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J.D. Lear
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August 2025
Book Review: The Foxhole Court
The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic was an extremely gripping read! I was recommended this book because I was on the hunt for a sports book that didn’t centre around romance. I wanted something similar to my own Salt and Ice (always on the hunt for good comp titles), and this title came up. But where my book is light and cosy, this is dark, very dark, and painfully angsty, in a good way.
The Foxh
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Published on December 01, 2025 18:45
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Salt and Ice
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J.D. Lear
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I was lucky enough to read an ARC copy of Y2K Betrayal by Tania Weatherley and it did not disappoint! Y2K Betrayal is a stand-alone sequel to Y2K Love and follows in the footsteps of the antagonists David and Monique. I must admit, I was a bit skeptic I was lucky enough to read an ARC copy of Y2K Betrayal by Tania Weatherley and it did not disappoint! Y2K Betrayal is a stand-alone sequel to Y2K Love and follows in the footsteps of the antagonists David and Monique. I must admit, I was a bit skeptical about how this would work. I didn’t know much about Monique from Y2K Love, but David was very much a player and a controlling prick. Definitely not an empathetic character that I would want to follow along for an entire novel! I am glad to say I was so wrong! In Y2K Betrayal, we not only get to see David in a more sympathetic light, but even, dare I say it, root for him. Don’t get me wrong, the way he acted towards Sarah in Y2K Love was horrible, but through this book, we learn why he acted that way and even have some sympathy for him, even if we don’t approve of his actions. One thing I absolutely must highlight about this novel is that it’s a true enemies-to-lovers romance. So many romances that claim to be enemies-to-lovers are really just slightly angsty rivals that have an insta-love arc once they actually talk to each other once. That was not the case with this book. The push and pull dynamic, with each character needing to have control over the situation and each other, was well done. From Monique’s point of view: She needed the upper hand. Always. And yet, neither of them can stay away from the other, despite how toxic and not right for each other their ‘relationship’, if it can be called that, was. There is sizzling, sexual tension right from the get-go, but lust does not mean love, and while there was lust a-plenty, the love took time to build and grow. And then even more time for Monique and David to accept it. This novel was more open door than Y2K Love, which some may like. I’m not a huge fan, but it suited the more adult tone this novel was going for. While Y2K Love was about teenagers becoming adults, leaving home for the first time and navigating their first year living alone, Y2K Betrayal focused on young adults in their early to mid-twenties, more worldly and more experienced at life in general. In this circumstance, I feel like the spice level was on point. There were moments of levity as well. From David’s point of view: “perfect little flower” … What the hell was that? He sounded like a villain in a bad romance novel. No wonder she looked at him like he’d grown horns. I literally laughed out loud at this. It was, perhaps, a little meta, with this being exactly that (minus the ‘bad’ part, of course), and I loved it. Monique dreams of becoming a lounge singer, and her chapters are filled with musical references that would fit someone enmeshed in that world. For example: … how this place [the lounge she sang at] had represented her dreams of a singing career had also led her to David, a man who’d become her sweetest melody and her most conflicting note. Over the course of the novel, the characters both confront their biggest fears and deepest wounds, and come out of it stronger together, which is exactly what we would expect from an enemies to lovers romance. It was filled with ‘awww’ moments as well, like (from Monique’s point of view): He had followed her into this life — not to possess it, but to share it. To build something with her, not around her. And that mattered. That changed everything. It was like a warm hug by the end. The whole story was full of twists and turns, and I absolutely loved every minute of it! ...more |
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Dec 09, 2025 12:41AM
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This! This is what I came here to read! This book was so much better than Iron Flame that my faith in the series has been renewed! Unlike the last book, every part of it felt meaningful and important to the plot and to the characters, and none of it
This! This is what I came here to read! This book was so much better than Iron Flame that my faith in the series has been renewed! Unlike the last book, every part of it felt meaningful and important to the plot and to the characters, and none of it was as though I was just reading filler content added to make a few chapters into a full length book. I am still madly in love with Riddoc; he remains my favourite character and I love that he got a lot of page time in this book. The banter remains one of the things Yarros excels at. This section in particular felt like a bit of tongue in cheek in response to Violet and Xaden Riorson’s relationship in Iron Flame; I obviously wasn’t alone in feeling this way: “Ridoc bedhops like a fucking frog, but no, let’s give me crap.” We make it a few steps before none of us can smother our laughs. “A frog?” Ridoc grins from Sawyer’s left. “That’s the best you can do? A frog?” “Tara and I are old news,” Rhi shrugs… “But he’s right, you and Riorson bicker like you’ve been married fifty years and neither of you wants to do the dishes.” “That is not true,” I protest as Sawyer nods. “Agreed,” Ridoc says. “And it’s always the same fight.” He lifts his hand to his chest. “I’ll trust you if you stop keeping secrets!” He drops the hand and scowls. “It’s my secretive nature that attracted you, and why can’t you just stay out of harm’s way for five fucking minutes?” Rhi laughs so hard she nearly chokes. I narrow my gaze on Ridoc. “Keep talking, and I’ll plant my dagger somewhere that prevents all frog-like activity.” “Don’t hate on me for being the only truly single one out of us and enjoying every minute.” p111 Thankfully, Violet’s and Xaden’s relationship becomes a bit more mature and developed in this book and they move beyond this issue, making it interesting to me once more. And it’s not just the humans who have fantastic dialogue that draws you in; the dragons are also masterfully handled. “… Don’t let her [Andarna] eat anything—or anyone—she isn’t supposed to.” … “You’re such a centenarian. Perhaps my kind will not be such killjoys. Perhaps they will feast as they see fit. Perhaps they will— Ooh! What is that?” “A Mammoth Red-Horned Tortoise and absolutely not! The shell will embed between your teeth, and I will not carry you and a festering tortoise shell— Get back here!” His voice fades as they fly out of range. p183 Is it just me or does anyone else feel like Yarros is channeling the old move Dragonheart? I love that movie, just don’t even get me started on the trainwrecks that were the sequels. There were two aspects I was disappointed about with Onyx Storm, however. The first is where the first half of the book is taken up with the hunt for Andarna’s specific breed of dragon (this isn’t a spoiler, it’s the only thing the blurb mentions, as per the previous two books). As part of this hunt the squad breaks from what they were ordered to do and the reader is told, repeatedly, that they will be court marshalled as soon as they return. They mention this at least three times, building that expectation. And then, when they actually do return, this is all that’s said about it: When Aetos accidentally lets slip his annoyance that King Tauri is so grateful to have Aaric back that he’s forbidden any form of punishment, the emotional relief results in an immediate sense of overwhelming exhaustion, but I don’t ask for a reprieve from the endless debrief. p365 That’s it. One long sentence to wrap up what was hyped up for literal chapters. Here, the payoff does absolutely not match the promise. The other issue I have, and it may be entirely a me problem, is there are too many characters. Now, I know I am terrible with names, but by the end of the book I was struggling to remember who all the side characters were. Usually it doesn’t matter so much, their character traits are clear enough that I remember who they are even if I’ve forgotten their name. But there is a chapter right at the end of the book from Xaden’s point of view where this did cause a problem. A betrayal happens, and I think one of the people mentioned was a teacher, but I honestly can’t remember which one and one of the other people mentioned I don’t remember at all. This, unfortunately, led to what I got the feeling was supposed to be a great and terrible revelation to be more of a huh? I could go back through the book and try to find where those names were mentioned, but that’s a lot of work for a revelation where the moment has already passed. If it was an e-book I could have used the search function, but since it was paperback, I’ll just wait for the next one and see if there’s a decent recap. But really, if they are the only things that disappointed me, Yarros has still done a very good job! I wanted to end on a, somewhat, high note. At the end of the book, there is a death of a side character. Obviously, I won’t say who, but it wasn’t someone who got a lot of page time (but still got enough that I remembered their name and their specific magic). I didn’t really care that much about this character because of that, but I still shed a tear for their death, so well was it written. One more thing! Isn’t the artwork on the interior of the book absolutely stunning?! All in all, I loved this book maybe even more than Fourth Wing, but I think Fourth Wing still takes the lead when it comes to story structure. And now I’m all caught up, I can watch the Netflix version when it comes out, and I have to wait with everyone else for whenever book 4 gets released. ...more |
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Dec 01, 2025 09:50PM
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This book was, in a word, frustrating. On the one hand, I read it very quickly (maybe I’m getting my reading mojo back?), but on the other, I couldn’t tell you much about it. It was that forgettable. It follows the exact same formula as the first, and This book was, in a word, frustrating. On the one hand, I read it very quickly (maybe I’m getting my reading mojo back?), but on the other, I couldn’t tell you much about it. It was that forgettable. It follows the exact same formula as the first, and maybe that’s part of why I was left feeling disappointed. The blurb of the book tells you what’s happening up to the midpoint, after which the book does a complete about face, in this case completely changing the setting, and the second half is about something completely different. I understand why this decision was made; if the second half of the book was covered, it could give away what was going to happen, but I think it could still have been done in a way that alludes to what’s about to happen without giving away the surprise. One of the things I like doing with all books I read is I read the blurb before I start reading it, read the book, then read the blurb again when I’ve finished. I like seeing in retrospect the little hints that the author sews into it of what is about to happen. That doesn’t happen at all with Iron Flame, and it didn’t with Fourth Wing. The romance between Violet and Xaden also hits the exact same notes with them arguing over the same things as the first book. She doesn’t trust him because he’s keeping secrets from her. That’s all it boils down to. It seems like things were eventually resolved by the end of the novel (with the typical complication that a series demands) so we’ll see if it resurfaces again in the next book. My dislike of the romance could also be related to my personal opinion of open door romance in general. Basically? Not a fan. Not against it, just not my favourite thing to read. Fourth Wing kept me for the romance because it was a beautiful slow burn build with little hints and then a climatic conclusion. This time? It’s already established, there’s no mystery, no build up, only bickering and constantly interrupted sex. Maybe that’s your thing, but I was bored. With all this, you’re probably thinking, why keep reading then? After all, it’s not as though I have a problem putting down books I don’t like. But the thing is, there’s stuff here that pulls me along, that makes me want to read. One of those aspects is the side characters, both dragon and human. Tairn, Adarna’s and Violet’s interactions are some of the best in the book. I frequently found myself literally laughing out loud at some of their dialogue and the sheer relatedness of raising a teenager (IYKYK). I adore the relations between the remains of her squad (Ridoc remains a personal favourite) and I love how Sawyer is smitten with the deaf scribe Jesinia and frantically trying to learn to sign so he can communicate with her. And the action scenes, oh my god the action scenes! This woman weaves action so expertly it leaves me in awe over her mastery of the craft! Even if the structure of the book was painfully predictable after having just finished the first (with a big climatic fight scene lasting two or three chapters at the end), I had to admire the choreography, the pacing, how she managed to slip description into a scene that was still so fast paced. *chef’s kiss* I fully intend to buy at least one of these books when I buy my kobo e-reader solely so I can deconstruct her action scenes. So, now I’ve hired out Onyx Storm, book 3 and the final one that has been released so far. I wanted to include some quotes in this review, especially of what is done really well, but again, there was a reserve placed on my book so I had to return it before I could hire the next. You’ll just have to wait until I buy a copy to deconstruct. ...more |
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Dec 01, 2025 09:49PM
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Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros was a book that was interesting on a personal level for me, and not for the reasons you may think. I was well aware of the book’s popularity so it’s pretty safe to say that this review is coming out well past when a lot
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros was a book that was interesting on a personal level for me, and not for the reasons you may think. I was well aware of the book’s popularity so it’s pretty safe to say that this review is coming out well past when a lot of people interested in it have already read it. But just incase you haven’t read it and are interested, as always, I’ll refrain from story spoilers. There were several things in this book that would normally turn me away from it and cause me to not even pick it up. 1. Dragons 2. First person 3. Present tense 4. Enemies to lovers romance 5. Explicit sex scenes I’ll go through each of these, but first, what’s the story even about? Fourth Wing is, essentially a military academy story. Check! That is one of my favourite settings or tropes. It’s also fantasy. Another check, though I have been quite burned out from fantasy lately. It follows Violet, the frail, youngest child in a prestigious military family as she enters the deathly dangerous Basgiath War College where the vast majority of students don’t survive their first year. Half way through their first year, the students are expected to bond with dragons, if the dragon is willing. If the dragon isn’t willing, the student turns into a smoking pile of ash. And since dragons will not bond with someone they perceive as weak, Violet’s chances don’t look good. Let me touch here on the dragons. Of all the points listed above, the dragons were the only thing I knew about before I picked up the book. The title and the cover kind of gave it away and then the blurb spelled it out. I haven’t read a book about dragons since I was in my early teens. It’s one of those fantasy tropes that I’m generally tired of. Kind of like how I feel about zombies in video games. Consequently, I tended to stay away from anything that was about dragons. It’s not that I’m against them, just that they have to be done really well for me to move past that bored fatigue. And let me tell you, in this book they are done well! There are three dragons that take centre stage, all of them with very distinct personalities. They were fun to read and there were a number of exchanges between them and their humans that literally had me sniggering aloud. As soon as I began reading that first page, the next two points became painfully obvious. First person, present tense. Now, I know that this point of view has become increasingly popular ever since the Hunger Games went viral, but I just do not like it. I like being able to see several character’s point of view, which generally lends itself to third person close preferably (it can be done in first person, and even this book has a chapter from the male lead’s point of view at the end, but it’s usually avoided to prevent the story becoming confusing). And present tense feels jarring and just plain wrong. I’m fully aware that this is just a personal preference, and other people adore this point of view. I’ve even written a short story in first person present tense, but that was a short story, under 2,000 words. It works for that, but a whole, quite lengthy novel? That’s a hard sell. I’m happy to report that I did get used to it. A few chapters in, I didn’t notice it often, and when I did I was engrossed enough in the story that I could look past it. It’s still not enough to make me prefer a book with that point of view, but I’m no longer as adamantly against it either. Pretty early into the novel I clocked on to the enemies to lovers romance brewing. Violet finding her family’s sworn enemy as jaw-droppingly sexy kind of gave that away. This is my least favourite romance trope as every single media, be it film, book, game, or play that attempts it makes me roll my eyes at how unbelievable it is. Of course, what someone finds believable is largely based on their own life experiences and as someone who simply doesn’t understand the feeling of looking at someone and immediately wanting to fuck without any kind of knowledge about who they are or what they’re like first, enemies to lovers just didn’t work for me. Why would I ever want to go to bed with or find someone attractive who I hate? Why would I be so vulnerable with someone I didn’t even trust? It makes no sense, and was certainly not even close to anything I had experienced. This is, perhaps, the hardest sell of all for me and I nearly stopped reading the book when I realised that was where it was heading. I am glad I didn’t! This is quite literally the first piece of media I have consumed with this trope where I found it even remotely believable. Yes, I had to look past wanting to go to bed with someone you don’t even know, but at least she didn’t immediately jump his bones. She used some common sense and, even though the want was there, she didn’t act upon it. Once I moved past the desire I didn’t understand, the growth between the two main characters was believable and, by the time they did have sex, I could accept that as a natural progression of their relationship. Which leads us inevitably to the sex. Maybe I am a prude, but I’m not a huge fan of blow by blow details with the sex spelled out on the page. I’m not completely against it and I’ve certainly read boatloads of smutty fanfiction over the years, but I do have a preference for a fade to black eventually. I think a lot of that is because, usually, nothing character or plot building really happens while they’re banging nasties. It’s just gratuitous which, let’s be real, is the same as porn. Nothing wrong with that, but that’s not what I’m reading a book for. I may not put a book down because of the spiciness (unless that’s pretty much all there is to it), but I will usually skim past it. Fourth Wing managed to keep me from skimming. For one thing, there were only two full sex scenes in the whole book (maybe three, if you count grinding against each other as a sex scene). That meant that the focus wasn’t on the sex, but on the characters reaching that point in their relationship. Instantly more interesting and rewarding. Secondly, there was character development happening during the sex scenes. Violet’s magic was flaring out of control at the same time as her self-control was unravelling. The male lead was still very obviously keeping secrets and hiding things from her, even as he revealed others. This kept the scenes interesting beyond just the gratuitous nature of them. So that’s a lot of text explaining the things I usually don’t like in a book and why the worked for me this time. What else is there? Two more things I want to discuss: 1. Scene and chapter structure 2. Action sequences I recently wrote about how, as writers, we should write in scenes and edit in chapters and this book expertly shows us why that is. Every scene serves a purpose in the overall narrative and most chapters end on a cliff hanger which, as we know from my article, is achieved by putting the chapter break in the middle of a scene. This served to pull me along and kept me wanting to read more, to know what was going to happen next, and then, and then, and then. And finally, the action sequences. This is epitomised in the climax of the novel which has a 30 page (or there abouts, sorry I returned the library book so can’t check) action sequence. Writing action is something I really struggle with. It’s hard to keep it interesting when it’s just blow by blow and it’s hard to keep it fast paced when you try to add some interiority to it. I’ve never more wanted to actually own a copy of a book just so I could go through it with a pen and a highlighter and really deconstruct how Yarros does it. I may have to source an ebook so I can do that electronically in the future. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Fourth Wing, and have already hired out the next book ready to start on tomorrow. I am a little annoyed that no where on the cover or in the front matter did it say that it was book 1 of a series but other than that, I happily recommend it. ...more |
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Dec 01, 2025 09:48PM
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Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa, translated by Eric Ozawa, is a short little cosy book all about family, love, and the pure joy that can be found in books. It tells the story of Takako, a young woman who gives up her corporate job a
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa, translated by Eric Ozawa, is a short little cosy book all about family, love, and the pure joy that can be found in books. It tells the story of Takako, a young woman who gives up her corporate job after a breakup and accepts an invitation by her estranged uncle to live and work in his family’s second-hand bookshop. This book is beautifully written with only one or two moments where I felt that something didn’t quite translate well. The translation was otherwise flawless, such that I didn’t feel as though I was reading a translated book, something that is unusual. Often when I’m reading a translated book, I find there’s an awkwardness to the words or some similes that don’t quite work in English. This didn’t have that, and it was a pleasure to read and to let the words and the turns of phrase wash over me. The Morisaki Bookshop is set in the Jimbocho neighbourhood in Tokyo and I have immediately added visiting it to my bucket list! It’s a district that dates all the way back to the Meiji era in the late 1800s and the story describes it. “...This neighborhood has the largest concentration of secondhand bookshops in the world.” “In the world?” “Yeah. Because back in the Meiji era at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, the neighborhood was a center of culture, and it was loved by cultured people and writers. The reason there are so many bookstores is that they built a lot of schools in the neighborhood in that era, which meant there were suddenly all these stores selling scholarly books.” “It goes that far back?” “Oh yeah, and that history continues uninterrupted to the present here…” p13 Doesn’t that make you want to visit and see that history, and all those books? One aspect of this book that I want to draw your attention to is how the changing of the seasons and the description of the weather and the environments are used to reflect what is going on in Takako’s life. Back in high school, I hated this sort of stuff. Sometimes the curtains were just blue, you know? But in this situation, I think it was a very deliberate and, in my opinion, a very beautiful way to tell the story. It begins in the rainy season of summer. Takako had just broken up with her boyfriend after learning that he was marrying another woman. In her depression, she slept the rainy season—her tears—away. The rainy season had completely given way to summer while I was asleep. Above my head, the sun was glaring down at me like a teenage boy. … I murmured to myself, “This is a wonderland of secondhand bookshops.” As I stood there getting broiled in the hot sun, trying to figure out how I was going to find my uncle’s store, I noticed a man looking my way, waving his hands in the air. p9-10 At first, Takako is resistant to her new life; she never really enjoyed reading, and she continued to wallow in depression. Slowly, however, her uncle and the regulars at the book shop bring her out of her shell. In boredom, she picks up a book and loses track of time reading it, staying up far too late. Something I instantly related to. Things begin to improve, and the seasons reflect this. There was one more change: I started taking walks around the neighborhood. It was right about the time when the weather had turned properly cool, the perfect season for walking around. Day by day, the leaves along the streets turned to gold. It delighted me to see how well the changing colors matched the slow transformation happening inside me. P36-37 Just as the leaves were changing and becoming beautiful colours, so was Takako, seeing beauty in the world around her once again. What goes up must come down again, and an unexpected message from Takako’s ex sends her into a dour mood. And, likewise, the weather reflects this, changing to winter. When the shop reopened after the holidays, the pain in my heart only got worse. I can’t put it into words exactly, but it was like there was this thing that was heavy and cold and it was starting to close around my heart. … As we sat together drinking, I told him the whole story. Outside a cold winter rain started to fall. We could hear the patter of raindrops hitting the window. p54-55 Takako and her uncle decide to confront her ex-boyfriend, but even this is precipitated by the weather. By the time we arrived in front of his apartment, after forty minutes in a taxi, the rain was growing more and more intense. We got drenched as we ran to the entrance without an umbrella. p57 The meeting may not have gone as either of them planned, but it was cathartic. Finally Takako could put that hurt to rest. In the brisk early morning air, I sensed a faint sign of the spring to come. I looked straight ahead and kept going. p67 This marks the end of part one of the book. Takako’s arc has ended. She’s rebuilt herself after heartache and now feels ready to move out of the bookshop and restart her new life in a new apartment and with a new job. Spring, the season of new beginnings, is upon her. The second part of the novel deals with her aunt. Takako’s Aunt Momoko left her uncle five years prior to the start of the novel, saying only she had to ‘find herself’. As such, when she returns out of the blue, taking the room above the bookshop as her own and inserting herself into Takako’s and her uncle’s life as though she had never left, there was bound to be some friction. I admit, when the book took this sudden shift, I wasn’t particularly happy. It felt like a completely different story. Yes, the same characters were there; Takako was still the narrator, and her uncle and the regulars at the bookshop made their appearances. The weather and seasons metaphor carried through as well (I had marked all the pages this occurred, but I think I made my point with how well that worked already, no need to belabour the point). But since Takako had moved out of the bookshop, I felt somewhat removed, or distant, from the plot. It was still enjoyable, don’t get me wrong. We learn why Momoko left and, when she unexpectedly leaves again, we see Takako rescue their relationship this time instead of just letting it happen, but I didn’t enjoy this second half as much as the first. The final chapter of the book brought me around. It echoes the start of the novel with two beautiful opening paragraphs in the final chapter. The Morisaki Bookshop stands alone at the corner of a street crowded with used bookstores. It’s tiny and old and really nothing much to look at. There aren’t many customers. And because it has a limited selection, people who aren’t interested in its speciality never give it a second glance. But there are people who love this store. And as long as they’re devoted to it, then that’s enough. That’s what my uncle Satoru, the shop’s owner, always says with a smile. And I agree. Because I love the bookshop and its owner. p143 I agree as well. This little novel is special. It was comforting and cosy, and very relatable with Takako learning to love books in the same way that I love books, and in the same way that most readers who pick it up will love books. ...more |
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Dec 01, 2025 09:47PM
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At first I wasn’t enjoying this book. It meandered and nothing really seemed to be happening. The characters were well written (though I had a little trouble remembering who was who due to the foreign names, but that’s a me problem) and distinct with
At first I wasn’t enjoying this book. It meandered and nothing really seemed to be happening. The characters were well written (though I had a little trouble remembering who was who due to the foreign names, but that’s a me problem) and distinct with their own quirks and idiosyncrasies and truly, it was the characters that pulled me along for the ride despite the lack of any real plot. There were moments during my reading where I literally had to pause and think about what I had just read. It felt as though the book were speaking directly to me and what I was dealing with in my own life at that point in time. Two characters in particular resonated with me: Minjun, the aimless barista, and Mincheol, the lost (and maybe depressed) high school student. The themes of finding acceptance where you are, despite what society thinks you should be doing was particularly poignant. A conversation between Minjun and his high school friend Sungchul resonated with me. ”It’s not because we’re lacking that we can’t find a job.” Minjun’s face darkened as he downed his shot too. ”So, what’s the problem?” This was the question that Sungchul had asked him tens — no, hundreds — of times; the question that also plagued him constantly. ”Because the hole is small. Or maybe there isn’t a hole in the first place,” Minjun said as he poured Sungchul another shot. ”What hole? The hole of job seekers?” ”Nah, the buttonhole.” The two of them emptied their glasses. ”In high school, my mum used to say that if the first button is done up properly, the rest of the buttons will line up neatly, and just like that, life will be smooth sailing. The first button, she said, is getting into a good university. I was so relieved when I got my acceptance letter. If I continued at this pace, it seemed that I could easily do up the second, third and the rest of the buttons too…” … ”Recently, I’ve been starting to think that we spent all our energies making the buttons, but there’s something we forgot… There were no holes in the first place… How silly. We could have just worn a buttonless shirt instead. But now, we’re stuck with a shirt fastened at the top and a trail of useless buttons. This is not a shirt, it’s a joke. The shirt is a joke, and wearing it makes me a joke. Isn’t it hilarious? I worked so hard only to look like a joke. My life’s a tragic comedy.” Page52-54 The dream that if I just attended a good university, the rest of my life would fall into my lap and I would be happy was sold to me in high school as well. I enjoyed university, I got a lot out of it beyond my degree. I don’t entirely regret it. But at the same time, I now have a degree I’m not using and a large student loan I am skeptical about whether I’ll ever be able to pay off. At times, especially when the black dog is sitting at my shoulder, I feel a lot like Minjun and Sungchul in this scene. Further on in the book, a book club is held where a number of characters, some we have met and some who we meet for the first time (and some we never actually see again in the book) discuss parts of a referenced as The Refusal of Work: The Theory and Practice of Resistance to Work by David Frayne. They quote: “What is so great about work that sees society constantly trying to create more of it? Why, at the pinnacle of society’s productive development, is there still thought to be a need for everybody to work most of the time?" [They then spoke in discussion of this passage.] ”You need to work to make a living. This is what society has ingrained in us, so I’m not able to immediately separate the two concepts. Reading the book makes me feel like making a living without a job is theoretically possible, but I still find it hard to embrace it — it’s too idealistic. But the book does help me to better understand why I think of work in a certain way — why I think it’s beneficial to humans, why I think skivers are lazy and useless people, and why I spent so much effort on finding a good job. Am I the only one who feels empty after reading this? It’s like the book is telling us our present views and perspectives of work were arbitrarily shaped by people in the past, and here we are, accepting it as though it’s a universal truth.” Page 136-137. The person speaking in this part isn’t even a recurring character. He’s a one off who doesn’t even have a name, only a description (man in mid-forties, on a diet). Because of this, I feel more like this is the author’s words and views being projected through the nameless character. Objectively, this isn’t a good way to tell a story. The writing is powerful, but perhaps it would have been better in a book review, or an essay. Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop does this a number of times throughout the novel. Each time, the writing is beautiful but, in the larger scheme of the story, it is pointless. The book club meeting could be a good way to show character growth of Minjun, who’s point of view this chapter is technically from even though we don’t get any real thoughts or dialogue from him, or even of Yeongju, the main character of the story. And yet neither of these two characters participate or say the most memorable parts of the discussion. Instead that is relegated to nameless characters. Of all the characters, Mincheol has the best character arc in my opinion. He starts out as a disengaged teenager who only wants to sit at home and play computer games, ignoring the world and not bothering with his studies. Having retreated to the comfort of video games when life gets hard myself, I could definitely relate. His mother strikes up a friendship with Yeongju, the bookshop owner, and convinces her son to visit the bookshop every week. What starts out as a reluctant acceptance in order to avoid cram school grows into a genuine joy by the end of the book, something Mincheol looks forward to. He is accepted at the bookshop for who he is. He doesn’t have to read if he doesn’t want to and, so long as he doesn’t bother the other patrons, he’s free to do as he wishes. Which, most of the time, is watching other people do their own thing. Towards the end of the novel, he is watching another character, Seungwoo, writing on his laptop as he tries to work out how to start the writing assignment his mother gave him: Should he pursue something he liked, or something he was good at? How many times I have agonised over the very same question! Seungwoo reflects on the question with the following paragraph: Seungwoo thought he understood what Mincheol was struggling with, and what he was curious about. It wasn’t just a teenage worry; many continued to fret over it in their thirties and forties. In fact, just five years earlier Seungwoo had probably been stewing over the same worry. Despite getting parched lips and puffy eyes, he doggedly held on to his job because he couldn’t quite let go. He was doing something he liked, how dare he give it up? Yet, he wasn’t happy. At the same time, he fretted about possibly living with regrets if he gave up what he liked. Page 220 I first felt this feeling about three or four years into my first “real job” a full time technical writer for a large tech company. I had finished my degree in writing (which I had grown to hate by the end of the course) and had a real writing job. Working for the man, doing what I was good at. Day in day out. Until I wasn’t good at it anymore. Of course I didn’t realise it back then, didn’t even really know what burnout was, though my team lead had tried to tentatively bring it up with me. I was in denial. How could I be burnt out? All my life, all through school, I had one dream: I was going to be a writer! And now look at me! I did it! And I hated it. Something I couldn’t admit to anyone, least of all myself. I was at that job for five years before my poor performance caught up with me and I resigned before they could fire me. It took literally eight years for me to be able to pick up a book to read for fun again, and ten years before I could start enjoying writing again. ”’Being happy by doing something you enjoy… yes, that’s possible. I’m sure there’re such people out there. At the same time, there’s also people who are happy when doing something they’re good at.” Mincheol frowned. “Are you saying it’s a case-by-case thing?” ”Doing what you like doesn’t guarantee happiness. Unless you’re also in an excellent environment, then maybe. Sometimes, it’s the environment that’s more important. If you’re in an ill-suited environment, what you enjoy can become something you want to give up. What I’m saying is, not everyone fits into the mould of finding happiness just by discovering what they like. That’s too simplified, not to mention naive.” … The fact that he enjoyed his work — and was good at it — became shackles… He endured and endured until one day, he threw in the towel. That day, when it struck him that liking the work and being forced to work in an unsupportive environment were completely different matters, he gave up what he enjoyed. … ”Does that mean it’s the same with the things you’re good at? If you aren’t in an environment that allows you to enjoy the work you’re good at…” ”Yup, the same logic.” Seungwoo nodded. Mincheol was still frowning. ”That said, you can’t just sit there and blame the environment for everything.” ”What should we do then?” ”Nobody can predict the future. To know whether you enjoy the work, you need to give it a try… Don’t decide the future before it happens.” p221-223 Are things perfect in my life now? Certainly not. There are things I wish I could change. But, like the characters in this novel, I am learning to accept where I am in life and find happiness in what I’m doing. I’m writing more now than I have since I was a teenager and I am loving it again for the first time in years. I’ve got a list of books I want to read and am looking forward to reading and reflecting on all of them. For now, that is enough. So, is Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop a good novel? No, I wouldn’t say so. But having said that, I still read it in its entirety and enjoyed it. I was happy when the characters succeeded and sad when they failed and, more than that, I was comforted by the cosy vibes of acceptance the book conveyed. It’s definitely worth a read if you’re looking for something a little slower pace that warms your heart. ...more |
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J.D. Lear
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At first I wasn’t enjoying this book. It meandered and nothing really seemed to be happening. The characters were well written (though I had a little trouble remembering who was who due to the foreign names, but that’s a me problem) and distinct with
At first I wasn’t enjoying this book. It meandered and nothing really seemed to be happening. The characters were well written (though I had a little trouble remembering who was who due to the foreign names, but that’s a me problem) and distinct with their own quirks and idiosyncrasies and truly, it was the characters that pulled me along for the ride despite the lack of any real plot. There were moments during my reading where I literally had to pause and think about what I had just read. It felt as though the book were speaking directly to me and what I was dealing with in my own life at that point in time. Two characters in particular resonated with me: Minjun, the aimless barista, and Mincheol, the lost (and maybe depressed) high school student. The themes of finding acceptance where you are, despite what society thinks you should be doing was particularly poignant. A conversation between Minjun and his high school friend Sungchul resonated with me. ”It’s not because we’re lacking that we can’t find a job.” Minjun’s face darkened as he downed his shot too. ”So, what’s the problem?” This was the question that Sungchul had asked him tens — no, hundreds — of times; the question that also plagued him constantly. ”Because the hole is small. Or maybe there isn’t a hole in the first place,” Minjun said as he poured Sungchul another shot. ”What hole? The hole of job seekers?” ”Nah, the buttonhole.” The two of them emptied their glasses. ”In high school, my mum used to say that if the first button is done up properly, the rest of the buttons will line up neatly, and just like that, life will be smooth sailing. The first button, she said, is getting into a good university. I was so relieved when I got my acceptance letter. If I continued at this pace, it seemed that I could easily do up the second, third and the rest of the buttons too…” … ”Recently, I’ve been starting to think that we spent all our energies making the buttons, but there’s something we forgot… There were no holes in the first place… How silly. We could have just worn a buttonless shirt instead. But now, we’re stuck with a shirt fastened at the top and a trail of useless buttons. This is not a shirt, it’s a joke. The shirt is a joke, and wearing it makes me a joke. Isn’t it hilarious? I worked so hard only to look like a joke. My life’s a tragic comedy.” Page52-54 The dream that if I just attended a good university, the rest of my life would fall into my lap and I would be happy was sold to me in high school as well. I enjoyed university, I got a lot out of it beyond my degree. I don’t entirely regret it. But at the same time, I now have a degree I’m not using and a large student loan I am skeptical about whether I’ll ever be able to pay off. At times, especially when the black dog is sitting at my shoulder, I feel a lot like Minjun and Sungchul in this scene. Further on in the book, a book club is held where a number of characters, some we have met and some who we meet for the first time (and some we never actually see again in the book) discuss parts of a referenced as The Refusal of Work: The Theory and Practice of Resistance to Work by David Frayne. They quote: “What is so great about work that sees society constantly trying to create more of it? Why, at the pinnacle of society’s productive development, is there still thought to be a need for everybody to work most of the time?" [They then spoke in discussion of this passage.] ”You need to work to make a living. This is what society has ingrained in us, so I’m not able to immediately separate the two concepts. Reading the book makes me feel like making a living without a job is theoretically possible, but I still find it hard to embrace it — it’s too idealistic. But the book does help me to better understand why I think of work in a certain way — why I think it’s beneficial to humans, why I think skivers are lazy and useless people, and why I spent so much effort on finding a good job. Am I the only one who feels empty after reading this? It’s like the book is telling us our present views and perspectives of work were arbitrarily shaped by people in the past, and here we are, accepting it as though it’s a universal truth.” Page 136-137. The person speaking in this part isn’t even a recurring character. He’s a one off who doesn’t even have a name, only a description (man in mid-forties, on a diet). Because of this, I feel more like this is the author’s words and views being projected through the nameless character. Objectively, this isn’t a good way to tell a story. The writing is powerful, but perhaps it would have been better in a book review, or an essay. Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop does this a number of times throughout the novel. Each time, the writing is beautiful but, in the larger scheme of the story, it is pointless. The book club meeting could be a good way to show character growth of Minjun, who’s point of view this chapter is technically from even though we don’t get any real thoughts or dialogue from him, or even of Yeongju, the main character of the story. And yet neither of these two characters participate or say the most memorable parts of the discussion. Instead that is relegated to nameless characters. Of all the characters, Mincheol has the best character arc in my opinion. He starts out as a disengaged teenager who only wants to sit at home and play computer games, ignoring the world and not bothering with his studies. Having retreated to the comfort of video games when life gets hard myself, I could definitely relate. His mother strikes up a friendship with Yeongju, the bookshop owner, and convinces her son to visit the bookshop every week. What starts out as a reluctant acceptance in order to avoid cram school grows into a genuine joy by the end of the book, something Mincheol looks forward to. He is accepted at the bookshop for who he is. He doesn’t have to read if he doesn’t want to and, so long as he doesn’t bother the other patrons, he’s free to do as he wishes. Which, most of the time, is watching other people do their own thing. Towards the end of the novel, he is watching another character, Seungwoo, writing on his laptop as he tries to work out how to start the writing assignment his mother gave him: Should he pursue something he liked, or something he was good at? How many times I have agonised over the very same question! Seungwoo reflects on the question with the following paragraph: Seungwoo thought he understood what Mincheol was struggling with, and what he was curious about. It wasn’t just a teenage worry; many continued to fret over it in their thirties and forties. In fact, just five years earlier Seungwoo had probably been stewing over the same worry. Despite getting parched lips and puffy eyes, he doggedly held on to his job because he couldn’t quite let go. He was doing something he liked, how dare he give it up? Yet, he wasn’t happy. At the same time, he fretted about possibly living with regrets if he gave up what he liked. Page 220 I first felt this feeling about three or four years into my first “real job” a full time technical writer for a large tech company. I had finished my degree in writing (which I had grown to hate by the end of the course) and had a real writing job. Working for the man, doing what I was good at. Day in day out. Until I wasn’t good at it anymore. Of course I didn’t realise it back then, didn’t even really know what burnout was, though my team lead had tried to tentatively bring it up with me. I was in denial. How could I be burnt out? All my life, all through school, I had one dream: I was going to be a writer! And now look at me! I did it! And I hated it. Something I couldn’t admit to anyone, least of all myself. I was at that job for five years before my poor performance caught up with me and I resigned before they could fire me. It took literally eight years for me to be able to pick up a book to read for fun again, and ten years before I could start enjoying writing again. ”’Being happy by doing something you enjoy… yes, that’s possible. I’m sure there’re such people out there. At the same time, there’s also people who are happy when doing something they’re good at.” Mincheol frowned. “Are you saying it’s a case-by-case thing?” ”Doing what you like doesn’t guarantee happiness. Unless you’re also in an excellent environment, then maybe. Sometimes, it’s the environment that’s more important. If you’re in an ill-suited environment, what you enjoy can become something you want to give up. What I’m saying is, not everyone fits into the mould of finding happiness just by discovering what they like. That’s too simplified, not to mention naive.” … The fact that he enjoyed his work — and was good at it — became shackles… He endured and endured until one day, he threw in the towel. That day, when it struck him that liking the work and being forced to work in an unsupportive environment were completely different matters, he gave up what he enjoyed. … ”Does that mean it’s the same with the things you’re good at? If you aren’t in an environment that allows you to enjoy the work you’re good at…” ”Yup, the same logic.” Seungwoo nodded. Mincheol was still frowning. ”That said, you can’t just sit there and blame the environment for everything.” ”What should we do then?” ”Nobody can predict the future. To know whether you enjoy the work, you need to give it a try… Don’t decide the future before it happens.” p221-223 Are things perfect in my life now? Certainly not. There are things I wish I could change. But, like the characters in this novel, I am learning to accept where I am in life and find happiness in what I’m doing. I’m writing more now than I have since I was a teenager and I am loving it again for the first time in years. I’ve got a list of books I want to read and am looking forward to reading and reflecting on all of them. For now, that is enough. So, is Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop a good novel? No, I wouldn’t say so. But having said that, I still read it in its entirety and enjoyed it. I was happy when the characters succeeded and sad when they failed and, more than that, I was comforted by the cosy vibes of acceptance the book conveyed. It’s definitely worth a read if you’re looking for something a little slower pace that warms your heart. ...more |
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J.D. Lear
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The Invention of Wings by Robin Knight is a sweet M/M romance between a former Olympic figure skater, Mitch, and a former ice hockey captain, Gage. Overall, I really enjoyed the book, but I was disappointed by the lack of any figure skating in it. I
The Invention of Wings by Robin Knight is a sweet M/M romance between a former Olympic figure skater, Mitch, and a former ice hockey captain, Gage. Overall, I really enjoyed the book, but I was disappointed by the lack of any figure skating in it. I am still on the hunt for books that heavily feature figure skating as part of the plot rather than just a backdrop or set dressing. The book has a lot of fantastic dialogue and, as I think people are beginning to suspect, I love fantastic dialogue. I love writing and I really, really love reading it. The opening passage really hooked me: You know how sometimes you get a song playing on a loop in your brain, over and over again, and the only way to get rid of it is to listen to another song? Well for me, the television commentary on the day my career went to hell in a handbasket is that song. Morning and night, asleep or awake, it haunted me, even seven years after the incident… only there was no getting it out of my head. The imagery in this passage is really strong and very relatable; everyone has had that annoying song stuck in their head so, even though it’s unlikely most people would have television commentary stuck on repeat, they can still relate. There were definitely some funny moments where I literally laughed out loud. One such example is where Gage’s friend Bea takes his phone from him and replies to Mitch’s text to try and organise a meet up. “What did you say?” I asked urgently. Another fantastic example of well written dialogue is when Gage comes out to his eleven year old niece: “I’ll just say it. Ginny, I’m… I’m… I’m…” This was so cute, I absolutely loved it! This is a M/M romance and it has open door sex scenes in it so that’s definitely not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. Truth be told, it’s not really mine (more the open door part, the M/M romance I have no problem with) so I skimmed over the sex scenes to get the gist of them. From what I picked up, they seemed well written but, as I said, not my thing. But I knew that going into it, so it’s definitely not a problem. There were a few things I wasn’t a fan of, however. One, as you probably guessed already, was the lack of figure skating content. However, having said that, it is clear that the author did at least a little homework. He knew that a triple axel involved spinning three and a half times in the air (yes, I highlight that because I have seen it in published books where they say it’s only three times). There is also a scene where Mitch goes skating on the lake and it has correct skating terminology: I started with a series of half swizzle pumps then pirouetted into a one-foot glide. I picked up speed, skating into several forward crossovers that took me around the edge of the lake, then went into a one-foot spin. And yet, despite having done research, understood the names of various moves and how they actually looked, the key point in Mitch’s history is that he fell on a triple axel at the Olympics and that ruined his career. Even skaters who medal at the Olympics fall! I was expecting this to be explained later on in the story, maybe he fell and had a serious injury, or developed PTSD or something like that. But nothing. He fell at a big competition, at the Olympics where even the most experienced skaters can and do buckle under the pressure, and that was it. That was probably the main thing that annoyed me especially after I got past the half way point and realised that there really was nothing m ore to the story than that. One thing I think it does quite well is deal with mental health and hoarding. Now, I’m not an expert in this so I have no idea how accurate it actually is, but it read as fairly accurate to my untrained eye, both in how it starts, how it perpetuates, and how a person dealing with it reacts to others coming in and forcing them to throw things out. Despite my annoyance over Mitch’s history, I still enjoyed the book enough to read all the way to the end, which I won’t do if I spend more time frustrated than enjoying it and, if you love sweet, funny M/M romances, it’s definitely worth picking up to read it. ...more |
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Dec 01, 2025 09:39PM
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