I don't usually read Romantasy, but when I do I tend to approach it with a critical eye. This week, I finished One Dark Window, Rachel Gillig's Booktok famous dark romantasy. I would love to hear your thoughts on this book too!

Warning: The review below contains spoilers! Proceed with caution!

Review

I’m not sure what I should rate this… I was definitely engaged & consumed by the story, but at the same time, every plot twist was SO predictable. I could see them coming from a mile away. I’m not sure what the hype for this book is for? It felt like a very average fantasy. The world of Blunder built around the Providence Cards was confusing at first, so I did appreciate the constant reminders of what each card’s power is, because your girl was forgetting OFTEN lol.

Even with a better understanding, I couldn’t get too emotionally connected to the kingdom. Blunder felt really isolated & lacking in community that is usually felt in these fantasy books. Which of course was the point. BUT if we are going to live in an isolated kingdom, I felt that there should have been more insight on the political background of the Rowan family & what their court looked like. You know what, it felt like a watered down version of a Kingdom. One king, one maiden, one illness that the kingdom tries to destroy. One task to cure the illness & appease the Spirit of the Wood. It was lacking depth in ways that I am not sure how to explain.

That being said I did enjoy the romance part of this. Ravyn & Elspeth were so destined for each other, this is the first time I haven’t rolled my eyes when the main characters fall for each other. Their romance made sense & didn’t draw away from the fantastical world that Gillig was creating. It felt like a natural development between the two. When Elspeth finally succumbs to her illness I cried because she had finally started to trust Ravyn & now she can’t express it.

Will I be reading the 2nd book? Yea of course, but I’m reading it for the romance…

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☁️ Happy AANHPI Month!! ☁️

This is a very very small list of book recommendations across 7 genres. Drop your favorite in the comments (if it’s not listed here!)

When I was researching books for this post, I was getting extremely frustrated with the grouping together of Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Native Hawaiians. We are a group of so many identities & cultures. South Asian people alone have so many subgroups & cultures, its annoying to be put into this generic box. I only added 9 books for each genre so this list is definitely not indicative of the wide range of people that we are! I hope you find your next favorite read from here 😃

𝐅 𝐀 𝐍 𝐓 𝐀 𝐒 𝐘

✨The Legend Of Meneka

✨And The Sky Bled

✨Jade City

✨The Jasmine Throne

✨Kaikeyi

✨The Spear Cuts Through Water

✨Babel

✨She Who Became the Sun

✨This Monster of Mine

𝐘 𝐀 𝐅 𝐀 𝐍 𝐓 𝐀 𝐒 𝐘

✨Star Daughter

✨An Ember in the Ashes

✨Six Crimson Cranes

✨We Hunt the Flame

✨Dragonfruit

✨Daughter of the Moon Goddess

✨Magic Has No Borders

✨We Shall Be Monsters

✨The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea

𝐑 𝐎 𝐌 𝐀 𝐍 𝐂 𝐄

♥️ The Kiss Quotient

♥️ The Trouble with Hating You

♥️ Marriage & Masti

♥️ Not Safe for Work

♥️ Ying Yang Love Song

♥️ Say You’ll Be Mine

♥️ Sorry, Bro

♥️ The Right Swipe

♥️ The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

𝐘 𝐀 𝐑 𝐎 𝐌 𝐀 𝐍 𝐂 𝐄

♥️ Eliza, from Scratch

♥️ When Dimple met Rishi

♥️ If You Could See the Sun

♥️ Sanskari Sweetheart

♥️ The Romance Rivalry

♥️ The Love Match

♥️ Clementine & Danny Save the World

♥️ Radha & Jai’s Recipe for Romance

♥️ XOXO

𝐌 𝐘 𝐒 𝐓 𝐄 𝐑 𝐘

🔍 Arsenic & Adobo

🔍 Death of a Lesser God

🔍 Accidental Alchemist

🔍 The Frangipani Tree Mystery

🔍 The Bandit Queens

🔍 Now You See Us

🔍 Everything I Never Told You

🔍 Iced In Paradise

🔍 Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

𝐅 𝐈 𝐂 𝐓 𝐈 𝐎 𝐍

💫 The Joy Luck Club

💫 Yellowface

💫 Tiare in Bloom

💫 On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous

💫 The Namesake

💫 Pachinko

💫 The Daughters of Madurai

💫 The Henna Artist

💫 Beasts of a Little Land

𝐍 𝐎 𝐍 - 𝐅 𝐈 𝐂 𝐓 𝐈 𝐎 𝐍

📖 Crying in H Mart

📖 The Ivory Throne

📖 The Making of Asian America

📖 Born in Paradise

📖 Stay True

📖 Minor Feelings

📖 Year of the Tiger

📖 All You Can Ever Know

📖 Know My Name

Hi hi!! Welcome to what I'm calling my weekly update on what is going on in my life!

𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘

Just finished GreatBBL & continuing with Vengeful! I have thoughts about the newest Emily Henry. I'm not sure I liked her latest book. I know people say she's trying something new & that she's branching out. But my issue is that this book was not marketed correctly. First, its NOT a rivals to

lovers. The two main characters are not rivals at all. Hayden is a somewhat famous journalist who doesn't really know Alice. I was expecting some enemies to lovers situation, but alas they were SO insta love-y, hate was no where to be found. I hated how fast they fell for each other, it felt out of the blue! And then Margaret's story. This was a bad rip off of that Evelyn Hugo book by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Margaret's story was boring and not juicy at all? It was nothing special, in fact if I compare Margaret's story to every other old celebrity from Hollywood, I would find no difference. I've heard it before & seen it before. Nothing exciting.

All this to say, I was not impressed and sadly. I gave this 2 stars :( I'll still be a EmHen fan, but this one definitely made me crashout lol.

𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘

ok my curls are coming!!! like every other Indian, I have been conditioned to think I don’t have curly hair? But I DO have a curl pattern and I’m slowly learning how to take care of them 💓 I'm hoping over time that less heat + more natural will create more defined curl shapes!

𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕪𝕚𝕟𝕘

Recently started Wanderstop & its so interesting. Set at a cozy teashop in the forest, the game

focuses on slowing down and observing the world around you. I saw CozyK on youtube playing this & the premise was so enticing. The story follows Alta who is a sword fighter. She is used to pushing her body to the limit every single day. But now, her body is not fighting the way it used to, and Alta is confused and lost. She wants to train up and try harder, but now she can't even pick up her sword. She stays and helps at a tea shop, where things are not always straightforward, and patience is rewarded!

𝕠𝕓𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘

my new camera 🤩 this is the DJI Osmo pocket 3 and she really can do it all. Recording is so freaking easy, especially in public. I don't feel overwhelmed or embarrassed about having a camera in my hand. I can freely record my vlogs or media for social media without any stress!

𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘

Scrapbooking the back of your phone! Its so fun & creative & I can change it up anytime! I have the Canon Ivy printer & I use it to create collages that I can then attach the the back of my phone. Getting a clear case is a real game changer.

𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘

To more outdoor time (as long as my allergies allow lol). I really enjoy living in such a walkable area because it makes sitting outside and people watching so much fun. My fiance and I have been trying new Happy Hour spots in our area. Its been exciting trying new drinks & food, almost feels like we're traveling in our home town.

I hope y’all are having a wonderful Monday & great rest of your week 🫶🏽

Q 💭: what’s your comfort hobby?