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Mechlovesbooks

Avid reader of all types of genres but romance centered. Mood reader who loves dark and/or emotional books. Love all things book related.

592 points

0% overlap
Winter 2026 Readalong
Level 4
My Taste
The Kite Runner
Write Me For You
Butcher & Blackbird (The Ruinous Love Trilogy, #1)
The Risk (Mindf*ck, #1)
Ellie Haycock Is Totally Normal
Reading...
Crime and Punishment
27%
Fake Skating
0%

Mechlovesbooks commented on Mechlovesbooks's update

Mechlovesbooks earned a badge

8h
Level 4

Level 4

500 points

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Mechlovesbooks commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

1h
  • Obtaining Followers

    Is there a secret to attracting followers? I've been on here for 2 months and only have 2 followers. I'd love to interact more with fellow readers.

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  • Post from the Pagebound Club forum

    8h
  • Obtaining Followers

    Is there a secret to attracting followers? I've been on here for 2 months and only have 2 followers. I'd love to interact more with fellow readers.

    50
    comments 44
    Reply
  • Mechlovesbooks wrote a review...

    8h
  • Yellowface
    Mechlovesbooks
    Mar 04, 2026
    4.5
    Enjoyment: 4.5Quality: 4.5Characters: 4.5Plot: 4.5

    Wow! Yellowface is a dark satire that takes an uncomfortable look at who gets to tell which stories, how the publishing industry rewards certain narratives, and the psychological unraveling that happens when ambition outruns integrity. When June (“Juniper Song”), a struggling white writer steals the manuscript of rising Asian American star Athena Liu, she is pulled into a spiral of self‑justification, online scrutiny, and identity confusion. I love a book that makes you think and challenges your own perceptions. Yellowface definitely accomplishes that goal.

    Identity and cultural appropriation are the main themes presented in Yellowface. June’s stealing of Athena’s manuscript and passing it off as hers exposes how easily cultural appropriation can be rewarded when publishers value optics over authenticity. Treating marginalized stories as commodities rather than lived experiences. I would add that Candice’s point at the end– that marginalized authors get pigeonholed and are only “permitted” to write niche books – was a valid one.

    I was also intrigued by the portrayal of publishing’s dark workings — its competitiveness, its obsession with “marketable diversity,” and its willingness to elevate the wrong people if it serves a narrative. Publishing becomes as a place where talent, ethics, and representation are often secondary to branding and controversy.

    Kuang’s talent showed in that she crafted two wholly unlikable characters that pulled you into the story. I found myself both hating and sympathizing with these characters at various points in the story which felt entirely odd. And I'm always interested in studying the psychological reasons behind characters' actions which is what we get in spades in this book.

    Overall, I really enjoyed the book (even the parts that seemed to drag). I don't think my review does this book justice because I'm still processing.

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  • Mechlovesbooks finished a book

    8h
    Yellowface

    Yellowface

    R.F. Kuang

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    Mechlovesbooks earned a badge

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    Level 4

    Level 4

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    Mechlovesbooks commented on a post

    1d
  • Yellowface
    Thoughts from 23%

    I love the writing style of this book. I feel like I'm sitting across from June as she tells me her story. June is such an unlikeable character yet Kuang is brilliant in the way she brings out those flaws. I think it's subtle and much more powerful a message.

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  • Post from the Yellowface forum

    1d
  • Yellowface
    Thoughts from 23%

    I love the writing style of this book. I feel like I'm sitting across from June as she tells me her story. June is such an unlikeable character yet Kuang is brilliant in the way she brings out those flaws. I think it's subtle and much more powerful a message.

    25
    comments 2
    Reply
  • Mechlovesbooks made progress on...

    1d
    Yellowface

    Yellowface

    R.F. Kuang

    23%
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    Mechlovesbooks started reading...

    2d
    Yellowface

    Yellowface

    R.F. Kuang

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    Mechlovesbooks made progress on...

    2d
    Crime and Punishment

    Crime and Punishment

    Fyodor Dostoevsky

    27%
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    Mechlovesbooks left a rating...

    2d
  • X Marks The Stalker: A Dark Romantic Comedy (The Hemlock Society Book 1)
    Mechlovesbooks
    Mar 02, 2026
    4.0
    Enjoyment: 4.0Quality: 4.0Characters: 4.0Plot: 4.0
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  • Post from the Crime and Punishment forum

    3d
  • Crime and Punishment
    Thoughts from 17%

    This is the slowest I've ever read a book. The chapters feel dense. But I am enjoying the book. It's entertaining watching Raskolnikov's mental gymnastics to justify his actions. Somehow every coincidence is a message to him that committing this crime is fated. He even ignores his own subconscious warning him in a dream.

    Love how Dostoevsky uses suspense to hook the reader.

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  • Mechlovesbooks made progress on...

    3d
    Crime and Punishment

    Crime and Punishment

    Fyodor Dostoevsky

    17%
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    Mechlovesbooks made progress on...

    3d
    X Marks The Stalker: A Dark Romantic Comedy (The Hemlock Society Book 1)

    X Marks The Stalker: A Dark Romantic Comedy (The Hemlock Society Book 1)

    K.N Wilder

    25%
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