Books by Immigrants – Equal Opportunity Reader

[REVIEW] I Am AI, by Ai Jiang

The Kindle cover of I Am Ai, depicting the face of an Asian woman with a blank stare and electricity coursing up her neck. The Kindle is held up in front of a old, weathered brick wall.

(Buy this book.) It’s taken me a while to write a proper review of this novelette because I really felt it in a deep and personal place that I’m not really sure how to talk about it. Sorry in advance if this gets treacly, or treaclier than usual, anyway. The city of Emit exists somewhereContinue reading “[REVIEW] I Am AI, by Ai Jiang”

[REVIEW] The Lies of the Ajungo, by Moses Ose Utomi

A Kindle displaying the cover of The Lies of the Ajungo lies on a kitchen table next to a full blue glass of water.

(Buy this book here) There is no water in the City of Lies. Let me make this easy. 5 stars, ten out of ten, gold medal, everybody go buy and read this now. Why are you still here? Fine, let me explain… This short, sweet West Africa-inspired fairy tale is my second favorite 2023 readContinue reading “[REVIEW] The Lies of the Ajungo, by Moses Ose Utomi”

[Last Week In Books] Immigrants, Refugees, Colonizers, and Serial Killers

A cracked, shattered phone lies on a white background.

Hello fellow readers! I turned lots of pages last week because I broke my phone. The resulting all-analog experience has me wondering…how did any of us ever live without a computer constantly in the palms of our hands? If the last week of my life is any indication, apparently we read far more books. InContinue reading “[Last Week In Books] Immigrants, Refugees, Colonizers, and Serial Killers”

[Review] The Dragon Republic, by R.F. Kuang

An ebook showing the black and white stylized Chinese culture-influenced cover of The Dragon Republic lays flat on a wooden table. A big black bowl of tan tan mien, or spicy pork and sesame noodles, is in the background.

(Buy it on Bookshop here.) I spent the first quarter of this Poppy War sequel trying to remember why I liked the first book. Main character Rin is probably the most despicable hero I’ve ever encountered. Sure, she’s a fire-wielding martially-trained shaman-powered genius badass who singlehandedly won a war. She’s also a genocidal maniac.(If you’veContinue reading “[Review] The Dragon Republic, by R.F. Kuang”

[REVIEW] Fairest, Meredith Talusan

(Buy it HERE.) Although I did my official Pride Month wrap-up a few days ago, I didn’t mention one of the LGBTQIA+ themed books I read, simply because I’ve had such a hard time deciding what to say about it. Is there a word for a book that everyone else seems to like, but youContinue reading “[REVIEW] Fairest, Meredith Talusan”

[REVIEW] The Poppy War, Rebecca F Kuang

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5⠀⠀ First of all, yes, I know that’s not a poppy in the picture. There aren’t any growing in my neighborhood this year, unfortunately.⠀ Secondly, this review is a little spoiler-y. I won’t give away any major character-based plot points, but I will allude to a major event in the plot without giving any details.Continue reading “[REVIEW] The Poppy War, Rebecca F Kuang”