B Reviews / Book ReviewsAsian characters / Dark Fantasy / Dragon / England / Fantasy / Malaysia / monsters / POC / POC author / short stories / vampiresNo Comments
Nineteen sparkling stories that weave between the lands of the living and the lands of the dead. Spirits Abroad is an expanded edition of Zen Cho’s Crawford Award winning debut collection with nine added stories including Hugo Award winner “If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again.” A Datin ... more >
Book Reviews / C Reviews / C- Reviews / DNF Reviews / Reading Lists#ownvoices / contemporary fantasy / Ghost / gods / Harlequin Historical / historical romance / immigrant / long lost heiress / Malaysia / POC / POC author / Reading lists / Regency6 Comments
Black Water Sister by Zen Cho I enjoyed Zen Cho’s two books in her Sorcerer Royal series, with their lovable characters, whimsy, humor, and Heyer homages, so when I saw she had a fantasy novel set in modern-day Malaysia coming out, one that was initially billed as a third installment, ... more >
B Reviews / Book ReviewsAsian characters / diversity / dysfunctional family / family relationships / gender-based violence / Ghost / god / homophobia / immigrant / lesbian / LGBTQIA+ / Malaysia / Paranormal / POC / POC author / prejudice / revenge / ViolenceNo Comments
A reluctant medium discovers the ties that bind can unleash a dangerous power in this compelling Malaysian-set contemporary fantasy. When Jessamyn Teoh starts hearing a voice in her head, she chalks it up to stress. Closeted, broke and jobless, she’s moving back to Malaysia with her parents – a country ... more >
B- Reviews / Book Reviews / C+ Reviews#ownvoices / Asian characters / Fantasy / found family / LGBTQIA+ / Malaysia / novella / POC / POC author / religion / Wuxia2 Comments
Zen Cho returns with a found family wuxia fantasy that combines the vibrancy of old school martial arts movies with characters drawn from the margins of history. A bandit walks into a coffeehouse, and it all goes downhill from there. Guet Imm, a young votary of the Order of the ... more >
A Reviews / A- Reviews / B+ Reviews / Reading Lists / Recommended Reads / Top Ten Lists#metoo / #ownvoices / 1870s / 1920s / 1970s / accountant / Agent/Spies/Undercover / arranged-marriage / Asian heroine / Asperger's / audiobook / Best of 2019 / best of list / book editor / California / class differences / Contemporary / custody battle / dragons / enemies to lovers / epistolary / f/f / Fairyland / fake relationship / family / Fantasy / farming / friends-to-lovers / gods / heroine in disguise / high-school / historical romance / Hong Kong based world / illegitimate-child / LGBTQIA+ / Literary fiction / London / look alikes / mafia / magical powers / Malaysia / martial arts / Mexico / nobleman / Northern Ireland / nurse / POC / POC author / political intrigue / quest / reformed hero / Regency-based world / romantic-elements / roommates / saga / single dad / streetwise heroine / Time-Travel / Vietnam / waitress / war19 Comments
I was tempted to make a list of my favorites among the 2019-published books I read this year. In the end I decided to focus on my favorite 2019 reads (first time reads; I didn’t include books I had read / reviewed in prior years) without regard to their year ... more >
A- Reviews / B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Reads#ownvoices / diversity / dragons / f/f / Fairyland / Fantasy / fiction with strong romantic elements / LGBTQIA+ / Magic / magical powers / Malaysia / POC / POC author / Regency England / SFF8 Comments
Dear Ms. Cho, Three and a half years ago, Sunita and I reviewed your first novel, a regency-set fantasy titled Sorcerer to the Crown. I liked it enough to request an ARC of the sequel, The True Queen. I have to admit, though, that I was a little apprehensive because ... more >