Pet, a review

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi was gifted to me by Olivia Savannah from Olivia’s Catastrophe after a really tough time for me. It was the most lovely surprise and I’m so so grateful!!

This YA Fantasy is a really short book, but it packs a big punch in it’s few pages! We follow a young trans girl named Jam who’s mum is an artist. One day a painting seems to come to life and a monster named Pet is let lose in the world. This world is a Utopia, the bad people are all gone. But Pet says that there’s still a monster here. That it’s preying on someone she loves, and Jam decides to work with Pet to save them.

This is a beautifully written book, I was hooked for each and every second. Emezi has beautiful writing that I’ve loved before (in Freshwater) and she’s adapted perfectly to the YA style.

For my CAWPILE ratings I gave this book:

Characters: 9

Atmosphere: 9

Writing: 8

Plot: 9

Intrigue: 9

Logic: 9

Enjoyment: 10

And to literally no one’s surprise this gives me a score of 9.00 which is of course a 5 star rating!!!

There’s also been a sequel? prequel? that’s based on Jam’s mum and I am *so* excited to get to read this when it’s published! Let me know if you’ve read Pet and what you thought of it!

Before the Coffee Gets Cold: Tales from the Cafe – a review

I was so incredibly excited when I heard that the other books in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series by Toshikazu Kawaguchi were going to be translated into English! I adored the first book and it was my absolute favourite read of 2019, I even thought about it replacing The Gift as my favourite book! That’s how much I loved it! So of course when NetGalley had the arc available I requested it and was lucky enough to get it!

Translated by Geoffrey Trousselot, Tales from the Café continues to follow the staff from Café Funiculi Funicula, some familiar faces, and some new to us. Yet again this book tells the tale of individuals who need to face their past in order to move on with their future, and leaves the reader, or at least me, asking what I would change if I could travel back in time.

This is quite a short book, so it’s hard to say much about it when trying to avoid spoilers, but yet again this book just filled my soul. I adored the atmosphere Kawaguchi created around the café, how he expanded on the lore of the café itself, as well as on the history of those who work there. On top of this beautiful exploration we are also introduced to new people and are absorbed into new tales. Throughout this book, whilst I was reading it I really felt a sense of peace, of beauty. I cried, as with the first one, when I finished reading it. It’s such a touching and well written plot. And I love the path that Kawaguchi went down for this book.

I’ve already bought myself a physical copy of this book (and it’s signed!) and I’m also already excited for the 3rd and final book to be published in English! I wish that this was a longer series, but if I can’t have that then fingers crossed more of Kawaguchi’s works will be translated into English. If not then you might find me learning Japanese!