Wow alright this was fantastic and I don’t even know where to start!

Magnolia Chen is the matriarch of her family and when she comes to the Chinese New Year celebration with a woman she introduces as her girlfriend everyone is shocked, but Izzy her granddaughter is far more intrigued than anything else. Later that evening Magnolia begins to tell Izzy her story.

I have to say that I love stories were someone older is recounting their life to someone much younger who still has all their life ahead of
them. I loved Magnolia she was an amazing character with a great story to tell.

One of the things I enjoyed the most was the relationship between Magnolia and her sister Iris even though at the beginning she seemed to just be the difficult and rebellious sister who didn’t treat Magnolia very well but oh! there was so much more to her than that.
Magnolia and Iris had to deal with a patriarcal society and with parents that only wanted to see them married off to a rich husband.
I liked how misogyny was portrayed in this book, how Magnolia had to deal with unlearning her own misogynistic views and how it didn’t even cross her mind that she could also like girls because that’s not what society and her parents wanted for her, but then she met Ellery and there was no denying.

Of course I have to talk about Magnolia and Ellery’s relationship, theirs was truly a love story, I loved how Magnolia always viewed her as the love of her life, they truly were soulmates but of course life had to get in the way. If I have something to complain about it’s that I wish we’ve been told more about Ellery’s life but I understand why we did not.

I really can’t tell you much more things without giving spoiler but I have to say that there was one scene between Magnolia and her sister that reminded me so much about one of Evelyn and Harry and you’ll now what moment it is when you reach it trust me.
Another thing is I wasn’t prepared for those final chapters and although I was a little sad I understood why it had to be that way.

Thanks to Negalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC

i knew as soon as i saw the blurb of this book i needed to read it. and then...shivers. what a book.this book went deep diving into my readers soul and settled there throughout.
this is a love story that spans the decades. and this time it is so special not least because it is one told by a grandmother to her grand daughter. hearing Magnolias story and how things panned out for her when it very much could've gone differently was a true journey to grasp to. she and her story question many things, question many norms or cultural structures that seem to do nothing but harm. and they make you question, ponder and hand yourself over to Magnolia and her story and perhaps what it can show and teach so many of us.
i love how Magnolia is the leader of this family, the matriarch and she just turns up to their get together with a woman beside her. and then kisses her. bravo. and then how this holds so much more meaning to her "black sheep" grand daughter was just magical. i also love how this book questions our own (Magnolia's) internal bias. the ones we learn and the ones we live by because of society roles for us. so often i see "but woman think it too." or "but ive heard woman who have these views too" yes! but they have them because of the sexist and misogynist world they are formed in.
Magnolia and Ellery was a love story just as beloved as any other. two soul mates. two love of each others life and how they had to go through lifes ups and downs to get where they are today. and also the love between izzy and her grandmother and Magnolia and her sister. all these little loves and relationship stories woven throughout this book.
this book was so touching, so thoughtful but also quietly powerful too. you could see it meaning so much to so many. give hope and comfort to so many. Jesse has such a captivating way of writing her characters and stories. they leap off the page and sparkle at you.

This is a beautiful book and cements Sutanto’s phenomenal ability to write across genres, we’ve had thrillers, we’ve had rom-coms and now we have a literary, coming of age, deep, character study. I was already a fan of this author and now I’m even more impressed.

This is a heartfelt story spanning generations, with a grandmother sharing her own coming of age story to help her grand daughter at a pivotal moment of self discovery.

The writing is lovely, the story compelling and this is a hard book to put down. Even though we start in the modern timeline and we know where the grandmother has ended up, we’re still completely invested in the unfurling of her story. How she survives in an unknown world, balances her own needs and desires with cultural and familial expectations. It is a fascinating tale.

I read an eARC of this charming book so thank you to the author and the publisher.

I did not expect this one to hit me as hard as it did. This took me to the extremes of emotion. Laughter and tears.
This is not a romance. It is a love story.

This is basically a coming-of-age account told to a granddaughter that starts in 1995 after she causes ripples as the undisputed matriarch of the Chen family when she brings a caucasion woman as her date.

We start in Indonesia and then go to LA at 16. We cover first crushes, friendships, complicated sister dynamics, and strained parental relationships.
We then stretch into adulthood and finding your place and freedom - if that’s possible for someone who has been groomed from birth to be a wife first and foremost.

This has a sapphic romance that centres this plot as Magnolia, Meimei, Tulip (all the grandmother) navigates Indonesian patriarchal culture, the insidiousness of heteronormativity, education, and growing up feeling different.

<b>The only thing worse than unrequited love is not realizing you’re in love in the first place. Burying that love so deep inside you that it becomes unrecognizable, even to yourself, then wondering why you are festering from the inside out.
</b>
I appreciated how Magnolia struggled with feeling like a fraud with her identity in terms of both culture, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, even daughter and sister and wife.

This is filled with silliness, uncertainty, and raw honesty. It felt like someone was spilling their secrets to me. It read authentically.

<b>“It took years for me to consider what is even the point of being ‘normal’? The only reason to be ‘normal’ is to make everyone else around you comfortable. Putting everyone else, even strangers, before yourself.”</b>

Having read the author’s cosy, funny mysteries; I admit I wasn’t expecting to be ripped apart.
Devastating, but also so perfect.

I did find the epilogue slightly cheesy, but it did feel cathartic.

Physical arc gifted by Atlantic Books.

Wow. This is such a beautiful, poignant story. Told via multiple timelines and locations, this begins with a grandmother telling her life story to her granddaughter at a pivotal time in her life. It wasn’t immediately clear that the grandmother was Magnolia but all became clear reasonably quickly.
I did think this was a YA book originally but it developed into so much more. I love that you can’t pigeonhole this author into one category and that she applies elements of her culture to so many different genres, it’s unique and works really well, and it’s so interesting to read about.
This book addresses the patriarchal society, attitudes and laws around the LGBTQ+ community in Indonesia, misogyny, sibling relationships, and sapphic love with a delicate touch.
Magnolia’s character arc is perfect, the way she struggles with the choices she has to make is authentic and heartbreaking. A delight to read.

Sapphic soulmates, Chinese New Year chaos, and a grandmother with stories that crack your heart wide open.