Title: Eleanor & Park
Author(s): Rainbow Rowell
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
Format(s): Audio
Pages: 328
Length: 8h 57m
Narrator(s): Rebecca Lowman, Sunil Malhotra
Source: Owned
Reason(s): Book Club
Rating: Spice: 
My Thoughts
ELEANOR & PARK was supposed to be a cute coming of age story about two misfit teenagers growing up in Nebraska in the 1980s. Unfortunately, the story suffered a great deal due to bad Asian representation and uncomfortable descriptions of Park, Josh, and Mindy. You could definitely tell that their Korean heritage was from an outsider’s perspective. The audiobook didn’t help with the bad Asian representation because it made it sound like Mindy was Chinese instead of Korean. Linguistically speaking, her accent would’ve been different.
I also think she would’ve spoken English a lot better than she was portrayed to because she was immersed in English ALL. THE. TIME. She wasn’t a recent immigrant nor was she surrounded by the Korean language on a day to day basis. Everything around her was English. Of course, she would still have an accent, but I don’t think she would’ve spoken in such broken English. I hated that Mindy didn’t share her heritage with her sons. Park says more than once that he didn’t know what it meant to be Asian. Even if Mindy was sad to leave her country in pursuit of love, I feel like she would’ve shared her culture with her sons. The family didn’t even eat Korean food at their house. I could’ve totally gotten behind Park feeling different from the other kids in school and learning to be proud of his heritage, but none of that was explored.
The one redeeming quality is the underlying story. I thought it was a cute romance and I loved how much Eleanor and Park leaned on each other to survive their day to day hardships.
An Offer From a Gentleman
Author(s): Julia Quinn
Series: Bridgerton #3
Genre(s): Historical Fiction, Romance
Format(s): Audio
Pages: 358
Length: 12h 22m
Narrator(s): Rosalyn Landor
Source: Library
Reason(s): None
Rating:
Spice:
My Thoughts
AN OFFER FROM A GENTLEMAN is my favorite of the Bridgerton series so far. I absolutely adored the CINDERELLA (and EVER AFTER) retelling aspect of this one. I loved getting to know Benedict better as we don’t see or hear much from him in the previous two novels. I loved Sophie. She was the perfect stand-in for Cinderella. I especially loved the immediate connection she had with Benedict. Their banter and sexual tension was so much fun to read.
The edition I read had a second epilogue, which I enjoyed (not quite as much as the second epilogue for THE VISCOUNT WHO LOVED ME, but much more than the one for THE DUKE AND I). I loved getting to see Posey’s happy ending as well as we get a glimpse into Benedict’s and Sophie’s life together.
Witch Please
Author(s): Ann Aguirre
Series: Fix-It Witches #1
Genre(s): Romance
Format(s): Audio
Pages: 368
Length: 10h 31m
Narrator(s): Ava Lucas
Source: Library
Reason(s): None
Rating:
Spice:
My Thoughts
WITCH PLEASE was a cute fast-paced steamy romance. I loved the characters, especially Danica and Titus. Their chemistry was instant and the sexual tension between them is amazing. I also loved a lot of the side characters. Although, I’m glad one character got what was coming to them even if I wanted more to happen. I loved the setting and the small town feel. Thanks to the descriptions of all the pastries in Titus’ bakery, I’m craving cinnamon rolls and gingersnaps. I loved the lit bit of fantasy. I wish there had been a bit more magic, but I loved the concept of witches and how their magic works. I thought it was a fun way to explain the existence of witches.
Eleanor & Park
Author(s): Rainbow Rowell
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
Format(s): Audio
Pages: 328
Length: 8h 57m
Narrator(s): Rebecca Lowman, Sunil Malhotra
Source: Owned
Reason(s): Book Club
Rating:
Spice:
My Thoughts
ELEANOR & PARK was supposed to be a cute coming of age story about two misfit teenagers growing up in Nebraska in the 1980s. Unfortunately, the story suffered a great deal due to bad Asian representation and uncomfortable descriptions of Park, Josh, and Mindy. You could definitely tell that their Korean heritage was from an outsider’s perspective. The audiobook didn’t help with the bad Asian representation because it made it sound like Mindy was Chinese instead of Korean. Linguistically speaking, her accent would’ve been different.
I also think she would’ve spoken English a lot better than she was portrayed to because she was immersed in English ALL. THE. TIME. She wasn’t a recent immigrant nor was she surrounded by the Korean language on a day to day basis. Everything around her was English. Of course, she would still have an accent, but I don’t think she would’ve spoken in such broken English. I hated that Mindy didn’t share her heritage with her sons. Park says more than once that he didn’t know what it meant to be Asian. Even if Mindy was sad to leave her country in pursuit of love, I feel like she would’ve shared her culture with her sons. The family didn’t even eat Korean food at their house. I could’ve totally gotten behind Park feeling different from the other kids in school and learning to be proud of his heritage, but none of that was explored.
The one redeeming quality is the underlying story. I thought it was a cute romance and I loved how much Eleanor and Park leaned on each other to survive their day to day hardships.
Ariadne
Author(s): Jennifer Saint
Genre(s): Mythology
Format(s): Audio
Pages: 308
Length: 11h 59m
Narrator(s): Barrie Kreinik
Source: Owned
Reason(s): Book of the Month
Rating:
Spice:
My Thoughts
Before reading ARIADNE, I remembered that she had helped Theseus through the labyrinth so he could slay the minotaur and free Athens from Minos’ oppressive rule, but that’s it. I had no idea how much of a jackass Theseus was, lol. I also didn’t remember anything about Ariadne’s and Dionysus’ love story. Nor did I remember how her story ended.
I don’t really think ARIADNE can be considered a retelling as it was just a written account of one version of the mythos surrounding her. In my opinion, retellings put new spins on old myths or fairy tales. Despite that this story isn’t a retelling, I still really enjoyed reading it. The writing was interesting and kept me engaged. I wanted to know what was going to happen and I hoped the story would go a certain way. I also loved the inclusion of her sister Phaedra’s life outside of Crete.
The Viscount Who Loved Me
Author(s): Julia Quinn
Series: Bridgerton #2
Genre(s): Historical Fiction, Romance
Format(s): Audio
Pages: 354
Length: 12h 23m
Narrator(s): Rosalyn Landor
Source: Library
Reason(s): None
Rating:
Spice:
My Thoughts
THE VISCOUNT WHO LOVED ME was just as good as, and in some ways better than, THE DUKE AND I. It’s not only a fun, swoon-worthy slow-burn romance, it’s also a story about overcoming one’s fears, gaining confidence in oneself, and found family. I loved the enemies-to-lovers romance between Anthony and Kate. The bantering and sexual tension was so much fun from their very first meeting. I loved reading the progression of their mutual disgust of one another to friendship and then love.
The edition I read had a second epilogue, which I really enjoyed (much more than the second epilogue for THE DUKE AND I). I loved the return to the pal mal (croquet) setting at Aubrey Hall. I think it would’ve been great fun to be included in a game with the Bridgerton family.