3.5 stars

This isn’t my usual book but I really liked its concept, and I love food and stories with POC casts. That said, I couldn’t really get into this book all the way. Plenty of times I thought the book would go in one direction but it would go another. Certain subplots (Lila’s cousin-feud with Bernadette, mini-feud with an old high school frenemy, and one unresolved love triangle) weren’t really explored for long or just didn’t hold my interest as much as the lives and musings of Lila’s family (which I liked, props to the author for a beautiful portrayal of a Filipino family, THIS aspect deserves a sequel to). And the mystery side of things was interesting but just felt weirdly misplaced for a family-friendly book like this — I wouldn’t use the term “cozy” as some describe it out to be

Spoiler

trigger warning if you don’t like mysteries involving drugs/narcotics abuse/ semi-graphic descriptions of assault

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Ive accepted that the book just doesn’t take itself seriously. And that’s perfectly fine .For those who like some mystery sprinkled in with their food and family-oriented fix, this book will be for you. It’s just not my cup of coffee.