Weโre back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.
This week’s topic is Bookish Jobs I Would Do For Free (Real or Imaginary) (Submitted by Susan @ Blogginโ bout Books)
Hello, friends. โจ Today I’m excited to kick off the blog tour for A Bright Heart by Kate Chenli! Special thanks to the TBR & Beyond Tours team for organising the tour and including me in it.
Thanks to Union Square & Co. for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Click here or on the banner above to check out the rest of the fantastic bloggers on tour!
A Bright Heart
Publisher: Union Square & Co.
Publication Date: 17 October 2023
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Rep: Chinese Rep
Panda Rating:
(3.5 pandas)
What if you could avenge your own murder? A brilliant young woman gets a second chance at life in this debut YA tale of vengeance, court intrigue, and romance, inspired by classic Chinese tropes.
Mingshin outsmarted three princes to help the man she loved become king. But she doesnโt see Renโs betrayal coming, not until sheโs lying in a pool of her own blood on the palace steps.
As sheโs dying, Mingshin makes a desperate plea to the gods to turn back time and give her a chance to make things right.
Mingshin wakes up two years earlier, her prayer granted, and swears two things: Ren will never become king, and she will never fall in love again.
But the timeline in this life has changed: a dignitary gifted with dark magic is threatening her kingdomโs peace, and Renโs thirst for power runs deeper than Mingshin could have imagined.
She finds herself allying with Jieh, another contender for the throne. Mingshin knows better than anyone not to give her heart to a prince. But in the viperโs nest of the royal court, she and Jieh prove a phenomenal team. Can Mingshin avert the catastrophe of her past by once again learning to trustโฆand maybe even love?
Death, attempted murder, mentions of blood, drowning, violence, loss of limbs
TL;DR: A Bright Heart was an enjoyable YA fantasy debut with a lot of potential! Mingshin was a fierce, determined and easy to root for character and I loved her story of vengeance and justice. Even though I’m not very familiar with Wuxia stories, I appreciated how the author brought the popular second-chance revenge story trope to a wider audience and I think she delivered an intriguing story full of court intrigue, mystery, a bit of magic and mythology, as well as a sweet slow burn romance. This is a great introduction to Chinese fantasy and mythology and I’m already looking forward to the sequel!
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We’re back with another Sundays in Bed With… meme! This meme dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning and is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve spent your time curled up reading in bed with or which book you wish you had time to read today!
I’m in a funky headspace which means my reading mood is being funky too. I’m finding that I need something short and fast-paced to read otherwise my attention will waver (which is how I’m feeling about The Neighbor Favor right now). So I’m looking at these books to potentially start tonight:
Happy Friday book lovers! We’re back with another First Lines Friday, a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines? Here are the rules:
First lines:
“Lily Greene always imagined that if she were to have the tragic misfortune of dying young, it would happen in a valiant, honorable way. Similar to the heroes in her beloved fantasy novels. Maybe she’d die while rescuing a child (or cat) from a burning building. Or darting into the street to save an elderly person from being hit by a speeding truck.
She didn’t imagine that at twenty-five years old her final moments would be spent drenched in sweat, dehydrated out of her mind, on a crowded New York City subway train without AC during rush hour on one of the hottest days of the year.”
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Pub Date: 23 August 2022
Genre: Cosy Paranormal Romance
Panda Rating:
(5 pandas)
She found magic in the most unlikely of places.
Mika Moon follows three rules: hide your magic, keep your head down, and stay away from other witches. Mika is good at being alone, and she doesn’t mind it . . . mostly.
But when an unexpected invitation arrives to teach three young witches at the mysterious Nowhere House, Mika jumps at the chance for a different life. As she comes to care for its quirky inhabitants – and Jamie, the handsome but prickly librarian – finally belonging somewhere feels like a real possibility.
But magic isn’t the only danger in the world – is it worth risking everything to protect the found family Mika didn’t know she was looking for?
A warm and uplifting novel about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a new family – and a new love – changes the course of her life.
TL;DR: If you’re looking for a cosy, heartwarming, and touching story about discovering your place, finding a family, and creating a home, then this is absolutely the book for you. If you want your heart to burst with all the feel-goodness this has to offer and if you love to read about endearing characters with giant hearts, a couple of secrets, and their share of trauma to work through, this is it. It honestly felt like I was reading The House in the Cerulean Sea but make it more diverse, inclusive, whimsical, cheekily sexy and romantic! ๐ If you’re a fan of cosy witchy goodness then what are you waiting for? Read this ASAP!
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Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:
Weโre back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.
This week’s topic is actually Reading Goals I Still Want to Accomplish Before the End of the Year (Weโve just begun the last quarter of the year! What bookish goals would you still like to accomplish? If you participated in TTTโs Bookish Goals for 2023 topic this past January, update us on which goals youโve achieved, which youโve given up on, and which ones youโre still working on!) BUT I’M GOING ROGUE!
It kind of feels like I blinked and woke up when September ended. ๐ Most of the month was business as usual. The highlight was getting to leave Jakarta for a work retreat.
Another plus is that we’re one day closer to the upcoming “treat yourself, besties” holiday in mid-October! โ๏ธ
But now that September is over, there are also so many things that I need to prepare for work-wise that have me sinking into my anxiety just a little bit more than usual. I signed a new contract that upped my pay, which is amazing, but it also really upped my responsibilities and I don’t know if I’m ready for that. My boss tells me it’s my lack of confidence that always gets in my way and I know she’s right, to an extent, but it’s still a lot. I’m incredibly thankful but also extremely nervous about living up to what the team needs and expects, too. Anyway, maybe I should focus on my holiday before thinking too hard about the rest of it, eh? ๐ซ ๐ซฃ
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We’re back with another Sundays in Bed With… meme! This meme dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning and is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve spent your time curled up reading in bed with or which book you wish you had time to read today!
I still haven’t decided what to pick up next after finishing my last read this morning. It’s a toss-up between these options:
Have you read any of these? Which would you recommend or which do you think I should read next?
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Rare Danger
Publisher: Montlake
Pub Date: 16 November 2021
Genre: Romantic Suspense, Novella
Panda Rating:
(3.5 pandas)
A librarianโs quiet life becomes a page-turner of adventure, romance, and murder in a thrilling novella by USA Today bestselling author Beverly Jenkins. For Jasmine Ware, curating books for an exclusive clientele is her passion. Until an old friend, a dealer of rare books, goes missing and his partner is murdered. Linked to an artifact smuggled out of the ancient library at Timbuktu, the mystery draws Jasmine deeper into a plot that could cost her her life. Air force veteran and private security ace Torr Noble is accustomed to adrenaline-pumping stakes. He never expected a private librarian would be so intriguing, but Jasmine is full of surprises. As the connection between them burns hot, a powerful old enemy raises his head. Torr and Jasmine must work together to find the missing dealer. Will the search be the start of a happily ever after or a disastrous THE END?
Child sexual abuse (recounted), depictions of blood & gore, car accident, gun violence, kidnapping
TL;DR: Rare Danger is a well-balanced blend of romance and suspense and I really enjoyed the writing and character development! This was my first Beverly Jenkins book and it definitely won’t be my last! If you’re looking for a quick sensual romance between sensible and mature characters mixed with an intriguing fast-paced mystery, I would recommend giving this a try (FYI: it’s on KU)!
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