I kind of can’t believe how much I liked this. Sometimes you just have to try new things! I do not recommend that the new thing you try be eating humaI kind of can’t believe how much I liked this. Sometimes you just have to try new things! I do not recommend that the new thing you try be eating human eyeballs, as our MC is into, but like, try some pig ear soup! Or some menudo. You never had jackfruit? Try some jackfruit (had to throw something in for the vegans). You know! Or like me. Reading a book about a woman who looooooves eating eyeballs, a thing most versions of past me would not have believed I would do, let alone enjoy.
I sat on this review for a little bit because I wanted to see what my subconscious could do with the story after a little stewing (pun not intended—don’t stew eyeballs) and I’m glad I did that, because it has indeed settled in my head, and I think if I read it again, I would bump up my rating even higher.
The Eyes are the Best Part opens with Ji-won and her sister Ji-hyun witnessing their mother falling apart after their father left weeks before. The family is Korean American, both parents are immigrants, and the girls were born in the US. Their father leaving has thrown their lives into chaos. This also coincides with some changes for Ji-won, who is a freshman at college, and is dealing with growing pains of her own. Soon her mother begins dating a man named George, who is clearly an Asian fetishist, and Ji-won begins dreaming and then imagining (and then putting into practice) eating the blue eyeballs of men.
The blurb says the books is about a female serial killer in the making from a Korean American perspective, and that’s accurate, because it’s just as much about Ji-won dealing with being treated and feeling differently due to her race and gender (with a little bit of class thrown in for good measure; her family is poor) as it is about her becoming a murderous monster fixated on eating eyeballs. And the two things are not unrelated!
Something that initially kept me from giving the book five stars is that my brain was having a hard time making the connection between the eyeball eating and the clearly literary-leaning rest of the book, that so accurately and incisively pokes at the social structures Ji-won is straining against, at the men who look at Asian women and see nothing but sex, at the rest of society that puts Asian Americans into very defined categories and doesn’t allow for them to make mistakes (Ji-won is not a good student, doesn’t get into Berkley like her friends, and is put on academic probation in her first semester of college, just to name a few things). Anyway, so I jokingly suggested halfway through the book while trying to piece this all together, is the eyeball eating, is it the gaze??? And you know, it absolutely is. It just took my brain a bit to get there (and this interview from the author solidifies it). She absolutely did this on purpose.
Anyway, I highly, highly recommend this book. The unhinged main character, her outrageous actions, the incisive social commentary, all of it works. I can’t wait to see what Monika Kim does next, I will definitely be here for it.
Very sad to say that I very much disliked this. Awful execution of a potentially promising premise. All kills, no brains. I'd pass on this one if I weVery sad to say that I very much disliked this. Awful execution of a potentially promising premise. All kills, no brains. I'd pass on this one if I were any of you.
I don't read a lot of middle grade anymore, but when I do, this is exactly what I want. What a magical good time.30 Books in 30 Days, Vol. 3 Book 17/30
I don't read a lot of middle grade anymore, but when I do, this is exactly what I want. What a magical good time. The combo of whimsical worldbuilding, magical trials, friendship and found family, secrets, and darker elements that many people would say don't belong in children's books makes for something rather intoxicating (I've never yet read a favorite children's book without those darker elements btw). I've seen a lot of people talking about the book series that shall not be named in relation to this book, and I don't think they're wrong. If I would have read this book closer to the actual age range its meant for, I would have lost my mind over it. As it is, I just had a really good time and I can't believe I haven't picked up book two yet (just ordered it from Pango while writing this, so hopefully will get to it soon).
Morrigan Crow is a cursed child. In her world, this means she was a baby born on the holiday of Eventide. All children born on this night are cursed, and die before or on their twelfth birthdays. Before they die, they bring bad luck everywhere they go. They are blamed for anything and everything that goes wrong in a community. On top of this fun blessing bestowed upon her, Morrigan is also cursed with a terrible, unloving family (her grandma seems all right). But Eventide comes a year early, and Morrigan flees into another world (a kind of pocket universe, I think?) with a man called Jupiter North who takes her under his wing and wants her to try to enter the Wundrous Society, a society of magic wielders who all have a special "knack." The society is very exclusive, so the trials are intense. Also faffing around the edges of the story is the specter of a man called the Wondersmith, Ezra Squall, who was banished hundreds of years before for committing a massacre.
Everything about this book worked for me: the worldbuilding, the characters and their arcs, the plot, the style of the writing. Morrigan is a classic middle grade protagonist, smart and resourceful and pulling at your heart strings. Jupiter makes for an interesting and frustrating mentor. And the details of this world were so wacky at times, it was a constant surprise. Jessica Townsend basically channeled her childhood imagination for this book (my favorite bits being the enormous talking cat who is head of housekeeping at Jupiter's hotel where they all live, and the chandelier at the hotel that grows and changes into things like pirate ships at its own whims).
Would honestly recommend this one for both younger readers and adult ones looking to have some fun.
I liked this one, but the mystery plot got convoluted at the end and I had to re-read several bits multiple times, and stop and think about things befI liked this one, but the mystery plot got convoluted at the end and I had to re-read several bits multiple times, and stop and think about things before it all came together for me. That confusion aside, this also didn't have as high of emotional stakes for the characters I cared most about. The biggest stakes are for Inspector and Mrs. Treadles, since Inspector Treadles has been accused of two murders. Reasonably, as it turns out, as he was found in a locked room with two dead bodies and his service pistol, recently fired. And he's refusing to explain himself to anyone, including the police, his wife, and "Sherlock Holmes," who his wife hires to find the real killer (or prove that Treadles did it).
There were SO many moving pieces to this mystery, and I think it's to the author's credit that it does work in the end, where in many other author's hands the confusion would have never clarified into a whole.
We don't get much in the way of character movement for our main players, Charlotte, Lord Ingram, Livia, or Mrs. Watson, but the conflict between Mrs. and Inspector Treadles has now been resolved, as he now accepts her new position, and he also now accepts that Charlotte is right to be doing what she's doing, fallen woman though she is. The stick hath been removed from his bottom.
Alicia Thompson is reliably smart and funny in all her romance books, and her characters have such heart. The set30 Books in 30 Days, Vol. 4 Book 18/30
Alicia Thompson is reliably smart and funny in all her romance books, and her characters have such heart. The setting in this one is also really fun: a tourist attraction in or near Orlando called Cold World, where it is winter all year long. Both of our main characters work there—Asa for over ten years (he's been there since his family kicked him out for being bisexual), and Lauren for just over two (she is the bookkeeper). Asa and Lauren aren't enemies as the book opens, but they have an antagonistic relationship with each other (and underlying attraction), because both of them have misjudged the other and don't actually know the other as well as they think they do. A challenge from their boss to see who can have the best idea to revamp Cold World and bring in more guests and revenue sets the stage for them to actually get to know one another.
Something that I love about Alicia Thompson's books is that even as her characters have "special circumstances" or things they have to overcome, like a lot of contemporary romances do these days, is that they always feel grounded in the real world, and lived in. That Asa was kicked out by his parents, and that Lauren was in foster care are essential elements to their characters, but they aren't overplayed; they feel like they were integrated naturally into the plot, and thus the illusion that we're just peeking in at these characters' lives is maintained.
I'd have to re-read her first book to be sure, but I think this might actually be my favorite book of hers, just because of the emotional reactions it pulled out of me. ...more
I would read more of these, for sure. Even the ones where Americans try and fail to capture that British Marple feeling are entertaining in their failI would read more of these, for sure. Even the ones where Americans try and fail to capture that British Marple feeling are entertaining in their failure. But most of these stories were pretty successful! One nailed it completely.
Highlights for me were the stories from Ruth Ware, Naomi Alderman, Elly Griffiths, Kate Mosse, and Leigh Bardugo....more
December 2023: You guys don't even understand. This is my book. I'm just sharing it with you.
December 2022: Oh you’d best believe i have some quotes tDecember 2023: You guys don't even understand. This is my book. I'm just sharing it with you.
December 2022: Oh you’d best believe i have some quotes to post from this delightful book. But tomorrow bc I’m tired.
Okay, it's tomorrow, here are some quotes. Honestly, the plot in this one is four-star but the writing is what bumped it up to a five for me. This book vibrates at exactly my frequency and thus I am insulted it did not receive a print release and isn't being widely read. The dialogue in this book made me want to pack up my life and fly to England to find the author and befriend them.
"Do you need me to ring the customer service people and frighten them into giving you a refund? I love doing that."
"Ambrose says that Haf's taste in men can be summarised as guys who might live like raccoons and are a bit grubby-hot, like Robert Pattinson now, or anyone from the Italian band that won Eurovision a few years ago. The women she found attractive couldn't be more different, though—suited, secretly dorky and possibly about to organize a heist."
"There's something she really doesn't like about this man. It's a kind of instinctual primal reaction that she wants to kick him in the back of the knees and run away."
"Christopher, do you always talk in riddles? It's like having a conversation with a wizard on a bridge."
"'Can you not hear it?' 'Hear what?' 'The comfortable sound of inherited wealth, Christopher.'"
"The dogs, clearly aware of the sexual tension above them, start whining very loudly. They probably think she's having some kind of medical emergency from all the physiological signs of being completely mortified and horny all at once."
"The fifth glass is unarguably clean. Especially because Haf has been pretending to scrub at a stain that isn't there, like a horny Lady Macbeth wanting to prolong the moment."
"'A bit of fresh air never hurt anyone.' 'Tell that to all the dead people on Everest.'"
"Ambrose: baking together is probably inherently romantic Ambrose: i bet you're making big, gooey eyes across the flour while listening to inappropriate pop songs about unrequited lesbian love Ambrose: are we just friends or lovers, what is flirting, idk i'm just too gay, oooh oooh ohh"
"'Do you not get a lot of that in architecture? I'd have thought you'd all be jizzing yourself over bricks, or something.' Kit snorts with laughter. 'Jizzing ourselves?' 'Yeah, you know. "Ooh, that's a lovely bit of wall. Look at that light."'"
"Look, it was only because I didn't want you to like throw me out or something. And I was trying really hard to repress everything. You know, just keep it all inside until I just die."
"'You look like a puppy that's just been kicked.' 'Why do you know what that looks like?'"
"We put so much effort into it, and I tanked it by being a horny goblin."...more
I’m two for two with Alison Cochrun! Although, for me, the slight edge goes to The Charm Offensive, I still really enjoyed my time with this second boI’m two for two with Alison Cochrun! Although, for me, the slight edge goes to The Charm Offensive, I still really enjoyed my time with this second book of hers.
Last Christmas, Ellie met Jack in Powell’s when they both went for a copy of Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, and over a cute argument over “shared custody”, and Jack poking gentle fun at Ellie (who had been crying alone and talking to a footstool as if it were her friend) they start to bond. Jack asks Ellie for coffee, and then they end up spending the whole day together. This is a big deal for Ellie, who is demisexual, and rarely develops attractions to anyone. And then Jack breaks her heart. Fast-forward to this Christmas when Andrew, the landlord who owns the building she works in, asks her to fake-marry him so he can access his inheritance, and shenanigans lead to her agreeing to this and to going home with him for Christmas, and surprise! Jack is Andrew’s sister.
I really don’t have too much to say about this one. It was a really good time, I read it super fast, and I enjoyed the banter and flirtation and ridiculousness along the way. I also appreciate the author’s determination to write about mental health and asexuality, both of which were also prominent in The Charm Offensive as well. But even though Ellie and Charlie (one of the MC’s in that book) are both demisexual and have severe anxiety, the way they affect both characters is completely different, and that nuance is something I really enjoyed. And, as many people have pointed out in their reviews, this book also has some really interesting discussions about failure, and what it means to have a healthy perspective on failure as a concept.
This wasn’t a favorite for me like it has been for a lot of other people, but it was a great book to ring in the new year with....more
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