET, ANYTHING. AGAIN, YOURE NOT THEIR DOCTOR. ITS NOT YOUR BUSINESS. WHETHER YOUR FICTIONAL OR NOT. THANK YOU.

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pookiee's review against another edition

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lighthearted slow-paced

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

3.25

this is a cozy mystery, but I’d say the real subject of this book is the food and the large, warm family of Filipina women and the nice community of the town who are there for each other.

I am so glad to see representation—it’s a huge part of what I liked about this book—but there was too much focus on ‘explaining’ things such that it ended up feeling unnatural. e.g. there’s a vegetarian character and a couple paragraphs are spent when the MC makes sure her aunt is not using meat, aunt explains how she’s using a substitute, and after the meal someone exclaims, “Wow, that was meatless?” and the moment really did not have to be that long; pointing it out this much feels ‘othering,’ which is opposite the point of normalizing diversity.

the mystery was lacking and dragged on for too long.

anyway the descriptions of food were mouthwatering, I learned of so many new things I wanna try—esp those ube crinkles and ginataang bilo-bilo so good it killed a man—and helpfully there are recipes in the back of the book!

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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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meagangrace's review against another edition

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medium-paced

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

2.5

I feel like I read this at the wrong time for me. I struggled to connect with the main character Lila, and I did not enjoy the vibes as much as I wanted to. The story felt very drowsy in it's structure/pacing. Stuff was happening, but I had trouble connecting to it and caring for the characters. The plot turned out to be actually kinda nonsensical imo. One thing I found interesting is that this is the first time I have read a mystery where the amateur sleuth is actually amateur and doesn't have a special knack for solving crime. Not sure if it was entirely on purpose on the author's part, but as a mystery fan and it was kind of refreshing to see.

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aimzthereader's review against another edition

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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? Yes

4.0

A cozy mystery that will make you very hungry. Loved the emphasis on family and culture especially with all of the Filipino food ! This book does a great job describing all the food and makes your mouth drool. It’s very much a cozy mystery because the deaths are a bit outlandish and they aren’t taken very seriously . there are clues throughout the. Ok but I only solved half the mystery. The family and friendship relationships with very slight romance storyline really makes this a fun and light mystery. There were times that I found myself rolling my eyes at the choices and some of the nonchalance about death but that’s to be expected from a cozy. Overall this was fun, cute, comfy, and delicious . Bonus is that there are recipes at the back of the book

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msbarnesela's review against another edition

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funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

- ARSENIC AND ADOBO was my first cozy mystery, and I can't wait to read more. I love a book where you know it's gonna be okay in the end.
- I loved Lila's family - really the whole town they lived in. I'm not a small town kind of person but Shady Palms was so lovely. And the food! So many wonderful descriptions, displaying Filipino food with such love.
- This book wasn't perfect - some clunky dialogue, some rushed exposition - but that hardly mattered while we were trying to catch the murderer.
- I was also a fan of the fact that while Lila has love interests, they aren't her main priority (she hardly even notices one of them!). The book isn't terribly interested in having her paired off at the end. Also! Bonus queerness! Her best friend is a lesbian and there's mention of a few other queer people as well.

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moonlitemuseum's review against another edition

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emotional funny mysterious relaxing medium-paced

This is one of the comfiest, coziest reads I've had all year! If murder mysteries are "cosies" then Arsenic and Adobo is a warm hug served with a latte and delicious Uber cookies on the side. The characters were lovable and often very like people I know from my own life, and while the protagonist can seem a little /too/ obsessed with appearing progressive (an aside about how "of course platonic friendships are just as, or more important than romantic ones" felt a little preachy—and it's something I believe, too!) I think this does a great job of setting her apart from her small-town peers. The food is chock full of delicious sounding dishes from the whole world over, with an added focus on dishes from the Philippines. It was sometimes hard to read this without my stomach growling. The murder mystery was relatively standard fare and easy to suss out if you have any familiarity with mystery crime novels, but the real joy was the huge cast of delightful characters and the urge to see Tita Rosie and her restaurant succeed. Loved it!

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readwithde's review

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adventurous 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? No

4.5

I absolutely loved everything about this book.

Lila was a great narrator and main character; despite getting distracted and running late, she was smart, remembered things, and did pay attention. She was very insightful and reasonably emotional without being uncaring or explosive.

I loved the supporting cast, who had enough character to be fun without taking over the narrative or unnecessary time.

Her semi-romances with Amir and Jae were fun without turning the story into a rom-com or annoying love triangle. Even her friendship with Adeena was colored by her time away in Chicago, leaving some tension and secrets between the two.

As for the twist, Kevin seemed weirdly connected, but when he helped clean the restaurant and spent time with Lila's family, he seemed disconnected from the Longs and what had been going on. Though I correctly guessed that he might be involved with the inspection scheme, I had no idea how much he had actually done -- it made a lot of sense and only added to the rest of the story.

While this book could stand on its own, I'm glad that the next story has been announced, and I'm hopeful that this will become a long running series of fun, foody mysteries.

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