#AmReading

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Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Published by Berkley on March 14, 2023
Age/Genres: Adult, Mystery & Dectective

Goodreads

Put the kettle on, there’s a mystery brewing… Tea-shop owner. Matchmaker. Detective?

Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy ‘detective’ work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he’s dating anybody yet).

But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it’s going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she’ll do a better job than the police possibly could – because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands – Vera decides it’s down to her to catch the killer.

Nobody spills the tea like this amateur sleuth.

This is my third book by Jesse Q. Sutanto, and I have to say, she writes some of the most fabulous and memorable characters. Just thinking about Vera brings a smile to my face. You know what I would love to see? A meeting between Vera Wong and the Aunties. I think Vera could definitely hold her own with the Aunties too.

I laughed so much as I read this book. Vera was wacky, hilarious, and a total sweetheart. I was often wondering why she was doing something, but every time, there was a method to her madness. Sutanto did a beautiful job depicting Vera's hidden emotions as well. There were times when her loneliness hit me hard, and that was why it brought me so much pleasure to see her finding her way into a rather amazing found family.

As for the mystery, the murderer was a total surprise for me. I must admit, though, that I was more invested in all the other characters, their lives, and relationships than I was the murder. The characters all earned a place in my heart, and I couldn't help but care for them. The food and tea talk were things that grabbed my interest too. I enjoyed learning about the different teas and their uses as Vera cooked feasts and meddled in all the "suspects" lives.

Another delightful book from Sutanto! Be prepared to have your heart filled with warmth, laughter, and joy as you read of Vera's madcap adventure.

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No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister
Published by St. Martin's Press on May 2, 2023
Age/Genres: Adult, Fiction

Goodreads

One book. Nine readers. Ten changed lives. New York Times bestselling author Erica Bauermeister’s No Two Persons is “a gloriously original celebration of fiction, and the ways it deepens our lives.”

That was the beauty of books, wasn’t it? They took you places you didn’t know you needed to go…

Alice has always wanted to be a writer. Her talent is innate, but her stories remain safe and detached, until a devastating event breaks her heart open, and she creates a stunning debut novel. Her words, in turn, find their way to readers, from a teenager hiding her homelessness, to a free diver pushing himself beyond endurance, an artist furious at the world around her, a bookseller in search of love, a widower rent by grief. Each one is drawn into Alice’s novel; each one discovers something different that alters their perspective, and presents new pathways forward for their lives.

Together, their stories reveal how books can affect us in the most beautiful and unexpected of ways—and how we are all more closely connected to one another than we might think.

I wanted to read No Two Persons because it was a tale about books and how they impact our lives. As a reader, I live for such stories, but this book surpassed all my expectations.

I was fully engrossed from the very start and a huge fan of the structure. The story moved from person to person, and it almost seemed like it was based on Theo, the fictional book's main character's, years of existence. Beginning with the author and moving from reader to reader, it was wonderful to see their connection to this novel. I began to realize that Bauermeister also wrote connections between the readers, and I reveled in spotting how their lives were intertwined.

Theo's story was a way for the author to work through the grief of losing her bother. It was amazing to see the impact and the ways this story inspired others. We all view a piece of art through a personal lens. We bring different life experiences and ideologies, and these things affect the way we receive and interact with a story. I simply enjoyed this so much!

Overall, this was a beautiful story about the power of books.

*ARC PROVIDED BY THE PUBLISHER

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