Thank you so much to everyone that helped me try to figure out how many books to include in my mini review posts, which I’m officially naming rapid review round-ups because clearly I like alliterations? No, I really don’t because I get tongue tied and I’m old. Anyway…

bloggers: how many reviews would be a good amount for a "mini review" post?

— 🧜🏽‍♀️🌺 Leelynn 🇨🇳🇬🇺🇯🇵🇰🇷🇪🇸 (@LeelynnReads) October 21, 2020

Most people mentioned three books was a great average, and I think I’ll stick with that number in case I get long winded. I’ll try to do four as much as possible, unless I get lazy or something, but I do think three is a good number! I think my first mini-review post was also four, so everyone was pretty much on the same wavelength as me. I appreciate you all so freaking much, so thank you again for your advice and feedback. And I’m also including the rating on the banner for these mini-reviews to kind of keep things moving… we’ll see how they go.

One of my favorite books that I read in May! I know that it was compared to Project Runway and Mulan, and I get why… well sort of. Project Runway because of the competition with the making of the clothes and stuff. Mulan because she had to disguise herself as her brother in order to join the competition but it was so much more than that. I wouldn’t really compare the story to any of them because it was such an original story to me. I understand where people were coming from with the ableist issues because Maia has to imitate her brother’s disfigured brother – his leg is broken if I remember correctly, so he walks with a limp – so it’s not so politically correct, but of course if she didn’t then people would know that she was an imposter… but anyway. The dynamic between Maia and Edan was one of my favorite things ever, and omg that ending really killed me! It’s been so long since I read this but I remember loving it so much. I seriously gotta read the sequel and see how it all ends up tying together.

I swear May was one of my best months for really good reads. This debut novel was just breathtaking. The story of Miyoung and the dichotomy of what she considers to be good versus evil was such an interesting topic to read about, and nothing was truly black or white. And in reality, nothing ever is. Sure, Miyoung would target bad men, and I appreciated her for that because that’s what I would do, but she still had to kill them. Does that make her good, or bad? Does that make her wholly good? Or just a little bit good? And the fact that Jihoon was somehow about to understand that eventually and make friends with Miyoung, something that nobody was ever to do before, was so wholesome. This really read like a K-Drama, and I loved it with all my heart. I need to read the sequel/companion novel!

OH MY GOSH! This ended up being my absolute FAVORITE book in May! I got all the home vibes in this one. Meaning it made me wish that I was back in Japan where my family came from; made me wish that I could be surrounded by my culture and just explore all of Kyoto and be immersed in all things that I love and appreciate. I may not be a fashionista and designer like Kimi, but I definitely can appreciate her clothing and her eye for design. I love how she was able to be inspired by the world around her, and how her time in Japan made her realize that her love for designing and making clothes wasn’t just a hobby, but her true passion and something that she could do for an actual living. Sometimes we forget that we don’t have to have a traditional corporate job, or some sort of typical “doctor or lawyer” job in order to be validated. That’s what Kimi ended up learning, and I’m so proud of her for it.

Oh wow, that was actually kind of fun? And I think this was short enough? Hopefully it wasn’t too short? I know it didn’t get too into the details and I don’t know if they were substantial reviews, but at least it talked about what I liked about the books as much as what I remembered.

I’ll have to do this to catch up with the rest of them.

See you next time!