Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the feared Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing his elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin’s magic flares and her existence is discovered, she is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind.
Alone, powerless, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the emperor’s son, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the prince.
To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies across the earth and skies. But when treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dream—striking a dangerous bargain in which she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos.
As the title of this book review states, this might be my favorite fantasy of the year (as of April). And I have read a lot of good fantasy this year (She Who Became the Son, Six Crimson Cranes, Legendborn, Little Thieves) to name a few. This novel took the war intrigue and protagonist bad-assery from She Who Became the Sun and combined it with strong relationship-building to form, quite literally, my perfect fantasy story.
Sue Lynn Tan is an expert at playing with my emotions. There were several times reading this book where my heart dropped, and I had to put it down for a few minutes. The relationships were so complicated, and I could not see an easy fix to any of the problems. It was truly heart-wrenching but in the best possibly way because Tan’s writing is exquisite.
I’m not sure how she does it, but every line of Tan’s writing just feels magical. I don’t need beautiful writing to enjoy a story, but, man, does it seriously make a difference.
I could not believe this was a debut novel when I did some research after finishing. I am so excited to see what is next for Xingyin and for Tan’s writing.
Ok, I technically was not tagged in this. BUT I’m kinda just making up my own rules with this blogging thing. I’ve been running this blog for three months, which is honestly a lot longer than I expected myself to get with this. I saw Leslie do this, so I thought I’d take it and use it as a 3-month milestone post!
Hi y’all! I’m Louise! I’m a 24-year-old grad student studying to be a librarian, and I currently work in an engineering library on campus. I am definitely considering going into public librarianship, though, because I love working with kids and other people who aren’t in academia 🙂 I’m currently living in Illinois but am originally from Boston! And that is pretty much all I have to say in way of introduction lol.
Something most everyone wants to know…do you have any pets?
I have a 6 year old maltipoo named Gigi (after George Harrison), but she’s back home in Boston with my parents while I’m in school 😦
Here’s one of my favorite pictures of her after a grooming!
What is your favorite thing to drink?
Going to be veeeery boring here and just say water. There’s nothing like drinking a glass of ice water when you’re thirsty. Although, I do love a glass of wine on nights where I don’t have to work the next day!
What is your favorite season?
Spring!!! I love the feeling of everything coming back to life and the first warm day after a cold winter. It also just gives me a lot of nostalgia for when I was younger and would be finishing up the school year.
Do you have any special talents?
My family is all very musical, so we’re all singers and play instruments. I like piano and flute even though I haven’t spent much time practicing either. Not really a special talent, per se, but just a normal talent.
Blogging
When and why did you start your blog?
I’ve been blogging technically since I was about 14 on different platforms. First Tumblr, then I shared a WordPress book blog with a friend throughout high school. I started this one 3 months ago, obviously. Every time has been because I love talking about books and I wanted to share that with others. Not many people in my life are huge readers, so having all of you is really important to me 🙂
What is something that you wish you knew about blogging when you first started?
This is definitely premature, but I wish I had known all the WordPress tricks I do now. Other than that, I think there’s probably still a lot I have to learn!
What has been the hardest part about blogging?
Just getting myself to sit down and actually write the stuff out. I have all these ideas I want to post, and it’s been hardest to get myself to put them down on paper. Even though it feels good when I’m actually writing it out, I have so much going on with school and work that sometimes it’s just hard to stop myself from watching two hours of TikTok when I have some free time.
What has been the most rewarding part of blogging?
Definitely everyone I’ve interacted with so far!! I love seeing books I have in common with people and finding new books from people I follow. I hope to really get to know a lot of you continuing on 🙂
Do you write your posts ahead of time or write them the day of posting?
Usually write them day of, unless I have time to write two posts in one day. I don’t plan things out, because then it would become too much of a chore for me.
Reading
Who are your top 5 favourite authors?
This was incredibly hard but:
Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Jennifer L. Armentrout
Ali Hazelwood
Emily Henry
Jane Austen
What genre do you read the most?
This year it has been romance, but definitely overall fantasy/romance/romantasy are my top genres. I will never move away from these genres.
What genre surprised youby how much you love it?
Science nonfiction! I shouldn’t have been surprised because I love random facts, but I am a story girl through and through. Science nonfiction kinda snuck up on me in a few of the classes I was taking. I readThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks for a biology class as an undergrad as well as a few others and was hooked on the genre!
Which popular book didn’t live up to the hype for you?
I’ve said this before, but it will always be the first to come to mind. I really did not like House of Earth and Blood. Sooooo so long with barely anything that happens.
Who are some popular authors you haven’t read?
Casey McQuiston! Her books have been on my TBR for a while, I just haven’t gotten to pick them up yet.
What upcoming release are you excited to read?
Emily Henry and Ali Hazelwood. Enough said.
Do you listen to music while reading?
Nope! If I listen to music, I’ll just end up singing along. Yes, even if it’s classical music.
Carey Douglas has worked for home remodeling and design gurus Melissa and Rusty Tripp for nearly a decade. A country girl at heart, Carey started in their first store at sixteen, and—more than anyone would suspect—has helped them build an empire. With a new show and a book about to launch, the Tripps are on the verge of superstardom. There’s only one problem: America’s favorite couple can’t stand each other.
James McCann, MIT graduate and engineering genius, was originally hired as a structural engineer, but the job isn’t all he thought it’d be. The last straw? Both he and Carey must go on book tour with the Tripps and keep the wheels from falling off the proverbial bus.
Unfortunately, neither of them is in any position to quit. Carey needs health insurance, and James has been promised the role of a lifetime if he can just keep the couple on track for a few more weeks. While road-tripping with the Tripps up the West Coast, Carey and James vow to work together to keep their bosses’ secrets hidden, and their own jobs secure. But if they stop playing along—and start playing for keeps—they may have the chance to build something beautiful together…
I was a little scared going into this one, I’m not gonna lie. The Goodreads reviews are bad. If the reviews for a Christina Lauren book are this bad, then there must be some serious problem with the book, right?? I kept waiting and waiting for something seriously offensive to happen in this book, but it really was just a nice quick and cute read from the author-duo.
First and foremost, James and Carey were sooooo cute together. He was just so sweet and caring and I loved how their relationship developed.
I was also very appreciative of how Carey’s disorder was discussed and represented. Chronic illnesses and disorders are not usually portrayed often in romance books, so it was really great to see here.
I do think we could have done without the interview and blog post interjections between chapters. The interviews were useful to build suspense for the ending, but the blog posts were kind of just there to reinforce what we were already being told about the story.
In general, I would have just loved to see more of Carey and James and really understand more of their background. There are a lot of things hinted to about Carey’s life growing up that the authors could have really expanded on.
These are really just small ideas I had though, and overall, I thought this was a very cute and quick read. It wasn’t the best romance book I’ve ever read, but it definitely has the Christina Lauren touch which you just can’t seem to go wrong with.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Have you read this one? Let me know what you thought below!
Happy Wednesday, everyone! I’m finally getting out of a major slump this week, so I have some good books for you today!
Currently reading: Daughter of the Moon Goddessjust came in from the library the other day, so I’ve been speeding through it! My finals are pretty much done, so I don’t have much to do at work. Yesterday I was able to read through most of my shift! I’ve also been listening to Dave Grohl’s new autobiography, The Storyteller. It took a bit to get into, but he’s finally getting into how he got into music and his time with Nirvana, so I’m really enjoying it!
Recently finished: I just finished The Honey-Don’t List yesterday. I had been going through it quickly and just decided to sit down and read the rest yesterday. It was a really cute and quick read! Review will be up in the next few days 🙂
Reading next: I just got approved for the ARC of Of Beasts and Burden which comes out in a few weeks, and I think I am very in the mood for a fae story right now. My audiobook of These Violent Delights as well as a kindle version of The Inheritance Games also just became available to me this week through the library, so I think I’ll need to prioritize these three, possibly reading them at the same time. Wish me luck!
What are you reading this week? Link your WWWs or current reads down below!
I saw this tag on Jordyn Reads and thought it looked fun! While I usually love a lot of popular authors and series, I do have some opinions that many of you might fume over for a while. To that, I just have to say: I’m sorry! And with that, here we go!
A POPULAR BOOK OR SERIES THAT YOU DIDN’T LIKE
This is probably my most controversial opinion. I hatedHouse of Earth and Blood when I read it in 2020. I usually love Sarah J. Maas’s writing, but this one was just soooooo slow and boring. I felt like nothing happened in this book. Everyone was getting so excited about the sequel that came out a month or two ago, and I just cannot understand where all the hype is coming from.
A POPULAR BOOK OR SERIES THAT EVERYONE ELSE SEEMS TO HATE BUT YOU LOVE
Ok, so this is a very beloved series. BUT there are a lot of people who think this series is poorly written which I could not disagree with more. I also technically have not read the fourth book yet, but there was a lot of drama surrounding a specific plot point (yes I was spoiled) that we ALL should have seen coming. So, if you were mad about that, I’m sorry but it was 100% foreshadowed.
A LOVE TRIANGLE WHERE THE MAIN CHARACTER ENDED UP WITH THE PERSON YOU DID NOT WANT THEM TO END UP WITH OR AN OTP THAT YOU DON’T LIKE
I’m going to steal Jordyn’s answer and go with Shadow and Bone. This is mostly because I just watched the Netflix series recently and Jessie Mei Li and Ben Barnes have insane chemistry. I do remember loving the Darkling when I read this series years ago, and I still feel like the series could have gone a different way with this.
A POPULAR BOOK GENRE THAT YOU HARDLY REACH FOR
I usually say that I’ll read pretty much any genre. Graphic novels, though, are probably a genre I’ve read the least of, and I’m not really sure why. I think this is just because I don’t enjoy consuming two types of media at the same time–it just slows down the story for me.
A POPULAR OR BELOVED CHARACTER THAT YOU DO NOT LIKE
This is another one I’m cheating on. I haven’t read this one. I DID just watch the new movie adaption on Hulu. If the movie characters are anything like their book counterparts, I absolutely hate them. So, so annoying and Joshua is not hot at all.
A POPULAR AUTHOR THAT YOU CAN’T SEEM TO GET INTO
Colleen Hoover. I actually read a good amount of Colleen Hoover books years ago and just have no interest in revisiting her writing. To be honest, I get really tired of seeing her books all over my feed.
A POPULAR BOOK TROPE THAT YOU’RE TIRED OF SEEING
I don’t see this as much anymore, but I’m sick of seeing the evil woman trope, where there is a girl who is just evil and antagonistic toward the protagonist for no reason or without any sort of redeeming quality. I’ve never met a woman with no depth. They do not exist. Stop writing them as if they do.
A POPULAR SERIES THAT YOU HAVE NO INTEREST IN READING
I actually love Naomi Novik’s writing, but I’m kinda over dark academia. Although, I thought of this originally, now reading the synopsis I kinda wonder if I would enjoy it🤔 Anyway, I probably will never read this even though everyone says this is an incredible series.
THE SAYING GOES ‘THE BOOK IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN THE MOVIE’, BUT WHAT MOVIE OR TV SHOW ADAPTATION DO YOU PREFER MORE THAN THE BOOK?
THE HANDMAID’S TALE. Hands down. I love the book but the show is just. Perfection. Highly, highly recommend this show to literally everyone. Yes, over the book.
Do you agree with any of my unpopular opinions? Share your own hot takes below!!
This is a book I requested on NetGalley and then promptly forgot about. Weeks later I got a notification saying I had been approved, so needless to say, I had no idea what this book was about when I started. I figured it was just a cute rom-com because that is most of what I request.
In reality, Island Time is a story about two very different families stranded on a small island after a tsunami, forced to come to terms with their differences.
Unfortunately, I had to DNF this book at 65%. I think this novel did not know what it wanted to be. The tone was silly and light while the plot is filled with drama and really tough topics. Together, I had a very hard time connecting to this story and these characters.
There was a lot of detail in a writing style that I did not enjoy very much. The characters all seemed like caricatures. On top of this, there were soooo many POV switches. I was honestly super into the daughters’ stories and would have loved to read just about them. The jumping definitely contributed to my inability to connect here.
I really wanted to finish this, and I love the queer discussions and rep, but I just could not do it.
Rating: ★★
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I love book hauls because I buy so many books and get so excited when I see them in-store, but it’s not very exciting for me to just list books I’m buying all the time. So, I’m trying this expansion of a book haul. My local independent bookstore downtown always has new books that I’ve never heard of. I go there pretty regularly (mostly because they have the best breakfast sandwiches I’ve ever had), so I’ve decided to list some of the books I’ve found there in the first half April that some might not (and will definitely) have heard of.
I read We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler years ago and was so enthralled by it. The writing, the story, the characters–it was all so good. This one seems very different but just as strange. It’s a historical fiction following the theatrical Booth family, yes, of John Wilkes Booth. I think this one is going to be weird and wonderful
I’m going to be honest, this one was first and foremost a cover buy. I also just love 70s aesthetic anything, so 70s family drama? Sign me up. I don’t know much other than that it centers around a family on one winter day as they face a moral crisis. I’ve heard good things about Franzen’s writing, so I’m excited to get to this 600 page beauty.
I originally wasn’t going to read this. I read the first one in this series, which I loved, but I wasn’t super interested in Fox and Hannah’s story–maybe I felt like I had already read it? It’s been so long since I read the first now, though, that I think I can enjoy this. And it’s been getting rave reviews (obviously) so I did end up picking it up when I saw it on my bookstore’s shelf.
I was sitting down, eating my breakfast sandwich, minding my own business, and this cover just called to me. I kept looking over to make sure it was still there. Once I was done eating, I could not ignore it anymore. I haven’t purchased much YA recently, but I took a look at it and I just could not put it back. This is a story told in prose about a young girl dealing with the loss of her family. Pretty much guaranteed that I am in for a good cry here.
Last time I went to this bookstore, like, a few weeks ago, I saw this book after I had already checked out. I couldn’t turn back, having already made my decisions. So obviously I looked it up on Goodreads and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. This is a psychological thriller about a mother and daughter, and that is all I want to know going into this one. Very high on my priority list right now.
I took a couple biology classes during the last year of my undergrad, and we read a lot of science nonfiction. My bookstore had a table dedicated to Earth month, and I f*cking love trees, so this one practically leaped into my hands. Not much to say about this one other than it is supposed to reveal the world of communication and complexity within trees and is done so by Simard, a prominent forest ecologist.
This is the one book I went into the store with the hopes of finding. I looked on all the shelves–the romance shelf, trending on BookTok. I almost left without this one, but then I found it hidden in the back of the display table, one lonely copy. I always want to read more queer books, but I often find the popular ones are either YA or straight-up erotica–which is fine, but I want a cute queer wlw romance with fluff AND smut. Something Emily Henry-esque. I think this will be that balance, and one that I am probably most excited to read.
What are some books you’ve recently picked up from your bookstore or library?
I saw Jordyn Reads do this tag, and thought it looked fun (also I’ve been in a reading slump the past couple weeks), so thought I’d jump on the tag train! If you want to do this, consider yourself tagged by me 🙂 I’m not sure who actually created the tag, so if you know please tag them below!!
How many books have you read so far?
I’ve read 30 so far! Definitely my best year so far since 2014, and although I’m currently in a slump, I think this is a good sign for the rest of the year!
Have you already found a book you think might be a 2022 favorite?
LISTEN, I will NEVER get over The Love Hypothesis. I am counting down the days until Love On the Brain. Fake-dating/enemies-to-lovers will always reign in my brain. I also can’t get over Maggie Shipstead’s Great Circle. It was just so beautifully written, and the way the characters develop throughout their lives is perfection. Cannot recommend enough.
If not, what was your favorite book you read that wasn’t quite five stars?
So, I did have two favorites (obviously), but I wanted to give honorable mention to these three romances. Just so cute and aghhhh. I wish I could read them all again for the first time. I technically rated The Roughest Draft and The Spanish Love Deception five stars, but they were really more like 4.75 stars in my head. You Deserve Each Other was a solid 4/4.5 stars.
Have you read any one star books this year? Or what has been your least favorite read so far?
The Moonstone Girls. Racism and horrible writing. Enough Said. Honorable mention to Ramón and Julieta which just had horrible writing. DNFd both. Don’t want to spend any more time thinking about them, lol.
What is your most read genre so far?
I knew it would be romance, but here it is straight from Storygraph. This all checks out.
What is a book that surprised you?
Going with two on this one. Rules of Arrangement was just such a unique story, and I did not expect it to be so dark and romance-focused, but I really enjoyed it! As for Little Thieves, I think I just expect to be very underwhelmed by young adult fantasy, but this one proved me wrong because it was just so fun!
Is there a book that has come out already in 2022 that you want to read but haven’t yet?
She Gets the Girl immediately came to mind with this question. I have it on hold at the library, and I will be dropping everything to read it once it becomes available to me.
What’s one goal you’re succeeding at?
I definitely am doing way better at maintaining this blog and my bookstagram than I thought I would be! As Spring is upon us, I just feel very excited about the reading and interactions I’ll be having through this platform.
What’s one goal you need to work on?
I need to be better at reading a variety of genres. I have so many books on my shelf that aren’t romance, but that look so good. Romance is very easy for me to speed through, but I need to feel less intimidated by my books that are outside the genre.
How are you all feeling about your reading a quarter way through the year?
I’m finally back with another WWW Wednesday. My Grandma passed away last week, and other than that work has been really busy. After taking some time to heal by myself, writing is helping me heal some more, so I am back!
Currently reading: I got an ARC of Island Time by Georgia Clark a while ago, and it’s coming out in June so I’m slowly working through it. It’s a lot different than I thought it would be, which isn’t inherently bad, but I definitely had to adjust my expectations. Very slow so far, but I’m hoping to finish by next week. I’ve also been listening to A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow. I borrowed the audiobook from the library, and it’s been a great read while I work out or play video games. The characters are so sweet, and I intend to finish within the next few days.
Recently finished: With everything going on with my grandma last week, I didn’t feel much like reading. So, I haven’t finished anything recently. I did start Ana Huang’s Twisted Love while mourning, but it really was not what I wanted from a romance. I don’t see myself picking that one up again.
Reading next: I’m kinda up in the air. I’m a mood reader, but I usually know what I wanted to read next. Right now, though, I just don’t know what I want in general. I do know that I have been thinking about reading G. R. Macallister’s Scorpica for a while now, so it might be time to pick that up. We shall see.
To paraphrase Chandler Ainsley’s review of this novel, it was bizarre, but I didn’t hate it. I didn’t hate this novel at all, and in fact, I finished this novel feeling like my heart had grown two sizes.
Naomi and Nicholas are engaged but they hate each other, or so Naomi thinks. She is set on being the worst fiancée she can be in order to get Nicholas to call off the wedding. Obviously, this doesn’t really go as planned.
Admittedly, the beginning of this book made me kinda sad. I could see that there was a huge misunderstanding on each of the love interests’ parts. I was honestly a little confused on how they got there after just two years and having already committed to getting married.
The beginning was a little rough, but when it turned around, BOY did it turn around. Sarah Hogle is incredible at writing sweet moments between two characters. I almost started tearing up at how sweet Nicholas and Naomi became towards each other.
The one thing I don’t think I’ll get over is how Naomi was treating Nicholas when it just seemed like he was needing support. It was also just felt like it was written with the intention of being quirky which can sometimes put me off. The second half of the book was so, so worth it though, and I absolutely recommend this as a fun and unique romance for anyone who needs something new.
Louise Reads 