dizzymissruby's Reviews (319)

Can't Spell Treason Without Tea

Rebecca Thorne

4.25

adventurous funny 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: Complicated

The Lost Apothecary

Sarah Penner

3.25

informative mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Melt With You

Jennifer Dugan

4.25

emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Hijab Butch Blues

Lamya H.

5.0

emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

“That's when I decided to come up with a set of rules. I was never going to stop fighting for what I believed in, but I needed to fight differently. Only fight with people I'm invested in and care about, and who are coming to the conversation with genuine openness and curiosity. No fighting with casual work colleagues, frenemies, or friends of friends. Definitely no fighting with strangers on the internet. I resolved to ask myself, before engaging, whether I was being baited, whether people honestly believed what they were saying or if they were playing devil's advocate. I also decided to replace yelling with open questions, softness, vulnerability, and allowing for quiet, giving people time to absorb, reflect, consider. And I promised myself that if the conversation wasn't constructive, I would allow myself, and them, the dignity of leaving.”

The Wild Robot

Peter Brown

4.25

adventurous emotional fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Fake Dates and Mooncakes

Sher Lee

5.0

emotional lighthearted 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: Yes

picked this up as yet another queer asian book and i love mooncakes. had no idea that the author and the main character are singaporean, like me. i would describe this book a mix of red, white & royal blue (sneaking around after hours in a famous museum?) and crazy rich asians (middle class & upper class, attending a wedding together, a mean “ex” who manipulatively tries to break them up, uptight parent intimidating the partner into breaking up, dramatic surprise reunion), except the characters are more racially diverse than CRA, representative of the actual ethnic makeup in singapore

it was so cool seeing my home foods - nasi goreng, calamansi, pomelo, gula melaka - being talked about, famous spots - marina bay sands, changi airport (taken that direct 18hr singapore airlines flight to and from nyc one too many times), jewel, hawker centers in general - being name dropped and even a mention of our famous architect moshe safdie. loved the small bit of singlish dropped in too (lah!). it was also another personal touch for me that this was set in new york, where all of my mom’s side of the family lives, but specifically brooklyn where all of my chinese relatives live too, one even in sunset park. like dylan, i lost my mom to cancer as well not too long ago and my family in new york has taken me in so warmly and made me feel like one of their own daughters.

one of my favorite things about this book was the complete lack of homophobia. it was never an issue for anyone in their families, being queer felt so natural and normal in this universe, never treated in any way like something different - so incredibly refreshing and we need more queer books like this. it especially warmed my heart to see how accepting dylan’s grandparents in singapore are of him, since homosexuality was still illegal up until a few years ago and there is still no recognition of same sex partners because the older generation are very steadfast in their “asian traditions” as they call it.

i also loved learning about all the food aunt jade and dylan make, especially as a huge asian foodie myself who loves trying new recipes. i can’t wait to try making their once in a blue mooncake recipe sometime!

idk if this was really a review, more just me gushing about what i loved and related to bc i want to remember it all. but i did love the story of dylan and theo, i appreciate a good use of tropes like fake dating, one bed, miscommunication and breakups. i could really feel how much they were crushing on each other so strongly just through dylan’s eyes. this book is probably my new favorite queer ya :)

Content Warnings