Hi, friends!

It’s so good to be back with you after an unexpected hiatus. I’m glad to be writing again and couldn’t be happier to kick off this reunion with my post for C.B. Lee’s Sidekick Squad Blog Tour!

The third book of the Sidekick Squad series, Not Your Backup, hits shelves on June 1st. Both C.B. Lee and CW from The Quiet Pond were kind enough to arrange a review copy of Not Your Sidekick (book one) for me to read and review in anticipation for the latest release of the series and I can’t wait to finally share my thoughts (+ illustration!) with you.

Hey, friends! Welcome to my stop of the Enlightenment Blog Tour hosted by Your Tita Kate! I am hugely fascinated by Philippine history and mythology so when I heard about this urban fantasy novel that not only has both, I had to read it immediately. Enlightenment is rich in Philippine history, legends, mythological creatures, warriors, and folklore and I can’t wait to share it with you!

ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions my own.

Cairo, 1912. The perfect setting for two detectives from the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities aiming to solve the mystery of a haunted tram car. There are djinns, ghouls, and other magical creatures in between.

Reading about Cairo was love at first sight. Clark’s writing was teeming with culture and diversity, making it such an immersive and atmospheric story. On top of this, Clark writes an alternate history at a time when colonialism has ended in Egypt and explores themes of misogyny, gender, feminism, and empowerment. I don’t know how he managed to write all of this in 144 pages, but it all worked out well.

I also loved the dynamic between Agents Hamed and Onsi and could only hope to read more of their adventures! This is definitely a world I would come back to again and I hope more readers visit it.

When was the last time you discovered a new author whose work you ended up loving? It happened with Cranesong by Rona Wang for us and we are thrilled to share this book with you and tell you why we loved it.

We were fortunate enough to get advance copies of the eBook and were also able to interview Rona. Thank you to Half Mystic Press for coordinating this interview! To give you an idea about Cranesong, see what others are saying:

Praise for Cranesong

“The stories in Cranesong are the stories I’ve been waiting to read my entire life. They are the girlhood secrets, untranslatable sorrows, and quiet violences that often surround us but never quite catch our attention until they’re told by a writer like Rona Wang, whose words will uplift you just as much as they will shatter you.”

—Erin O’Malley, 2018 Lambda Literary Fellow and editor of The Ellis Review

“Captivating and ghostly, Cranesong disarms like no other. These stories are unapologetic about what it means to be Asian American and hurting, following different adolescents as they navigate the reclamation that comes with learning to be and become. Cranesong glitters and gleams, showcasing what Rona Wang does best: capturing the world in all its minute and wonderfully bizarre truths.”

—Margaret Zhang, editor-in-chief of Glass Kite Anthology, poetry and fiction published in SOFTBLOW, DIALOGIST, and Gigantic Sequins

Happy Monday, friends! It’s hard to believe we’re already on the second month of 2019 but with a new month comes more mini reviews. 😉

This week I want to share with you my reviews of the following books:

I enjoyed them all for different reasons and I would recommend checking them out if you’re looking for something to add to your TBR.