Tag: Interstellar Megachef

Posted in Monthly Wrap-Ups

May/June 2026 Wrap-Up 🪭

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Wednesday, bibliophiles!

I’m back with a wrap-up, and we’ve officially passed the halfway mark of 2026…jeez. Currently reporting you within hours of melting into a puddle like the Wicked Witch of the West from this heat. I feel like I should start paying my swamp cooler for the labor it’s been putting in for the past month. Stay cool and hydrated, everybody!

Let’s begin, shall we?

GENERAL THOUGHTS:

I’m coming to you in a very different place than I was while writing the March/April Wrap-Up, which is, for the most part, a welcome thing. Between my honors thesis, finals, and graduation, I had been constantly on for the most part. Sure, I had some time to squeeze in some fun and relaxation, but it was just go, go, go for most of the semester. But now I’ve got myself a nice Bachelor’s degree, and I’m spending it…not doing much. For right now, that’s exactly what I wanted.

I’ve spent most of the past few two reveling in the free time I have right now. I have several very disparate goals that I’ve set for the summer (exercise more, write one short story per month, and don’t buy any more yarn…send help, I’m drowning in yarn over here) that (knock on wood) I’ve managed to stay true to. But I love the routine I’ve set for myself. I love my college town, and I love taking walks to the local coffee shops, writing for an hour or two. (More often than not, those trips have also resulted in a trip to the record store, which has…[ahem] put a slight dent in my bank account. Maybe I need to put a ban on that too.) But ultimately, this summer has felt comfortably exploratory so far—I’m slowly trying new things, but they’ve all extended into cherished parts of my weekly routine.

So mostly, May and June have been about creativity. I’ve been more locked in than ever with my knitting, even if the results have been less than optimal. I’ve done so much more drawing and sketching. I’ve made more time to practice my guitar. I’ve written the most since I stopped my honors thesis. And I have more time to read than just before bed! Imagine that…

MAY READING WRAP-UP:

I read 13 books in May! It was really all over the place with a 5-star read and a DNF in the same month, but I read so many exciting books this month, both from new-to-me authors and familiar ones, focusing on AAPI authors for the Heritage Month.

1 – 1.75 stars:

All This Could Be Different

2 – 2.75 stars:

The Subtle Art of Folding Space

3 – 3.75 stars:

Flight of the Fallen

4 – 4.75 stars:

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter

5 stars:

See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love

FAVORITE BOOK OF THE MONTH (not counting re-reads): See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love – 5 stars

See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love

REVIEWS:

SUNDAY SONGS:

BONUS:

JUNE READING WRAP-UP:

I read 14 books in June! It’s the most books I’ve read in a month in 2026, definitely owing to being freed up by summer. Though my ratings were once again all across the board, they trended towards positive ones—and I had some excellent reads from new and familiar queer authors for Pride Month!

2 – 2.75 stars:

Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl

3 – 3.75 stars:

Where Sleeping Girls Lie

4 – 4.75 stars:

Heaven’s Graveyard

FAVORITE BOOK OF THE MONTH: Idolfire – 4.75 stars

Idolfire

REVIEWS:

SUNDAY SONGS:

BONUS:

Today’s song:

That’s it for this wrap-up! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Posted in Books

🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈The Bookish Mutant’s Books for Pride Month (2026 Edition)🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Thursday, bibliophiles!

Here in the U.S., June is Pride Month! You know the drill. I hate how bittersweet these posts are, and the bitter keeps growing. I see the beauty of this month and our queer community, but I can’t help but shrivel from the reminders that there have been repeated attempts to take queer books off the shelves across the country, and that the trans community here in the states has been under attack more than ever. My heart truly, truly hurts for all of us. I hurt. Of course, here I am, being cisgender in my cushy blue state with an openly gay governor, but nonetheless, I hurt whenever any other member of the queer community is hurt.

I’ve been an out and proud bisexual for almost eight years. Not long, in the grand scheme of things, but these years have taught me so much about queer people and the LGBTQ+ community. If there’s anything that I see in us, it’s our tenacity. No matter the slew of hateful legislation and rhetoric, we always come back stronger than ever. If there’s anything that the queer community doesn’t do, it’s back down in the face of a threat. In spite of the never-ending threats from outside and inside (the infighting never stops, y’all need to be normal about each other, please), we are like dandelions pushing through the cracks in the pavement: we never surrender, and we continue to bloom in the face of adversity.

But here’s the thing. I don’t like having to be this resilient. I don’t think any of us do. But if there’s anything to take solace in, it’s that our community is so strong and diverse that there will always be someone fighting. Yes, we all have to do what we must, but it’s important to remember that simply surviving, just being, is resistance in the face of the government wanting the public to believe that we aren’t worthy of the same rights as everybody else and that our stories are not fit for public consumption. You don’t have to be out and proud. All you have to do is be.

So here’s my annual pride month recommendations list of queer books from a variety of genres and backgrounds. I’ve compiled all kinds of books from various sexual orientations and gender identities, as well as backgrounds (queer people of color, disabled queer people, queer immigrants, etc.). Hopefully there’s something for everyone. (As always, if I’ve mistakenly identified anything on this list, please let me know! I’m only human.)

Now, more than ever, it’s crucial to support the LGBTQ+ community (especially the trans community, who are under attack more than ever) in whatever way you can. If you want to show your support them monetarily, here are some great organizations to donate to:

This is a non-exhaustive list, and I encourage you to seek out organizations in your area! There are so many wonderful people across the country (and the world) doing great work for the LGBTQ+ community.

A refresher on my key:

MC: Main character

LI: Love interest

SC: Side character(s)

For my posts from previous years, click below: 

Let’s begin, shall we? 

🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈THE BOOKISH MUTANT’S BOOKS FOR PRIDE MONTH (2025 EDITION)🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

FANTASY:

SCIENCE FICTION:

REALISTIC/HISTORICAL FICTION:

*it’s worth noting that the main character of this novella is a mountain lion, but I feel like it still counts.

**the cover for The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar has not yet been updated to reflect Sonido Reyes’s name change.

ANTHOLOGIES (VARIOUS GENRES):

NONFICTION:

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! Have you read any of these books, and if so, what did you think of them? What are some of your favorite queer books that you’ve read recently? Let me know in the comments!

Today’s song:

That’s it for this recommendations post! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Posted in Book Review Tuesday

Book Review Tuesday (5/12/26) – Interstellar Megachef

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Tuesday, bibliophiles!

It’s funny that I should be reading/reviewing Interstellar Megachef when I am, because just a week ago, I was talking to my older brother about how you sometimes have to wade through the most cornball book covers and titles known to man to find good cozy fiction sometimes. Different strokes, I guess, but oh my God, this book cover is painfully corny. (And mismarketed, but I’ll talk more about that). But ultimately, it was mostly worth the gambit: although it had some structural issues, it was a solid novel about food, love, and immigration…in space, of course.

Enjoy this week’s review!

Interstellar Megachef – Lavanya Lakshminarayan

Saraswati Kaveri is determined to prove herself. After running away from her family on Earth, she upends her life to immigrate to the famed planet Primus—and earn a spot on its most popular cooking show, Interstellar Megachef. It’s not an easy feat, especially when the humans of Primus are deeply prejudiced against Earthlings, who they see as backwards and violent. But when Saras’s plans go awry, she has a chance encounter with Serenity Ko, a disgraced tech developer who might have just the solution for her to redeem herself—and her cooking.

TW/CW: xenophobia/racism, racial slurs (fictional), substance abuse

First off: Interstellar Megachef is mismarketed. Cornball cover art aside, the Interstellar Megachef aspect of the book is fairly understated. This isn’t a spoiler, but Saras gets disqualified in the first episode of the show—and this happens about a quarter into the novel. (However, Interstellar Megachef comes back as a plot point, so it’s not entirely absent from the plot afterwards.) So I’m assuming that it was marketing reasons that gave this novel its title and tagline. So fair warning, if you’re expecting the entire novel to be food-centric, I’d suggest that you dial back your expectations.

Where Interstellar Megachef succeeds is its powerful commentary on the experience of being an immigrant. To me, good cozy sci-fi succeeds when it retains the low stakes, but doesn’t hold back on discussing whatever issues it seeks to tackle; Lakshminarayan does this to great success. Saras’s experiences as an Earthling immigrant to Primus were a biting indictment of how we treat immigrants, from the outright racism and xenophobia to the more subtle micro-aggressions that they’re taught to simply put up with. The labor that Saras has to do just to be marginally accepted by her Primian peers was poignant, and it spoke to the limits of “acceptance” that mainstream society often has for immigrants: she’s only valuable to them if she’s able to serve a purpose to them. But Saras’s commitment to going against the grain and staying true to her culture gave this novel a poignant, beating heart that propelled its narrative skyward.

Interstellar Megachef also boasts a particularly vibrant sci-fi world. Of course, there are elements that didn’t quite make me suspend my disbelief; I couldn’t quite believe that Earthling humans were more discriminated against than the nigh-incomprehensible mecha tentacle aliens, but that was necessary to the plot, so I get why that was a thing. (Also, the Primian naming convention of every adult being named after the Nine Virtues was okay in concept, but confusing logistically, when you have at least four characters with the same first name per virtue.) Lakshminarayan’s descriptions of this futuristic world were so bright and lived-in, and I truly felt immersed into this neon, intergalactic future for humanity. The aliens were fun, but I feel like their role in society was underutilized, especially when the themes of prejudice and marginalization are concerned. That being said, Lakshminarayan often delivered this worldbuilding in portions that went on for three paragraphs in some cases, which unceremoniously took away from the main narrative. All of the detail and hard work was there, but integrating smoothly into the narrative was a different story, unfortunately.

However, my biggest issue with Interstellar Megachef was the pacing. I’m used to some slowness when it’s cozy sci-fi that we’re talking about, but there were some parts of the novel that seriously dragged. We take so many detours into characters that aren’t central to the main plot, and they don’t serve much of a purpose—they did almost nothing to enrich the plot or the characters. They just seemed like vehicles for Lakshminarayan to do some even more unwieldy exposition for the world (like the three-paragraph-long dumps weren’t enough…). And it’s not as though the book was too short to cut some parts—my paperback edition is around 450 pages. Did we need a whole chapter about politicians negotiating with an alien species that we don’t even see afterwards? There was definitely some trimming needed. The issues with the pacing don’t end here; with all of these detours, it took away so much from the focal plot, making the development of the main characters feel rushed by comparison.

We took so much time on said detours that the romance between Saras and Serenity was rendered rushed and unbelievable. However, part of that was due to Lakshminarayan not giving them much chemistry at all from the start. I just wasn’t convinced of them being a couple, even towards the end of the book. They just didn’t seem compatible at all—and that’s not even counting some of the terrible things that Serenity does to “prank” Saraswati that realistically should’ve been dealbreakers. (Saras!! Get out of there, girl! You deserve better!) By the time they got together at the end of the novel, I was entirely unconvinced of them as a happy couple. It was just so forced from the start, like a bungled attempt at enemies-to-lovers banter.

All in all, a solid stab at a cozy space-opera, full of potent commentary and a vibrant world, but lacking in plot and some believability. 3.5 stars!

Interstellar Megachef is the first book in the Flavour Hacker series, followed by Intergalactic Feast. Lakshminarayan is also the author of The Ten Percent Thief.

Today’s song:

That’s it for this week’s Book Review Tuesday! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!