renpuspita's reviews
1361 reviews

Fun, warm and cozy, Books and Broadswords is exactly what I need when my body so hurt because of period cramps, lol. 

I'm already familiar with Jessie Mihalik's work especially her space opera series, Consortium Rebellion. Her books is fun, complete with ass kicking heroines and badass heroes that love them. This is the first time I discover that Mihalik write fantasy romance (still refuse to call it romantasy). Books and Broadswords consist of two novellas that loosely connected in the end. Apparently, Mihalik publish the short story first to her web and then publish it in 1 book and add some epilogues.

Personally I like the second novella, Rocks and Rapiers compared to Books & Broadswords. Books & Broadswords remind me of some fantasy shojo manga that I'd read although it less juvenile. Both novellas are low stake, with Rocks and Rapiers is more fleshed out and longer than Books & Broadswords. Characters in both novellas are charming. Ansel, a beta cinnamon roll knights with his Lady Dragon, Feora, their story might be little simple but I still enjoy their relationship and how their story end is full of warm feeling. While sassy and feisty Hearth Witch Zenira charm the sulky manor owner called Baldric with her insistence to clean his huge manor. Oh, Baldric also a dragon, and like Feora, he can shapeshift into human. I think Zenira's hearth witch ability also unique because she feel restless if she discovered dirt and dust in the home. A handy ability to have for sure.

While the novellas's steaminess mostly just fade to black with hints of sexyyy times here and there, the bonus epilogue is when the smut happen. Explicitly of course. With details. So if you don't like a detailed smut scene, you can skip the bonus epilogue. Me? Heh, it will be crazy if I skip it and Mihalik did deliver. Not only the bonus epilogue have smuts, its also written from Ansel's PoV and Baldric's PoV. We will see that dragons are jealous and possessive af. A little bit control freak, but still bearable to read. IMHO, I like Ansel & Feora bonus epilogue rather than Baldric and Zenira, maybe because their novella written shorter.

Books and Broadswords is a anthology that I can see read it again in the future. Since the book have "volume one" of its title, I wonder if Mihalik will write about more dragon. Especially the story about Malaki, the mysterious dragon that also know Feora and Baldric. If you in the mood for fantasy romance with veryyy low stake, focus more on romance and have warm also cozy vibes, Books and Broadswords is a must read. 

I agree with reviews that state that Cackle is not a horror. Nope, not a horror. Not even that scary although in the first few chapters the book have some creepy vibes with ghost apparition, but it's just that. There's some body horror but pretty tame compared to what I've read. Cackle is the first Rachel Harrison's book that I read and I intent to read this as my 100th book read in 2024 but the fact that I find it okay maybe a little bit disappointing

Rather than a horror, Cackle is more like a cozy and low stake read with witchy elements. Funny enough, the term of witch only mentioned once in this book if I remember it correctly. Annie Crane was heartbroken. Her 10 years relationship with her ex-boyfriend, Sam, is now ended, yet Annie still cling in hope that maybe she and Sam are meant to be. I think at first Cackle is dealing with a different kind of grief. Annie was depressed and spiraling in self-loathing because she still can't get over Sam. She always think what's wrong with their relationship. It's not hard to guess that Annie also a pushover and have daddy issues. I can see how Annie always have this self doubt and think maybe she's too clingy because her Dad abandon her emotionally.

Then, come Sophie. A beautiful, wonderful, charming Sophie. She looks like an ordinary woman, yet why the Rowan citizen fear her? It didn't take a long time for Annie and Sophie to become friend. Or more like Sophie insist that she think Annie as her friend. It's also didn't take a hard guess that Sophie is a witch. But the question that still nagging me to the end is what kind of witch is Sophie? What's the history between Sophie and Rowan's citizen because all of it kinda left vague. I think Sophie's magic seems connected to nature with how she like to cooking and make one or two potions, but she also can feel when Annie was distress and curse people who mean to Annie. As for Annie, she's too apparently have power. But I also feel that her power is not clearly described and I'm not entirely sure from where her magic comes. Is it hereditary or what, I don't have slightest idea.

I said that Annie is self-loathing, constantly doubt herself, doormat and whiny. At first, I kinda tolerate her because while I never feel heartbroken, I did try to sympathize with Annie. However, this self-loathing phase going on and on about 60% mark or more, I just finally didn't give a damn. I also shout "come on girl??" when Annie get hopeful after Sam call her again despite I can see that he kinda a jerk. Sam dumped Annie first, you know! So when Annie finally come into her senses and embrace her magic, it kinda late and feel rushed. Also, while Sophie might seems like a good friend to have, I can see that she was toxic. I feel like she was too patronizing, proved by her constantly called Annie with "pet", before Annie ask her to stop. I guess, maybe Annie's fate is already doomed from the start. Sam take her for the granted, but when she finally stand up to herself, Sophie too is kinda of a toxic friend. But, eh, Annie got her happy end. If she didn't mind with how Sophie behave, then who am I to judge?

The good thing about this book is maybe Ralph, the cute spider that once Sophie's familiar but now become Annie's friend. He looks cute...if you don't have arachnophobia. I don't get it why spider? Is witch usually associated with black cat? Or maybe Sophie just built different? Otherwise, Ralph is adorable, in the furry-and-eight-legs way. I'm trying so hard to not imagine Ralph as a spider, lel. The citizen of Rowan were barely there and there's no meaningful interaction between them and Annie, except that they wary of Sophie. So scratch that cozy small town feeling, because Cackle is mostly focus to Annie's journey to heal herself. Or, out from her jerk ex-boyfriend and go to form everlasting friendship with a toxic friend that apparently also a witch. Her choice.

A cozy read, but not sure I want to recommend it if you search for a witchy read in time of Halloween or Spooktober. 

Jika pernah baca Zenitendo, maka Restoran Terkutuk ini premisenya mirip - mirip Zenitendo. Hanya lebih horor, lebih gore, dan jelas-jelas bukan buat anak kecil. Menceritakan sebuah restoran bernama Restoran Bisa, kalau kamu ada sesuatu yang ingin dikabulkan, maka datanglah ke restoran ini tepat pada pukul 11.11 dan ucapkan permintaanmu pada sang penunggu restoran bernama Ro. Permintaanmu dikabulkan, tapi di dunia ini ga ada yang namanya makan siang gratis. Semua ada konsekuensinya.

Restoran Terkutuk terdiri atas 13 cerita pendek dengan beberapa intermezzo dimana intermezzo ini menceritakan tentang masa lalu Ro, ibunya dan makluk gaib bernama Karkata yang nantinya nasib ketiga orang ini saling berkaitan sampai akhirnya Ro menjadi pegawai penunggu tetap di Restoran Bisa. Tiap cerpen punya struktur yang hampir sama, si X datang menyampaikan permintaan, Ro mendengarkan sambil sesekali mengingatkan jika permintaan yang bisa dikabulkan hanya satu saja, dan permintaan si X pun terkabul. Tapi akibatnya pun juga beragam. Ada yang balasannya datang langsung, ada juga yang setelah sekian lama. Entah kenapa kok bisa beragam.

Dari kumcer yang ada, karena cerpen - cerpen awalnya seragam semua premisenya sehingga hampir memantik rasa bosan, ada juga beberapa cerpen yang gue suka. Seperti kisah "Lukisan" yang menurut gue paling seram dan "Konten" yang termasuk cerpen yang unik karena penceritaannya yang cukup lain. Hampir semua cerpen diceritakan dari sudut pandang orang ketiga, kecuali cerpen berjudul "Gadis Populer" yang diceritakan dari sudut pandang orang pertama dan cerpen terakhir berjudul "Ro" yaitu cerpen ketiga belas, seakan ingin menambah vibes creepy di kumcer ini. Cerpen "Ro" sendiri menceritakan kenapa Ro mau jadi penunggu di Restoran Bisa meski ga menjelaskan banyak hal yang jadi pertanyaan gue. Menurut gue pun, beberapa cerpen ini endingnya agak ngambang, terutama setelah "kesialan" terjadi ke orang yang pergi ke Restoran Bisa. Padahal gue kan cukup penasaran juga ya, apa bakal ada kelanjutannya kayak misal di cerpen "Lukisan" atau "Tuduhan". Walau ada juga cerita dengan vibes yang cukup hangat, tapi ya cuma sedikit. Ga peduli permintaan ke Restoran Bisa awalnya dari keadaan yang terhempit atau bukan untuk kepentingan pribadi, seperti misal ingin lepas dari mantan pacar yang posesif atau mengadili ayah tiri yang melecehkan adiknya, balasan selalu datang pada orang yang meminta. 

Menurut gue ide Eve Shi untuk Restoran Terkutuk ini bukan ide yang baru karena toh ide tentang bangunan atau sihir pengabul permintaan itu udah sering banget dipake apalagi kalau kamu suka baca manga Jepang kayak XXX Holics, Tales from the Dark Side atau Petshop of Horror. Tapi eksekusinya sendiri patut diapresiasi meski juga meninggalkan banyak pernyataan. Gue akui jempol buat horrornya karena ga cuma perasaan kurang nyaman, tapi ada juga beberapa adegan jumpscare yang bikin gue merinding dan jadi takut pergi ke kamar mandi XD. Kumcer yang menurut gue potensinya besar hanya perlu beberapa hal yang butuh penjelasan lebih lanjut. 

 How to Fail at Flirting seems like a fluffy read in the first glance, but actually this book is very hard to read and reviewed. In the moment I read this book, I (with some of my book friends) just currently canceling a book club because they are enabler of sexual harassment's perpetrator that apparently still active in the bookish environment despite he already outed by another book clubs. So, the things that happen in this book kinda resonated me. Always, always side with the victim.

Naya is a survivor of years of emotional abuse from her ex. The abuse affect her confidence and it's hard to trust a man again. She also afraid to start a relationship. After her best friend and best friend's husband dare her to at least try to flirting in the night club, Naya relents and there she meet Jake, who also shamelessly flirt with her. Their flirting turn to more serious entanglement but Naya just found out that Jake is part of a company that auditing her university and her teaching career in the university is hang in balance. To make matter worse, Naya's ex, Davis also comeback to the university and try to harass her again. While Naya, know that she is in love with Jake and vice versa, still afraid to taking chance with their growing romance because she think she already broken because of David's emotional abuses.

This book written in simple manner and easy to follow. The early parts are fluff and kinda low in angst, but Williams begin gradually escalate the story's tension especially when Davis start to threaten Naya. Naya and Jake's blossoming relationship is a delight to read and I really love their bantering, chat and joke, although some jokes can be to dry or maybe it's just me. Jake is totally a cinnamon roll, but he also have some emotional baggage. Although, he's really fallin so hard for Naya. Their sex scenes were steamy af, but I also like to read tender moments between them. One particular scene when Naya got cold when they meet in their attempt to do long distance relationship, in which Naya already imagined the sweaty sex with Jake but all of it got canceled because she was sick so Jake tend to her health instead warm my heart. 

Williams didn't sugarcoated Naya's anxiety and I like that she portrayed Naya's brokenness in trusting man in a humane way possible. Reading from my lenses, I feel frustrated when reading Naya and Jake's fight but if I put myself in Naya's shoes, of course it's not easy to switch the flip, to let go of horrible memories after years being emotionally abused with the person you loved. At that moment, I really hate Davis's guts and he remain despicable to the end. A low human being, man like Davis did exist. Constantly belittle woman to rise themselves above other, make them look good while demeaning the others. A scene when Davis try to assault Naya give me dreadful feeling but I like that Naya finally stand up and fight. The scene is not easy to read but I feel that it was necessary because this book is about Naya to fight for herself and try to figure herself while also learn to love again.

This book told in Naya's first point of view, but I would love to see some of Jake's voice too. Just like Naya, Jake also suffer from some of self doubt because of his failed marriage. While he's very blatantly in love with Naya, I want to know what he think when they are fighting and away. One thing that I like for this book is, after Naya and Jake reconciled they didn't directly jump into each other. It take some times for them to process and try to accept each other. Don't worry, the story end in a happy note.

I will recommend this book if you want to read about the heroine's journey to find herself again after years of emotional and domestic abuse. However, this book have some triggering contents like I stated in the start of my review so please proceed with caution. 

A promising start but end in lackluster ending, The Year of the Witching is the debut of Alexis Henderson. A story about a girl named Immanuelle Moore who live in secluded settlement with religious fanatics just to find that maybe she's the reason of the curse that suddenly plagued her hometown. Some of reviews dubbed this book as The Handmaid's Tale with touch of Salem's Witch Trial but since I'm not read Handmaid's Tale yet, I can't really compare it. 

I think Henderson is successfully writing the suffocating vibes with the way Bethel was cut out from the outside world. But, the setting is also the weakness. I don't have slightest idea where Bethel located. Is this America? Or another made up country? When is exactly the time frame of the story? Is it happen in the 17th century just in the same time with Salem Witch Trial? The religion itself don't have particular name, only a believe that Father Light is good while Dark Mother is bad. Yeah, this book pretty much scream "patriarchy sucks!"

Immanuelle life already horrible from the moment she born. Her father was burn in the pyre because his forbidden relationship with Miriam, Immanulle's mother. Miriam then dwell in witchcraft while she pregnant with Immanuelle, only to die later in the childbirth. Moore family also seems bleak. The entire of Bethel citizens can be categorized into two category, bleak and fanatics to the core. They also shunned people who they deemed as witch and burn them in fire. Girls and women were the major victim, while the men reign supreme with their leader called Prophet have so many wives. Prophet's brides were considered as blessing. With that kind of setting, you already know that living in Bethel sucks with capital S. But, Immanuelle live there for her entire life and she already indoctrinated with Father's Scripture. So when a chance encounter in the Darkwoods (aka evil forest) make Immanuelle meet with the four witches, her old live become untangled and the dark evil inside Bethel become unraveled.

I can't count how many things in this book make me rage. The fanaticism, the unjust and unfairness that especially women in the Bethel endure. I also annoyed with the way Immanuelle still try to save Bethel's citizens because majority of them either crazy with religious fervor then they become complicit and pretend that the "evil" that happen between them didn't exist. The views of the religion is pretty much white and black, there's no area in between. What make me sad is, the practice of the Prophet to take young girl as their bride still common to this day. I can say that The Year of the Witching maybe written as a commentary and critic especially to the religion fanaticism.

While I like Immanuelle's characterization and especially her relationship with Ezra, or when Immanuelle finally met her other grandmother, Vera; I agree that her naivete can be hard to read. I agree that this book feels like YA and I already said that the ending was lackluster. Near the ending, I'm dreading with what will happen to the Bethel, especially Immanuelle and Ezra's fate because the part named Slaughter only to find it that the chapters that followed feel flat. Also the conclusion feel meh. After raging so much because of the unfairness that Immanuelle endured to ensure Bethel's safety, the ending is just....that.

The horror aspect actually pretty tame. Only blood and gore and some of little body horror that still bearable to read. The real horror is the way of Prophet and his apostles threat their subjects, especially toward girls and women. The Way of the Witching is promising although the ending is meh, but with the way epilogue written there's more to come for Immanuelle and Bethel in the future. I wish that in the next book (if it will come out) will explore more about Dark Woods and the other settlements that Bethel's citizen called heathen city. 

I read plenty of cozy mystery titles this 2024 and still add some more because of cozy reading challenge that I'd be part of. Take the Honey and Run is the first Jennie Marts's title for me and actually also her first foray into cozy mystery. I read this one for cozy mystery that take setting in the farm/ranch. While the heroine, Bailey Briggs's grandmother have a bee farm, it's more like setting since the place of the murder happen elsewhere. BUT, the weapon to murder the poor (or maybe not) victim was a hot spice honey that Bailey's grandmother aka Granny Bee produced. Granny Bee also have some little fiasco with the victim a day before he died with she will kill him if he dare to go near her again. Now, you will know what's followed. Granny Bee become a person of interest, so Bailey try to clean her grandmother's name. Apparently, the local sheriff, Sawyer Dunn also happen to be Bailey's old flame aka the one that got away. Awkward.

I did enjoy Take the Honey and Run. While the book have some cozy trademark, it was also focused more into the relationship between characters. The highlight is the relationship between Bailey and her best friend, Evie, shown with the way they did some investigations that sometimes also become source of comic reliefs. The Hives, aka Granny Bee's book club that consist of Bee's sisters and friends also joining hands to clean Bee's name. I like that Bailey also have a healthy relationship with her daughter and how Daisy behave like a teenager but she also smart and far from annoying brats. The romance aspect was one of strong points and I liked that Marts feature romance between Bee and her farm manager, show that people in their 60-70's deserve to find happiness in the love departments. As for Bailey and Sawyer, they once was lover when they still in high school but Sawyer then move out from town because of some reasons that will be explained in the book. I think there's will be hint of love triangle between Bailey, Sawyer and Evie's brother, Mateo, but I hope Marts will focused more to Bailey and Sawyer. There's also a hint of relationship between Evie and Griffin, a private investigator who also Bailey's friend. I think romance play an important part because Marts also a romance author, but actually the romance itself was well written and didn't override the mystery.

The mysteries were solid and Marts use some of red herrings, although some of the red herrings can be hilarious to read or just amusing. Didn't want to spoil much, but the mystery keep hidden until the end and when the perpetrator comes into light after Bailey finally find the clue that connects all the mystery, the reason behind the murder was quite sad to read. To sum it up, the victim deserve his fate because he was a womanizer and scumbag. Of course what happen to him was wrong, but I can understand why the killer did it in the first place. However, my pet peeve is why almost everyone in the town read Bailey's books? Is her books that famous or what, lol. It will be nice if there's any mention of the title of Bailey's books

Take the Honey and Run is a fun cozy mystery set in small town with interesting ensemble cast and adorable interactions. There some secrets that still left open like who the identity of Daisy's father since Bailey still lip-tight about that although I kinda have guessed who is it but better to know it later since it's not that important. This book also have some recipes in the back of the book that I want to try it sometimes. Looking forward for more Bailey's investigation and The Hives's shenanigans in the next book! 

 

Kumcer pertama yang gue baca dari beberapa kumcer yang dirilis oleh Dame Agatha Christie. Menurut gue, isinya sih rada nano - nano dan ga semuanya misteri. Malah beberapa cerpen itu kental sama aura supranatural. Gara - gara dulu gue baca The Pale Horse dan ngerasa kalau kleniknya agak menipu, gue jadi berharap beberapa klenik di kumcer ini juga aslinya tipuan. Tapi ternyata, beberapa emang beneran! Jadi untuk beberapa cerita, emang rasa horrornya lumayan kental.

Review singkat per cerpen:

Anjing Kematian : Entahlah, gue ga paham apakah iya itu susternya beneran dapat penglihatan atau delusional aja. Endingnya pun menurut gue kurang jelas

Tanda Bahaya : Pembunuhan tapi dilakukan oleh orang gila. Ada diskusi apakah kegilaan seseorang itu sifatnya turunan

Orang Keempat : Ini juga gue kayak skeptis gitu sih. Dame Agatha mencoba menulis kisah tentang orang berkepribadian ganda tapi ternyata ga seperti yang selama ini kita kira

Lampu : Mayan sereeeem. Endingnya gue kurang jelas sampai pas baca lagi, ternyata oh ternyata

Radio: Ini cuma bisa bilang ke pelakunya "syukurin loe!!" XD

Saksi Peristiwa : Menurut gue cerpen yang terbaik sih di kumcer ini. Misterinya cukup solid, ga kalah sama misteri yang ditulis di buku2 full novelnya dame Christie

Misteri Guci Biru : Cuma bisa bilang "ya ampun kasihannya" setelah baca endingnya

Kasus Aneh Sir Arthur Carmichael : Absurd. Tapi sesuai sama tema supranatural yang jadi benang merah kumcer ini

Panggilan Sayap - Sayap : Sama juga anehnya, hehehe. Lebih ke supranatural ketimbang misteri

Yang Terakhir : Ini paling horror sih. Lebih horror daripada cerpen Lampu

SOS : Rumah terpencil dan tulisan SOS. Entahlah, karena pendek ceritanya jadi kurang tereksplor dan endingnya pun menggantung


Kumcer yang pas kalau kamu pengen tahu apakah dame Agatha Christie juga bisa menulis cerpen yang sama menariknya dengan novelnya. Kalau kata gue sih, ga semuanya bagus ya dan banyakan terkesan nanggung. Plus, mungkin karena gue berharap cerpennya misteri semua, pas ada unsur supranatural gue udah kadung skeptis duluan berharap - harap jangan2 aspek supranatural alias kleniknya itu ngibul doang hahahaha 

 MEH at it finest.

At this point, I'm convinced that the author hate Augustus so much, she make him as a whiny, paranoid but also perverted man. Far cry from the man that managed to turn Rome into Empire from Republic. I think maybe Headley want to show that deep inside Augustus (aka Octavian) regret his deeds against Cleopatra and Mark Antony, therefore result in their demise and Egypt become part of Rome, but it feel short. To make matter worse, Octavian desire Cleopatra, because at this point, who doesn't? Maybe only his general and also close friend, Marcus Agrippa that didn't.

Queen of Kings feels like a fanfic rather than imaginative retelling, feature Cleopatra as a vampire after she summoned Sekhmet in order to win the war. At first, the story feel unique, but its slowly become a slog to continue reading and I find myself skimming some part. Almost all men characters (exclude Agrippa and the Psylii named Esum) desire Cleopatra, including the lowly soldier, although only Antony that loved her. But even Antony was recoiled to see how Cleopatra had become although he kinda amend that in the latest story. But, was Antony die in the early part of the story? Nah, you will find it later, if you manage to read until the end. I did.

Two stars because I manage to read this mess until the end and actually I appreciated the way Headley woven some mythology into this book and not only Egypt and Greek, but also some Norse myth and Psylii lore too. I just, didn't care enough for the story and also the characters. A pity, because this book have so many potentials and I read in the author's acknowledgment that she plan to make Cleopatra's vampire story into trilogy. But, well, there's no trilogy in the future so Cleopatra's ending in this book is left open. 

Digadang - gadang kayak Crazy Rich Asians dan The Hating Games combined into one, mungkin ekspektasi gue udah ketinggian sejak awal buat Last Tang Standing. Karena buku ini ga se-fun Crazy Rich Asians (walau sama - sama settingnya di Singapura) dan jauuuh banget di bawah The Hating Game yang kebetulan jadi salah satu novel favorit gue di 2024. Tapi, seandainya tidak perlu membandingkan dengan CRA atau The Hating Game, Last Tang Standing sebenarnya ga buruk - buruk amat untuk karya debut Lauren Ho.

Diambil dari pengalaman authornya sendiri (mungkin) selama jadi penasihat di firma hukum, maka tokoh utama Last Tang Standing, yaitu Andrea Tang adalah seorang pengacara yang bekerja di salah satu firma hukum terkemuka di Singapura. Gara - gara buku ini juga gue jadi ngegoogling posisi yang ada di firma hukum, karena gue tahunya, pengacara ya kan PENGACARA AJA. Ternyata ada tingkatan seperti junior associate, senior associate dan paling tinggi tuh partner. Ceritanya, Andrea saat itu lagi mengincar jabatan partner di firma hukumnya. Posisi paling mentereng mengingat dia udah lama jadi senior associate. Tentunya, true to its The Hating Games vibes, Andrea saingan sama Suresh Aditparan, pemuda India kasta Brahmana (emang ditulis gitu di bukunya) yang baru pindah dari London. Seakan ujian hidup belum cukup, Andrea juga pusing cari jodoh karena sepupunya yang lebih tua dari dia dan melajang (serta lesbian) ternyata memilih menikah dengan laki - laki hetero demi mengamankan warisan. Seperti halnya nyaris semua wanita Asia bahwa pernikahan itu adalah satu - satunya status tertinggi bahkan untuk wanita karir berdikari macam Andrea, jadi Andrea pun blingsatan nyari jodoh demi mengamankan warisan masa depan.

Awal buku ini sebenarnya menarik dan LUCU banget. Ditulis dalam format diari dan bahkan lengkap dengan time stamp kejadian - kejadian yang dialami Andrea, humor menggelitik dan sarkastik banyak dikeluarkan oleh Andrea dalam menyikapi kemalangan hidupnya. Hashtag #hidupkupayah pun sering digunakan. Kengerian Andrea dan sepupu serta sahabatnya, Linda Mei Reyes saat mereka menghadiri acara Tahun Baru di rumah keluarga Tang sangat lucu. Gue suka sama hubungan Andrea dan Linda, karena meski mereka berbeda bak bumi dan langit, tapi mereka juga saling mendukung satu sama lain, terutama masalah pria. Banyak one liner dan kejadian - kejadian konyol dan gue banyak banget nyimpan quotes atau adegan yang memorable dari buku ini. Pada awal-awalnya tentu aja.

Sayangnya, di bagian tengah, Lauren Ho seakan kehabisan bensin dan cerita mulai kayak ga jelas mau dibawa kemana. Mungkin menganut paham bahwa "the world is your oyster", maka Andrea punya beberapa love interest. Awalnya Andrea kencan sama cowo brondong bernama Orson, yang bikin gue terpana dan pengen ngomong "bisa - bisanya ente pacaran sama cowo dengan nama kayak SIRUP????". Setelahnya, persaingan (tampaknya hanya sepihak) Andrea dengan Suresh juga bikin Andrea dekat sama Suresh walau mundur teratur karena ternyata Suresh sudah punya tunangan bernama Anousha. Saking putus asanya, Andrea mau datang kencan buta dengan dokter spesialis Proktologi (tentunya lengkap dengan jokes2 mengarah ke area bokong). Awan mulai cerah saat Andrea didekati miliuner Chindo bernama Eric Deng. Masalahnya, gue ngerasa bagian Andrea sama Eric tuh bosenin banget buat dibaca. Walau gue suka romansa dengan beda usia, tapi beda usianya Andrea sama Eric tuh hampir 20 tahun! Eric tuh bisa aja jadi bapaknya Andrea, bahkan beda usia Eric dan emaknya Andrea aja ga jauh2 amat. Tapi namanya juga cinta? Heh.

Dengan beberapa love interest, sebenarnya udah bisa ketebak Andrea bakal milih siapa, antara Eric yang bucin atau Suresh yang termasuk "buah terlarang". Sebenarnya angstnya pun juga lumayan, tapi entahlah, bagi gue semua serba nanggung. Lauren Ho mungkin coba membuat romansa pekerja kantoran dan issue - issue di tempat kerja terutama sama yang dihadapi milenial. Lucunya, Andrea sempat kaget pas tahu dia milenial, padahal secara range usia dia EMANG milenial karena setting tahun buku ini tuh di 2020 (disebut2 tahun kabisat) dan Andrea masih 33 tahun (jadi gue sama Andrea ASLINYA seumuran). Apa selama ini Andrea ngerasa dia gen X? Kurangnya buku ini juga, walau gue merasa mungkin Andrea ingin ditunjukkan semanusiawi mungkin, gue hanya memutar mata tiap baca adegan Andrea mabuk. Bingung sama perasaannya ke Suresh? Mabuk dulu. Stress sama kerjaan? Mabuk lagi. Kagak sayang sama liver sendiri apa gimana deh? Selain mabuk - mabukan, gue juga ngerasa Andrea dalam beberapa kesempatan bak loser banget. Like, dia tuh membangga-banggakan dirinya sebagai pengacara top 40 under 40 di Singapura tapi gue jarang banget lihat kehandalan Andrea dalam menyikapi masalah kerja. Ya mungkin emang pengen dibuat terpisah antara kehidupan kerja dan pribadi Andrea. Tapi, ya kali loe dengan etos kerja seperti itu, datengnya suka telat2an gegara malam sebelumnya teler sampai pagi? Sesantai apa sih firma hukumnya Andrea XD?

Walau begitu, toh gue juga cukup menikmati curhatan Andrea di diarynya. Ada beberapa bagian yang gue cukup relate dengan Andrea, seperti misalnya binge reading baca webtoon sampai pagi. Tapi karena vibesnya Andrea tuh mbak - mbak SCBD yang (mungkin) hobinya tiap jumat malem nongkrong karena Sabtunya libur, ya bagian ini ga terlalu terkoneksi karena gue tipe habis pulang kantor ya langsung pulang tanpa mampir. Gue juga cukup kecewa karena tokoh Eric kurang digali, mengingat dia miliuner Chindo tapi umur 50-an setidaknya dia paling tidak kena efek Orba di Indo kan? Tapi ya ga dibahas, atau mungkin karena dianggap kurang penting atau apalah. Eric juga ditulis rada too good to be true walau kayaknya agak control freak juga, tapi kayak yang ya udah gitu. Persona miliunernya paling ditulis dia punya jet lah, buka hotel disini dan disitu dan sejujurnya bayangin Andrea pacaran sama Eric itu kayak gue bayangin anak sama bapak, lel. Berantemnya Andrea sama Suresh walau beberapa gemes, menurut gue juga kurang mungkin karena Lauren Ho berusaha membagi - bagi porsi romansanya Andrea mengingat love interestnya lebih dari satu . Tapi bagian tengahnya yang memble setidaknya dibayar dengan bagian terakhir yang walau menurut gue berasa terburu - buru tapi ditulis dengan baik. Intinya, Andrea bahagia dengan caranya sendiri lah.

Last Tang Standing cocok buat bacaan ringan dan humor-humornya pun sebenarnya menghibur. Terjemahannya juga cukup bagus dan renyah. Tentu saja ada bagian-bagian yang ga masuk akal, kayak emang bisa dalam kondisi mabuk berat si Andrea nulis di diarynya. Tapi yah begitulah, anggap saja buku ini hanya untuk hiburan tanpa harus banyak berpikir, namun juga tetap ada issue-issue terkait generasi milenial dan kultur budaya orang - orang China yang masih menganggap pernikahan itu segalanya buat wanita. 

 Highly entertaining but informative as well. The downside just the artstyle is not my favorite although still retaining its charms and can be chaotic *in a good way*. True to its subtitle, some myths or folklores in this book was told in a unique way. Some have its traditional storytelling, some have diary format that pretty much hilarious to read. Another have an announcement like when you watch a football game and it was make sense because the author told the story about ball games between Heroes Twins and the Gods of Death in Mayan myth! Or when the author told the story of Set and Horus rivalry but do it in correspondence style between the deities and the Ennead, lel.

While the start of the book begin with your good ol' Greek (feature Perseus and Theseus) and its counterpart Roman myth (Hercules, tale of Psyche & Cupid), the myths that featured in Legendary were varied. There a story about Sir Gawain and Green Knight told in humorous manner. The Norse got represent by Thor and Loki, again thanks to Loki's wits Thor got his Mjolnir back while sacrifice his dignity by become a bride for a giant! We get stories about Anansi, the spider trickster to represent Africa, together with some fable stories (my favorite is why leopard and dog become enemies). America continent get the myth told with Indian folklore & myth like the source of fire by the Raven, story about evil spirit from Brazil and much more. Even the Oceania myth also got represented like the Aborigin myth and Pacific Island tales. Although sadly not much from Asia, maybe because so many tales and myth, it was hard to choose just a few. I guess this book pretty much covered myth and tales from all around the world and retell it in unique presentation completed with illustration that may bring one or two smile to your face.

The content of Legendary can be enjoyed by everyone although maybe better for teenager rather than for children. Or if you want your children to read this one better to read it together for some content might not suitable for children. A must have if you are a myth aficionado that always searching for myth reference books to add to the collection.