“What’s an ocean to a Vietnamese mother with a dream?”

An odd little story about a Vietnamese girl, climate catastrophe and benevolent gods, this is a feminist and queer anthem that takes the concept of feeling like a monster in your body and asks: what if you actually are?

a worthy if not superior second half to the duology — decently written, characters you can get invested in, yearning for days and brutal fight scenes. However, I did feel there were moments towards the end that were rushed and could have been lingered on to really maximise their emotional impact. Strange how quickly these moments passed when so much of the book dragged on. The political dramas felt too easily resolved to me but still, I really enjoyed it.

can't decide whether this is a 2.5 or 3 star book but, either way, it's not very good.

Modern Divination was a novel I had high hopes for given it's a contemporary romance which was described as a cozy dark academia with a rivals to lovers romance. Unfortunately, it does not live up to the hype — something I wish I could have divined myself.

Isa Agajanian is a debut author, so I don't want to be too harsh, but this book really could have done with a vigorous edit. It's overwritten, not just in terms of the length of the story but it's substance and lack of plot. The prose is riddled with flowery metaphors and similes that don't actually make sense or add value to the story, which gives it the appearance of being intellectual when all the introspection is meaningless and empty. Some of the worst offenders include "rolling the second syllable on her tongue like a breath mint" (how is this a useful metaphor and what does it tell me about the name? It needs an adjective like 'rancid' or 'refreshing' breath mint), "her nickname in his mouth like a last bite of a thousand-dollar-meal" (again, missing an adjective to make it meaningful), "like a coin tossed forever that'd leave a tie unbroken" (sigh) and "trying it on for size, like a garment, or like a sip of communion wine" (who tries a sip of communion wine on for size?). And don't get me started on the forced Icarus comparisons.

Poor writing is usually the death of me when it comes to fantasy novels so this was nearly a DNF, but I stuck around because a part of me was invested despite myself. However, it wasn't worth it — the boss battle is wildly anti-climactic and over in a blink of an eye, and the rest of book feels drawn out and misplaced. While I really like the character, her rivalry with the MC felt forced and contrived only to give them an arc. There was a lot of telling not showing regarding who these characters are and what drives them, so their antagonism didn't feel real or organic. However, once they developed a romance, these two became a lot more likeable! So it wasn't all bad, and I think if the writing was better and the plot felt like it had a purpose, I would have really enjoyed this story.

Ultimately, I think Isa Agajanian has lots of potential — I would read a different book by this author after they have found their feet and worked on their craft. However, this particular book seems like it could have used more editing and thought, so for now, I can't say I'm a fan.

P.S: It's worth mentioning for people who like their genre tropes: this novel is not a dark academia, despite what people say. Most of it is set in a remote cottage in the English countryside and both of the characters are on break from their studies, so there is nothing academic happening.

Mettle is a poignant exploration of being a Māori woman, and the responsibilities, innate spirituality, grief and joy that comes with this (her) life.

I really loved this collection — it's playful in both tone and form, both in the sense of each individual poems use of spacing and lines, but also the segmented nature of the collection too. Much like its title (say Mettle out loud to a friend, and you'll realise they'll hear it completely differently), different structures suggest multiple meanings. Though, if you aren't a poetry reader, don't be intimidated — neither am I and yet I found this accessible and meaningful!

Now, while I don't believe in picking favourite poems, there were a few that felt particularly resonant to me:

'Blood Brothers' jarringly juxtapositions the essence of what it means to be Māori, of cultural practices and innate spirituality, with the monotony and dread of capitalism and colonialism which traps us in survival mode and prevents us from reaching for more.

'Words That Feel Good In My Mouth' has the lines (to paraphrase) "Free Palestine means Always Will Be means I Love You", and the idea that to love is to resist you know is so important at a time where people feel really disillusioned and exhausted and beat down. It's a compassionate reminder that resisting is not, like, a chore — it’s an act of love, abd love is at the centre of all radical politics.

Other themes explored that left me pondering and feeling for days were the exploration of what it means to use the coloniser's tongue (“before alphabets and prisons / nouns and indifference” suggesting language as both connecting us to each other, but if you’re a person from a land that’s been colonised, language can also be an alienating force), and the idea of timelessness and existing in between lines — literally in the poems but also metaphysically in space and time, especially when Anne-Marie Te Whiu brings in the Gregorian calendar into it and how this doesn’t align with cultural practices. It reminded me of a short story in Always Will Be by Mykaela Saunders which depicts Aboriginality as existing outside of linear time. Much food for thought!

This collection will resonate with anyone who has been displaced, whose ancestors have been colonised, who feels trapped by time but also sometimes freed by it? Sometimes we have to live in contradictions, and this is especially true for marginalised folks battling colonialism. 5/5 stars.

less of a romcom and more of a typical fantasy adventure than book 1, but still a good time nontheless