The Test by Sylvain Neuvel is a speculative fiction novella that is a mindfuck of societal critiques wrapped into a neat and unsuspecting little package. It follows Idir, who is an Iranian, Muslim man who is taking the British citizenship test that consists of twenty-five simple questions. However, whilst taking the exam, something godawfully dangerous…
Before I begin, I feel I should inform y’all that I am writing this post while listening to “Running in the 90s” off the Initial D OST and it is the best goddamn decision I’ve made all morning. *bobs head as the Eurobeat intensifies* This song fits the book I’m about to rave about so…
The Broken Girls by Simone St. James is a Canadian supernatural mystery crime fiction novel that I received as a part of my March Book of the Month bundle. It came to me right as I fell into a mystery/thriller reading crave. I was sceptical about its quality and whether it would turn out to…
Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller is the second novel in the young adult high fantasy duology called, Daughter of the Pirate King. I read and reviewed book one towards the end of March, and you can check out that full review here. When I read Daughter of the Pirate King, I had…
Recently I finished watching the film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. The film was average in terms of quality and narrative, but enjoyable enough to put me into a pirate mood. That is when I looked over at my shelf, saw my recently purchased copy of Daughter of the Pirate King…
I have really been enjoying poetry lately. Chalk it up to the fact that I am currently writing my own poetry book, or that I have had many experiences last year and the best way for me to process it is via poetry—reading and writing alike. Whatever the reason, I am very grateful for my…
Blade of the Immortal is a seinen, chanbara (media about/involving samurai), jidaigeki (period drama) manga series with supernatural elements. It’s a series that has been credited with redefining the jidaigeki genre with its near-flawless execution. Dark Horse Manga picked up the series and has been releasing them in breathtaking (yet very heavy) omnibus editions where…
Rangoli by Pavana Reddy is an #OwnVoices collection of poetry and the author’s debut published book. Ms. Reddy is a South Asian-Fijian woman, who self-published her collection in July 2017. Rangoli has poetry pertaining to life as a woman, romance, and what it means to be an immigrant in a land where people don’t understand…
Recently, I have been on a massive poetry kick. I have been reading as many poems as I can, and have even began compiling a collection of personal poems that I hope to get published one day. Most of the collections that I read were rather mediocre, unfortunately. This doesn’t mean that they were bad…
The Crystal Ribbon by Celeste Lim is an #OwnVoices Chinese literature, young adult fantasy novel. Even though the novel has a twelve-year old main character and is classified as a middle-grade read, the content and subject matter of the book would be more appropriate for mid-to-older teens, personally speaking. It was originally published in January…
