#My Book Reviews

[whilereadingandwalking]

Genji is not a perfect person, but there’s a purity to him, a beauty that’s clearly meant to be lauded, particularly in contrast to later chapters. He’s in love with love, a true romantic, and his sometimes unwise affairs are motivated by a true sense of love. He never abandons one of his lovers, which in this time is crucial. No matter the shame it brings to himself, he tries to find a way to honor the women he’s fallen for. He’s charming. No one can not love him, or ultimately forgive him his faults.

The age of Tale of Genji had strict rules of romance—of how flirtations worked (largely intermediaries and poetry), of how commitments worked, of how aloof vs. present it was appropriate to be (it’s good to commit but bad to hoard or become jealous). It was possible to love too much. Genji is accused of this, but he always remembers to care for the people he is responsible for—once he grows up that is.

Early in the text, he neglects his wife, and he also neglects “the Rokujo lady.” The Rokujo lady becomes so jealous and enraged that her spirit begins to sicken his wife. This ghost returns more than once over the course of the text. She has grown sick from obsession and neglect, and Genji pays the price for it. It’s part of what motivates him to always care for the women he romances for the rest of his life.

Later, in the “Uji” chapters, young Kaoru and prince Niou also love too much. Niou is impulsive like Genji but also flighty, and Kaoru is serious like Genji but also obsessive. Both men pursue the women at Uji with insistence that the text can’t quite forgive as it could for Genji. Both, somehow, go too far—perhaps in their attempts to hoard, or in their impatience.

[dokushoclub]

Japanese Reading Resources for Absolute Beginners

A question I encounter often is "How much Japanese should I study before I can begin reading in Japanese?"

From my experience as a learner and reader myself and from managing a Japanese book club for other learners I can honestly say that you can start way earlier than you probably think!

There are many resources that only require knowing hiragana. Those texts usually teach vocabulary through pictures and only use basic grammar.

Some are even simpler than that: The Japan Foundation's Hiragana Books are great for those, who are still remembering hiragana characters. Every short book introduces only 1-2 new characters, so it's a great reading exercise for those who've just started.

The free graded reader 「どうぞ、どうも」 by the NPO Tagengo Tadoku only uses the words 「どうぞ」 and 「どうも」 to write an entire story. Again, this makes for a great exercise in reading hiragana and understanding context. Another "level 0" recommendation by the same NPO would definitely be 「しろい？くろい？」. This book uses the full range of hiragana characters but the grammar is simple and all used vocabulary is illustrated.

Another site with great resources for absolute beginners is Nihongo Tadoku Dōjō. If you have memorized both hiragana and katakana and know how the particles を and で work you will be able to read this text about stationary (ぶんぼうぐ) and understand everything by looking at the pictures!

The resources linked so far can all be accessed completely free on the linked websites. If you have the money to spare, please also have a look at the box 「スタート」 from the series reberubetsu nihongo tadoku raiburarī published by the NPO Tagengo Tadoku and ASK (affiliate link). This box includes 8 little books in very simple Japanese.

All these texts for absolute beginners will get you started reading in Japanese with very little knowledge of characters and vocabulary.

Reading in Japanese is a skill that requires practice. But once you get used to it, it can be such a valuable tool to reinforce new vocabulary and grammar. So please don't wait until you're "ready" before you start reading - start early at your own level!

[bookcub]

You might like The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi if. . .

you love fairy tales

are deeply fascinated by the story of Bluebeard

enjoy descriptive prose and extended metaphors

like engaging with complicated and toxic relationships

adore stories about stories

want a soft magic system

are not turned off by homoerotic and horrifying friendships between teen girls

want to read more Gothic modern fiction

need more women who are villains

[raiquen]

Book Review: Poemas Esenciales, Miguel Hernández

My favorite poem of the book:

Casida del Sediento Aroma del desierto soy: desierto de sed. Oasis es tu boca donde no he de beber Boca: oasis abierto a todas las arenas del desierto. Húmedo punto en medio de un desierto abrasador, el de tu cuerpo, el tuyo, que nunca es de los dos Cuerpo, pozo cerrado a quien la sed y el sol han calcinado.

My Full Review:

Pending review, I'll revisit because I need to complain about him.

My Other 2024 Readngs.

[wearethekat]

May Book Reviews: Sword Dance by AJ Demas

Finally got my hands on this book via Seattle's extremely exciting Books Unbanned program. Damiskos is vacationing with an old friend after he was forcibly retired from his military career. Unfortunately the old friend is plagued by a number of unwanted guests, plunging Damiskos into a tangle of intrigue, dead bodies, mystery solving-- and the company of the mysterious sword-dancer Varazda.

I'm very fond of Demas' Ancient Greece flavored alt-historicals, which are the closest I've found to the thrill of reading new KJ Charles books. It's something about the excellent balance of well-written romance plot and MURDER. I love a good dead body. She's also got an excellent feel for writing a setting and characters that don't feel like modern people dressed up in costume.

Contains: a bad philosophy cult, fish sauce, and just a little bit of assassination. Highly recommended.

[cartoonfangirl1218]

Twisted Tales: Suddenly Super Review

What if Violet was an Agent of Syndrome?

This was another solid addition to the Twisted Tales series. It’s unfortunate this tale is only available out of the U.S. because Calonita does a great job on the first Pixar-based tale.

All from Violet’s POV, Calonita explores the girl’s negative feelings about her powers. Since being Super is illegal, it’s been ingrained into her to never show her powers to others. Problem is, she can’t quite control it when she turns invisible from anxiety, embarrassment or any high emotion. I mean, it’s teenage hell amplified. Add in the fact that they’re constantly moving when Mr. Parr blows their cover, chasing his glory days, Violet wishes she was never born super. She wants to be normal.

What’s more normal than getting grounded for sneaking to a party without her mom’s permission. And almost getting exposed. But that brief bout of normality is all Violet’s gonna get. When her parents don’t return from their vague conference, Violet has an inkling that her mom’s paranoid attitude the day before might have something to it. She certainly knows it when goons break into their house to kidnap them! With no one else to turn to, she accepts the help of Mirage, a woman she only knows from her dad’s mess of business cards, and her boss, Syndrome. Syndrome offers Violet a chance to rescue her parents with a special bonus. To ensure that they won’t be targeted by supervillains again, he’ll help get rid of their powers. Dun dun dun!!!

Calonita has been writing YA for decades so she does a good job in portraying Violet’s hormonal mood swings, and readers can see the clear arc of Violet’s insecurity and shyness in the beginning to her learning to master her powers and take charge herself. I particularly applaud Calonita’s portrayal of Violet’s anxiety attacks in relation to her powers and generally describing the physical toll of her powers on her body as heat and electricity. There’s a good balance of Violet’s panic-stricken reactions to a world she doesn’t really know and proactive in trying to protect her family. This alongside her conflict with her negative feelings about her powers and supers in general that it s not a curse but a gift. Her anger fueled into her control into control out of defense of her family.

There was a surprise in Mirage and Syndrome having two-three chapters to themselves. Mirage in particular gets more depth as an aspiring actress drawn into Syndrome’s promise of an equal world plus money. Primarily the money, until she realizes what an egomaniac he is. It is also quite funny how unprepared she is for when her job unexpectedly puts her in the role of babysitter. Syndrome is also drawn in-character as Calonita captures his affable cool-bro exterior with the underlying obsessive bitterness.

Calonita also gets to add her own characters into the world like the Incredibles’ big nemesis, Mastermind who reminds me of a cross of Edna Mode and Yzma as well as Frozone’s non-super niece, Lucy who provides a sounding board to Violet in the eleventh hour.

Calonita improved the story by having the infamous babysitter, Kari, be Violet’s only friend. It fits as her chattiness allows Violet to blend in at school as well as provide a bunch of comedic moments. Like when she babysits Jack-Jack. That will always be funny. Calonita adds other references fans will enjoy like Bomb Voyage, Brad Bird and so on.

The only one negative would have to be the lack of Edna Mode. Absolutely none darling and it’s a shame!

A well done tale full of action, humor, and family. So go onto eBay and try to snag a copy.

[tairona-is-taken]

A review of Truce at Bakura

(Originally posted to my RL Goodreads account a few years ago.)

Unevenly written, but super fun. This book picks up 24 hours after Return of the Jedi ends, and it’s billed as the book that wraps up the loose threads from ROTJ. I would say it only 50% delivers on that. It does do a good job of portraying Imperial/Rebel relations now that the Emperor is dead and the two sides have to work together to defend Bakura (an Imperial world) from whoever the aliens are who are invading from outside the galaxy (the Ssiruuk?). There’s a great scene in particular where the Imperial governor of Bakura doesn’t believe the Emperor is dead at first, but when Leia tells him Vader killed the Emperor, the governor is like, “Oh never mind, I take it back—that jerk? I TOTALLY believe he killed the Emperor.”

But the book only does a mediocre job of wrapping up the emotional threads after ROTJ, which is what I was really looking forward to. Luke is struggling with the health effects of the Emperor’s Force lightning, which is interesting, but apparently he’s 100% over the emotional trauma of what happened on the 2nd Death Star. Han has zero thoughts on the revelation that Luke and Leia are siblings (one day was apparently all it took for that truth bomb to sink in). I will give Tyers credit that Leia does struggle a lot with the revelation that Darth Vader is her father, and there’s even a scene where she meets Anakin’s Force ghost, BUT unfortunately Tyers just isn’t great at writing emotions/interiority, and so all of Leia’s angsting over this just comes off as predictable and lacking in true depth.

With that said, the story is still a fun romp that feels reminiscent of Star Trek: The Original Series, and I enjoyed it a lot.

Things that I liked, in no particular order:

- Leia is a total boss in this story. It’s clear she’s been coaching Luke and Han on diplomatic protocol now that they’re trying to form an alliance with the Bakuran Imperials—and in one scene it’s even clear that she told the guys to let her do the talking because they don’t know what they’re doing. LOL. This was a relief after The Thrawn Trilogy, where she gets talked over by other characters a lot.

- Luke gets promoted to fleet commander in this book and he kind of sucks at first. He gets better at being a leader as the book goes on, but in the first battle, he ends up leaning heavily on his flagship captain, Tessa Manchisco. Tessa is pretty amused by his inexperience, but is chill enough that she doesn’t rub it in, while Luke recognizes that she’s more competent than him, and is fine with following her lead. I loved their dynamic.

- Han at one point tries to romance Leia aboard the Falcon and asks Chewie to set up a romantic nook on the ship for a date. Chewie instead just puts together a bed where Han and Leia can get it on. Hahaha, at least Leia takes it in stride.

- At the end of the book, Luke pulls rank so that he can fly a TIE fighter, which he’s apparently always wanted to try—it’s one of the most gleefully in-character moments he has in the book.

- The Imperial characters are pretty nuanced. Gaeriel (Luke’s love interest) in particular is super ordinary—which is refreshing in the Star Wars universe. She supports the Empire in the way that most real people support the countries we live in—because we’re stuck here, so even when our home countries do bad things, it’s instinctual to try to move past it and look for the good.

- At one point, Luke Force heals this senile old lady who Gaeriel is taking care of and who Luke suspects got her mind kriffed up by the Empire. At the end of the book, this old lady turns out to be a complete badass who helps save the day with Gaeriel as her side kick. I just loved seeing an old person use their wisdom and experience to kick ass for once, instead of it always being the youngsters!

Things to file under “so bad it’s good”:

- At one point, Luke is despairing over his love life, so he calls to the Force ghosts—all three of them; Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin!—because he basically wants dating advice from them. Man, that’s some Anakin-in-the-prequels level of romance fail right there. I guess it’s genetic?

- To be fair, this scene leads to a genuinely moving one where the Force ghosts don’t show up (wisely), but Leia does, and she and Luke have a touching moment of sibling bonding. What I particularly loved is that Leia doesn’t make fun of Luke’s crush on Gaeriel, but is actually relieved because he’s acting like a human being again instead of being super detached like he was in much of ROTJ. This is really the one nod we get to the emotional trauma Luke went through after Empire Strikes Back, and it’s a good one.

Things that were just plain bad:

- Luke keeps mind tricking people left and right in this book, oftentimes for frivolous reasons, and Tyers seems to have no awareness of the ethical implications of this.

- Han gets weirdly jealous in the middle of the book of both Luke’s (totally innocent) interactions with Leia and also this one random Alderaanian officer who kisses Leia’s hand. It makes no sense and it’s like Tyers is trying to just check off the “romantic tension” box.

- In the final battle, Tessa dies—and in fact, Luke’s entire flagship gets vaporized—but neither Luke nor any of the other characters spare a second thought for these deaths. I blame this on bad writing, not on the characters themselves, but it leaves a bad taste in your mouth regardless.

[bashsbooks]

Iron Widow Book Review

★★★★★ ~ 5 out of 5 stars

Due to its popularity on Tiktok and Tumblr, I have long heard rumors about Xiran Jay Zhao’s Iron Widow. I tend to be skeptical about social media hype, but after a friend recommended it to me personally, I added it to my to-read list, forgot about it for like a year, and then promptly remembered it when I was figuring out what books to read for my 2023 reading challenges. And as soon as I started reading, I was like, “Oh shit. I should’ve read this sooner.” 

Iron Widow lives up to the hype. Actually, it smashes through the hype and goes way past what I expected. Set in a futuristic alternative universe based on Chinese history and mythology, Iron Widow follows Xu Zetian as she volunteers to be a concubine-pilot, a deadly but supposedly necessary role required to power Chrysalises, which are basically giant supersuits used to fight off aliens. Concubine-pilots usually die in the process of powering Chrysalises, though their families are heavily compensated for this sacrifice. At the beginning of Iron Widow, Zetian is desperate to get vengeance for her sister was forced to become a concubine-pilot by their family - and then murdered by a male pilot before she could. (Interestingly enough, piloting the Chrysalises is not deadly for men - usually.) So Zetian volunteers with the ulterior motive of killing her sister’s murderer and quickly finds out that everything she knows - about the piloting system, gender and social dynamics, about the war - is a lie. 

Although the patriarchy is a primary antagonist in Iron Widow, not every man in the book sucks  sucks; in fact, Zetian manages to find not one but two love interests in Gao Yizhi, the son of the richest man in the country, and Li Shimin, a man who murdered his whole family (for good reasons, he’s valid) and is only being kept alive because he’s the best damn pilot in the war. As a hater of love triangles and a lover of fellow bisexual men, I am pleased to report that Yizhi and Shimin are also very interested in each other. 

Iron Widow contains such a nuanced and fascinating take on how the patriarchy fucks over everyone. Zetian is understandably upset with the way women are treated, but she learns over the course of the novel that things aren’t all sunshine and roses for men, either. This does not diminish her passion for fighting for women (and indeed, it is never really poised as a competition of who has it worse; it’s pretty clear that it’s by-and-large worse for women), but it allows her to see men as fellow humans rather than inherently The Enemy. 

Zetian is also disabled, having had her feet broken and bound from a young age to turn them into ‘lotus feet’, which are considered beautiful in her culture. She has trouble walking, even with the aid of a cane, and she constantly feels pain in her feet. This is a central aspect of her character, not an afterthought, and it’s woven into the novel thoughtfully. It parallels and interweaves with the novel’s exploration of gender and gendered expectations - much like Zetian cannot be reduced to the caricature of womanhood expected of her, nor can she be reduced to a caricature of her physical disability. Instead, the integration of these aspects into her character are complex. Her successes are not in spite of her womanhood and her bound feet, but because of them, and that makes her all the richer as a protagonist.

I love Iron Widow, and I’m happy to recommend it with a full 5 out of 5 stars. Its sequel, Heavenly Tyrant, comes out in August, and I can’t wait to read it. Xiran Jay Zhao, Iron Widow’s author, is here on Tumblr (@/xiranjayzhao) and they have already posted some Heavenly Tyrant memes to tide me over until then. (And if you like authors commenting on their books outside of the text, then I recommend following their Tumblr after you’ve finished Iron Widow.)

[wortcunningwitch]

Book Review - Wild Witchcraft by Rebecca Beyer

I’ve seen a few reviews on this book already, but I wanted to share my own opinion, as I finished Wild Witchcraft quite recently. Everything is under the cut!

*Note: writing with proper capitalization in this post because the content’s more formal :)

I would rate this book a solid 8 out of 10. I’ve seen some people rate it a bit higher, but I’m sticking with this score for a few reasons that I’ll explain.

Overall, Wild Witchcraft is a great resource for people who practice (or want to learn about) green witchcraft and herbalism. The author, Beyer, includes profiles of many different herbs common in America, including poisonous ones (on which she designates a separate section for). She gives information on their magical uses, their folklore & history, and their medicinal uses. Additionally, she has a lot of information on growing & foraging herbs, handling poisonous plants safely, and crafting different recipes (tinctures, salves, oils, etc.). Another thing I really like about Wild Witchcraft that’s especially important to mention is that Beyer repeatedly stresses the respect for Indigenous people & POC that white witches & herbalists living in North America should have; she also notes that their traditions have contributed largely to American folk magics and herbalism in general. Lastly, the bibliography for Wild Witchcraft is quite large and well put-together — a wealth of resources in itself.

Unfortunately, Wild Witchcraft has its drawbacks, and should be read critically like any book on witchcraft. I take two points off out of ten for two reasons — one point for the unnecessary emphasis on the Wiccan Wheel of the Year, and one point for an instance of potential medical misinformation. Beyer spends a lot of time going over recipes and spells that correspond with dates on the Wheel of the Year without explicitly denoting it as a Wiccan calendar. This incorrectly assumes that the reader is Wiccan or follows the Wheel of the Year, as well as perpetuates the conflation of witchcraft and Wicca. Also, there is one (perhaps more — I’d have to reread) instances where Beyer recommends an unnecessary and unsafe herbal remedy. She recommends ingesting a tincture made from black walnut as a “parasite cleanse”. You do not need to cleanse your bowels of parasites unless you have a parasitic infection, in which case you should speak to a licensed doctor for further testing and prescription medication.

That's all! Feel free to add your own thoughts about Wild Witchcraft to the post :)

[sillytriumphdragon]

Archer's Voice reviews

*Book: Archer’s Voice*

*Author: Mia Sheridan*

*Genre: Emotional romance, contemporary romance*

*My rating: 5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟*

I can give this book 100 stars and will give this book my hearts too ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

My reviews:

As you know, I love reading “Archer’s Voice,"  so today I will just write about this novel. This book has literally taken my heart and my soul. When I say this, I really mean it. It was one of the most beautiful books I ever read. This is so beautifully written that I can’t express my feelings about it. This book is full of emotion. I couldn’t control myself from sobbing. The flood of tears shed from my eyes and my heart. And I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about Archer and Bree all the time. They are both my favorite characters. They have become my favorite couple to exist. And I love the way Bree loved Archer. The way she believed in him and the way she wanted to believe in both of them. I adore the way they both purely love each other. They took my heart by making sacrifices for one another. And Archer! Omg! I love Archer. What I feel for Archer, I can’t express in words. He is literally the perfect man every girl wants. He is the man of my dreams. The book brought me all the feelings of love, tears, happiness, and hope. I kept tissue papers with me while reading, just to wipe my tears. It’s a very emotional story, but it will leave your heart so full by the end. This book is heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.

 

This book, Archer Hale, and Archer & Bree will forever have my heart. Their story and relationship are incredibly tender, simple, and pure, yet also extremely sensual and quite steamy (I was not expecting that at all!). They made my heart swell to 10x its size, like literally, I could feel it ready to burst many times.

 

It’s definitely among my top favorite books. I can read this book again and again. I will always remember Archer and Bree and their love. I love Mia Sheridan for writing such a beautiful book. I loved this book. If you want to feel deep emotions, or, basically, if you want to feel all the emotions, then this book is for you. I just love it. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Favourite dialogues:

I have number of favorite dialogues from this book but write now just sharing these:

*“ I wish you could see yourself through my eyes. I wish you could read my mind so that you would know how much I want you, no one else. There could be three hundred men after me right now, and it wouldn't matter. Because none of them are you, Archer Hale. None of them are the man I love.”*

*“ What I know, is that you walked through my gate that day and I lost my heart. But not because it could have been any girl-because it was you. I Lost my heart to you. And, Bree, in case you're wondering, I don't ever want it back.”*

[headinbookishclouds]

The September House by Carissa Orlando

September House genuinely disturbed me. It’s an unsettling story that is ultimately about a woman determined to stay in her house regardless of what she has to endure. Even if the walls bleed red during September, even if there are ghosts that seem intent on terrifying her, even if there is a presence in the basement that reeks of evil. Margaret and her husband Hal have always been without roots so when the perfect opportunity comes by to seize the most perfect gothic house, the both of them are thrilled, until September arrives. Margaret understands how to work the house but Hal does not and cannot take the house any longer, leaving abruptly. Their daughter Katherine discovers he left, insists she come home and that is when things start to fall apart for Margaret.

Before that happens, we get an understanding of how Margaret learned to live with the eeriness and the hauntings. The almost blasé tone that Margaret further cemented how she had come to an understanding about her house. This in turn leads to a good understanding of her character. She lives by rules and understands them. This is in contrast to her husband Hal, who is missing. Hal wanted to leave and did but did so without any communication. That’s one of the big mysteries of the book. Hal is never present in the book but his character is demonstrated with flashbacks. He provides a good contrast to Margaret. Both of them are compelling characters and Margaret’s narration about the book was almost comical. Her lacklustre indifference to the shenanigans of the house made this book even better. If I were in that same situation, I would have left the first September.

Of course, there are always exceptions to rules and the basement is the exception to Margaret’s rule. It is always boarded up for a good reason. The basement and its terror is the reason I got creeped out immensely. The other ghostly characters were also an interesting addition as well.

I need to talk about the ending as well! I have read a lot of horror/psychological thriller books and usually they always tend to end the same way. It looked like the author was heading down that route and I was so disappointed but she turned it around super quick.

Overall, the book is a great read!

See my review on GR!

[whilereadingandwalking]

Herostories by Kristín Svava Tómasdóttir, translated from the Icelandic by K.B. Thors, is a novel-in-verse of found poetry, drawn from a history of midwives in Iceland, traversing frigid, brutal climates to help people deliver their babies, both lauded and isolated, both integral to society and outside of it, transgressing the boundaries of gender. It's interesting, and has the Icelandic beside the English as well as an interview and note from the author and translator that is really interesting and enlightening.

[dokushoclub]

Short Story Collections for Learning Japanese

Short stories are very popular with language learners – and rightly so. Being able to finish even a short tale aimed at native speakers will feel like a great accomplishment.

I had a look at three approaches for intermediate and advanced learners to enjoy Japanese short stories. For each I can also recommend a few matching short story collections:

Short Stories in Easy Japanese

Japanese Short Stories with English Annotations

Parallel Readers

I give my more detailed thoughts on all these short story collections for learning Japanese in my blog post. You can find it here:

[bookcub]

mini review: tristan strong punches a hole in the sky by kwame mbalia

definitely the best book i have been assigned in my fairy tales class

i had such a good time reading this and it also made me cry

i thought mbalia did a really good job explaining these myths in a really interesting way

tristan was such a lovable main character, i related to a lot of his journey

there was great commentary on storytelling and kids' rights

ayanna and thandiwe felt like essentially the same character and i didnt like for the love triangle angle that seemed to be hinted at in future books

there was alas, very little falling action, which is a trend i see happen more and more every day

i am considering reading the rest of the series when my class is over! im having a lot of fun with the rick riondan presents novels! i like him as a publisher more than an author these days tbh.

recommended to those who love adventure, want stories about african american mythology, and emotional story arcs

[raiquen]

Book Review: Death on the Nile, Agatha Christie

My favorite quote of the book:

"—[...] le ruego encarecidamente, le suplico que [...] ¡No abra su corazón al mal! [...] Porque, si lo hace, el mal vendrá... Sí, con toda seguridad, vendrá. Entrará en su corazón, establecerá en él su morada y, a los pocos instantes, no habrá fuerza humana que lo desaloje..." ~Hercule Poirot

My Full Review:

Pending review, I will surely revisit once I'm done with all of the books from AC that I bought.

My Other 2024 Readings.

[wearethekat]

May Book Reviews: The Throne of the Five Winds by SC Emmett

I don't remember why I picked this one up, but I'm glad I did. After the catastrophic defeat of Khir in the war, noble lady Yala is sent as handmaiden with her princess to fulfill a treaty marriage in a foreign country. But among squabbling heirs, hostile queens, and a significant faction at home that opposes the treaty, Princess Mahara's position is unstable.

The best way I can describe this book is "She Who Became The Sun as written by Georgette Heyer." Which is to say, a very mannered court drama set in imaginary countries strongly resembling Ancient China, but with no other fantasy elements. The plot focus is on Yala having to Plot and Scheme in order to protect her princess in a hostile court with a number of factions (six and a half princes, four queens, a ruler who has notably failed to rein in their politicking).

Fair warning, this is a relatively slow-paced book and probably won't be to everyone's taste. It chucks a lot of names at you, a la Goblin Emperor. Not to mention, it ends on a semi-cliffhanger. But it's gorgeously written, and I can't believe that no one's talked about it. Love to see a book that's 99.9% High Court Drama rather than relegating that bit to a subplot.

A must-have for the court intrigue enthusiasts out there.