My TBR for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month!!

I was supposed to post this the first day of May, but there was a small problem and that problem was that I hadn’t written the post yet because I suck.

Anyways, hello hello everyone, I’m back from not posting for like, a week (or two? time is a manmade concept) and here’s going to be my tbr for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month!! (APAH for short.)

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Also, last month, April, was Autism Awareness/Acceptance Month, and I know that a lot of people haven’t been talking about it (myself included) so here are some resources about that and recommendation lists of books with that representation:

• Do’s and Don’ts & examples of good and bad Autistic rep
• A Twitter Thread of Book Recommendations
• What Autistic people Actually Want to See in Autism Books
• How to Tell if a Book Has Good or Bad Autism Rep
• Books with Ownvoices Autistic Characters

It’s so terrible that there aren’t a lot of autism books that are mainstream + have actually good rep. I’ve only read, like, 7 or 8 books total that have non-problematic representation or an autistic author??? I need to do better and so do publishers.

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There are two challenges that I’m kind of interested in participating in, but I’m not really forming my tbr around these challenges because most of the books on my tbr are ones that I have copies of right now or that might be releasing soon and I need to freaking read them.

• Asian Readathon challenge (this page also includes recommendations)
• Asian Lit Bingo 2019 (by Lit CelebrAsian)

Also, my tbr is freaking huge: ten to sixteen books (!!) but I’ve already read two books so I’m technically on track right now? Good luck good luck good luck @ myself

{all book covers link to goodreads}

The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad

I was blessed enough to have been gifted an arc of this by Scholastic (thank you so much???) and I’m so hyped to be buddy reading this with May!! Thank you so much to the author for helping me obtain an arc aaah.

Also, I didn’t know this, but the author is Pasifika!! (Thank you May for telling me.)

This is one of my higher-priority ones because the release date is May 14th (so close y’all) and I’m planning to post my review within a week of the pub date!!

Tbh I just stare at my copy of this for forever because I’m still ??? in awe ?? that I have this ??

Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee

This is the group book for the Dragons and Tea book club, hosted by Mel @ Mel to the Any & Amy @ A Court of Crowns and Quills!

I’m so excited to finally read a group book with them because this was one of my most anticipated releases and it also fit in with my reading plans for May! I’ve placed a hold on the audiobook at Libby and aaaah! By the way, if you want to also join it’s not to late because the reading starts on the 13th and ends on the 17th!!

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

This was a buddy read with Fadwa and she already finished it (!!) and rated it four stars but I’ve still been stuck in the same 20% spot for the last three weeks.

And, also, I’m not really a fan of how the story is going right now.

I think it’s just that the description is lagging way too much for me?? I really don’t know what my problem is, aaah. But also I expected something different, I think. The synopsis says, “People lived because she killed.” Listen, Zafira has killed no one in the first 20% ??? what is up with that.

I’M SO SAD because this was one of my most anticipated books. It’s sad boi hour up in here, team.

Tell Me How You Really Feel by Aminah Mae Safi

The gods have smiled down on me and somehow got me a copy of this book!! I, truly, am THRIVING right now. This is the peak of my book blogging career. It’s all downhill from here.

I’m so excited for this fluffy contemporary enemies-to-lovers based off of a misunderstanding book about filming!! (I’ve been reading so many books about filming/directing recently? Wut.*) Seriously, look at that cover please. I really love the girl on the right?? Her eyeliner looks so so good.

*So there was From Twinkle, With Love, and Happy Messy Scary Love, and now this one?? Wild.

Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim

Like I said, I put this down when I was reading a digital copy of it (but still planned to pick it up again) and then I got a physical copy of this from Melanie!!! I LOVE YOU MELANIE.

I read one (1) chapter of this and I was Just Not Feeling it but I think I might deal better with hard-hitting contemporaries in physical format?? I just didn’t realize that this dealt with familial grief and I thought it was a happy fun book about cooking, lmao. Apparently, not!

The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala

I’m currently 60% through this and I’m buddy reading this with Shealea and this is only my second day since starting it! I am absolutely flying through this and the romance and tension in it is so good. 

Seriously, I cannot get over it. Do you want the Best Romance Ever, Ever? Because it’s most likely in this book. This is when someone is trying to capture a criminal but there’s a secret playful relationship between the both of them and the prosecutor doesn’t really want to capture the criminal, they just love the chase and THERE’S TENSION IN EVERY SINGLE MOMENT. So, basically, this is cat-and-mouse and I Love It So Much!!

Truly, I am blessed to have received an e-arc of this (after requesting it two times on Edelweiss and literally begging in my second request lmao) (they took pity on me, a sad soul!!).

This Time Will Be Different by Misa Sugiura

This one is releasing on June 4th, and it’s about gentrification and the Japanese history of WWII and it just sounds !! so good!!

Have I mentioned the cover approximately 2393 times yet in my other posts? Because I love it so much and I think it’s such a good artistic portrayal? My heart is singing for the salmon-y color in the background?

I’m so happy that I was granted an e-arc of this on Edelweiss because I almost never get approved on there but I’m so glad I was approved for this one.

Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean

This is going to be a buddy read with Ilsa and I think we tried to buddy read it before because we both had e-arcs?? But then we ended up not reading anything at all. Iconic, right?

(Oh my god I’m looking at reviews right now and there are so many three-star reviews?? This is not looking great. Apparently there’s insta-love? Save me.) (I’m still going to read this tho.)

Also, I am totally not a fan of this cover. I feel like the weapon is kind of placed awkwardly and there was so much more room for an artistic rendering of an actual empress (of all seasons). Please. I remember hoping for a poc on the cover!!

(The arc cover is prettier, tbh.)

Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman

This has a Pasifika main cast and biracial representation and I didn’t see any complaints/criticisms of the representation!! I feel like a lot of people say that they feel like they can’t write outside of their own cultures but I mean… you can but it’s going to be hard to write accurately. An example of a success is this book! (If there are any complaints from ownvoices readers that I missed, I am so sorry & this is completely wrong.)

I’m going to be listening to this on audiobook and [primal screech] I am so excited because I love Akemi Dawn Bowman and I love audiobooks!!

WAIT I didn’t realize that the background was a wave!!! I literally saw it just now. I thought it was just an aesthetically pleasing pattern of blue-green tones? Wow.

Last of Her Name by Jessica Khoury

I mean, Jessica Khoury’s novel, The Forbidden Wish, was literally my favorite of all of 2018 so I have pretty high expectations. I’m so excited to read this Anastasia retelling that’s set in space sdffkdjfkj. I feel like I never talk about this on my blog, but I’m a huge fan of space books?? So many of my favorites were set in space :’)

The cover is absolutely gorgeous, although… underwhelming. Also, the author is Asian!! I remember finding that information somewhere in her bio on her website or somewhere?? I forgot where, though.

Anyways, the books above were all of my high-priority books but if I’m in the mood for another book that’s not there, here are some other books that I was hoping to get to!!

     

Have you read any of these books + how do you feel about them? Which one has your favorite cover? When was your book blogging Peak?