Review: The Verifiers

The Verifiers by Jane Pek
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

They whom I replaced at my current job recommended me this book when they gave a brief visit and explained that they were going to be training as a paramedic. They had this book in hand and sayd they were reading it for a book club. Having read it, I have to say their book club has great taste. It’s an unconventional murder mystery where protagonist Claudia Lin is a sort of PI at a firm that specializes in solving mysteries linked to dating apps - ghosting, missed connections, the works. But the twist…oh yes, a twist very similar to some thar I’ve worked on in my own manuscripts, though not the same way that Pek does (my twists on AI aren’t dating related, and my twist on dating apps is much more magical.) That said, though, Finn Cooper and Claudia Lin could get along pretty well if they were to ever meet. But for now, Finn could be a fan of Claudia’s, especially since in universe there will be an official film adaptation that needs to exist in our world too.

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Review: 888 Love and the Divine Burden of Numbers

888 Love and the Divine Burden of Numbers by Abraham Chang
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Okay I’ll be honest, that triple dose of Don Henley needle drops on the first official page set my expectations a little too high, but that’s even after seeing the low GR rating tempering them. I do love the film nerd and music nerd of it all, don’t get me wrong. Hell, the amusing dreams of conversations with big name directors from America and China alike, these scenes alone would be great little short stories. This book could’ve just as easily fallen into John Green pretension, but despite hitting his same combo platter of favorite tropes, it manages to be a hell of a lot more endearing. But that’s a low bar to clear.