tristesse's reviews
52 reviews

Good collection of short stories, most are mildly entertaining. The stories I particularly take a liking: 7, 8, 15, 17, 27, 28, and 29. 
I think it's fascinating how we get these glimpses into one's life, someone before, and after them; how some things change and others stay the same no matter how much time has passed. 
Here is brief explanation of my favorites: 
7. The character doesn't dwell too much, simply follows the flow of life. 
8. Discuss economy plays an important part in our life. 
‪“If you've got no money then you can't do anything, wherever you go. Wherever you go, it's the same.”
15. Relatable, how we just drift apart from some people without any fight.. the only reason being life happens. 
‪“Sometimes they'd recall a particular movie that they've seen together in that cinema. At those times, they'd want to talk with someone about what they'd seen, but would have the feeling nobody would get what they were trying to say, apart from the person they'd been to the cinema with, so they didn't say anything.” ‬ 
17. How we see a piece of someone's life through stuff they once owned. Wondering what attracted them to this object we are currently drawn into as we stumble upon it in a secondhand store. 
27. The realization that the very place we are standing on didn't always exist, and may be gone. 
‪‪“Would even this small coastal country─where ever more high-rise buildings were being built, and where the sight of soil beneath one's foot had disappeared long ago─be returned do desert someday in the distant future?” ‬
28. Wintry vibes. I like this one most of all. 
A boy having a conversation with his friend on their way home days before his disappearance, and this friend thought of something that seems foreboding. 
‪“Looking at the fallen snow sparkling blue-white at their feet despite the darkness of the sky, from which fresh snow fell ceaselessly, the fourth-floor kid wondered if in fact those two words, scary and beautiful, meant the same thing.” 
29. One of the characters saying ‪“I feel like a ghost is less scary than someone with bad intentions." in response to horror gossip, commenting how creepy old guys' obsession with Japanese young girls in school uniform. 

Willow is leading a perfect life. She has moved into a new home with her long-term boyfriend, Dom, and their business is skyrocketing. The only thing left is to build a family, and it looks like Dom will propose soon, considering the stability of their lives right now.
But life has a funny way to throw you off course. Suddenly, Willow needs to learn how to be content with being alone, feeling lost and unfair, but it's just might be the start of rediscovering herself.

The book is enjoyable, but not great. I love Willow as a person, I resonate with her feelings and confusion as someone in early twenties. The thought that you had your life all figured out only for it to be ruined, the helplessness, the frustration.. I find it so relatable. It is also the accurate depiction of best friends where one is single and another is taken, how Willow kept putting her boyfriend above Pen, yet when it's the other way around, she feels so betrayed.
The closure or the lack thereof feels so real. I get the author is trying to get this message of loving our own companion across, and I agree, but sometimes I can't help this longing to have one great relationship as my anchor in life. I am also not a fan of the characters' names in this book, they feel short, a bit odd, that it comes off as lazy. But other than that, I recommend checking out Table for One! I feel like a lot of people will find it more entertaining than I did.

Thank you HarperCollins UK for the ARC in exchange of honest review! 

Separated from her sister when she was only seven, Dalia was forced to flee and hide in Tidesend. Never to use her power, for she would be seen as a monster by humans, turned into a weapon by elves. 

She spent all her life hiding and waiting, until one day a boy washed ashore, at the brink of death, unless Dalia used her healing ability. It could be the thing that save her or the beginning of her doom, depending on how you look at it. 

The problem with her is she trusts people easily every single time and it irritates me. Other than that, I don't have much complain. The book is entertaining. 

It's about finding purpose, a place to belong. I like the writing and I'm excited to see more works from the author. 

 

Is it selfish wanting to reunite with a loved one whose life has ended while ours continues? In the midst of reading this book, I encounter this curious question. Such a thing never crossed my mind; perhaps I was too occupied with myself, wallowing in my own sorrow instead of considering the deceased's feelings. I have always been so hung up about my loss, not once stopping to think that my longing to keep them by my side for the longest time may disrupt their acceptance that their lives are no longer. They might have already moved on, at peace in the afterlife, and here I am, all miserable due to my incapability to embrace change. Through this book, I get the answer to the said question.

I was pleasantly surprised by this author's ideas and perception of things when I discovered Lonely Castle in the Mirror in the beginning of the previous year, and I was eager to see what other things Mizuki Tsujimura has in store for us, the readers. Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon has successfully replaced Lonely Castle in the Mirror as my all-time favorite book.

This is an interesting take about grief. I really love the concept and how the go-between doesn't take money as a means of payment. Can't wait for others to discover this masterpiece as well. The translation sometimes comes off a bit awkward, but nothing I will hold against the beauty of the book itself.

Thank you Random House UK for the ARC in exchange of honest review! 

A brilliant and accurate depiction of grief. Maggie O'Farrell is undoubtedly a genius, I was surprised to learn that After You'd Gone is her debut novel.

"The day she would try to kill herself, she realised winter was coming again."

After You'd Gone tells a story about Alice who is currently in comma, though we have yet to learn the events leading up to this tragedy. The prologue gives off a tense atmosphere, and the opening line is stuck with me throughout the entire time I am reading this book. Told in alternating timeline, sometimes we also get the point of view from Alice's mother, Ann, and even her grandmother, Elspeth. We learn in the beginning of the book that Alice saw something tremendously shocking but the details of it only revealed nearing the end. Every page keeps me hooked, I don't mind losing sleep in order to figure the mystery out.

It's only the first month of 2025, but I am certain I have found my favorite read of the year.

Thank you Headline for the ARC in exchange of honest review! 

Liyen is the lady of Tianxia, inheriting the throne after the death of her grandfather, yet feeling like she hasn't earned the title. Her goal is to free her kingdom from the immortals who only think of themselves, desperate to stop being anyone's toy. So, an alliance is needed. Could she gain the favor from the God of War? And could she do it without having her heart stolen by him?

You see, the love story is one that I always seek in books.

Thank you HarperCollins for the ARC in exchange of honest review! 

This was one of my highly-anticipated release so writing this down breaks my heart already. The world is so fascinating, I would have loved to learn more about it. About the pawnshop, night market, Horishi, paper house, and the shiikuin. Again and again, I am left disappointed by how boring the couple is. Kei is so pushy and I just hate every time he and Hana interact. I feel indifferent towards the ending, simply glad it is over.

Thank you Bantam for the ARC in exchange of honest review!

Families separated by war. Lovers that is given the opportunity to meet again after decades of being separated. Everything has changed, is it for the better or worse? Suchi and Haiwen, two persons who made each other's lives complete. A tale told in alternating timelines, this one makes me laugh one second then cry on the next page. When I first started this book, I remembered thinking it was too long but then I find myself wanting for more. Excellent story. An excellent book to start the new year.

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC in exchange of honest review! 

A couple moved into an apartment built by the government, which will be filled with other families, as they are forced to live communally while raising their children together. The promise of the place was too good to be thrown aside, you simply need to have three children (this is due to the birth rate in Korea that is relatively low) so here they are, four families trying to coexist in this new place they call home.
I find the discussion revolving motherhood intriguing and I get this sense of foreboding throughout the book, though I have to say it lacked of something to make it outstanding.

Thank you Wildfire for the ARC in exchange of honest review! 

Give me a hisfic book and I will eat it up every time. This format of a story is new to me, strange, but I was drawn to it. I wouldn't lie and say that I was excited the entire time. The beginning made me bored, and I was starting to question where it led. But as the story unfolds, I just find myself thinking the writer is actually brilliant. To pull off something like this, I am pretty amazed. Perhaps this book isn't for everyone, but I am always compelled with the story of how a dead haunts the living, how the past will always affect the future, no matter how small.