Welcome to Litsy!

Mimi Yu‘s debut YA fantasy (the first in a duology) draws on Asian history and mythology to create an interesting world with various factions, each with their own objectives and methods. However while I enjoyed the aesthetics, the story itself of sibling rivalry and power hungry antagonists is all a bit underbaked with Min in particular being underdeveloped despite being a viewpoint character and the inevitable YA love triangle left me bored.

This author does a fantastic job at making all of her characters fully dimensional; ‘good guys‘ aren‘t always likeable and some do questionable things and ‘bad guys‘ are sympathetic. In fact often, it is not completely clear who the good guys are. Both sisters are difficult to warm to but that feels deliberate and makes for an interesting read. While the plot is a little predictable it is very well executed and the world is rich and fascinating.

"I wasn't made to torment you. I wasn't made for you at all. I was made for me."

All hail the Girl King! ?

THIS. This is the Asian fantasy book of my dreams! Mimi Yu really delivered on this one (I can actually go to sleep with a smile on my face). I cared about the characters, the story, the myriad of cultures represented here and their respective struggles in this fantasy setting. I am invested in Lu, Min, Nok, and the fate of the Empire of the First Flame. On to the sequel! 👑🔥

⭐: 4.5

"Myths are what common men call history distorted by time."

Current read 🙂

(This was one of the books I was really looking forward to read back in 2021, but life happened. 😅)

I really don't like to give up a book but after 4 days I was still stuck at page 89. I had to bail.
My third DNF of this year.
I couldn't really get into the story or characters. The world building was a mess.
#ireadya #bookworm #readingchallenge2019 #bookaddict #bookish #thegirlking

Classic Sister vs sister.
I liked that it was Korean so it was a bit different. Plus I liked that she added some Korean words in (아빠 and 엄마 Dad and mum)
Lots of nice action

Look what got delivered while I was on my lunch break! 😍😍😍
#newbooks #schoollibraries #litsyloveslibraries #librariansoflitsy

Picked this up on a whim at the library and I ended up actually really enjoying it! I‘ve seen mixed reviews on goodreads, mostly due to it being a bit slow at times or cliche, but I would give it a 3.5/5 stars. My only issue was that I cared more for a couple of the side characters than the actual Girl King.

Book mail is the best mail, especially when it‘s the beautiful UK editions of these three books 😍😍😍 #bookmailisthebestmail #ukcoversaresomuchprettier

I really liked the first half of the book. The second was very disappointing. Not to mention that the bit of the plot mentioned in the prologue was not really taken up in the plot, the end was the typical YA uninspired stuff. I had high hopes, but nope 😐

Ah! I'm so excited! She's doing a virtual visit

#BookMail
This cover is absolutely gorgeous! You can't tell from the picture but it is so shiny! I wasn't planning on it coming in yet but I think I might need to start this one right away 😊

Holy crap! This book took elements from like EVERY ya fantasy series that I love and then made them work and focused on the sisters and their relationships instead of the romances (can I get a damn amen?!). The pacing was great + I loved all of the influences of real world colonisation infused (the opium wars, for one). My only criticism is that the magic system & paranormal aspects need to be more fleshed out b/c it really lacked structure

Picking this beauty up! Author is doing a virtual visit in the TBR and Beyond book group this month

Another already in my galley collection that is not read, but my friend says it‘s amazing. I just with the background of the book was a little more colorful.

#CoverLove #YAedition
January, 8, 2019

An asian-inspired fantasy about the daughters of the emperor, one who is fighting for her right to the throne & the other who is supporting their cousin's claim. Add a dash of magic, shapeshifters, & lost lands & you've got The Girl King. The first half of this was a bit slow (maybe blame it on the reading slump I was in, maybe not), but I did enjoy it ultimately. I'm always a fan of non-European fantasy & girls who rule.

3.5 stars / ⭐⭐⭐

Spice tea + reading = the perfect Christmas Eve Eve morning

Bubble bath reading is my favorite

Breaking out the Christmas mug 🎅

Finished this one in bed and couldn‘t get out of the cozy covers to take this #Grinch picture for #SeasonsReadings so my apologies for the delay! That aside, this YA Fantasy took me by surprise- I enjoyed the works building and am definitely looking forward to a sequel and continued development for these interesting characters!!

I woke up early this morning which means extra reading time 😊

If you want to add a bunch of new books to your TBR, here's a round up of great YA books coming out this winter I did over on Book Riot:

bookriot.com/2018/11/15/winter-2018-ya-books/

This is a very incomplete tbr considering it only includes one ebook, and no library books but it's still a start.