A Midnight Pastry Shop Called Hwawoldang by Lee Onhwa 4 out of 5 stars

If grief was as much a part of life as happiness, there was no point trying to escape. That was what being an adult meant: moving forward. That was the future I had to endure.

Thankfully, I wasn’t alone.

— Yeon-hwa

Another healing fiction that I read this year. Actually, I decided to read this book not just because I really like healing fiction, but also because I wanted to complete the New Release Challenge, a reading challenge I found on Storygraph. This challenge requires you to read a book released in every month of 2026. So when I found out that one of the editions of A Midnight Pastry Shop Called Hwawoldang came out last month, I immediately borrowed it from the library. Thankfully, I managed to read it in time.

So, Yeon-hwa's grandmother has just passed away. Even though she's lived with her grandma since childhood—her parents died when she was little—Yeon-hwa wasn't really close to her. Not that her grandma didn't love her or anything, but grandma kept a lot of secrets, and Yeon-hwa didn't want to pry. So when grandma passed and Yeon-hwa inherited her traditional pastry shop, a lot of things just didn't make sense. Why did Hwawoldang only open at night? Why did grandma insist on keeping Hwawoldang running when it had such a huge debt and kept losing money?

At first, Yeon-hwa wanted to sell Hwawoldang right away. But grandma's will stopped her. In it, grandma said Hwawoldang was the answer to Yeon-hwa's financial problems. Turns out, this traditional pastry shop that barely had any customers was actually the last stop for souls before they moved on to the afterlife.

Of course, Yeon-hwa couldn't believe it at first. Finding out she could see ghosts was pretty shocking. Luckily, she had Shawol—a supplier who's also a shaman and used to help grandma run Hwawoldang. With his help, Yeon-hwa finally stepped into her role as the shop's manager. She makes the snacks that the souls request and helps guide them to the afterlife. So what kind of souls will Yeon-hwa meet? And what secrets does Shawol know about grandma and Hwawoldang?

What I really love about this book is how easy the translation is to read. I need to check out more of Slin Jung's translation work.

The whole concept of a last stop before the afterlife reminds me of The Lantern of Lost Memories by Sanaka Hiiragi. In this book, souls stop by Hwawoldang to eat their most memorable snack or food, while in The Lantern of Lost Memories, souls get to see flashbacks of their lives through a photo studio. Either way, we get to learn about the lives they lived before they passed.

What makes this book interesting, in my opinion, is that we also uncover the secrets of Hwawoldang itself. How did grandma manage to build this place, and what's really the point of it? Who exactly is Shawol? I even wondered whether he was actually alive or not. Fortunately, most of my questions got answered as the story went on. There's even a chapter with a twist about the whole thing. Though honestly, I think most people can guess who the last guest is.

I also loved learning about all the traditional snacks mentioned—Jeonbyeong crackers, plum blossom manju, green tea dango, strawberry chapsal-tteok... and uh, I forgot to write down the last one. It was really interesting to discover more varieties of traditional Korean pastries.

Overall, I'm really happy I finished this book. The story is pretty lighthearted and everything connects nicely. Even though the plot gets a bit messy in the last chapter, I still enjoyed it a lot.

Periculo oleh Wiwi Suyanti 4 dari 5 bintang

”Kelak, aku akan memberi sebuah pertunjukan megah, begitu megah hingga Mama, dan semua orang, tidak akan bisa melupakannya. Aku akan membalas semua kebaikan Mama.”

— Ofelia, hlm. 343.

Periculo menjadi salah satu rekomendasi novel yang kudapatkan dari 12 Book Challenge in 2026. Kesanku di awal saat membaca blurb dan bagian pembukanya adalah… kerasa teenlit banget. Aku sempat membaca kalau penulisnya ingin menghadirkan karakter-karakter yang semuanya punya sisi yang nggak baik. Jujur saja, di bagian-bagian awal semua itu kerasa banget. Mulai dari Ofelia yang angkuh, Audrey yang suka nyinyir, Nico yang licik, sampai Axel yang manja dan sombongnya minta ampun. Untungnya, Rachi meyakinkanku kalau akan ada character development yang baik untuk Ofelia.

Sepanjang ia hidup, Ofelia hanya punya satu tujuan hidup, hidup tenang tanpa harus berususan dengan mamanya. Marina Oktavia selalu menuntut kesempurnaan dari Ofelia, termasuk menjadikan anak semata wayangnya itu sebagai balerina terbaik. Tak dipedulikan bagaimana Ofelia yang sakit atau cidera, ataupun tak ingin menjadi balerina, Marina akan memaksa. Sebuah penebusan dendam masa lalu menjadi alasan utama Marina. Tentu saja hal ini membuat Ofelia terus mempertanyakan makna kehidupannya. Apakah mungkin ia bisa lepas dari cengkeraman mamanya?

Sampai kemudian, Ofelia dan ketiga sahabatnya mendapatkan video Alia Sugandi sebelum melakukan bunuh diri. Video tersebut terkirim dari nomor asing dan pastinya mengancam keberadaan dan nama baik Ofelia dan teman-temannya. Tak mau hidupnya berantakan, apalagi dengan sikap mamanya, Ofelia pun rela melakukan apa saja untuk bisa mengeyahkan video itu. Mulai dari menjalin kesepakatan rahasia dengan kekasih Alia, Aksa, hingga menjatuhkan sahabat dan kekasihnya. Tapi ternyata, banyak rahasia masa lalu yang terungkap dalam prsesnya dan mengubah hidup Ofelia sepenuhnya.

Honestly, banyak sekali hal-hal tak terduga yang muncul dalam buku ini. Mungkin banyak kelindan yang terlalu tiba-tiba dimunculkan, tapi tetap saja hal itu membuatku cukup terkejut. Wow. Kak Wiwi berhasil membuatku kagum dengan plot yang ia sodorkan.

Mungkin di awal kita akan dibuat sebal setengah mati dengan sikap Ofelia yang kerasa banget angkuhnya. Tapi, aku juga sudah bisa menduga kalau ada kebaikan dalam diri Ofellia, mulai dari dirinya yang enggak terlibat terlalu dalam terkait banyak hal, termasuk soal perundungan Alia. Meski begitu, Ofelia tetap punya sisi yang begitu licik. Sepertinya, anugerah kepintaran itulah yang dimanfaatkan Ofelia sebaik-baiknya. Gimanapun, she is her mother’s daughter after all.

Penyelesaian dari seluruh konfliknya menurutku memang epic. Seperti kata Fei sendiri, ia ingin menyajikan grand finale untuk mamanya, dan dia memang berhasil. Cerdas tapi tragis. Meski perjalanan menuju final ini menurutku agak tiba-tiba. Maksudku, proses jatuh cinta antara Fei dan Aksa terasa terlalu cepat. Yaaa, meski mereka ternyata punya sejarah di masa lalu dan memiliki luka yang sama. Entah kenapa, sewaktu aku membaca, aku teringat dengan Harapan dari Tempat Paling Jauh. Aku merasa keputusan Fei mirip dengan apa yang diambil Oliver. Sigh.

Kalau kamu sedang mencari kisah thriller nan misteri, kamu bisa coba membaca buku ini. Pastikan kamu kuat membaca banyak sekali sisi gelap dan gila dari manusia dalam perjalanan kisahnya.