I have not read a mystery novel in a while, and I love Manansala’s other books, so I knew I wanted to read Death in the Cards. This is Manansala’s first Young Adult book, but not her first mystery. Danika Dizon, the main character, is a 17 year old tarot reader who wants to solve the mystery of one of her missing clients when she is approached by the missing client’s sister, Gaby.
Manansala excellently captures what it is like to be a high schooler who desperately wants to prove themselves to the people around them. Danika’s mother, a private investigator, does not want Danika involved in anything that could put her in danger. Danika wants to show that she could someday work as a private investigator like her mother. When I went to the launch party, Manansala described how she wanted to capture the feeling of being a teenager rather than trying to sound like a teenager. I appreciate this approach. Danika feels like such a real character: she practices Kali, reads tarot, and hopes to save enough money to restore a car.
The side characters are equally interesting: Junior, Nicole, and Gaby were my favorites. I love that this book is very focused on friendships and family. This book also included commentary on how it feels to be surrounded by wealthy classmates. I found myself in an environment like that when I was a coxswain in high school, and it can be a challenging environment to navigate. I also liked the pacing of the mystery; I found myself trying to guess at every page what was going to happen next. It felt like I was with Danika as she tried to solve the mystery.
Death in the Cards, with its main character Danika who is a Filipino, queer woman, is a mystery book that I finished in two days because of its well-written characters and intrigue. I do think that my reading tastes have changed though, and I will say that I do not think Manasala’s writing style is 100% for me; however, this is still a book I recommend. It is so great to see more books where the characters happen to be Filipino; Manansala also discussed this at the launch party. I remember her saying something to the effect that these books are not to educate about Filipinos, and to pick up a nonfiction book instead. I really appreciated hearing this!
I think I finally figured out that Melissa De La Cruz’s writing style is not for me. I read her other YA contemporary novels including Something In Between. In Something In Between, I did not like how the main character demeaned the Philippines. I hoped that this book would be better.
It was not better. The writing style felt like it was lacking something. The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos has the elements needed for a good romance, but it was dull. I honestly found the main characters very uninteresting. I do not really have much to say about the book because I was not left with a lasting impression of Dalisay and Evan. The writing was clinical and lacked emotion.
I also think that TFSOCDR could have been a little longer. Maybe seeing a little more development of the romance would have been helpful: it felt like they immediately met at work, and then barely knew each other when they decided to date. The romantic atmosphere barely felt like it existed.
If you are looking for other contemporary romance novels to read that also discuss culture and family, I recommend Dating Dr. Dil by Nisha Sharma (in fact, the entire If Shakespeare Was an Auntie trilogy) and Much Ado About Nada by Uzma Jalaluddin.
Thank you to Union Square & Co. for the early copy. This did not impact my opinion of the book. The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos by Melissa De La Cruz came out on June 1, 2024.
Heir by Sabaa Tahir is the start of a sequel series to An Ember in the Ashes (AEITA) which came out in 2015. I did not read AEITA until my first year of high school, and I still cannot believe it took me that long to read it. The series ended in my junior year of high school, and I did not want to leave the world Tahir created. When I found out Heir was coming out, I felt like I was back in high school.
Tahir has managed to capture the feeling of the original series, one of fighting for hope, justice, and a better future while leading with love: Quil, with his love for his country, and Sirsha, with her love for a community. I think multiple perspectives can be a lot sometimes in a first book, but Tahir made me want to read all of them. Aiz is a character who I did not understand at first, but by the end of Heir I found myself wanting to know what is next for her so much.
Quil is amazing. He is 20 years old and is in line to lead the Empire. I love how he is very strong and fierce, but is also shyer than Elias. Quil may be my favorite male character that Tahir has written. Also, I love reading books with royals in relationships that are made complicated by the family around them. This is also the first time the male main character has almost been my favorite in a book, which almost never happens for me.
I loved Sirsha – she is my favorite character of Heir. She is different from Laia and Helene; she has a carefree attitude that she uses to hide the fact that she does care about the people around her and yearns for people who will stay by her side. I love that she is not afraid to ask for what she wants in any relationship she has.
Aiz was such a surprising character; I did not expect to see her story to go where it did. I think this shows how Tahir is such an amazing writer as I felt many different emotions toward her, including disappointment. At the same time, the side characters captured my attention more than Aiz. I appreciate that Tahir is able to make me understand the characters even though I do not agree with them.
I would read a thousand books set in the world of Ember. Tahir has written a fantasy novel that I believe will become one of the classics of our time. Heir is an adventurous novel that uses the tropes of soul mates and the “chosen one” in new ways.
This review will contain a spoiler section marked with spoilers. The first part is spoiler free.
The beginning is quite fast paced, immediately dropping you into the world. From there, everything pretty much falls apart. From my understanding, the Romans came from our time and into Ruying’s world. The fact that Ruying’s world was colonized is apparent from the beginning (so is the fact that the prince is evil to the reader).
Ruying is the main character and she has the power to kill people with her touch. Her best friend, Baihu, is working for the Romans. She is discovered by the prince Antony who forces her to kill his enemies for him. Antony is quite obviously evil to the reader from the beginning, and I think Chang wants us to see how naive Ruying is from the start, but again there is no character development until the very end. I also did not like the romance between them either – Antony is extremely creepy.
I found myself wishing Ruying had more of a spine – I almost wish we followed Meiya, her sister’s story – I suspect Chang wanted us to follow a character who was on the journey of joining the rebellion, but it takes a while (the whole book almost) to realize that she needs to stand up for what she believes in rather than thinking she can work within the system of colonization and imperialism of the Romans – this did not make for a good story and instead made it seem like they wanted the reader to root for Antony (when again, Antony is a colonizer). Again, this did not work out as nearly the entire book focuses on Ruying’s selfishness and how she ignores what everyone else says about Antony except for Antony.
I find myself gravitating to stories where the rebellion against colonization is more apparent, or the main character already knows/is strong in their beliefs. I think R.F. Kuang does a good job of this in The Poppy War trilogy, and N.E. Davenport in The Blood Trials, and Melissa Blair in A Broken Blade. I wish Ruying had more solid beliefs, or her induction into the rebellion introduced earlier. For example, if she’d been working for the rebellion from the start I think that would have worked better.
Overall, the execution of the story fell short of my expectations (my expectations were already nil after reading reviews before reading the book). The commentary on colonization and imperialism was not there. If you’re looking for a fantasy novel with a main character who fights for her beliefs and that calls out colonization and imperialism, read any of the above mentioned in the previous paragraph. Apparently, the second book is being marketed as “anti-colonial,” but after such a lackluster start I will not be reading the second one.
Spoiler Section
This book was advertised incorrectly. It should never have been marketed as an enemies to lovers romance. Also, by the end Taohua – Ruying’s only female friend other than her sister and grandmother – is killed in the biological warefare prisons. How are there still a lack of female friendships in a fantasy novel?
Ruying has a lot of learning to do, and she refuses to listen to her best friend, who she’s known way longer than Antony, once Baihu tells her about the biological warfare prisons. There seemed to be more exposition needed or background on the friendship between Baihu and Ruying. Also, this section really drives home the reviewers who critiqued the book as an ARC (these quotes below are still in the final copy):
“Baihu chuckled, shook his head. ‘You really have no idea what Antony is like, do you? What he’s done? What he and his scientists are doing to our people?” “You’re right. I don’t know what he’s doing, not in detail. And frankly, I don’t give a damn.” (Said by Ruying)
Then on the next page:
“Do you ever wonder what happened to the people who didn’t pass the Exhibition? Do you know what they are doing to our people in-” (Said by Baihu)
“I don’t know. And quite frankly, I don’t care.” (said by Ruying)
How are you saying “I don’t care” when you, Ruying, recognize the destruction of the world because of the Romans? Why are you unwilling to listen to your friend? By the end, Ruying does choose the side of the revolution, but it just felt so careless to not have more about the revolution. I am not sure why Ruying kept cutting Baihu off either. I would have liked to see a story where Ruying starts out on the revolution’s side and works with Taohua to take down the prisons.
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.
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.
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.
I’m so excited that I’m a part of the book tour for Beauty and the Besharam by Lillie Vale. This is a contemporary version of Beauty and the Beast, and so much more. I read it once, and then I immediately read it again. Thanks to Colored Pages Book Tours and Penguin Teen for the finished copy. This did not influence my rating/review of the book.
Review
Beauty and the Besharam is my new favorite contemporary novel. It’s so relatable and yes, there is romance, and I also like how there were other side plots that were well balanced with the narrative. Kavya Joshi, who is Indian American, is at the end of her junior year of high school. All year, she’s been competing with Ian Jun, who is her rival. So, Kavya’s friends decide to try to help end their rivalry by setting up competitions for Kavya and Ian throughout the summer. However, Kavya and Ian start to realize that maybe there’s more to their relationship than just being competitors.
Kavya
This is a book I wish I’d had when I was starting high school. Kavya is confident and unafraid to speak her mind. She also loves reading (like me), and works as a princess for children’s birthdays during the summer and on weekends. Throughout the book, we see Kavya’s identity as a teenage girl, sister, Indian American, reader, friend – Lillie Vale’s characters jump off the page and truly come to life in what’s an immersive romance AND a coming of age. She doesn’t have to lessen herself to be seen and be loved. I felt very empowered.
Romance
I really felt like the romance was organic. When I’m reading a rivals to lovers romance, I’m looking for a romance where both characters respect each other. I also loved that Beauty and the Besharam was set during summertime – seeing Kavya and Ian’s relationship outside of school helped me get to know the characters outside of their school environment. There’s so many fun summer activities in the book: going to the library, going to a riverwalk, canoeing. Kavya and Ian start to understand that there’s more to each other than what they’ve thought of each other in school, and it felt like I was on their journey right alongside them.
Family and Friendships
The frienships in this book!! Yes! I love supportive female friendships! I wish I could be a part of Kavya’s friend group. I also enjoyed Kavya’s relationship with her sister and how they both learned from each other.
Overall Thoughts
This is my new favorite contemporary, YA romance book. I’m going to re-read it again soon because it came out quite close to when my school year ends (and includes empowering characters, messing up, making mistakes, and learning from those mistakes, female friendships, and summertime fun). I highly recommend Beauty and the Besharam!
Book Recommendations based on Beauty and the Besharam
The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala
The Tiger at Midnight cover. Written by Swati Teerdhala.
The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala is an enemies to lovers/rivals to lovers romance set in a world where the gods have disappeared and magic is banned. Esha and Kunal’s competition in a game of outwitting each other and hiding who they truly are reminds me of Kavya and Ian’s competition of learning who they really are.
The Jasmine Project by Meredith Ireland
The Jasmine Project cover. Written by Meredith Ireland.
The Jasmine Project by Meredith Ireland includes a main character who’s romantic life is also being meddled in. In this book, Jasmine’s family (her siblings, cousins, etc.) try to set her up with three boys over the summer after she breaks up with her cheating boyfriend. Another contemporary romance novel I highly recommend!
The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo
The Way You Make Me Feel cover. By Maurene Goo.
The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo stars Clara Shin, a high school junior who has to work at her dad’s food truck with her enemy after Clara’s prank at her dance goes wrong. Both Kavya and Clara are confident and unafraid to be themselves.
Beauty and the Besharam: Synopsis
Heated competition leads to even hotter romance in this YA summer rom-com for fans of Sandhya Menon, Emma Lord, and Wibbroka.
Seventeen-year-old, high-achieving Kavya Joshi has always been told she’s a little too ambitious, a little too mouthy, and overall just a little too much. In one word: besharam.
So, when her nemesis, Ian Jun, witnesses Kavya’s very public breakup with her loser boyfriend on the last day of junior year, she decides to lay low and spend the summer doing what she loves best–working part time playing princess roles for childrens’ birthday parties. But her plan is shot when she’s cast as Ariel instead of her beloved Belle, and learns that Ian will be her Prince Eric for the summer. [Cue the combative banter.]
Exhausted by Kavya and Ian’s years-long feud, their friends hatch a plan to end their rivalry by convincing them to participate in a series of challenges throughout the summer. Kavya is only too eager to finally be declared the winner. But as the competition heats up, so too does the romantic tension, until it escalates from a simmer to a full-on burn.
Lillie Vale is the author of books for both teens and adults, including The Decoy Girlfriend, Beauty and the Besharam, The Shaadi Set-Up, and Small Town Hearts, an American Library Association’s 2020 Rainbow Books List selection. She writes about secrets and yearning, complicated and ambitious girls who know what they want, the places we call home and people we find our way back to, and the magic we make. Born in Mumbai, she grew up in Mississippi, Texas, and North Dakota, and now lives in an Indiana college town. Find her on Twitter @LillieLabyrinth and Instagram @labyrinthspine, or visit her website lillielabyrinth.com.
I’m teaming up with ColoredPages and PenguinTeen to give away 5 (FIVE) finished copies of Beauty and the Besharam by Lillie Vale! Follow the link in the bio to enter this US ONLY giveaway! You must be 18 years or older, or have parental permission to share your address if you win. The giveaway ends on 30th May at 11:59 EST.
Wow. I don’t think I’ve been as immersed in or as satisfied by a fantasy book as I was by She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan. It’s so easy to get into Zhu’s head and to understand what Zhu is thinking – in fact, while I usually tend to focus on how fast the plot is, this time, the part of the book that made me feel engaged was Zhu. NOTE: There will be spoiler-y quotes after the review, so if you don’t want to accidentally see any spoilers JUST read the review. I will mark the quotes section in bold. Also, quotes ARE TAKEN FROM THE ARC – I will edit this when I read a finished copy. The fact that I received a copy from the publisher and Netgalley did not influence my review.
Zhu, who is genderqueer, takes the place of Zhu’s dead brother. Zhu takes no prisoners, and really sets out to conquer the destiny that was originally meant for Chongba. I love seeing main characters who aren’t afraid to take what they desire/their destiny, and Parker-Chan really made me feel like I was able to see all of Zhu’s actions.
Obviously, the world building is fantastic – I love the fantasy elements as well as the fact that most of the violence takes place off page. I felt like SWBTS focused more on the political intrigue, which I always enjoy. Additionally, Zhu’s development from child to adult felt very well paced – I never felt like I was being rushed in the story to get to the next moment.
I do have to admit that I think some of the plot went over my head just because it’s summer, so my mind is pretty much devoted to my summer program right now, so I will definitely have to re-read SWBTS and will edit this review again at some point. Just know that as someone who’s just starting to get into adult fantasy (I think I’ve only read three: The Stars are Legion, The Poppy War trilogy, and The Wolf of Oren-Yaro), this book continues my streak of books that I could read over and over again. Overall, She Who Became the Sun is a beautiful and powerful story that I fell in love with, and I hope you all read it!
SPOILERS: Favorite quotes section
You may have ended this, but you haven’t ended me, she thought fiercely at him, and felt the truth of it shining inside her so brightly that it seemed capable of igniting anything it touched. Nobody will ever end me. I’ll be so great that no one will be able to touch me, or come near me, for fear of becoming nothing.
The eunuch showed no sign of having felt any of her thoughts. He turned his back on the monks and passed through the doors, the ceaseless flow of his incoming soldiers parting around him like a stream around a rock.
He said to them, “Burn it to the ground.”
““I suppose you’ll have little enough chance, whatever I do,” Chen mused. “But I find myself moved to improve your odds. I’ve instructed Commander Wu to give you five hundred men before your departure. How many will you have then, seven hundred or so?” His laugh was like a slab of meat hitting the butcher’s block. “Seven hundred men against a city! I wouldn’t try it myself. But let me do what I can for you afterward: if you do manage to win Lu, I’ll convince the Prime Minister to let you keep whatever you’ve taken from it. Then you’ll have enough funds for your new temple.” His black eyes glittered. “Or for whatever else you’d like to do.””
“All that means is we have to make this life count.” He stared at her. She saw the moment the relief kindled in him, of having found her again to follow. The shadows on his face were already breaking apart. Through the cracks she saw the boy in him again. He said, wonderingly, “Who did you become, when we were apart?” She smiled. “The person I was always supposed to be.”
“Zhu felt a stab of uncharacteristic pity. Not-wanting is a desire too; it yields suffering just as much as wanting.”
“After a long pause Ma said, low, “I cherish you.” Zhu smiled at her. “I don’t even know who I am. General Ouyang killed Zhu Chongba, but I’m not the person I was born as, either. How can you know who you’re cherishing?” Rain drummed on the thatched roof. The mushroom smell of wet straw pressed around them with the intimacy of another’s warm body under the blankets. “I might not know your name,” Ma said, taking Zhu’s hand. “But I know who you are.”
“You never realized that it wasn’t your name they were going to call, exhorting you to reign for ten thousand years.” As the Prime Minister fell facedown in the dirt, she said, “It was mine.”
“She didn’t just want greatness. She wanted the world. The breath she took felt like joy. Smiling with the thrill of it, she said, “I’m going to be the Emperor.”
Solace in Reading 