REVIEW: Sound the Gong by Joan He

**I received an ARC from the publisher through Netgalley (thank you, Fierce Reads!). These are my honest opinions, and in no way was I compensated for this review.**

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Book: Sound the Gong (Kingdom of Three #2) by Joan He

Release Date: April 30, 2024

My Rating: 3,75 stars

Rep: Chinese-coded cast and inspiration

CW: blood, violence, full list here

Summary: From New York Times and Indie bestselling author Joan He, comes the dazzling and sweeping conclusion to The Kingdom of Three duology, Sound the Gong, the breathtaking sequel to the critically-acclaimed Strike the Zither.

All her life, Zephyr has tried to rise above her humble origins as a no-name orphan. Now she is a god in a warrior’s body, and never has she felt more powerless. Her lordess Xin Ren holds the Westlands, but her position is tenuous. In the north, the empress remains under Miasma’s thumb. In the south, the alliance with Cicada is in pieces.

Fate also seems to have a different winner in mind for the three kingdoms, but Zephyr has no intentions of respecting it. She will pay any price to see Ren succeed—and she will make her enemies pay, especially one dark-haired, dark-eyed Crow. What she’ll do when she finds out the truth—that he worked for the South all along…

REVIEW: Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier

**I received an ARC from the publisher through Netgalley (thank you, Clarion Books!). These are my honest opinions, and in no way was I compensated for this review.**

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Book: Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier

Release Date: April 9, 2024

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Rep: Pacific Island mythology inspiration and -coded characters

CW: blood, gore

Summary: From acclaimed author Makiia Lucier, a dazzling, romantic fantasy inspired by Pacific Island mythology.

In the old tales, it is written that the egg of a seadragon, dragonfruit, holds within it the power to undo a person’s greatest sorrow. An unwanted marriage, a painful illness, and unpaid debt … gone. But as with all things that promise the moon and the stars and offer hope when hope has gone, the tale comes with a warning.

Every wish demands a price.

Hanalei of Tamarind is the cherished daughter of an old island family. But when her father steals a seadragon egg meant for an ailing princess, she is forced into a life of exile. In the years that follow, Hanalei finds solace in studying the majestic seadragons that roam the Nominomi Sea. Until, one day, an encounter with a female dragon offers her what she desires most. A chance to return home, and to right a terrible wrong.

Samahtitamahenele, Sam, is the last remaining prince of Tamarind. But he can never inherit the throne, for Tamarind is a matriarchal society. With his mother ill and his grandmother nearing the end of her reign. Sam is left with two to marry, or to find a cure for the sickness that has plagued his mother for ten long years. When a childhood companion returns from exile, she brings with her something he has not felt in a very long time – hope.

But Hanalei and Sam are not the only ones searching for the dragonfruit. And as they battle enemies both near and far, there is another danger they cannot escape…that of the dragonfruit itself.

REVIEW: The Last Bloodcarver by Vanessa Le

**I received an ARC from the publisher through Netgalley. These are my honest opinions, and in no way was I compensated for this review.**

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Book: The Last Bloodcarver (The Last Bloodcarver #1) by Vanessa Le

Release Date: March 19, 2024

My Rating: 4 stars

Rep: Vietnamese inspiration and -coded cast; (Vietnamese-American author)

CW: mentions of loss of loved ones (mother, grandmother), blood, gore, human experimentation

Summary: The tantalizing romance of These Violent Delights meets the mechanical wonders of Cinder in The Last Bloodcarver, the first in a two-book debut – with a riveting medical magic system and lush Vietnam-inspired fantasy world.

Nhika is a bloodcarver. A cold-hearted, ruthless being who can alter human biology with just a touch. In the industrial city of Theumas, she is seen not as a healer, but a monster that kills for pleasure.

When Nhika is caught using her bloodcarving abilities during a sham medical appointment, she’s captured by underground thugs and sold to an aristocratic family to heal the last witness of their father’s murder.

But as Nhika delves deeper into their investigation amidst the glitz of Theumas’ wealthiest district, she begins to notice parallels between this job and her own dark past. And when she meets an alluring yet entitled physician’s aide, Ven Kochin, she’s forced to question the true intent behind this murder. In a society that outcasts her, Kochin seems drawn to her…though he takes every chance he gets to push her out of his opulent world.

When Nhika discovers that Kochin is not who he claims to be, and that there is an evil dwelling in Theumas that runs much deeper than the murder of one man, she must decide where her heart, and her allegiance, truly lie. And – if she’s willing to become the dreaded bloodcarver Theumas fears to save herself and the ones she’s vowed to protect.

#waitingonwednesday: a banh mi for two

Happy valentine’s day and chúc mừng năm mới (happy lunar new year) to everyone who celebrates! What better way to celebrate the day than with a spotlight post on one of my most anticipated 2024 debuts? I’ve been so closely following this book since Trinity started writing it, and I’m so happy that her debut is finally coming out this year! A Bánh Mì for Two releases August 27; add it to your TBR lists now and check out more about the book below.

LIST: most anticipated 2024 releases (pt. 1)

With the dawn of a new year means more books to look forward to! This list is a bit later than usual (admittedly, I got a bit lazy) and somehow even shorter than last year, but hopefully that means that I’ll get to read everything on this list for once. Here are my most anticipated releases for the first half of 2024!

*** This list has redacted titles from St. Martin’s Press and its associated imprints in solidarity with the readers’ strike against SMP.
Visit Readers for Accountability for more. ***

LIST: my top ten favorite reads of 2023 (final)

2023 has simultaneously flown by and been the longest year ever. While I’ve had a lot of mediocre reads, I’ve also read some new favorites. With the end of the year, it’s also time to update the list of my favorite reads from earlier this year. Here are my top ten favorite reads of 2023 (final)!

SONG SATURDAY: txt songs + books (pt. 2)

It’s been a long time coming, but I am finally back with another TOMORROW X TOGETHER (TXT) songs + books post to celebrate their latest comeback! I’ve had their new album, The Name Chapter: FREEFALL, on repeat for the past week; it’s soooo good. Here’s a list of books paired with TXT songs!

Don’t forget to checkout part 1 of this post with more TXT songs paired with books.

You can also check out other posts in my “song saturday” series here. Apparently I haven’t done one of these since…last December…so maybe I’ll branch out to random themes? I’ve had a general K-pop one in my drafts for a while so I’ll try to get around to writing that post (relatively) soon. I do want to write another BTS one, probably for all their solo projects, but that’ll have to wait till Golden comes out.

LIST: 5 2024 debuts i’m unbelievably excited for

In the past couple weeks, I’ve been going through catalogues and scanning people’s TBRs to find more releases for next year because I just keep finding new ones that sound so good. This list is no different; there are so many great-sounding debuts coming out soon. Here are 5 2024 debuts that I’m unbelievably excited for!

This list is a mix of young adult and adult novels, releasing throughout the year. I’ll try to update one of these with buy links and more information when we get more updates! Hope you add these debuts to your TBR list as well, if they’re not already there <3.

LIST: pick an emoji and i’ll rec you a 2023 release (pt. 4)

Only a quarter of the year left, which means it’s time for the last post in this series for this year. There are so many great releases out in the fall; hopefully this post will help you find some new books. So without further ado, pick and emoji and I’ll recommend you a 2023 release (from October through December)!

Check out the other posts in this series for this year: part 1 (January – March), part 2 (April – June), and part 3 (July – September). For previous years’ posts, check out this tag.

As usual, none of the emojis in this post are spoiler-y and more based on vibes and/or the cover of the book. Age range and genre details are also included with each title. Hope you enjoy this post, and let me know which emoji you chose in the comments!

#waitingonwednesday: dragonfruit

I’m a huge fan of Makiia Lucier’s works, and I was so excited to hear about her next release! Based on the premise of this one, I know I’m going to adore it and go through multiple rounds of grief while reading. The romance in particular sounds like it’s going to end me because her romances always do…Anyways, Dragonfruit releases on April 9, 2024; check out more about it and the gorgeous cover, as well as why I’m looking forward to this book, below.