My interest in Japanese culture started early when I became friends with an adopted Japanese girl. But it wasn’t until I hit my teens that I started looking for pop culture to consume. Pokemon is still one of my favourite franchises, but I hungered for more. I read a ton of manga and watched a
Posts by Tessa Hastjarjanto
Book Tour: Marrow Charm by Kristin Jacques
I read this book as part of the Book Bloggers’ Book of the Year Award 2020. It’s one of the finalists and ended up in the xth place. Massive congratulations to the author. Marrow Charm deserves to be a finalist and I actually expected it to be higher up in the rankings. Marrow Charm by
On My Mind: The Downside of Growth
I’ve always been hungry for knowledge and extremely curious. I devoured books since I was younger, so when I went to university and I could pick courses about all of my interests, I was delighted. If money wasn’t an issue, I’d go for my n-th degree and be a student forever. That’s not in the
Book Tour: Calico Thunder Rides Again by T. A. Hernandez
I read Calico Thunder Rides Again as part of the Book Bloggers’ Book of the Year Award 2020 panel. It was a finalist and beat nearly a hundred other books submitted as part of the contest. Congratulations to the author for making it into the top ten of a great selection of books. Circus-themed stories
6 Fantasy Romances To Check Out This Valentine’s Day
It’s nearly the middle of February which means Valentine’s Day is coming up. Whether you love or hate the day, or don’t celebrate at all, it’s hard to escape. But in case you need some escapism or just a good romance story, here are five fantasy romances that came out since the beginning of the
Book Tour: Ever Alice by H. J. Ramsay
Today’s book tour is a special one. It’s the first on my BBNYA book tours! Ever Alice by H. J. Ramsay ended in the tenth place of the 2020 awards, but the committee shared that all of the finalists were incredibly close to together. I think all of the finalists are winners because the quality
Book Blogger Novel of the Year 2021
Last year, just before the holidays, the winners of the first annual Book Blogger Novel of the Year Award were announced. Now, the signups for this year are opening up, and I wanted to talk a bit about my experience on last year’s panel. For Panelists I knew when I first heard about BBNYA, I
Review: The Citadel of Weeping Pearls by Aliette de Bodard
The Citadel of Weeping Pearls is the first book in the xuya universe written by Aliette de Bodard, and it’s available in the Kobo Plus program. I’ve read her other xuya book, The Tea Master and the Detective, before and loved it. This one was nothing like I expected though. In a good way. De
On My Mind: Finding Your Focus
At the end of last year, I decided I need to be more focused if I want to get all the things done this year. I have dreams, ambitions, big goals, smaller goals, and wishes I hope one day will come true. But nothing is getting done if you don’t plan for it. That’s been
On My Mind: Plots & Subplots
If you check out a trailer of a new movie or the blurb of a book, you’ll often see a focus on one part of the story, the main plot. The events the main character witnesses. But this is not all you’ll see when you watch the movie. Often you’ll also see what’s happening with
