Peasreads: Before We Forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

 

Before We Forget Kindness written by Toshikazu Kawaguchi tells stories about people who have come to a mysterious cafe to travel back in time. I have not read any books by this author but will definitely look for the other four in this series. This book can be read as a standalone.  Each of the characters are introduced and developed within the corresponding stories. There are four stories within this book, four people who want to time travel.  Each for their own reasons. Each story is heartwarming and heartbreaking in many ways. This review does not do justice to this book. It is one of my favorite reads of 2024. One of the very few five-star reads this year. 

From the publisher:

In the fifth book in the sensational Before the Coffee Gets Cold series translated from Japanese, the mysterious café where customers arrive hoping to travel back in time welcomes four new guests:

- The father who could not allow his daughter to get married

- A woman who couldn't give Valentine's Day chocolates to her loved one

- A boy who wants to show his smile to his divorced parents

- A wife holding a child with no name . . .

They must follow the café's strict rules, however, and come back to the present before their coffee goes cold. Another moving and heartwarming tale from Toshikazu Kawaguchi, in Before We Forget Kindness our new visitors wish to go back into their past to move on their present, finding closure and comfort so they can embark on a beautiful future.

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I received this book from NetGalley for this review. I was under no obligation to give a positive review. All opinions are  my own. I am disclosing this per the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Peasreads- The Scorpion and the Night Blossom.

 Heartacheingly beautiful. This is one of those books where you devour each page because you love the story so much and want to find out what's next. All the while flipping back a page to reread sections that are so exciting, surprising, and too beautiful you have to read them again to form the picture in your mind. This kind of fantasy is breathtaking when done well and Amélie Wen Zhao has proven herself as a master again. I cannot wait for the second book in this duology. 

From the publisher

In a world at war with demons, one girl will face the ultimate test when she is forced to enter into an ancient, deadly competition for the chance to save her mother's soul… before she loses her forever. From the New York Times bestselling author of Song of Silver, Flame Like Night comes the beginning of a dark and opulent fantasy duology, perfect for fans of Throne of Glass.

Nine years ago, the war between the Kingdom of Night and the Kingdom of Rivers tore Àn’yīng’s family apart, leaving her mother barely alive and a baby sister to fend for. Now the mortal realm is falling into eternal night, and mó—beautiful, ravenous demons—roam the land, feasting on the flesh of humans and drinking their souls.

Àn’yīng is no longer a helpless child, though. Armed with her crescent blades and trained in the ancient art of practitioning, she has decided to enter the Immortality Trials, which are open to any mortal who can survive the journey to the immortal realm. Those who complete the Trials are granted a pill of eternal life—the one thing Àn’yīng knows can heal her dying mother. But to attain the prize, she must survive the competition.

Death is common in the Trials. Yet oddly, Àn’yīng finds that someone is helping her stay alive. A rival contestant. Powerful and handsome, Yù’chén is as secretive about his past as he is about his motives for protecting Àn’yīng.

The longer she survives the Trials, the clearer it becomes that all is not right in the immortal realm. To save her mother and herself, Àn’yīng will need to figure out whether she can truly trust the stranger she’s falling for or if he’s the most dangerous player of all . . . for herself and for all the realms.

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I received this book from NetGalley for this review. I was under no obligation to give a positive review. All opinions are  my own. I am disclosing this per the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Peasreads: Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan

 Each time I read a Sue Lynn Tan book I'm memorized that written text can be so colorful, rich, and saturated with beauty. Just from the descriptions of the settings, the clothing, the food. Everything pops off the page. Immortal is no exception. Set in both the human world and the Celestial Kingdom the story is about a mortal, Liyen who is ruler of the Tianxia kingdom. All she wants is freedom from the gods who once protected her kingdom from a threat that is no more. Unlike the rulers before her, Liyen's grandfather has given her a bargaining chip. Something that the immortal queen desperately wants that he stole. After the death of her grandfather Liyen must pledge her kingdoms loyalty to the immortals. However she has a different plan. To win her people's freedom. 

I highly recommend this book. It's beautifully written. The story is exciting and the characters are amazing. 

From the publisher

 A stunning, standalone romantic fantasy filled with dangerous secrets, forbidden magic, and passion, of a young ruler who fights to protect her kingdom, from bestselling author Sue Lynn Tan and set in the breathtaking world of Daughter of the Moon Goddess.

What the gods did not give us, I would take

As the heir to Tianxia, Liyen knows she must ascend the throne and renew her kingdom’s pledge to serve the immortals who once protected them from a vicious enemy. But when she is poisoned, Liyen’s grandfather steals an enchanted lotus to save her life. Enraged at his betrayal, the immortal queen commands the powerful God of War to attack Tianxia. 

Upon her grandfather’s death, Liyen ascends a precarious throne, vowing to end her kingdom’s obligation to the immortals. When she is summoned to the Immortal Realm, she seizes the opportunity to learn their secrets and to form a tenuous alliance to safeguard her people, all with the one she should fear and mistrust the most: the ruthless God of War. As they are drawn together, a treacherous attraction ignites between them—one she has to resist, to not endanger all she is fighting for.

But with darker forces closing in around them, and her kingdom plunged into peril, Liyen must risk everything to save her people from an unspeakable fate, even if it means forging a dangerous bond with the immortal… even if it means losing her heart. 

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Harper Voyager for this e galley. All opinions are my own

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I received this book from NetGalley for this review. I was under no obligation to give a positive review. All opinions are  my own. I am disclosing this per the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Peasreads: The Book Swap Tessa Bickers

 

This is such a fun refreshing read. I liked the writing style. The story is unique. Each of the characters grew with the story. The care that was taken to address trauma. The love for books and writing. 

Thank you Tessa Bickers for sharing this one with the world. I've already recommended it to do many of my reader friends. 

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for allowing me to read this book. All opinions are my own.

 

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I received this book from NetGalley for this review. I was under no obligation to give a positive review. All opinions are  my own. 

Peasreads: The Ghost Cat by Alex Howard

This book is such a fun read. I loved seeing through a cat's eyes. Alex Howard tells the story of Grimalkin and his witnessing life in a 120 year span. There are beautiful touching moments and funny moments. I love the footnotes sharing the history of the times. I would recommend this book to cat lovers, dog lovers (me), anyone who likes historical fiction with a touch of magic and whimsy 

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the ARC. All opinions are my own and I was under no obligation to leave a review.

 

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I received this book from NetGalley for this review. I was under no obligation to give a positive review. All opinions are  my own. I am disclosing this per the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Peasreads: A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang

I received this book from NetGalley. Like all the other books I have read from NetGalley, I am not obligated to write reviews. I liked this book so much I preordered a copy for my shelves. 

It is inspired by one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China. 

Readers who enjoy historical fiction, strong female, and male characters, slow burn clean romance, Ancient China, and Chinese legends will love this book. It is about what it means to be a woman, a person. Where your value and worth lies. It is also about duty, war, revenge, and seeing both sides of a coin.

I truly enjoyed it.

Peasreads: Glass: A Cinderella Tale by Kathryn Lasky

 

From the Publisher:

Newbery Honoree and New York Times bestselling author of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series Kathryn Lasky delivers an enchanting prequel to the Cinderella story from the perspective of a young fairy godmother.

In a grand glass house, there was a girl named Bess whose power would, one day, change the fate of her family. . . Bess Wickham has always felt like a bit of an outcast among her family of extraordinary glassblowers, but then an immense, magical power that’s lain dormant in her bloodline begins to emerge. So, when she suspects her family’s business has taken a sinister turn, Bess must find the strength to defeat dark magic and save a certain cinder girl. But will she shatter under the weight of such evil or get her happily ever after?

Peasreads: THE NIGHT ENDS WITH FIRE by K.X. Song

 

Get ready for epic storytelling. I've heard so much buzz about this book. It's in my read next que. Mulan? Yes. Magic? Fantasy? The Three Kingdoms? Yes. Yes and YES please. Plus one of my favorite authors is singing praise about it:

“Sweepingly epic and tenderly romantic, The Night Ends With Fire

is a fiercely feminist adventure about a young woman fighting to

shape her destiny in a world of lore, magic, and war.”

—AMÉLIE WEN ZHAO, New York Times bestselling

author of Song of Silver, Flame Like Night

From the publisher:

Infused with magic and romance, this sweeping fantasy adventure inspired by the legend of Mulan follows a young woman determined to choose her own destiny—even if that means going against everyone she loves.

The Three Kingdoms are at war, but Meilin’s father refuses to answer the imperial draft. Trapped by his opium addiction, he plans to sell Meilin for her dowry. But when Meilin discovers her husband-to-be is another violent, ill-tempered man, she realizes that nothing will change for her unless she takes matters into her own hands.

The very next day, she disguises herself as a boy and enlists in her father’s place.

In the army, Meilin's relentless hard work brings her recognition, friendship—and a growing closeness with Sky, a prince turned training partner. But has she simply exchanged one prison for another? As her kingdom barrels toward destruction, Meilin begins to have visions of a sea dragon spirit that offers her true power and freedom, but with a deadly price.

With the future of the Three Kingdoms hanging in the balance, Meilin will need to decide whom to trust—Sky, who inspires her loyalty and love; the sea dragon spirit, who has his own murky agenda; or an infuriating enemy prince who makes her question everything she once knew—about her kingdom and about her own heart.

About the Author

K. X. Song is a diaspora writer with roots in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Raised between cultures and languages, she enjoys telling stories that explore the shifting nature of memory, translation, and history. She is the author of An Echo in the City and the forthcoming The Night Ends with Fire, her adult fantasy debut. You can learn more at kxsong.com

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