Where I write for the love of it.
The Reading Room
Before I was paid to write, I read. These are honest, first-person verdicts written for one reader: the person deciding whether to pick the book up. It's also the best sample of my unedited voice; if you want to know how I write when nobody's briefing me, start here.
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
"A woman's life is endless work and suffering... no matter what, always expect suffering, and just keep working hard. No one will take care of a poor woman—just ourselves." The whole novel is that warning, made flesh, across three generations.
★ 4.5 / 5 — Read it for Sunja, not for a tidy ending.
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
"By the end, the thing that breaks isn't a curse or an invasion; it's the status quo itself, on purpose, with intent... It's not a rescue. It's Yeine choosing to become powerful on her own terms."
★ 4 / 5 — Read it for the status quo getting broken, not restored.
Lady Tremaine, by Rachel Hochhauser
"Don't go in expecting a Cinderella retelling, whatever the jacket copy says... This is Ethel's story, full stop — something much more interesting than a villain-origin gimmick. The book is smarter and stranger than its own marketing lets on."
★ 3.5 / 5 — Read it for Ethel, not for Cinderella.