EDIT (05/23/2020): Due to an inconsistency on my part, this article has been edited to reflect a current problem. Please enjoy.
Having skipped the entire month of February when it came to blogging (so much for consistency, right?), there are quite a few things that I’ve been doing, whether it’s working, reading, listening to music, or just general entertainment. Popular media is a cornerstone of my life and this is a pretty long update, so let’s get into it!
Books
Labyrinth Lost (Brooklyn Brujas #1) – Zoraida Cordova
Alex is a bruja, the most powerful witch in a generation…and she hates magic. At her Deathday celebration, Alex performs a spell to rid herself of her power. But it backfires. Her whole family vanishes into thin air, leaving her alone with Nova, a brujo she can’t trust, but who may be Alex’s only chance at saving her family.
4 out of 5 stars.
I enjoyed Labyrinth Lost! As someone who is intrigued by different cultures and is excited to see different aspects of another culture, this did it for me. I enjoyed the romance (hint hint: it’s not what you expect), and the exploration of the world that Alex has to traverse in order to save her family. This book shows not only the importance of family but accepting who you are and finding your strength in what you perceive are your flaws. As someone who has had this book on their wish list for about two years, I’m happy to say that I’m happy with this purchase and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel about Alex’s sister.
Girls of Paper and Fire – Natasha Ngan
Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It’s the highest honor they could hope for…and the most demeaning. This year, there’s a ninth. And instead of paper, she’s made of fire.
In this richly developed fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most persecuted class of people in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards for an unknown fate still haunts her. Now, the guards are back and this time it’s Lei they’re after – the girl with the golden eyes whose rumored beauty has piqued the king’s interest.
Over weeks of training in the opulent but oppressive palace, Lei and eight other girls learn the skills and charms that befit a king’s consort. There, she does the unthinkable – she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens her world’s entire way of life. Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide how far she’s willing to go for justice and revenge.
3.5 out of 5 stars.
Warning: in this novel, there are depictions of sexual assault and the various ways the assault is dealt with, so please be wary of reading this if this bothers you.
What I enjoyed the most about this novel was the world-building. I was entranced by the world that Ngan created, and loved that she drew from history and culture to create something both beautiful and horrible. Lei grows from a naïve girl to a strong-minded young woman who is determined to fight, even if it means burning the world down. Though some elements were predictable for the sake of plot and carrying on into the sequel (which is now in stores!), I liked reading it.
Spin the Dawn – Elizabeth Lim
Maia Tamarin dreams of becoming the greatest tailor in the land, but as a girl, the best she can hope for is to marry well. When a royal messenger summons for her ailing father, once a tailor of renown, to court, Maia poses as a boy and takes his place. She knows her life is forfeit if her secret is discovered, but she’ll take that risk to achieve her dream and save her family from ruin. There’s just one catch: Maia is one of twelve tailors vying for the job.
Backstabbing and lies run rampant as the tailors compete in challenges to prove their artistry and skill. Maia’s task is further complicated when she draws the attention of the court magician, Edan, whose piercing eyes seem to see straight through her disguise.
And nothing could have prepared her for the final challenge: to sew three magic gowns for the emperor’s reluctant bride-to-be, from the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of stars. With this impossible task before her, she embarks on a journey to the far reaches of the kingdom, seeking the sun, the moon, and the stars, and finding more than she ever could have imagined.
5 out of 5 stars.
I’m always a sucker for a Mulan retelling, and Elizabeth Lim has already written Reflection: A Twisted Tale, about what would happen if Mulan had to go to the Underworld (I wrote a review of the book here), so I was pretty excited to read this novel from her. She did not disappoint.
Though a retelling, it steered away from that pretty quickly and had wonderful pacing, from Maia’s arrival to the palace to the end of the novel, which is what I liked when reading Reflection. Yes, a couple of parts were predictable (I figured out a major plot point pretty early on), but that was overshadowed by the fact that Lim once again impressed me with her writing, her pacing, and her world-building, and I can’t wait to see more from her.
All synopses are courtesy of Goodreads!
kannaree.com 