I’m having one of those moments where I feel like I haven’t read anything this week and now that I’m going back to actually write about it I’m realizing that I did…
On to the 10th book – When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole. I have very mixed feelings about this one. If you’re looking for a mashup between a contemporary, romance, and thriller this book probably has you covered. Personally, I hated the ending because it completely broke my willing suspension of disbelief. Also I had to pretend the whole time that this wasn’t set in Brooklyn because it feels much closer to small town America than it does NYC (Seriously, how are there no Jews in Brooklyn in this story, why does it feel like there are only six houses in this whole neighborhood, and also why are they taking Ubers instead of the subway?). On the other hand I loved how it talks about racism, social class, and economic suppression. This could count in Fem Positive, BIPOC Rep, Platonic Female Relationship, Wildcard, LGBTQIA+, and Fems Fight Back.
Books 11-12 were volumes 1 and 2 of The Way of the House Husband by Kousuke Oono, translated by Sheldon Drzka. I started reading this Manga series because my friend sent me the Netflix Anime trailer for it (which you should totally watch). I’m counting this series towards Femathon since it’s a bit of a typical gender flip where the husband is the homemaker and supports his wife being the “bread winner”. Did I mention the premise is based on a revered Yakuza gang leader retiring from gang life to become a homemaker – but he still looks intimidating and goes about his daily life as if the things he’s doing are still somewhat gang culture related? It’s a fabulous comedy. I just wish the stories were tied together a bit more from chapter to chapter. Each chapter mostly follows one incident/idea to show snippets of life. It’s almost completely episodic, and I kinda wish it also had an overarching plot. These could count in Fem Positive, Wildcard, and Fems Fight Back.
Book 13 was Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. I absolutely ADORE the main female protagonist, Sarene. She’s a princess who turned down her first engagement because she didn’t like the guy, became a pariah because of it, became a bit of a diplomat, volunteered for an arranged marriage with the prince of the neighboring kingdom in order to secure a safer future for her people, acted dumb and threw around a ton of soft power in the new country in order to undermine the sexist king and become a political powerforce, and she’s SUPER smart. There are more things I could go on about, but that would get into spoiler territory. If a character driven story with a magic system somewhat similar to alchemy sounds like a fun time to you then you’ll probably like this book. The characters struggle so hard during all of the groundwork in the book that by the time the climax comes around I literally, physically “whooped” because it felt so rewarding. This could count in Fem Positive, Platonic Fem Relationship, Wildcard, and Fems Fight Back.
Books 14-15 were the next two volumes of The Way of the House Husband. I don’t really have more to add since it’s still sticking to that same comedy route.
Book 16 was Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker: Recipes for Entertaining by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann. As a disabled person who passes out at any given time, I greatly appreciate this cookbook. Slowcooker meals are something you can set and forget about without worrying if you left it on for too long. The vast majority of the recipes are virtually impossible to burn, and I don’t have to worry about passing out while the slow cooker is running. Most of the recipes sound great, and the book is extremely well written even for beginners in the kitchen. They not only provide a plethora of recipes, but also include a section to help you figure out how to make your own or adapt other non-slow cooker recipes. 10/10 would recommend. It doesn’t really fit the prompts well, but since it’s written by women it can count for Fem Positive I guess?
The 17th book I’ve read is the Manga Classics adaptation of Emma by Jane Austen. As a manga adaptation, I love it. As a story, I hate it. In my eyes it’s just old rich aristocracy doing old rich aristocracy things. It does some social commentary on how the way the aristocracy went about marriages, but I’m just really not interested in it. I’d rather read other things. This could count in Classic, Fem Positive, and Platonic Fem Relationship.
What books did you read this week? Have you read any of the ones I did? What did you think about them … please talk to me … I’m lonely LoL
TheBookishSock 
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