Author: Solace in Reading

My Thoughts on King of Pride by Ana Huang

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Have you ever read a book with a character where it seems like the author reached into your mind and pulled out a character who is nearly exactly like you? That was me with King of Pride by Ana Huang. Here are the similarities between me and the main character:

We are both named Isabella.
We are both Filipino.
We are both writers.
I had my hair dyed purple at some point in my life like Isabella.
We both know how to play piano (well, I cannot play as well as Isabella, but I do know how).

    Isabella works at Valhalla, a bar for New York City’s richest, to make money while she writes what will hopefully be her first published novel. She feels like she does not have control over her life. She faces pressure from her family. She is friends with Vivian, Sloane, and Alessandra. Isabella also has a pet snake.

    Kai is the heir to his family’s company. He is hoping to take over. Kai is also a patron of Valhalla. I liked Kai a lot because he respects Isabella and does not see himself as superior to her just because he is about to become the CEO of a company.

    When the two of them meet, they are instantly drawn to each other’s intelligence. I didn’t like the insta-love romances of Huang’s other novels, or the way that the men were written (in my opinion) as being dominant over the woman (I did not like Christian, Dante, or Josh). I do not really read a lot of romance novels either. When I do, my ideal romance novel has a healthy relationship as I do not like the dark romance genre either. That is why King of Pride stands out to me. Isabella and Kai respect each other and I think there’s a bit more of a slow burn in this one compared to other novels by Huang. Isabella gets her own backstory and story unattached from Kai, and the same goes for Kai. I loved that this book was more plot than simply insta-love moments.

    The pacing of this book worked well too, although I wish it would have been a little longer. Isabella is definitely my favorite of all of Huang’s main characters. I hope that Huang writes more about her in the future.

    Have you read any of Ana Huang’s novels?

    Foreshadowing in the Ember Quartet – Pt. 1

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    Sabaa Tahir’s Ember Quartet remains one of my greatest fantasy series of all time. I read it every time and I find my love for it increasing. After re-reading the series (out of order, the last two books first and the first two books after), I realized that there is so much that I did not pick up on even after reading the series in full for the third time. There will be spoilers for the entire series in this article, so please, please, please read the series and then come back to this article!!!

    An Ember in the Ashes

    1. Elias’ grandfather’s saying: “The field of battle is my temple. The sword point is my priest. The dance of death is my prayer. The killing blow is my release.” – pg 11 – This is referenced multiple times throughout the other books in different contexts. Elias changes this saying to represent his love for Laia in A Torch Against the Night.
    2. “No, please, no. Disappear, I want to disappear. The Mask blinks, some foreign emotion flickering across his eyes – surprise or shock, I can’t tell.” – pg 18 – Laia’s invisibility powers manifest more in the sequels.
    3. “[The mask] makes my skin crawl, makes me feel like I’m not myself anymore. Like I’ll never be myself again.” – pg 25 – This may foreshadow Elias’ escape from having to live as a soldier.
    4. Keenan comments on Laia’s armlet: “That’s an unusual armlet. . .It’s silver, isn’t it?” pg 57 – already foreshadowing that Keenan is the Nightbringer.
    5. “You are an ember in the ashes, Elias Veturius. You will spark and burn, ravage and destroy.” Cain says this to Elias before the trials begin/are announced on page 65. It’s a reference to the title and I think how Elias will become the Soul Catcher.

    These are the first 65 pages of AEITA. I can’t believe how many hints there were to future books from the very first hundred pages.

    Did you notice any foreshadowing in the first 100 pages of the Ember Quartet?

    I’d Rather Burn Than Bloom by Shannon C.F. Rogers – My Thoughts

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    I’d Rather Burn Than Bloom by Shannon C.F. Rogers is about Marisol Martin, a multiracial Filipino teenager, and her life after her mother’s death. Marisol is angry: angry at her mom, her former best friend, her dad for not understanding, and most significantly, herself. 

    The way that Rogers writes about grief is so raw. Marisol wants to push away her emotions instead of voicing them – in the way that maybe by pushing those emotions away, she won’t need to accept that her mother is physically gone. She struggles with creating art in after. I related to Marisol’s deep desire to have complete control over her life, and her impulsive reactions when that won’t happen. Throughout I’d Rather Burn Than Bloom, Marisol’s anger causes her to isolate herself and pull back from building relationships with others because she doesn’t want things to change, especially with the biggest change in her family impacting all aspects of her life. In a way, I think Marisol’s anger is how she holds onto her mother, at least in part because Marisol describes herself as never having been best friends with her mom, so these fights, and this anger, remind her of a time when her mom was alive.

    The plot of the story centers around Marisol’s personal relationships, and also with her relationship to herself. She questions if she is still Filipino even though her mother is gone. She questions if she is good enough, or if she should’ve tried harder to be a perfect daughter. All this combined made me feel like I was right in Marisol’s mind during this very stream-of-consciousness narrative.

    Overall, I appreciate the message that it is ok to have regrets about the past. What is important is to know that there are people who are there for you and want to be there for you during grief. There isn’t one way to grieve, as Marisol, her brother, and father show. Roger’s debut is emotionally devastating while also maintaining hope and love throughout.

    Book Information 

    Title: I’d Rather Burn Than Bloom
    Author: Shannon C.F. Rogers
    Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
    Publication Date: July 11, 2023 
    Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary

    Synopsis:

    Packed with voice, this is a powerful coming-of-age YA novel about a Filipina-American teen who tries to figure out who she really is in the wake of her mother’s death.

    Some girls call their mother their best friend. Marisol? She could never relate. She and her mom were forever locked in an argument with no beginning and no end.

    But when her mother dies suddenly, Marisol is left with no one to fight against, haunted by all the things that she both said and didn’t say. And when Marisol sleeps with her best friend’s boyfriend—and then punches said best friend in the face—she’s left alone, with nothing but a burning anger.

    And Marisol is determined to stay angry. After all, there’s a lot to be angry about. But as a new friendship begins to develop, Marisol reluctantly starts to open up to her, and to the possibility there’s something else on the other side of that anger—something more to who she is, and who she could be.

    Book links:  
    Goodreads
    Storygraph
    Blackwells
    Amazon
    Barnes & Noble
    Bookshop US
    Other US retailers

    Author Information

    Shannon C.F. Rogers is a multiracial Filipino-American writer of young adult novels, short fiction, and plays. A former editor on Lunch Ticket, her work has appeared in Bodega Magazine and Newfound Journal as well as on stage with Tricklock Company and Lady Luck Productions. Shannon earned her B.A. in Creative Writing from the University of New Mexico and her MFA in Writing For Young People at Antioch University Los Angeles. She has served as an educator, after-school program director, and lost mitten finder at schools in Albuquerque, Chicago, and New York City. She is the author of I’d Rather Burn than Bloom. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

    Author Links: 

    Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21941127.Shannon_C_F_Rogers
    Website: https://www.shannoncfrogers.com/
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shannon.cf.rogers
    Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/shannoncfrogers

    Thank you to Colored Pages Blog Tours, Netgalley, and Fierce Reads for the advanced reader copy.

    Review: While You Were Dreaming by Alisha Rai

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    When I was approved on Netgalley for While You Were Dreaming by Alisha Rai, I was ecstatic. I’d read Alisha Rai’s contemporary adult romance series, and I enjoy when authors write in different categories. This is Alisha Rai’s contemporary YA debut.

    While You Were Dreaming takes on a much different tone from her previous novels, while still maintaining a similarity to Alisha Rai’s style of writing. Sonia, the main character, is an Indian American teenage girl living with her sister Kareena in New York. Sonia is very into cosplay (she uses her mother’s machine to sew) and works at a sandwich shop. She also has a crush on James Cooper. . .who she ends up saving one day. However, Sonia must hide her identity because Kareena is not an American citizen.

    Alisha Rai also writes about the negativities of the American immigration system from the perspective of a teen girl whose mother was arrested. I learned that legal aid is not provided to immigrants. Throughout this time, Kareena is working multiple jobs to support Sonia.

    Thus begins a story of hiding identities (both willingly, and unwillingly, and physically and mentally). Let me tell you all, the amount I related to Sonia was A LOT. I am also a part of the Asian diaspora, and while I am not Indian American, I related to the fact that Sonia was figuring out her relationship with her heritage. This part of the book felt like my thoughts surrounding my Asian-ness were pulled right out of my mind.

    Alisha Rai captures what it is like to feel like you don’t belong. She captures the beauty of sibling relationships and how they can help us through life even when we feel like we have no control over anything. While You Were Dreaming captures the very essence of the importance of holding onto hope and understanding that it is ok to need a support system – you don’t have to be a hero on your own. I greatly enjoyed Alisha Rai’s young adult debut and I highly recommend this captivating and reflective novel.

    *I received a copy from Netgalley and Quill Tree Books. This did not impact my opinion on the book.

    Mid-year Book Tag

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    Ever since not setting a #-based reading goal, I have found myself enjoying more books that I read – in fact, a majority of them! So far, though, I have read 49 books this year including re-reads.

    Best Books I’ve Read So Far

    I Was Their American Dream: A Graphic Memoir by Malaka Gharib, As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh, I’d Rather Burn Than Bloom by Shannon C.F. Rogers, The Blood Gift by N.E. Davenport, Severance by Ling Ma, The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi, Drizzle, Dreams, and Lovestruck Things by Maya Prasad, Yellowface by R.F. Kuang, A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza, Peach Blossom Spring by Melissa Fu

    Compared to last year, I have more books here that are contemporary than fantasy. I have also read more books that are not YA this year, so my reading tastes have changed. I love books about families and siblings.

    Best Sequel(s) I’ve Read So Far

    The Blood Gift by N.E. Davenport – a fast-moving, intense sequel to The Blood Trials. I hope N.E. Davenport publishes more books in this world in the future.

    Biggest Disappointment

    Surprisingly, none? I think this is mostly because I refuse to read a lot of the books that I see all the time online.

    Biggest Surprise

    Severance by Ling Ma; it was different from most of what I read. I enjoyed the critiques of capitalism and how it exploits workers through the lens of a dystopian future.

    Favorite Author (Debut or New to You)

    Maya Prasad!! Drizzle, Dreams, and Lovestruck Things was so cute and while I do not read as many YA contemporary novels anymore, this one stands out. I highly recommend her book! Also, DDLT has a sequel coming out this year in the fall, so definitely add it to your TBR. DDLT follows four Indian American sisters and their dad, who run the Songbird Inn, as they experience love through four seasons.

    The Most Beautiful Book You’ve Bought or Received This Year

    I bought this last year. My The Broken Binding copy of Babel by R.F. Kuang is so gorgeous. It has a cover different from my other two versions, red stained edges, and a red hardback with metallic foiling on the front.

    What book(s) do you want to read by the end of the year?

    • Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Y. Davis

    Favorite book to movie/tv series you’ve seen this year?

    The Witcher, maybe! I like the show better than the two books in the series I read. Yennefer remains my favorite character and her development since the first season is so great to see. She is much more secure in her powers.

    What books have you enjoyed this year?

    Review: Serendipity – A Cute Young Adult Romance Anthology

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    *Review written in 2022

    Serendipity was one of my most anticipated anthologies of 2022, and I’m so grateful I got to read it early because of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group and Netgalley. The stories of this Young Adult anthology based around romantic tropes filled me with joy.

    What I love most is that a lot of the stories focused on friends to lovers stories OR the start of a relationship. The authors effectively wrote short stories that left me satisfied with the promise of new and changed relationships. I also like the fact that some of my expectations for the main characters in the stories turned out to be different. Each main character felt real to me: I enjoyed the diversity of their hobbies and goals: one character thought she wanted to get back at her ex, another character realizes that she may not know her “enemy” as well as she thought she did, and another character realized that love may take risks. A new relationship may start from running into someone else in a new country, or with a friend you’ve known for over 7 years.

    While every story focused on a romantic relationship, the friendships and familial relationships were also great to see. Serendipity left me feeling hopeful. It’s heartwarming to read stories about people my age experiencing love for the first time, and to feel like you’re a part of a great love story. Serendipity takes joy in the simple moments, in the simplicity of noticing all of the details of a person, and being open to knowing the entirety of a person, beyond how they may appear to look to the rest of the world.

    Review: A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir

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    A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir is the best book of the Ember Quartet. I think I love it so much because nearly every aspect is perfect. I first got into the Ember Quartet because I saw that there was a lot of press for ARATG. It was the first book by a brown Asian American person I read where I saw a main character who vaguely looked like me in a fantasy novel. (It is important to recognize that brown Asians have various and different experiences and come from all around Asia and so it’s important to say that if the Ember Quartet was made into a movie, Laia should be played by a Pakistani actress.) There will be spoilers for the first two books of the AEITA quartet.

    At the beginning of ARATG, Laia, Helene, and Elias are all split up in different parts of the Empire. Helene is the Blood Shrike, Laia is learning how to use her invisibility powers, and Elias is the Soul Catcher. I appreciated seeing how much character growth happens throughout ARATG, and what sets this apart from the first two books is that we get to see Laia and Helene’s relationship develop, something that was a bit tenuous in the prior books. Elias is brooding this entire book – he pines a lot over his lost life and struggles to fully accept his identity as the Soul Catcher.

    Laia remains my favorite character of the three. She is a heroine who defines herself by her kindness and hope. Laia is strong and her emotions are not a weakness. They do not have to be a strength. Her agency is also not defined by the people around her. However, Helene is still my least favorite character. Although she does begin to recognize the Empire as the colonizing force that it is toward the Scholars, she is not yet fully there in recognizing how she contributes to the oppression of the Scholars.

    The world building in ARATG is the strongest of the Quartet. The scope of the world expands so much in this book, which is what makes it my favorite of the Quartet. It feels organic and is balanced with the rest of the narrative. For example, Musa of Marinn is a great new character who introduces us to an entirely new aspect of the world, and to wights. At the end of it all, though, Laia is the main character of the Ember Quartet and without her, the narrative would be nothing. She is the heart of these novels.

    Why did you read the Ember Quartet? If you haven’t read it, are you planning to?

    Of Light and Shadow by Tanaz Bhathena: Review

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    Of Light and Shadow by Tanaz Bhathena. I love this cover.

    Of Light and Shadow by Tanaz Bhathena is a new story set in the same world as Hunted by the Sky. You can read this book without reading The Wrath of Ambar duology. Admittedly, I have found myself reading less YA fantasy, but I enjoyed TWOA duology for Bhathena’s intricate world building and fast paced plot. The atmosphere of OLAS is different from TWOA.

    Roshan and Navin come from two very different worlds. Roshan is a vigilante, while Navin is a prince. Roshan captures Navin, and they are interlocked in a power struggle for the majority of the book. Roshan and her family of vigilantes do not know why the land is facing a blight. I like that OLAS connects Roshan and Navin’s personal struggles with the struggles of the world around them; this book feels much more contained than TWOA duology – again, this is what makes it different.

    Unfortunately, I did find myself lost while reading OLAS because I did not really comprehend the number of characters within this world. I also did not really understand the magic system, so I think I need to re-read this. Fortunately, Roshan and Navin are engaging characters who I wanted to learn more about. Roshan originally wanted to be a healer when she was younger, but when her parents were killed, she was adopted by vigilantes. Navin struggles with his relationships with his family. He can manipulate emotions. Both characters end up admiring each other but they do not fully trust each other or themselves.

    While I enjoyed TWOA, I think I felt my mind wandering off too much for me to truly enjoy OLAS. I also read it over the course of 5 months, so I found myself picking up OLAS and not remembering what happened in the previous chapters. While Roshan and Navin are both interesting, I did not feel as attached to them as I did to Gul and Cavas in TWOA duology. I also liked the dynamic of Gul and Cavas more because of their relationship as friends first. If you are looking to get into the universe of HBTS, I would recommend reading OLAS as it is a standalone. I think this book can appeal to people who enjoy reading about adventure novels and are looking for a fast paced fantasy about the importance of recognizing that people are more than what society has stereotyped them as.

    *Note: Thank you to the publisher and the Fierce Reads YA Influencer List. This did not influence my opinion of the book.

    Have you read any of Tanaz Bhathena’s books? What did you think of them?

    reflecting on my relationship to my Asian American identity

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    academia

    Since elementary school, I have become more connected to my Filipino American and Asian American identities, but I’ve had to educate myself outside of school to do so. In high school Filipino Americans and Asian Americans were represented either in terms of the model minority myth, immigration, or discrimination. I expected for curriculum to be different in college. I was looking forward to being a part of an academic community that would hopefully explore a multitude of perspectives. 

    Unfortunately, this was still not the case. In my literature courses for the year, there were no books by Asian Amerian authors. I also found out that most of the professors teaching about Asian Americans were white people. Fortunately, I found spaces for Asian Americans to learn, which is important, and also to live and have fun. Those spaces helped me know that my Asian Americaness and Filipino Americaness can only be defined by myself.

    However, I still question the systems where the “canon” of some of my classes does not include Asian American authors. During my first year of college, I learned that it took two years for an Asian American Literature class to be approved as an accepted class for the core literature requirement.  It is 2023, and the university I go to, in a city that has one of the largest Asian American populations in the U.S., does not have an Asian American Studies program, or at least more classes about Asian Americans taught by Asian Americans. Administrations use students to show that they’re so progressive, but they can’t have any actual progress without actually implementing student ideas. You can’t put us on display for your DEI initiatives and then decide that we’re not worth listening to. 

    reading

    My journey of reading books by Asian American authors with Asian American main characters started about 10 years ago when I read Dumpling Days by Grace Lin. Pacy, the main character, goes to Taiwan with her family because they are celebrating her grandmother’s 60th birthday. The first fantasy/science fiction novel I read by a Filipino American author was Ignite the Stars by Maura Milan, and the first Young Adult fiction book I read with a Filipino American main character was Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay. 

    Compared to what I read most five or even three years ago, I have read much more of a variety of novels by Asian Americans (variety in range of genre and in range of storylines). I was so happy when I read The Jasmine Project by Meredith Ireland – Jasmine is adopted and Korean American and this is a fact that is allowed to exist. The focus of the novel is on her living her life, and the joy she finds in embracing her goals. I’m an Asian American adoptee and I never read a book with an adopted Asian American main character, and by an author with the same identity as me until 2021. 

    Another book that I loved was Boys I Know by Anna Gracia. While June is Taiwanese American and I am Filipino American, I related to her saying that she used to latch on to any Asian representation she saw because there was “so little representation” where she lived, which was the same for me growing up as an adopted person in family of white people. The city I live in does have a large Asian American community, and I sometimes feel like I should’ve done more in my youth to be “more” Asian American, to connect to this community. I appreciate that Gracia writes “there is no percentage threshold or visual requirement to be considered Asian” in her author’s note. 

    I am glad that there is a range of stories for Asian American youth, including stories about joy and in which we can live in fantasy worlds. These books let me know that I don’t have to prove my identity to anyone. I can just exist. Someday, I want to write a book about a Filipino American adoptee living with lupus because that’s my experience. Asian Americans have a variety of stories, and I hope for publishers to recognize this all year and every year.

    *originally posted on my Bookstagram @solaceinreading_

    Did you learn about Asian American history in school?

    The First Binding by R.R. Virdi – My Thoughts

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    This is the longest book I have read since Babel (I think). The First Binding by R.R. Virdi has been on my to be read list since last year, and I finally started it on January 1. I was intimidated by the size, but once I started reading I knew I wanted to know what would happen at the end. TFB is a frame narrative style fantasy novel that I have not seen in any of the fantasy novels I have read. Ari, the main character, is a storyteller, and the narrative flashes back between his youth and his present time.

    About 25% of the way in, I realized that I would have preferred Eloine as a main character over Ari. She is a mysterious woman who Ari tells most of the stories to. No spoilers, but I am so glad that R.R. Virdi included her perspective. While Ari seems to be very closed off and sort of like an unreliable narrator, Eloine seems to be upfront about her unreliability. Eloine, I think, is also interesting because sometimes, women can fall into the stereotype of only being there to advance the man’s story, but Eloine has her own story.

    Also, while I found Ari’s backstory interesting, I am interested to know how R.R. Virdi will catch up to the present time when The First Binding takes place in. Ari seems to be a lot more jaded in the present time, although when he is a child, there are hints of the intensely, closed off man he will become. The majority of the book is focused on Ari’s time as a child which I was not expecting to be so interesting, but R.R. Virdi does a nice job of combining Ari’s story as a child and his time as an adult.

    I am excited to see where The First Binding series goes and after that ending, I look forward to learning more about Ari and even more about Eloine. R.R. Virdi’s writing feels like hearing a story told by Ari, complete with the effects of Ari’s magic. R.R. Virdi also questions what magic and power means, and how the stories of magic and power can be manipulated by the people at the center. What I found most compelling about The First Binding is how the story questions the truth and the truth of magic as it impacts all of the people across the world of TFB.