Weekly Wrap-Up: Jan 23 – Feb 5, 2023

Happy Monday, Boozie Book Nerds!

Ginny’s Update

Hi All! Not too much reading this week. I started some extra training and my free time basically disappeared.

Mr. Mayfair by Louise Bay: I have some friends where we find a free romance on Amazon and just chat as we read through it. The quality of those books can be iffy which made this a very pleasant surprise. Beck needs to attend a wedding to close an important business deal, but the only single woman invited is the ex of the groom. He talks her into it and they fall in love. Beck was kind of a dick, and Stella was a doormat, but the two of them have delightful chemistry and the banter was top notch.
Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao: This was a surprisingly slow read for me. Zachary Ying, an Chinese-American kid, ends up being the carrier for an ancient Chinese Emperor. To save his Mom he ends up traveling to China and learning all about it’s history. My biggest issue with this book was the other kids constantly going “you don’t know about [insert idea]!?!” I also feel like this didn’t need to have a sequel but it was a cute fun read.

In One Person by John Irving: Man, I love John Irving’s writing. There are so many wry asides. Basically, this is the journey of a queer man (it sounds like he may be bi, but the book is complicated enough that I’ll stick with queer). Honestly, it’s hard to give it more of a summary than that because unlike a lot of what I’ve been reading recently, the story is really just that focused. But the book is funny and poignant and I’m just really enjoying it now that I’m farther in.
Heaven’s Queen by Rachel Bach: This is the third book in the Paradoxseries and I’ve finally gotten around to reading it. Dev carries a virus that can potentially end the universe. Except everyone has a different opinion on how it should be used. Honestly, this book is romp and I’m looking forward to seeing how it ends.

What a week. It gonna be shit the next few weeks but I’ve been using reading as a coping mechanism so hopefully that’ll continue.

The Dragon’s Promise by Elizabeth Lim – this is the sequel to Sox Crimson Cranes. Shiori has to find the dragon who’s pearl she’s got and broke.. i liked this a lot, but not more than the first one
Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse – this is the sequel to Black Sun, all in my journey to catch up on my open series. I loooooove this series. I am ver interested in the next one.
The Last Mapmaker by Christine Soontornvat – this is a middle grade novel based off I believe it’s Thai culture and lore. Sai is an apprentice mapmaker on a journey to discover a new land in the name of the queen. If she and the crew do this, she’ll get a lineal, or something that will allow her to leave poverty and go to school. That’s the journey. It was cute. I loved it.

An Arrow to the Moon by Emily X. R. Pan – this is a Romeo and Juliet retelling with Chinese mythology. I’ve barely started this.
The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake – this is the second book in this series and I loved the first one. Sooo ready for this, I’ve just finished the first chapter.
Cooking at Home: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Recipes by David Chang and Priya Krishna – I read a review online that said this book is meant to be read cover to cover like a novel… so that’s what I’m doing and it’s actually fab. It helps that they’re talking a lot about Asian flavors (naturally) and I’ve been dying to learn more about those flavor profiles.

Until next time, we remain forever drunkenly yours,

— Sam, Minda, and Ginny