Blodeuedd's Monday Review: Yellowface by RF Kuang

Format: 319 pages, Paperback

Published: May 25, 2023 by William Morrow

Fiction

Library

I enjoyed it, but, oh you know the story, for me it was too hyped up. So for me I did feel somewhat disappointing when it was not amazing. And that is why I should not listen to hype cos then I would not have felt disappointed, I would just have enjoyed a good book.

This one is so hard to review, it is one of those twitter trainwrecks that we all used to watch back in the day. Oh you know you watched it. One could not look away.

Juniper´s friend dies. And she then steals the manuscript for a book that friend was working on...and finishes it. Damn, ok, wtf girl. She becomes a huge success. But there is the voices about how she is white, she writes about Chinese workers. The name she uses that can be mistaken for Chinese, and last how her friend was a well known American-Chinese author.

The trainwreck begins.

Then she makes it worse.

And she is loosing her mind too, seeing her dead friend. About that, I would have loved that aspect to be honest, a horror story. Alas no.

The ending was a bit too open for me. I would just have crawled under a rock, but Juniper is not going down. And we do not know what will happen.

Honestly so much to say about this one, so many aspects of the publishing world. The good, and the bad.

Authors Juniper Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars. But Athena is a literary darling while June is a nobody. Who wants stories about basic white girls?, June thinks. So when June witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse, stealing Athena’s just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers during World War I.

So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song—complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? This piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller. That is what June believes, and The New York Times bestseller list agrees.

But June cannot escape Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens her stolen success. As she races to protect her secret she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.

Book Review: The Ruins in Which We Bleed by Steve N Lee

Author: Steve N Lee

Title: The Ruins in Which We Bleed

Series: World War II Historical Fiction #3

Genre: Historical Fiction

Format: ebook

Pages: 386

Published: June 12, 2025

Where I got It: My shelf (Given to me for my honest and unbiased opinion) 

Amazon US

Barnes & Noble

Summary: 

Inspired by a previously untold true story.

Following the Nazi invasion of Poland, 13-year-old Helena is imprisoned in the Warsaw ghetto, a squalid hellhole rife with disease and starvation. Yet, although the Nazis have destroyed her home, her life, and her future, they haven't destroyed the only thing that truly matters — her family. Helena might be just a child, but she's a fighter, and she'll do whatever it takes to help her loved ones.

Making sacrifices no child should ever have to make, seeing horrors no child should ever have to see, Helena bravely battles on as her world crumbles amid random killings, slave labor, and deportations. And through it all, her compassion helps to protect her family. But then the Nazis unleash new horrors.

With the ghetto a raging sea of flames, explosions, and gunfire, Helena runs for her life only to hurtle straight into an unimaginable hell from which there seems no escape. And the Nazis are closing in. Can her love for her family give her the strength to survive?

Review:

I read the last two book in this "series" from the author, so I HAD to say yes when asked to check this one out. 

The story follows Helena and her family who are Polish Jews. We get to see Helena and her family years previous at the beginning of their imprisonment in the Warsaw ghetto. We also get to see Helena years later as she tries to survive an unimaginable hell where she is trapped. Will her memories and love for her family keep her alive to see another day?

This and the other two of this "series" can be read as a standalone. 

Just like the other books, the author really knows how to pull at the heart strings. OOOOOOoooOOOOOooo the feels are strong with this one!

The pacing was a little slow but it was fitting. I'm so glad the author weaved in flashbacks to help keep the story moving. 

Poor Helena. Such a sweet girl in a dark and terrible world. 

Awww Sparkle, Helena's kitty, and that little rat!!! Adorable!!! They were a nice add to the story. I'm sure one could write an entire paper on the symbolism of Helena taking care of small creatures even though she is struggling to survive herself.

Like I mentioned earlier, the feels are strong with this one. So many tears! Some happy, but mostly sad tears. Make sure to keep a Kleenex on hand because you will need it. However, there is hope and something you can take out of Helena's story. Bravery is just not found on the battlefield. Small acts of rebellion can be brave! Also, just being kind can be a whole rebellion upon itself.

Now don't get me started on the ending! The ending was pretty inevitable but I had so much hope for everyone. Now, there is a ray of hope in the ending (no spoilers from me) so that helped ease the gloom a bit.

All-in-all, add this to the shelf of winners for this author. This story will wrap you up and you won't want to stop reading. I found myself staying up WAY too late to get to the last page because I HAD to know what was going to happen to Helena and everyone else. Prepare to weep, but also be prepared to be inspired. I 100% recommend this book. 5 stars for sure.   

Favorite Character(s): Helena and Sparkle

Least Favorite Character(s): All the Nazis of course. Evil, evil. 

 

Blodeuedd's Monday Review: Cowboy Under the Mistletoe by Grace Elena

By: Grace Elena

Narrated by: John William Maddux, Stacy Gonzalez

Series: Alpine Ridge 2

Length: 3 hrs and 17 mins

Release date: 05-27-25 by Tantor Audio

Contemporary romance/ from Tantor

The holidays, a novella, sure thing why not read this when summer starts. I am not familiar with this series, I just dove straight in for a short story.

Katherine is divorced, and thinking of doing some changes in her life. Then one night she steps under the mistletoe and meets a cowboy.

It was short, it was intense at times....in that way. And there was a happy ending. This could have been a full book too. But I take what I can.

It was two narrators and they both did well with their parts. Sometimes I find that one narrator has one speed and the other has another speed, but here it worked when they changed from one to the other.

Wishing for a Christmas miracle is harder than it seems. Katherine Pearson has lived her whole life in Alpine Ridge, TN. From marrying her high school sweetheart to being divorced in her mid-thirties, Katherine is feeling stuck. Stuck in life, stuck in her hometown, and stuck in love.

When she finds herself at a dive bar at the edge of town, there’s a sense of solace that she can’t quite place. A sense of belonging that she hasn’t felt in a long time. Stumbling into a cowboy under a mistletoe is the last thing she expects to happen to her. It doesn’t help that he’s a cowboy who just seems to understand everything she’s feeling this holiday season.

Maybe Santa does have Katherine at the top of his list this year.

Book Review: The One That Got Away by Mike Gayle

Author: Mike Gayle

Title: The One That Got Away

Genre: Romance, Novella, Short Story

Format: ebook

Pages: 100

Published: May 1, 2025

Where I got It: My shelf (Amazon) 

Summary: 

Reuben thought he’d spend the rest of his life with Beth, until she broke his heart six months ago. He’s not even remotely over her, so he’s devastated to hear she’s getting married—this weekend.

Now he’s faced with the ultimate what should he do on the day of the wedding? Grieve? Disrupt the ceremony? Or do everything in his power to pretend it’s not happening?

Enlisting the help of his friends, Reuben is all set to mark the occasion with distraction on a grand Ferraris, champagne, and a VIP box at the races.

But on the morning of the Big Day, Reuben gets a phone call that not only derails his elaborate it may well change his life completely…

Review:

This was a freebie and I love a good freebie. 

Here we follow Reuben who was in love with Beth but she broke up with him. He's not over her so his heart breaks again after he hears she is getting married...this weekend. His friends spirit him away to get his mind off it, but things get murky when Reuben receives a phone call that could change everything. 

My favorite part of this story was the ending when everyone grows the heck up. 

LOTS of spoilers heading your way.

Reuben and Beth are so unlikeable. *spoiler starts* Beth doesn't believe in love and Reuben does...but they stay together. Reuben does a bad thing and Beth breaks up with him. 6 months later she is marrying another man AND now is calling Reuben to save her? ......He drops his friends like a bag of rotten potatoes and goes and saves her and helps her escape her wedding. They fight. They kiss. Beth gets a call that her intended, Leo, has now run away and she is suddenly in love with him and wants Leo back? Reuben agrees to track him down. They work it out and Reuben goes to the wedding. Sure he finds love there, but WHAT.ON.EARTH. *spoiler ends* 

Don't get me twisted I did enjoy the drama but holy hannah did I want to smack everyone. Minus Pete...he seemed like a cool guy. Everyone grow up please. I think I could've been more forgiving of Beth if her dawn of realization was done a little differently. It just seemed selfish. She was so selfish the whole time. She had no character growth. Reuben took a minute, but he did grow as a character so I'll tip my hat to him. Boo to Beth!

I'm glad the author made this nice and short. 

All-in-all....this was drama-filled with some characters that you will want to shake. 

I'll give this 2 stars. 

Favorite Character(s): Pete

Least Favorite Character(s): Beth and Reuben