Tag: Ovidia Yu

Blog Book Tour | “Aunty Lee’s Deadly Specials” by Ovidia Yu a #cosy #mystery set in Singapore with a feisty amateur sleuth at the helm!

Posted Friday, 24 October, 2014 by jorielov , , , , 3 Comments

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Aunty Lee’s Deadly Specials by Ovidia Yu

Published By: William Morrow (@WmMorrowBks),
an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers (@HarperCollins)
Official Authors Websites: Site| @OvidiaVanda | Facebook

Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook

Converse via: #OvidiaYu

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Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a tour stop on the “Aunt Lee’s Deadly Specials” virtual book tour through TLC Book Tours. I received a complimentary copy of the book direct from the publisher William Morrow, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Setting into the environment of Aunty Lee’s Delights: Meet Aunty Lee!

( on my readings of the first novel )

Oh! it is the name of a cafe! The title is reminiscent of a delectable foodie haunt where traditional Peranakan cuisine was served as regular as hearty conversative gossip! The manner of how Yu writes her novel has a curious in-step where the pace and delivery reminded me of the long ago letters from my Singaporean friends. The delivery of the scenes was quite unique and brought me back to the beautiful conversations I had with my friends, shared through paper and pen! Every language has it’s own style, and thereby each writer has a distinction of voice that is individualistically unique. With this novel, it is twofold – I could see a reflection of my friends’ voices through the writing style of Yu!

I champion the inclusion of local customs, words and phrases whenever a story is set in a place outside a readily known locale. It brings the setting to the level of feeling local and intimately familiar; as if we were not visiting the locale for the first time. Yu does this in such a natural way, it befits not only her characters but the overall texture of her novels!

Aunty Lee is a flamboyant woman who adores her experimentation of cooking whilst cooking and creating traditional foods with a dedicated quality of ingredients. She has a comfortability of being in harmony with herself as much as with her living environment and city. She asserts herself in situations and circumstances where she feels she has the most to give as much as what she can gain through the experience of being involved as well. Her attention to tasks at hand are slightly off-kilter to her sensational interest in current events which parlay into murder; this concentrated effort on her behalf means far more to her than the placement of her knife in relation to her fingers and the vegetables she is chopping on the board! Thankfully, Aunty Lee had the wisdom to hire Nina, a ‘jack of all trades’ as she is part maid, part assistant in arms, and part sous chef; all knowledge of trade are in combination with the medical arts, thereby circumventing any horrific disaster that could befall Aunty Lee!

Aunty Lee is a bit excluded from her family, partially out of death (of her late husband, being his second wife) and have by the status of her inheritance of his wealth which did not pass down to his son and daughter. Of the two, the wife of his son found this most insulting of all, although the son found nothing wrong with the arrangement on principle. Aunty Lee has the charming grace to face facts whilst embracing life as it arrives. The most delish moment of her day is the prospect of a murder washing ashore and walking into her life; as what could be more alluring than a mystery of an unexplained death?

Blog Book Tour | “Aunty Lee’s Deadly Specials” by Ovidia Yu a #cosy #mystery set in Singapore with a feisty amateur sleuth at the helm!Aunty Lee's Deadly Specials
by Ovidia Yu
Source: Publisher via TLC Book Tours

Rosie “Aunty” Lee, the feisty widow and amateur sleuth and proprietor of Singapore’s best-loved home-cooking restaurant, is back in another delectable, witty mystery involving scandal and murder among the city’s elite.

Few know more about what goes on in Singapore than Aunty Lee. When a scandal over illegal organ donation makes news, she already has a list of suspects. There’s no time to snoop, though—Aunty Lee’s Delights is catering a brunch for local socialites Henry and Mabel Sung. Rumor has it that the Sungs’ fortune is in trouble, and Aunty Lee wonders if the gossip is true. But soon after arriving at the Sungs’, her curiosity turns to suspicion. Why is the guesthouse in the garden locked up—and what’s inside? Where is the missing guest of honor? Then Mabel Sung and her son, Leonard, are found dead. The authorities blame it on Aunty Lee’s special stewed chicken with buah keluak, a local black nut that can be poisonous if cooked improperly. She’s certain the deaths are murder—and that they’re somehow linked to the organ donor scandal. To save her business and her reputation, she’s got to prove it—and unmask a dangerous killer.

Genres: Cosy Mystery, Foodie Fiction



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

Series: Singaporean mysteries, No. 2


Also in this series: Invincible


Published by William Morrow

on 30th September, 2014

Format: P.S. Edition Paperback

Pages: 384

Author Biography:

Ovidia Yu

Ovidia Yu is one of Singapore’s best-known and most acclaimed writers. She has had more than thirty plays produced and is also the author of a number of mysteries. She received a Fulbright Fellowship to the University of Iowa’s International Writers Program and has been a writing fellow at the National University of Singapore.

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Posted Friday, 24 October, 2014 by jorielov in Amateur Detective, Blog Tour Host, Chefs and Sous Chefs, Child out of Wedlock, Contemporary Romance, Cookery, Cosy Mystery, Cultural & Religious Traditions, Disillusionment in Marriage, Equality In Literature, Family Life, Fly in the Ointment, Foodie Fiction, Grief & Anguish of Guilt, Lady Detective Fiction, LGBTTQPlus Fiction | Non-Fiction, Life Shift, Mental Health, Political Narrative & Modern Topics, Singapore, TLC Book Tours, Vulgarity in Literature, Widows & Widowers, World Religions, Writing Style & Voice

+Readathon+ Bout of Books, 11.0 – I seriously am addicted to the #BoutOfBooks experience!

Posted Monday, 18 August, 2014 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 4 Comments

Bout of Books badge created by Jorie in CanvaMy participation in the Bout this time around simply made sense due to the fact that I have a booked schedule between now & the start of September! I’d love to share journalling bits of where I am on my reading adventures, as much as interact with other Bout’ers when I could use a break between page turns! I am keeping in place the lovely paragraph I spoke on behalf of my participation in Bout 9.0 as it simply echoes my sentiments right now! :) Of course, I *love!* to push myself to read a bit more than I normally can during a Bout, but this time around, I seriously do have 8 books being read for review! On the flipside, I’m a late Austen in August reader who wants to *catch!* up a bit by soaking into her first picks for the challenge which celebrates her admiration and love of all things Jane Austen! I have a heap in store for my blog this next week, both for the readathon, for blog tours, and a few surprises outside of those too!
{Official Blurb}:
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 18th and runs through Sunday, August 24th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 11.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog – From the Bout of Books team

I, Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story is not only a seriously addicted reader of books which wrap me inside stories which enchant my mind and murmur reflections in my heart after I put the books down, but I am a girl who is positively happy whilst caught up in the book blogosphere events which unite readers with books, and stories with readers who love to chatter about why they love to read what they read! I am going to sit back and enjoy this Bout, as I’ll be reading up a wicked storm of fiction whilst hosting wicked awesome blog tours & reviews! I will be spending equal time on Twitter & in the blogosphere visiting other bloggers who are participating. Here’s to being spontaneous and seeing where the Bout takes me next!

Whose going to join me!?

Bout of Books badge created by Jorie in Canva

One year ago I participated in my *first!* Bout of Books!

I am #851 (signups) + #378 (goals)! Rock on, dear hearts!

A celebration of my life as a book blogger who celebrated her 1st Blog’s Birthday starts this week as well! Stay tuned for the start of 12 posts which journal back through my adventures!

Converse with Bout’ers:#boutofbooks | @BoutofBooks

Hostesses:@ + @

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Book badge provided by Squeesome Designs and used with permission.Book badge provided by Squeesome Designs and used with permission.Book badge provided by Squeesome Designs and used with permission.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Personal Goals & Motivations of Bout 11.0!

Books to Absorb during Bout of Books 9.0:

Books for Review:

  • Sense & Sensibility: A Latter-Day Tale by Rebecca H. Jamison (a Jane Austen re-telling)
  • The Story Hour by Thrity Umrigar (a soul-stirring Literary fiction)
  • French Twist by Glynis Astie (a Contemporary Romance) Re-scheduled due to exhaustion
  • The Gin Thief by S.C. Barrus (as a beta reader)
  • Blade of the Samurai by Susan Spann (a sequel to a Cosy Historical Mystery)
  • Maggie’s Wars by Phil Pisani (a war drama Historical Fiction) Re-scheduled/Self-Hosting blog!
  • Romancing the Soul by Sarah Tranter (a parapsychological Romance)
  • Willow Springs by Carolyn Steele (an Inspirational Romance)

Author Interviews this week:

Books Aiming to Read in Addition:

  • Claws of the Cat by Susan Spann (the first Shinobi mystery)
  • Aunty Lee’s Delights by Ovidia Yu (the first Singaporean mystery)
  • Mortal Arts by Anna Lee Huber (sequel to the Lady Darby mystery series)*
  • {to be revealed} by Jane Austen (for Austen in August)*updating Austen in August MP
  • The first 25 pages of War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (a RAL w/ @LitChat & my tCC List)

*my review of “The Anatomist’s Wife” (the first Lady Darby mystery) will post during the Bout!

Bookish Posts Forthcoming:

  • Jorie’s Box of Joy : Inbound Books for Review
  • Austen in August : an modified reading list & proper update
  • Top Ten Tuesday : ?
  • WWW Wednesday : An update on last week & this week’s readings
  • 10 Bookish & Not So Bookish Thoughts : my 1st contribution!
  • Jorie Loves A Story 1st Birthday Celebration Post
  • August 2013 to August 2014 : First Month Retrospective
  • Read A Romance Month : Participation & why I adore reading Romance novels!

Bout 11.0 Events I will be joining in on the fun:

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Seven days,
168 hours,
with the prospect of devouring itching to read books and savouring the joy of discovering the ones which I am reading for a blog book tour!
Ooh, let the readathon be underway!

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{My Bout’er Updates:}

  • Monday 18th: I was quite literally consumed inside the world of “Sense & Sensibility” through the dramatic re-telling of Rebecca H. Jamison! She not only proved that she could write a believable story, but for me, she added in so many realistic elements of what can happen that at times I felt emotionally blindsided! One particular event held my breath in my throat as what I hadn’t disclosed in my review is there is a motorcycle crash in the latter chapters that puts your heart out of your chest! My family has always been cognisant of cycles on the road & want to find one of those bumper stickers to reflect awareness for everyone else too. I am not sure how much of the story follows in line with Jane Austen, but for me, I could not read the story fast enough as I was completely tied and invested inside the lives of the characters in this modern re-telling! I lost all sense of time, and I can only hope my thoughts I left behind can convey how much I enjoyed reading the story! I might have found a few wrinkles (my ‘fly in the ointment’) but that did not stop my pleasure of the novel overall! I find that even the most celebrated works I discover at times have a few things I might have found rubbed me the wrong way, but it is presence of where the writer took me in the text that gives all stories the ability to have me transcend directly into the world they gave to us as they penned the story! I was hoping other Janeites & Austenites would leave comments about cross-referencing the original canon to what I disclosed on this re-telling as that is one element I could not give this year. This was also the day I did the most tweeting for Bout’ers and slightly missed the chance to ‘talk’ during the live chat!
  • Tuesday 19th: Whilst I edited my Author Interview for Thrity Umrigar, I started to read her novel “The Story Hour”, only to find that despite the allure of the synopsis, I was having a bit of trouble shifting into the story, as the characters were being presented in a way that felt a bit disconjointed for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the Questions I had composed for the Interview, as it was one of the few times where an author has such a breadth of media posted online and in different mediums like: podcast, YouTube interview, print media, and other blogger Interviews! The day dissolved before my eyes and turnt into Wednesday,…
  • Wednesday 20th: I was attempting to accomplish so very much today, as I sort of had a late start, as I found I had overslept and that completely threw off *everything!* I not only wanted to blog about (as I wanted to work on the *Bookish Posts* section of this challenge, but it threw off my focus to dig into “Claws of the Cat” before the day I was meant to post my review of “Blade of the Samurai!” I did accomplish one wicked sweet thing: I not only read, edited, and commented on “The Gin Thief” — I actually learnt a few new tricks on how to use added features of Word! I was most delighted as I had not sorted out the ‘insert comment’ & the ‘track changes’ features prior to my project and work with S.C. Barrus as one of his Beta Readers work a work-in-progress! I appreciated the work immensely especially being that his writing style is so far outside my own that it felt like a joyful adventure! I can see why writers talk about being a Beta for stories not only outside your comfort zone but outside what you were  normally read, as it heightens your eyes to seeing what might not be working and/or to give a different intensity of feedback. As the night was folding into midnight, I was still working on my double showcase for Ms. Spann. The Interview Questions arrived whilst I was firming together how I wanted the Interview to look and feel inside the post, and then, I rather happily staid posed at my keyboard until nearly 3am sorting out how I wanted to add replies! It was a special Interview to host, as it always is when I have previously known a writer I feature on my blog! The hours I was spending working on everything overlapped with the hours I wanted to tweet & thus, I missed the second chat for the Bout! I also wanted to soak into the French Twist series by Glynis Astie, as I was striving to post my book review for “French Twist” — there are some days the hours dissolve faster than we’re able to grab them!
  • Thursday 21st:
  • Friday 22nd: Oh, my dear goodness – I never thought it would be possible to self-host my blog within 24 hours, but necessity was the  (work in progress)
  • Saturday 23rd:
  • Sunday 24th:
  • Monday 25th:

{SOURCE: Bout of Books Badge created by Jorie in Canva to give readers & visitors who come to her blog a way to know of its existence and therefore increasing the mystery & lore surrounding it!! Badges for Proud Book Nerd, Read All Day, & Coffee are given to bloggers to add personality to their blogs by Squeesome Designs.Post dividers badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. Book Covers: “Sense & Sensibility: A Latter-Day Tale by Rebecca H. Jamison provided by the author; “The Story Hour” by Thrity Umrigar provided by TLC Book Tours; “French Twist” by Glynis Astie provided by the author; “Blade of the Samurai” by Susan Spann provided by the author; “Maggie’s Wars” by Phil Pisani provided by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours; “Romancing the Soul” by Sarah Tranter provided by ChocLitUK; Willow Springs tour banner provided by Cedar Fort Publishing & Media; “The Gin Thief” by S.C. Barrus provided by the author; all Press Materials are used with permission for both review and promotion on my blog.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.

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Posted Monday, 18 August, 2014 by jorielov in Bout of Books, RALs | Thons via Blogs