"We can never again be who we were . . . It's impossible. We've already missed each other."

I left Shanghai when I was nine. By the time I was able to make it back for a visit almost a decade later, the city of my birth and early years, along with the people I'd loved, were all inexorably changed.

Maybe that's why I'm always drawn to stories set in Shanghai. The city of my youth exists now solely in my memories, and I keep having this steadfast hope that, by reading about it, maybe somehow I'd be able to conjure up in my mind the place and all the people I loved that no longer exist.

In that way, Homeseeking feels like an inevitable read for me. My story somewhat mirrors Suchi and Haiwen's, though decades later and without the war and only a little bit of the famine. But we all left our beloved city behind, and it feels like we spend the rest of our lives trying to mend the holes in our hearts.

But I think to distill this down to simply Suchi and Haiwen's love story is to do a disservice to this epic tale. Yes, the story centers around the two of them and their encounters through the years. But it's also a story about resilience and hope and the complicated yet unconditional love for one's children and parents and family.

The structure here works particularly well. Told in alternative viewpoints between Suchi and Haiwen, Suchi's narrative goes forward while Haiwen's goes backwards. In this way, it allows us the readers to simultaneously experience all their hopes and dreams for the future while also seeing the memories and regrets that come with a lifetime already experienced and choices already made.

Some stories hit harder because they feel more personal, and this one definitely did for me. Karissa Chen's evocative prose means I could almost see the longtang where I grew up, envision the hustle and bustle of everyday life, and hear the familiar cadence of Shanghainese, my first and still most comforting language. The scene with the fortune teller explaining the meaning of "yun" seemed like it was written especially for me. By the time I reached The Coda at the end, I was bawling my eyes out.

Maybe the only thing I didn't love was Suchi's character at times. Even her son called her a martyr at one point and it was spot on. I wanted more for her, but perhaps her depiction is authentic to the culture and the trauma that she has experienced. It must be hard to remain courageous when you've faced a lifetime of heartache and pain.

This was such a riveting and poignant tale, at times heartbreaking and at times so hopeful. Its depiction of the love between parent and child, even in the face of agonizing choices, is so searing in its honesty. And it speaks to every immigrant's heart, that we all left behind something unbearably precious and all we can do is look forward and make a new home somewhere else.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars

I know that Chloe normally looks more put together, but compared to a corpse, I must look okay, right?

Huh, I don't quite know how to feel about this. Suffice to say, this is one of the more unhinged books I've read in quite some time.

Julie Chan has always been envious of her twin Chloe's life. While Julie rotted away under the care of her abusive aunt after their parents died, Chloe was adopted by a wealthy white couple and grew up amidst money and luxury. When Chloe became a famous influencer, Julie followed from afar, glimpsing into what could've been her life, if only. So when Chloe suddenly dies, Julie naturally seizes the chance to live her twin's life. But the longer Julie masquerades as Chloe, the more she starts to realize that something is amiss.

I have to admit, the part of the premise that got me to read this book was the twin switcheroo bit. It felt very Lindsay Lohan and The Parent Trap. That was such a memorable movie from my childhood, I figured if this switcheroo was half as fun, it'd be worth the read. And it was fun, but with some caveats (and a lot of cringing).

First, this story is crazy, like really unhinged, insane, heretofore unseen levels of crazy. It starts out with a pretty wacky premise and it only gets more so from there. Not only is the plotline crazy, but so is each and every one of the characters. So you've been warned. It's best to just lay back and enjoy the ride, and not worry about how it may or may not be based in reality.

Second, this is very much geared towards a certain audience, and truth be told, that's where I started to feel a disconnect with the story. You know, I'm not that hip and I'm certainly not that young, so there were a lot of references and even some lingo in here I've never heard of before. I also don't TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, or even Instagram much, and I certainly don't follow any influencers or care about their lifestyles. So I definitely felt a bit like an outsider reading this story.

Also, I floundered trying to determine the meaning behind this tale. The lack of likable characters and character growth made it hard to discern something out of the pure chaos this ended up being. And maybe there is no more meaningful message here other than that it's a good story, and I'm trying to make something out of nothing. But I just couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing, and I was waiting for more.

It's clear this is a satire, but for me, in order for that to work, I have to be able to relate to the characters and also understand the underlying commentary. And I just couldn't quite get there on both fronts with this one.

Still, I was impressed with this debut's ability to keep me engaged, even through its zanier moments. In the end, it was a fun/cringey way to spend a few hours, so I can't complain too much.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars

Here I was, thinking I'm getting too old and cynical to enjoy a romance. And The Kiss Quotient comes along and totally blows me away.

In recent years, I've started to give up on romances. I pick up so many, yet only a few have managed to really grab me. The characters have gotten crazier, the tropes ever more outlandish, and the sheer amount of disbelief I have to suspend just to imagine that anyone could fall in love with these nutters has really tired me out.

When every book you pick up from a genre is middling, you start to wonder if it's you and not the book. Perhaps the time has come to face the fact that I've started to age out of this genre and that falling in love was so many years and decades behind me that I can no longer recall the feeling. But no, for here is a story that made me remember distinctly the heady, swooping, all encompassing joy of finding your soulmate.

There are many reasons I love this story, and the main characters are undoubtedly a big one. Helen Hoang meticulously and lovingly crafted them to life, and it really shows. There's something so special about Stella and Michael. They each have their own issues, yet they remain so intrinsically good, so sweet and kind and caring throughout, that I just wanted to hug them. I don't think I've ever cheered so hard for a couple to work out.

I absolutely love the neurodivergent rep in here. Sometimes the question comes up if an author has to be what they write. And the answer is, of course not as that would be very limiting. But there is only so much extrapolation, so much imagining you can do about a different way of thinking and a set of experiences you do not have, and to bring actual personal understanding into a character takes it to a whole other level. Stella is so clearly defined, her humanity and her autism so sharply sketched, because Helen Hoang is autistic herself.

Got to talk about the steam factor. I think this book first came out when the trend started of putting cartoony covers on spicy books, and readers everywhere were caught unawares. I don't think anyone reading it today would be surprised, but yeah, this is a steamy book. In fact, I would give it all the red chilly peppers. It's not that the content itself is super outrageous, but more that there is so much tension and sizzle embedded into just about every scene—and there are a lot of these scenes when the story is about a male prostitute teaching an inexperienced woman how to have sex—that you definitely need a cold shower or two afterwards.

Often the romance genre can feel a bit over the top with their pile-on of tropes, conflicts, and misunderstandings, all of which could be easily resolved with some simple conversations. Thankfully, I didn't find this story to be too out there. Yes, there were some issues that dragged on for longer than strictly necessary, but I stayed riveted throughout, mostly due to how genuinely sweet and earnest the characters were, bumbling though they may be.

I gobbled this up. In fact, this was my second time reading it, and I stayed up way too late because I still couldn't put it down. This old favorite definitely remains a favorite, so take that, romance genre!

At the end of the day, do we not all judge romances books by the simple barometer of does it make us feel like we're falling in love? And this story certainly does. But I would venture to say that even more than that, this story exemplifies the core characteristics of a real, happy relationship—that no matter what flaws or issues there may be, that we must remain kind and unselfish and give the best version of ourselves to the person we love. I adore that message so much, and I adore this book for it.

Readaroo Rating: 5 stars!

What the heck was this? I think I'm going to need a few more rereads to wrap my head around it all.

When it comes to speculative fiction, you just never know what you're going to get. Sometimes there's a great premise, but no follow-through. Sometimes the premise comes across a bit middling, but it turns out to be a terrific story. With this one, I feel like Nicholas Binge really went all out. The premise was super interesting to start with, and it just got crazier and crazier from there.

Whether you would enjoy this story depends on a few things. To start, you have to be able to maximumly suspend disbelief. Okay now that you've done that, you need to suspend it some more, and then some more, and then some more. And you will finally have reached the level of suspension required for this story. It was so wacky that at times, I even found myself unable to buy into it.

You have to also be able to wait for the payoff. The story starts off fairly slowly. It's a complicated plot, and many, many pieces have to be set up along the way. I'm feel like not much happens until well over a hundred pages into the book. Even then, you're getting information at a trickle, and it's not until the last few chapters that things really come together.

You have to also be able to enjoy a fairly technical level of science fiction. That isn't to say there is a lot of actual science in here (because this is more speculative than hard scifi), but there is a lot of discussions around philosophy, science, and biology. At times, it even veered into the supernatural, which was definitely a bit of a stretch for me.

And finally, you have to be okay with multiple, possibly confusing, timelines. The story is set up like a dual timeline, one in the present and one in the past. But the present one is mostly a recount of another time, so what you actually have is a third timeline embedded in there. And quite frankly, that's probably one too many for me. I did have moments when I got confused as to when/where I really am in the story.

Gosh, that all probably sounds more negative than positive. And to be honest, I did feel very conflicted while reading this. I don't think I really bought into the story until more than a third of the way in, and even then, things kept coming up that would throw me for a loop and make me rethink if I'm actually enjoying it.

And yet, when I came upon the denouement, I can't deny that I found it supremely fascinating. So many of the clues that were laid out earlier—and even some of the components I wasn't a fan of—all came together in such a satisfying way, I can't help but bow down to Nicholas Binge. Well played, sir.

I think it's safe to say this wasn't a homerun for me by any means. But it's one of those books that's so interesting, it has a way of burrowing into your mind and staying there. Even now, I'm thinking back on it, pondering over what I understood and what I missed. Even though I didn't love everything in here, I'm compelled to reward it for leaving me so thoroughly stunned.

Readaroo Rating: 4 stars