Author: Catherine Vendryes
-
The Red Palace by June Hur
I first heard about The Red Palace from the author, June Hur, herself. I stumbled across her Instagram reels recapping her various historical fiction novels, and when I read “a dark romantic mystery about a palace nurse and a royal investigator” I knew it was a must-read. The novel takes place during the Joseon dynasty…
-
2024 Update
Welcome to the redesigned Hot Pepper Latte! ✨ After 10 years of blogging, it was time for a little refresh. I wanted something that reflects the look and feel of what I read today, so I drew inspiration from my bookstagram feed. Turns out I read a lot of colourful novels! With a new logo…
-
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
Like many, I heard about Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree through hype online. The name alone made it an obvious choice for me, but it helped that I was in the mood for reading something light and fluffy to combat these cold, dreary days. The book is exactly that—a real cinnamon roll of read—heart…
-
A Chorus of Mushrooms by Hiromi Goto
I first discovered Chorus of Mushrooms in a used bookstore. It’s red and black cover caught my eye and the title including mushrooms (in these fungi obsessed times) was enough for me to pick it up and take it home. Little did I know at that time this wonderful piece of fiction by Hiromi Goto…
-
Lattes with Ladies: Ashlee DesRosiers
For the 2023 return of Lattes with Ladies I spoke to Ashlee Desrosiers, the blogger behind Books Are 42 and one of the co-hosts of the TBR Tackle Challenge, a bookstagram community and reading challenge page which I’ve become a part of! Ashlee shares how she got into reading more indie authors during the last…
-
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Pachinko is one of those novels that I felt I should have read a while ago. It had been recommended to me so many times, by so many different friends I was curious how I would finally react once I read it. It’s a meaty book that made it perfect for my 2022 holiday break,…
-
Two Trees Make a Forest by Jessica J. Lee
A perfect blend of memoir, non-fiction, epistolary, and poetry, Two Trees Make a Forest was not a read I wanted to rush. In it, Jessica J. Lee recounts some of her family histories as she hikes through Taiwan, confronting secrets about her Mom, Gong, and Po she’s learned from translations of her Gong’s own memoirs.…
-
Lattes with Ladies: Huong Vo!
For this edition of Lattes with Ladies, I interview the multi-disciplinary Huong Vo about poetry in the pandemic and really choosing what stories you want to read and write. Huong Vo is poet (both spoken word and on the page), career coach, and yoga practitioner. Her recent poem for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage…
-
How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa
Souvankham Thammavongsa’s How to Pronounce Knife is a masterful collection of short stories that bite. The book is a meditation on the feelings of displacement, discomfort, and alienation that often comes with the immigrant experience, particularly the refugee experience, in Canada. Most stories end on a melancholic note, but it isn’t all doom and gloom.…
-
Lattes with Ladies: Kim Fedyk!
In this edition of Lattes with Ladies, I interview Kim Fedyk, author and freelance writer, about self-publishing, motherhood, and her new novel Birthright. You can buy Birthright: The Crystal Throne on Amazon. You can also follow Kim on Instagram at @fedykkim and find updates about her forthcoming works on Medium and Goodreads. HPL: What have…
-
Beyond Asian Heritage Month: A Reading List
Since 2002, the month of May is Asian Heritage Month in Canada. Being the largest, most populous continent in the world, there are so many works from so many authors to read! The thousands of years of history within each country and between many of them has produced a complex and rich background that it…
-
Lattes with Ladies: Maggie Chang!
This month’s Lattes with Ladies is featuring Maggie Chang! Maggie is a writer, poet, artist, Top 25 Under 25 Environmentalist, and WWF Canada Living Planet Leader. She’s smart, she’s thoughtful, and she loves a good fantasy novel. It was incredibly fun to talk to her about YA novels, getting into a series before everybody else,…