Peasreads: The Demon and the Light by Axie Oh

The conclusion to The Floating World by @axieoh is fantastic. We meet up with Ren and Sunho along with "side" characters that all have just as much personality as the two MC. I was happy to read about all of them and their stories. I didn't find myself skimming over paragraphs to "get back to the real story". I enjoyed all of it. 

I can't wait for my pre order copies to come in

From the publisher:

Sunho from being overcome by the monstrous power in his blood. Now he's gone, transformed into a feral, deadly creature that doesn't even recognize her anymore, and her heart aches for the sweet boy she's grown to love.

But the escalating war will not pause for her grief. Seen by some as a heavenly savior and others merely a figurehead to be manipulated, Ren must use all her courage and cunning to survive the royal court's game long enough to find Sunho and bring him home before he loses himself to the Demon forever.

Also by Axie Oh

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea

The Floating World

I'm so glad I was chosen to read this conclusion to this duology. 

Thank you @netgalley @macmillanusa and @Feiwel & Friends for this egalley. I was not obligated to leave a review.

Peasreads: The God and the Gwisin by Sophie Kim

Magical. Just as good as and maybe even a smidge better than the first book The God and the Gumiho. Seokga is ever the moody, trickster who has searched for Hani's reincarnate. When he finds her she not only doesn't remember him but she is almost the opposite of Hani. Watching Seokga fall in love with  Yoo Kisa for who she is was such a treat.  Sophie Kim is quickly becoming a must read author for me.

Description:

In this swoony sequel to The God and the Gumiho, a trickster god must work with his reincarnated lost love to solve his brother’s murder on board a luxury underworld cruise ship.

Seokga the No-Longer-Fallen is working on himself. Reinstated as a god, the trickster now attends much-needed therapy, even as he desperately searches for his lost love, Hani. But when the red thread of fate tangled around his finger—signaling Hani’s reincarnation—leads Seokga to a luxury cruise down the river of the dead, the woman he finds waiting for him isn’t Hani . . . she’s Yoo Kisa, and she has no memory of him.

Yoo Kisa is exhausted with her afterlife. While she’d hoped the underworld would be peaceful, whoever she was in a past life racked up quite the karmic debt, and now she must pay it, working thanklessly aboard the SRC Flatliner. Even worse, the red thread wrapped around her pinky followed her into the underworld . . . and although her fated partner has found her, he seems to find her lacking.

When the heavenly emperor is murdered aboard the ship, Seokga and Kisa must solve the crime before the cruise ends. As the mystery draws them closer, the god and the gwisin will have to decide what they truly mean to each other. But there’s something bigger at play aboard the SRC Flatliner, something that holds the key to Kisa and Seokga’s fated connection—and the fate of the mortal and heavenly realms.

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I received this book from NetGalley for this review. I was under no obligation to give a positive review. All opinions are  my own. 

Japchae

Japchae is an easy noodle dish to make and it travels well. This is vegetarian, if you don't garnish with the egg it can be served as a vegan dish. The ingredients are fairly simple and can be found at major grocery stores or the Asian market. If you can't find the noodles however you can still make this, use a thicker rice noodle or soba. The sauce is the perfect marinade for the tofu recipe at the bottom of this post also. It's also great for chicken, beef, or pork.

Fusion Seen Dat (Lao BBQ)

This isn't a true Lao Seen Dat, the marinades and sauces I developed from flavors we enjoy. It's more a fusion I guess. But Seen in Lao is "meat", Dat means to sear. This method is used to cook meats to wrap in lettuce or rice paper wraps. It's so yummy.