readingpicnic's reviews
469 reviews

Look Back by Tatsuki Fujimoto

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4.5

I did watch the movie before reading the manga, and they adapted it so well!! My poor little codependent gay girls :(

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A Bánh Mì for Two by Trinity Nguyen

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  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Such a sweet romance, but also an emotional journey of Vivi trying to reconnect with her mom’s family in Vietnam. I loved the process of her puzzling things together with Lan to find her family, going off only a photograph and the help of Lan’s connections and food stall community in Sài Gòn. My main issue with the audiobook format is that Vivi’s voice actress read the chapters pretty quickly, while Lan’s voice actress read much more slowly, which made me struggle to find a good speed to listen to this at :’) 

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Private Rites by Julia Armfield

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2.75

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Flatiron Books for a free digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I'm disappointed to say that I just don't think Julia Armfield's writing is for me. I wanted to like Our Wives Under the Sea, and I didn't really, but I thought I would still give Private Rites a chance. This book was incredibly slow, and I felt like I was slowly sloshing through most of it, hence why it took me over a month to finish it. The world building was admittedly super cool--the water rising higher and higher throughout the novel as the rain almost never stops its endless pouring; the feeling of hopelessness so present in this society where the wealthy are able to climb higher in buildings tall enough to withstand flooding, while the poor experience flooding similar to that scene in Parasite. Compared to the slow pacing of the whole book, the ending was way too fast, events happening so quickly in the final 5-10% of the book that I couldn't even tell what was transpiring. Cults? Sinking? I couldn't tell you. It kind of reminded me of the ending of Night in the Woods, but more confusing. My favorite part of the book by far was the troubled relationship between the sisters as they halfheartedly try to get along with each other, but ultimately just get on each others nerves at every turn, or perhaps don't like each other that much. It reminded me a lot of my brothers and I, and I related heavily to Irene as the sibling who feels stuck in the anger of my childhood, which is how my family will always view me. If you like reading about messy sister dynamics, this is for you.

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They Never Learn by Layne Fargo

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4.5

Okay I love this genre of woman punishing men for their abuse, in the realm of Sadie and The Female of the Species, but this one being more new adult/adult. I absolutely did not see the twist coming halfway through
with Scarlet and Carly being the same person, and I was truly flabbergasted, slack-jawed, distraught even.
I knew that dumbass
red diary
was going to screw things up, but I’m so happy with the ending. They’re adorable <3 The audiobook narration was chilling.

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Thirsty by Jas Hammonds

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  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Good grief, these girls know two things that bother Annetta and pull them out in every argument!! The same vibes as “That’s why your DAD died!!!from PEN15. The ending was a relief, and although I’m sure the author could have ended the story sooner, I’m glad that we got to see some long overdue conversations happen and Blake gain some necessary support systems. Also, excellent audiobook narration.

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Sadie by Courtney Summers

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5.0

Yeah, this holds up as one of my favorite books ever. The voice actors capture the painful emotions of this book so well, and the cutoffs of each POV were perfect and kept me listening long after my commute ended. The audiobook gave the vibes of ominous videogame voice acting like in What Remains of Edith Finch, Life is Strange, or Oxenfree. Sadie is so important to me.

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Little Weirds by Jenny Slate

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 47%.
This book felt like a YouTuber writing a poetry book that nobody asked for. I love a weird book, but not this, dare I say, millennial, genre of weird which seems to just be repeating silly words like “gobbledygook” or teasing at bestiality. I was so unamused for the two hours I listened to this audiobook, and I felt finishing it would add nothing to my life but cringe.
Long Time No See by Taylor Blossom

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4.0

The plot was a little silly to me with most of Olive’s motivations being driven by an average man, but I did get emotionally invested. This reminded me quite a bit of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and the ethics explored in it, which I loved. I just think the style of this graphic novel is so creative as a Flipnote Hantena lover, and I’m just in awe of the art.
Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant by Curtis Chin

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4.5

God I love books with in depth food descriptions. I was very caught off guard by the “ugli” mention. 

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Down the Drain by Julia Fox

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5.0

Every female friendship in this book is so intense and homoerotic; very relatable for girl-likers.

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