Matthew reads, I guess...

    Today I’m talking about a book that I honestly have no idea how I found out about it. All I remember is that it came out on my birthday, and that’s Chasing Pacquiao by Rod Pulido. The old blurb says self-preservation. That’s Bobby’s motto for surviving his notoriously violent high school unscathed. Being out and queer would put an unavoidable target on his back, especially in a Filipino community that frowns on homosexuality. It’s best to keep his head down, get good grades, and stay out of trouble. But when Bobby is unwillingly outed in a terrible way, he no longer has the luxury of being invisible. A vicious encounter has him scrambling for a new way to survive – by fighting back. Bobby is inspired by champion Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao to take up boxing and challenge his tormentor. But when Pacquiao publicly declares his stance against queer people, Bobby’s faith – in his hero and in himself – is shaken to the core. There is a content warning in the beginning of t...

It’s rare that I see a book from like a pitch tweet and then follow it all the way to publication, but today I’m talking about a book that I’ve actually done that with, Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee. I first found out about this book from something Lee tweeted all the way back on February 17 th , 2022, saying that they had signed an important document about the book. I have been very excited about this book for a long time. The blurb says meet Dylan Tang: he juggles school and delivery runs for his aunt’s struggling Chinese takeout in Brooklyn. Winning a mooncake competition could bring the publicity they need to stay afloat. Enter Theo Somers: a charming, wealthy customer who convinces Dylan to be his fake date to a family wedding full of crazy rich drama. Their romance is supposed to be just for show… but soon, Dylan is falling for Theo. For real. With the mooncake contest looming, Dylan can’t risk being distracted by rich-people problems. Can he save his family’s business a...

Today I’m talking about Broken Hearts and Zombie Parts by William Hussey. I previously read The Outrage, also by Hussey and very much enjoyed it. I don’t remember which year it was, but it was on my top books of the year for the year I read it in. I will say, however, I was a bit confused about the actual release of this book, because Hussey had another book come out very close to the release of this.  So, this one came out May 11 th , 2023, but he also had Killing Jericho , a crime thriller, come out on April 27 th , 2023. I was seeing him tweet about both of them, and I was fully getting the two confused about whether it was one book or two. (Also, what happened to the formatting of this paragraph? Why did that one line feel the need to have more space?) The blurb says that Jesse Spark has a broken heart… and in a few short weeks, he’ll require major surgery to repair it – which mean he only has a month to accomplish two almost impossible tasks. One, shoot his epic zombie movie...