REVIEW: Summer Nights and Meteorites by Hannah Reynolds

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

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Book: Summer Nights and Meteorites by Hannah Reynolds

Release Date: May 21, 2024

My Rating: 3.75 stars

Rep: Jewish protagonist and love interest, Black side character

CW: death of a parent (mother)

Summary: From the two-time Sydney Taylor Honor author comes another sweet Nantucket-set summer romance, perfect for fans of Rachel Lynn Solomon and K.L. Walther.

Jordan Edelman’s messy dating days are over. After a few too many broken hearts, and a father who worries a bit too much, she’s sworn off boys—at least for the summer. And since she’ll be tagging along on her father’s research trip to Nantucket, she doesn’t think it’ll be too hard to stick to her resolution.

But hooking up with the cute boy on the ferry doesn’t count, right? At least, not until that cute boy turns out to be Ethan Barbanel. As in, her father’s longtime research assistant Ethan Barbanel, the boy Jordan has hated from afar for years. And to make matters worse, Jordan might actually be falling for him.

As if that didn’t complicate her life enough, Jordan’s new summer job with a local astronomer turns up a centuries-old mystery surrounding Gibson’s Comet—and as she dives into her research, what she learns just might put her growing relationship with Ethan in jeopardy.

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: This Is Me Trying by Racquel Marie

**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: This Is Me Trying by Racquel Marie

Release Date: April 16, 2024

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Rep: pansexual/queer biracial (Colombian, Irish) protagonist, bisexual Colombian-American protagonist with OCD, lesbian Filipino-American side character, non-binary Filipino-American side character, Black side character

CW: mentions of loss of a loved one (best friend / brother) by suicide, grief, depression, suicide ideation, panic attacks, full list here

Summary: Perfect for fans of Nina LaCour, This is Me Trying is a profound and tender YA contemporary novel exploring grief, love, and guilt from author Racquel Marie.

Growing up, Bryce, Beatriz, and Santiago were inseparable. But when Santiago moved away before high school, their friendship crumbled. Three years later, Bryce is gone, Beatriz is known as the dead boy’s girlfriend, and Santiago is back.

The last thing Beatriz wants is to reunite with Santiago, who left all her messages unanswered while she drowned alone in grief over Bryce’s death by suicide. Even if she wasn’t angry, Santiago’s attempts to make amends are jeopardizing her plan to keep the world at arm’s length – equal parts protection and punishment – and she swore to never let anyone try that again.

Santiago is surprised to find the once happy-go-lucky Bea is now the gothic town loner, though he’s unsurprised she wants nothing to do with him. But he can’t fix what he broke between them while still hiding what led him to cut her off in the first place, and it’s harder to run from his past when he isn’t states away anymore.

Inevitably drawn back together by circumstance and history, Beatriz and Santiago navigate grief, love, mental illness, forgiveness, and what it means to try to build a future after unfathomable loss.

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.

REVIEW: Rules for Rule Breaking by Talia Tucker

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

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Book: Rules for Rule Breaking by Talia Tucker

Release Date: March 19, 2024

My Rating: 4 stars

Rep: Korean-American protagonists and side characters, queer Black side character, Chinese-American side character; (biracial (Jamaican, Korean) author)

Summary: Booksmart meets Never Have I Ever in this debut YA rom-com about two Korean American teens forced into a shared college visit road trip where they discover that the reasons they’ve been rivals their entire lives might actually be signs they’re a perfect pair.

Winter Park and Bobby Bae are Korean American high school juniors whose families have been friends since the kids were making crayon art. They, however, are repulsed by each other.

Winter is MIT-bound, comfortable keeping people at arm’s length, and known by others as responsible, though she has a desire to let loose. This probably comes from her rebel grandmother, who is constantly pushing boundaries and encouraging Winter to do so as well. Winter’s best friend is moving abroad and won’t be attending college at all, and Winter’s wrestling with what it means to be left behind. Bobby is as Type-A, anxious, and risk-averse as you can get. He’s also been recently dumped, which has him feeling disoriented and untethered.

That’s why, when Winter’s and Bobby’s parents insist that they go on a northeast college campus tour together, both teens find reasons to accept even though the thought of being stuck in a car together for 700 miles sounds unbearable. What awaits them is a journey of self-discovery where the only rule on their road trip is to break all the rules. At first, this happens in hilariously calculated ways (using lists and reason and logic!), but they soon abandon that, challenging each other to dares in Virginia, getting high and wandering around Philly for food—and battling the subsequent digestive distress—and crashing a party in Cambridge. And, of course, realizing that they’re perfect together.

#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.

REVIEW: ASAP by Axie Oh

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

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Book: ASAP (XOXO #2) by Axie Oh

Release Date: February 6, 2024

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Rep: Korean protagonist and cast, Korean-American love interest, biracial (Korean, white) side character; (Korean-American author)

Summary: New York Times bestselling author Axie Oh’s ASAP is the much anticipated companion novel to beloved romance XOXO, following fan favorites Sori, the wealthy daughter of a K-pop company owner, and Nathaniel, her K-pop star ex-boyfriend, in a swoon-worthy second chance love story.

Sori has worked her whole life to become a K-pop idol, until she realizes she doesn’t want a life forever in the spotlight. But that’s not actually up to Sori—she’s caught between her exacting mother’s entertainment company and her father’s presidential aspirations. And as the pressure to keep her flawless public image grows, the last person she should be thinking about is her ex-boyfriend.

Nathaniel is off limits—she knows this. A member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world and forbidden from dating, he isn’t any more of an option now than he was two years ago. Still, she can’t forget that their whirlwind romance was the last time she remembers being really happy. Or that his family welcomed her into their home when she needed it most. . . .

So when Nathaniel finds himself rocked by scandal, Sori offers him a hideaway with her. And back in close quarters, it’s hard to deny their old feelings. But when Sori gets an opportunity to break free from her parent’s expectations, she will have to decide: Is her future worth sacrificing for a second chance at love?

REVIEW: I Hope This Doesn’t Find You by Ann Liang

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

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Book: I Hope This Doesn’t Find You by Ann Liang

Release Date: February 6, 2024

My Rating: 5 stars

Rep: Chinese-Australian protagonist, love interest, and side characters; (Chinese-Australian author)

Summary: Snarky and romantic, I Hope This Doesn’t Find You is Never Have I Ever meets To All the Boys if Lara Jean wrote hate emails instead of love letters.

Sadie Wen is perfect on paper: school captain, valedictorian, and a “pleasure to have in class.” It’s not easy, but she has a trick to keep her model-student smile plastered on her face at all times: she channels all her frustrations into her email drafts. She’d never send them of course — she’d rather die than hurt anyone’s feelings — but it’s a relief to let loose on her power-hungry English teacher or a freeloading classmate taking credit for Sadie’s work.

All her most vehemently worded emails are directed at her infuriating cocaptain, Julius Gong, whose arrogance and competitive streak have irked Sadie since they were kids. “You’re attention starved and self-obsessed and unbearably vain . . . I really hope your comb breaks and you run out of whatever expensive hair products you’ve been using to make your hair appear deceptively soft…”

Sadie doesn’t have to hold back in her emails, because nobody will ever read them… that is, until they’re accidentally sent out.

Overnight, Sadie’s carefully crafted, conflict-free life is turned upside down. It’s her worst nightmare — now everyone at school knows what she really thinks of them, and they’re not afraid to tell her what they really think of her either. But amidst the chaos, there’s one person growing to appreciate the “real” Sadie — Julius, the only boy she’s sworn to hate…

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. ***