wingreads's reviews
314 reviews

Accidentally Amy by Lynn Painter

Go to review page

Did not finish book. Stopped at 29%.
Promising start, but the dialogue is cheesy and cringe.
Heartbreak for Hire by Sonia Hartl

Go to review page

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

2.0

East Side Voices by Helena Lee

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

"When there is reluctance to talk about race and identity, I get angry because it belittles my constant awareness the work I do around understanding how my identity is interpreted by others. I get angry because I work hard in finishing a way to articulate my identity, my difference, so that it fits your understanding. And I get angry because by not seeing race you have stripped me of my heritage. If you don't see race, you don't see me"

This collection of essays by prominent East and South East Asian individuals who created and continue to occupy space on literature, further education, film and so forth was like congee on a cold day. 


"sword and word are only one letter apart"
So much of the reflections resonated deeply with me; othering, internalised white supremacy, silence. Some stories are humourous, some complex and some bewildering. But all stems from hope, the will to continue and celebration of the elusive and plurality in which we love within.

Some standout chapters:
The deafening silence of divorce
The portrait

The brilliant "I ran, I laugh, I dance to the beyond", a love letter to the land and the grains of soil underneath. Those who have toiled above and embed their indigenous culture through a millennia. 

The wonderfully unsightly and compassionate proposal by Tash Aw; this essay has led me to their backlist.

What was also evident, is the survivor instinct from our ancestors. Learn from the past, make the most of the present and look forward; sometimes that was all they could do.

This book made me cry, call my parents and just sit to listen to them talk about their day. Those sweet sounds which hold so much wisdom. 
Surrounded by Idiots: The Four Types of Human Behavior and How to Effectively Communicate with Each in Business (and in Life) by Thomas Erikson

Go to review page

funny lighthearted slow-paced

3.0

The Burning God by R.F. Kuang

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"We are inferior until we speak, dress, act and worship just like them"

Rin is back in the southerm provinces, allying herself with the warlords governing the provinces which the north have forgotten. Rin is growing and stubbornly learning how to command an army with guidance from familiar faces such as Kitay and new additions such as Souji. However, many wish to see her demise. 


"You don't fix hurts by pretending never happen. You treat them like infected wounds. You dig deep with a burning knife and gouge out the rotten flesh and then, maybe, you have a chance to heal."

Rin has started to irritate me on occasion; her stubbornness adds to some of her character arc, but it did feel drawn out in the middle of the story. There is more backstory from the trifecta, details about strategies for war, the grey painful decisions to be made, and Wider implications of Rins ruthlessness. 

Rf Kuang has beautiful weaved in the brutality of erasing history and replacing this with colonialist education, the systemicatic dehumanisation of the other. There are gruesome details about the casualties of war and destruction, but what I am glad is that RF Kuang never shys away from the viseral as it adds to the story, but doesn't make caricatures of the characters or events. 

It took me a while to start this final book, as I hate endings (and also felt much angst about Rin & Nezha towards the end of The dragon republic). When I finally finished this, I was quiet for a long time as I closed the book on some of the characters which I have complicated feelings about. 
Lust, Caution: The Story by Eileen Chang

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • 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

In 1940's Shanghai, Jiazhi a patriotic student infiltrates high society during the Japanese occupation. She meets Mr Yee, a high profile government official who works for the Japanese. During the years of espionage, Jiazhi and Mr Yee develop a passionate love affair. 

Eileen Chang has written a beautiful short love story detailing the rich details of mahjong with the taitais, tea parties, unspoken lust and charge between the two MCs. Jiazhi reflects on the rise of her role and how the student movement plots the downfall of Mr Yee, but in the end - does she go ahead? I love the language choices in the translation, the delicate adjectives chosen to describe material objects traded amongst high society, and the more viseral descriptions around the brutal human nature under occupation. 
Surrounded by Bad Bosses (and Lazy Employees): How to Stop Struggling, Start Succeeding, and Deal with Idiots at Work by Thomas Erikson

Go to review page

funny informative lighthearted slow-paced

3.0

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense 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

5.0

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional 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

5.0

Chloe Gong makes use of Romeo and Juliet as a basis for the beginning of this duology based in 1926, Shanghai. We have the Cai's from the scarlet gang Vs the Montagov (the white Flowers) feuding across a chaotic Shanghai, but they are forced to work together to investigate why people are starting to claw their own throats out....


"The years had worn on between them, had aged them into monsters with human faces, unrecognisable against old photos."

I enjoy Juliet's smart retorts, Roma's barbed comments. This is a fast paced story with quick plot development. The chapters were just the right length and told from both Juliet and Roma's POV. Both characters are morally grey and there is frequent tension between following their desire and balanxing this with the demands of the family firm. There are elements of fantasy, hierarchical power grabbing, testing family loyalty and scenes of violence, extortion, and descriptions of death. 


"You shouldnt get a say here... However flawed we are, however much we fight each other, this country is still not for people like you to dictate".

I really enjoyed the blend of Shanghai history and world building in the story; it really feels like I had a birds eye view of the story developing. Frequently the themes of colonialism eroding the beauty of Shanghai came up, this added to the motivations for both the MC to protect their way of life, thier found family and vulnerable community around them. 


"Will I be less if I sounded like my mother, my father, and all those in this city who were forced to learn more than one language, unlike you?"

I love the blending of dialects, language; the power to be gained when access is learnt. There is such beauty to be admired by code switching. 
I love the strong sentiments, bold feminist characters. 

This is my first Chloe Gong book; I will be looking at her backlist 💕💕💕
Quicksilver by Callie Hart

Go to review page

Did not finish book. Stopped at 22%.
  • Too slow paced
  • Repetitive dialogue between characters