Tag Archives: Historical

Review: Mother Ocean Father Nation

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Mother Ocean Father Nation by Nishant Batsha
Publisher: Ecco Books
Pub Date: 6/7/2022

Thank you to Ecco Books for the free advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

GoodReads Synopsis: A riveting, tender debut novel, following a brother and sister whose paths diverge–one forced to leave, one left behind–in the wake of a nationalist coup in the South Pacific

On a small Pacific island, a brother and sister tune in to a breaking news radio bulletin. It is 1985, and an Indian grocer has just been attacked by nativists aligned with the recent military coup. Now, fear and shock are rippling through the island’s deeply-rooted Indian community as racial tensions rise to the brink.

Bhumi hears this news from her locked-down dorm room in the capital city. She is the ambitious, intellectual standout of the family–the one destined for success. But when her friendship with the daughter of a prominent government official becomes a liability, she must flee her unstable home for California.

Jaipal feels like the unnoticed, unremarkable sibling, always left to fend for himself. He is stuck working in the family store, avoiding their father’s wrath, with nothing but his hidden desires to distract him. Desperate for money and connection, he seizes a sudden opportunity to take his life into his own hands for the first time. But his decision may leave him vulnerable to the island’s escalating volatility.

Spanning from the lush terrain of the South Pacific to the golden hills of San Francisco, Mother Ocean Father Nation is an entrancing debut about how one family, at the mercy of a nation broken by legacies of power and oppression, forges a path to find a home once again.

Review: Mother Ocean Father Nation is a literary, historical fiction, LBTQ+ debut novel from Nishant Batsha. Mother Ocean Father Nation explores themes of strained relationships, power, oppression, self discovery, and the meaning of home. The author alternates perspectives from sister and brother, Bhumi and Jaipal. I loved that their perspectives were different and their stories were separate yet interwoven. I also liked how the author touched suppression, immigration, and the feeling of belonging. The plot is intriguing, but the pacing of the story felt either way too show or everything happens at once. The author touches upon some heavy themes in here, but I felt there was too much to dive into and some things were unexplained. It was a good start to a debut that was heartbreaking yet filled with hope. I’d recommend reading this one if you love character/driven stories.

Review: The Lost Apothecary

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The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
Publisher: Park Row
Pub Date: 3/2/2021

GoodReads Synopsis: A female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them—setting three lives across centuries on a dangerous collision course.

Rule #1: The poison must never be used to harm another woman.

Rule #2: The names of the murderer and her victim must be recorded in the apothecary’s register.

One cold February evening in 1791, at the back of a dark London alley in a hidden apothecary shop, Nella awaits her newest customer. Once a respected healer, Nella now uses her knowledge for a darker purpose—selling well-disguised poisons to desperate women who would kill to be free of the men in their lives. But when her new patron turns out to be a precocious twelve-year-old named Eliza Fanning, an unexpected friendship sets in motion a string of events that jeopardizes Nella’s world and threatens to expose the many women whose names are written in her register.

In present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, reeling from the discovery of her husband’s infidelity. When she finds an old apothecary vial near the river Thames, she can’t resist investigating, only to realize she’s found a link to the unsolved “apothecary murders” that haunted London over two centuries ago. As she deepens her search, Caroline’s life collides with Nella’s and Eliza’s in a stunning twist of fate—and not everyone will survive. 

Review: The Lost Apothecary was my March BOTM pick. The storyline and mystery intrigued me. I really loved Nella and Eliza’s historical perspectives which really got me hooked. I could care less about Caroline’s present day perspective which didn’t add any insight to the story. Despite this having a gorgeous cover, this book ended up being a solid three stars for me. If it didn’t have Caroline’s perspective in here, I would have rated it higher.

Review: The Woman In The White Kimono

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The Woman In The White Kimono by Ana Johns

Publication Date: 5/28/19

Publisher: Park Row Books (Harlequin)

Rating: 4/5

Disclaimer: I received a free advanced reader copy of this book from TLC Book Tours & Harper Collins in exchange for my honest opinion. This has no effect on my opinion, review or rating.

Review: Ana Johns’ debut novel, The Woman In The White Kimono, is told in alternating perspectives from 17-year-old Naoko living in Japan in 1957 Japan and Tori Kovac, an investigative journalist, living in present day America. Overall, I found this novel to be beautifully written and heartbreaking. The story reminds me a bit of Memoirs of a Geisha and the writing style reminds me bit of Lisa See’s writing. Ana Johns does a great job portraying post-WWII and describing the relationship between America and Japan. I really loved reading Naoko’s perspective as her story was fast paced and kept me on my toes. I found Tori’s perspective to be less interesting and at a slower pace, but understand the importance of her character in the story. Though I found some parts of the book to be a bit predictable, I really liked the way that Ana Johns ended the story. I would recommend reading this novel if you love historical fiction and/or interested in Japanese and American history.

Best 9 Books I Read In 2017

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This year I decided to pick up my old hobby of reading. I couldn’t remember the last time I read a novel for leisure. I used to read a lot back in middle school and high school and dropped it off after I went to college. After that, I made up excuses of work, lack of time or that I didn’t have the attention span for it anymore. But then something in me changed for the better this year. Getting back into the habit of reading was difficult at first, but I slowly gained momentum and finally realized what I’ve been missing out on these past few years.

When I started to read again this year, I didn’t set up any goals on how many books I would read in a month or how many I wanted to read by the end of this year. I didn’t want to set too high expectations so then I could easily get discouraged.

I don’t think I’ll do a reading goal for next year either. For me, it’s not about the quantity of books. It’s about the quality that I read and finding ones that resonate with me.

Without further ado, here are the best 9 books I read in 2017 in no particular order: Continue reading →

Review: Shanghai Girls Series

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Shanghai Girls (Book 1)
Dreams of Joy (Book 2)

Book 1: Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

Clues to describe this book: Sisterhood, Paris of Asia, Secrets, American Dream / Nightmare

Book 2: Dreams of Joy by Lisa See

Clues to describe this book: Mother / Daughter Relationships, Patriotism, Strength, Forgiveness Continue reading →

3 Black Friday Amazon Kindle Book Deals

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Amazon has some great Black Friday Kindle book deals going on right now that I couldn’t resist. I ended up buying three books under $10 which was an awesome bargain. Here are the books I bought:

Irresistible? by Stephanie Bond
Kindle Price: $0.99
This was an impulse buy. I never heard of the author before, but the premise of the story looked funny and light-hearted. Also there were positive reviews from Amazon readers so I thought why not? This romantic comedy is about Elle participating in a four-week clinical study which involves taking a pill that makes the taker more attractive to the opposite sex. Based on the plot, this could either be really cheesy and bad which then I would have wasted a dollar or it could be really intriguing and laugh out loud funny so then it would be totally worth every cent. I guess I’ll need to read to find out.

The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon
Kindle Price: $1.99
I was so excited to see that this book was part of the Kindle Deals on Amazon. I’ve been wanting to read this book for a while, but it’s on a long hold list at the library and before then, I was on the fence of whether to buy or not since it’s a YA novel. This book is about two teens with completely different lives and backgrounds falling in love. I heard such great reviews about this book and originally found it on Book of the Month so when I saw the price drop on this then I knew I had to get this.

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Price: $3.99
This book has been on my TBR list for a while as well. I read Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee and fell in love with her writing so I was excited to hear about her newest book. The book is about four generations of a poor Korean immigrant family living in Japan in the 20th century. Pachinko has been on the best seller’s list for Amazon for quite a while and it is a National Award Finalist as well. So seeing the price drop on this was definitely a treat and I can’t wait to pick this up.