#Bookreview: Tune in Tomorrow | Randee Dawn

Tune in Tomorrow: The Curious, Calamitous, Cockamamie Story Of Starr Weatherby And The Greatest Mythic Reality Show Ever by Randee Dawn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was pulled into this by the offer of free tea, honest. There I was, half-heartedly browsing books at the Dealers Hall in Glasgow 2024, telling myself I had no money (exchange rate = 6!!!!) or space (the Bag is FULL), when Randee Dawn was like, "here, take some free tea, check out the book later." (or something like that, idk, I was distracted by free tea.) Which are supposed to be deconstituted brownies (of the mythical kind, not the food kind).

Ok, back to the book. (I mean, the brownies are from the book.)

Starr Weatherby is in New York, chasing that elusive dream of stardom. When she unexpectedly gets a job offer from an extremely handsome man with really strange partners, she grabs onto it with both hands. Except Jason Valentine isn't a man. He's a faun. And the Reality Show she's on is filmed beyond the Veil, for the entertainment of the Fae. And their longest, most famous actor on the show, Fiona Ballantine, does NOT want her there. Starr (variously Sam/Samantha) has found what she wants to do in life and she's not going to let anyone get in the way, even a murderer. She just has to figure out what's really going on.

Tune in Tomorrow is a hilariously magical read in the vein of Jasper Fforde and Tom Holt. It's a lot of drama, I mean, it's about drama, but there is DRAMA. There's also a lot of backstabbing and spying going on - all enhanced by magical powers that the long-term actors have accumulated. Then there's Starr trying to piece together the clues of what happened 30 years ago, which involved Fiona being Fiona, a mysterious Joseph and his scripts, and... Amelia, who had mysteriously left/been fired/disappeared/moseyed, so that she can avoid making the same mistake and keep her job.

Some comedic stories get a little too over the top for me, but this one struck a perfect note. Just like the tea is a perfect blend.

View all my reviews

 ---

LOOK A SIGNED BOOK!

The tea is from teaandabsinthe.com, and was apparently a limited release in conjunction with Dawn's book launch.

#musicmonday: Battle Belongs | Phil Wickham

 

When all I see is the battle

You see my victory

#bookreview: The Friend Zone Experiment | Zen Cho

The Friend Zone Experiment by Zen Cho

Renee Goh is a successful businesswoman blazing her own trail in London, away from her patriarchal Singaporean family. Then her father offers Renee the one thing she's been hankering after: approval in the form of offering her the chance to take over the family business. But is that what she really wants? (Insert break-up drama, family feuds, old-flame reunion, plus that one skeevy ex.)

I'm trying to figure out what I feel about this one. I do quite like Zen Cho's fantasy works - and I especially love the Malaysiana she brings into her stories. She's especially deft at capturing the Malaysian Auntie Voice.

The usual "not quite my genre, bla bla" comments apply here. This is straight up realistic fiction, not a ghost or supernatural creature in sight! The style feels like a throwback to her earlier short story style, not so much her long-form fantasy style. (I haven't gotten round to Black Water Sister, which may have been the beginnings of the shift?) This isn't a bad thing. I do like that voice and I want to see more of it in fiction. However, I don't think I've read a romance (as the main plot) in a while (if I have ever! haha), so there were bits that felt a little draggy here and there, especially where everyone's keeping secrets and not telling anyone important stuff. Then again, that's also the bits I get annoyed with in all kinds media and without which there would be no story, so, eh.

MAYBE what's throwing me off is the whole, uh, sub-plot that it's wrapped around. It hits very close to real-life happenings in Malaysia. Maybe someone who isn't based here would just read it as fiction (I'm seeing a lot of K-drama references in other reviews) but I'm also going like OH THE SARAWAK REPORT. OH CLARE REWCASTLE-BROWN. OH 1MDB! ALL THE ILLEGAL LOGGING. OBVIOUSLY THEY KIDNAPPED AND KILLED HIM WHAT DID YOU THINK. Which also makes me wonder whether the stuff we read as fiction from other countries hits as hard for their readers in the same way.

Cho brings up the Malaysian/Singaporean family dynamics really, really well - which adds to the ultra-realism of this novel. The family squabbles! The expectations of marriage (and grandchildren)! The fight over who pays for dinner! All that annoying one-upmanship... ugh. Though I can't help but feel that Ket Siong is something of a wish-fulfilment fantasy - he's a little too good to be true.

There's also a lot of corporate drama (and some sexual harassment) going on, plus a heavy dose of family loyalty vs ethics considerations. Do you keep the peace in order to save your family's face/reputation? Do you let yourself love the person whose family has destroyed your own? CAN you put aside your own personal boundaries if that's going to help your family business?

It isn't quite a light read (despite "romcom" being thrown around), but it does have a Happily Ever After. I don't know the genre well enough to say if it'll be a hit for romance readers, but I'd say it's a solid rep of how Malaysian society works (even displaced as they are in London) if you're looking for that.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Pan Macmillan via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

View all my reviews

---

If you're looking for a GREAT Zen Cho book to start with, I'll always recommend The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water. (Get it here)