Peasreads: I Am Not Jessica Chen -Ann Liang

I finished this in one day.  One. 

Are the MCs in highschool? Yes.  

Am I in my late forties? Yes. 

Was it still a great read for me? Absolutely yes.

 This book was sad and eye-opening not only as a parent but personally. So many times we try to live up to other people's expectations. We never can. We also try to live up to the strict expectations we put on ourselves. These expectations are impossible at any age. The MC Jenna had expectations put on her by her parents, but she also heaped on even more impossible expectations for herself. We so often do that. Not realizing that those who love us, truly love us as we are and that they too are imperfect.

As a parent reading this book broke my heart to hear about how these students feel in these situations where it's all about how your grades are, if you're in enough extracurriculars, are they the right extracurriculars, I just felt so bad for these kids. I wanted to scoop them up and comfort them. I also was angry at the environment that was made for some to succeed regardless of the effort they put in, while also being a place for others to potentially succeed if they don't rock the boat.

From the Publisher

Harlequin Teen, Jan 29, 2025 - Young Adult Fiction - 384 pages

Jenna Chen has spent her life in the shadow of her flawless cousin. Jessica Chen is so smart she gets the top score on every test. Jessica Chen is so beautiful people stop in the hallway to stare at her. Jessica Chen is so perfect she got into Harvard.

And Jenna Chen will only ever be a disappointment.

So when Jenna makes a desperate wish to become her cousin, the last thing she expects is for it to come true — literally. All of a sudden she gets to live the life she’s always dreamed of...but being the model student at cutthroat Havenwood Private Academy isn’t quite what she’d imagined. Worse, people seem to be forgetting that someone named Jenna Chen ever existed. But isn’t it worth trading it all away — her artistic talent, her childhood home, even the hope of golden boy Aaron Cai loving her back — to be Jessica Chen? 

HarperCollins Children's Books | HarperCollins | Harlequin Teen

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I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was under no obligation to post a 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: Of Jade and Dragons by Amber Chen

 

This book took a lot of work to get into at first. There were times I picked it up and only read a chapter or so. There were other times when I couldn't wait to keep reading. However, it took me a bit to really want to keep reading. This isn't the author's fault. The world she has built and imagined is very cool. It just didn't pop off the pages for me. I like the main characters. I appreciate that Ye-Yang wasn't a clueless prince., I like him the most. Ying herself is smart and resourceful. This is a great start to a YA fantasy (trilogy I believe?) I DNF but will keep reading. I just wanted to get this review up before the date of publication. I like it enough to have a special edition on the way and I will read the next book. 

Description

Mulan meets Iron Widow in this thrilling silkpunk fantasy about a girl who must disguise herself as a boy and enter the famed and dangerous Engineer’s Guild trials to unravel the mystery of her father’s murder.

Eighteen-year-old Aihui Ying dreams of becoming a world-class engineer like her father, but after his sudden murder, her life falls apart. Left with only a journal of her father’s engineering secrets and a jade pendant snatched from the assassin, a heartbroken Ying follows the trail to the capital and the prestigious Engineers Guild—a place that harbors her father’s hidden past—determined to discover why anyone would threaten a man who ultimately chose a quiet life over fame and fortune. 

Disguised as her brother, Ying manages to infiltrate the guild’s male-only apprenticeship trial with the help of an unlikely ally—Aogiya Ye-yang, the taciturn eighth prince of the High Command. With her father’s renown placing a target firmly on her back, Ying must stay one step ahead of her fellow competitors, the jealous guild masters, and the killer still hunting for her father’s journal. Complicating everything is her increasingly tangled relationship with the prince, who may have mysterious plans of his own. 

The secrets concealed within the guild can be as deadly as the weapons they build—and with her life and the future of her homeland at stake, Ying doesn’t know who to trust. Can she avenge her father even if it means going against everything he stood for, or will she be next in the mastermind’s line of fire?

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Thank you Netgalley and  PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Viking Books for Young Readers for this galley, I was not obligated to leave a review. All opinions are my own.

Peasreads: Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier

 

Dragonfruit

Dragonfruit is a Pacific Island mythology inspired tale. It has dragons, pirates, magic, and mystery. I absolutely enjoyed reading this story. The description says romance, it has a little romance which to me was not the focus and that made it great. It is so much more. This is such a great story about family, friendship, belonging, forgiveness, and strength.

The main characters were likeable. I wanted them to succeed.  The word building beautiful and lush 

It is a clean read. Great for YA and Teens also.

Description: 

From acclaimed author Makiia Lucier, a dazzling, romantic fantasy inspired by Pacific Island mythology.

In the old tales, it is written that the egg of a seadragon, dragonfruit, holds within it the power to undo a person's greatest sorrow. An unwanted marriage, a painful illness, and unpaid debt...gone. But as with all things that promise the moon and the stars and offer hope when hope has gone, the tale comes with a warning.

Every wish demands a price.

Hanalei of Tamarind is the cherished daughter of an old island family. But when her father steals a seadragon egg meant for an ailing princess, she is forced into a life of exile. In the years that follow, Hanalei finds solace in studying the majestic seadragons that roam the Nominomi Sea. Until, one day, an encounter with a female dragon offers her what she desires most. A chance to return home, and to right a terrible wrong.

Samahtitamahenele, Sam, is the last remaining prince of Tamarind. But he can never inherit the throne, for Tamarind is a matriarchal society. With his mother ill and his grandmother nearing the end of her reign, Sam is left with two choices: to marry, or to find a cure for the sickness that has plagued his mother for ten long years. When a childhood companion returns from exile, she brings with her something he has not felt in a very long time-hope.

But Hanalei and Sam are not the only ones searching for the dragonfruit. And as they battle enemies both near and far, there is another danger they cannot escape...that of the dragonfruit itself.

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I received this book from NetGalley and Clarion books. I was under no obligation to post a 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.”

Thank you NetGalley and Clarion books for this galley. All opinions are my own, I was not expected to give a review. 

Peasread: Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White (Song of The Last Kingdom, Book 2)

The Song of The Last Kingdom books have been some of my favorites to read this year. If you've read my review for Song of Silver, Flame Like Night you already know what the author Amelie Wen Zhao's writing style is. It is poetic, and lush, and brings to mind the landscapes of the Last Kingdom beautifully. Storytelling that will have glued to your seat and not wanting to stop until you've reached the end. Even then, you'll want more.

This book starts off from where we last left Zen and Lan. They have gone their separate ways. They have the same goal. Eradicate the colonizers and restore their people. While they both want the same thing, both believe in different methods of achieving their goals. Lan refuses to use the power of the Silver Dragon bound to her believing that the Demon God and its counterparts bring nothing but death and destruction. Zen believes the only way to rid the land of the Elantions is to use the power of the Demon Gods. He has made a deal with the one who dwells within him. One that will cost not only his body and mind but in the end, his soul. 

Who is right? Who is wrong? In the end, will either of them be able to save what they hold most dear to them?

Peasreads: Song of Silver, Flame Like Night (Song of the Last Kingdom Book 1)

 

Before you sit down to read this book, go ahead and preorder the second one. You won't want to wait to dive right into it. Trust me. I purchased this book as soon as I found out I was chosen to read and review the second one. I'm so glad I did. I want copies of both to be able to reread.

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night is the first in the Song of the Last Kingdom series. It is a fantasy inspired by ancient China and its mythology. I grew up watching Chinese kung fu movies set in ancient China. The characters dressed so beautifully, they would fly through the air with billowing sleeves and it was always so visually stunning. Amelie Wen Zhao has a way of word building that paints her characters, world, and the whole story so vividly in your mind. Just visually beautiful. 

But in rare moments like this, when the sun hung ripe and swollen as a mandarin over the glittering sea, there was still a shattered-glass beauty to be found in the remnants of a conquered land.- Song of Silver, Flame Like Night

I had just started reading, and when I got to the second paragraph I read a sentence that stopped me. The one above. I reread it and knew that I was going to love the richness of how the scenery and the characters were going to materialize in my mind. I came to find that this was consistent throughout the book. I could read the pain and desperation of people who were worn down from occupation. I could sense their pride as they also clung to whatever they had left of who they were at the core.

The story from the beginning grips you and you just want to keep reading to see what happens next. There are twists, turns, and surprises. The story flows well, and you'll fall in love with the characters. Not just the main ones, but many of them. 

Peasread: Unraveling

Review for book one in this series can be found HERE.

I had a very hard time reading this book. I just wanted so badly for it to be better than the first book. It wasn't. So much potential with a cool concept and story. Unique "good vs evil" story. We start off with El as Queen. You can read the summary below. The book is not a good standalone book, even with having already read the first book this was confusing at times. Flashbacks/memories, moving through stories of different characters. The book didn't flow well. Sometimes memories were confusing because it wasn't easy to tell that it was a memory.

Peasread: A Fairy King

Hello everyone! My 12/13 year old has agreed to reviews some great books for me. Here's one from C.J. Brightley called A Fairy King, it's a novella. My teen LOVES this series and is anxiously waiting for the next book. It is not a tween/teen/young adult book. It's a story that adults and teens will all enjoy.

It is summer here so less food blogging, no school lunches, but we'll try to get these book reviews up!

Here's the review:

Peasread: The Invisible Library

Reviewed by Esmeralda (age 13)

The Invisible Library 

Genevieve Cogman

329 pages

Published January 15th 2015 by Tor UK

ISBN 1447256239 (ISBN13: 9781447256236)

 When I first saw this book, I was kind of skeptical. The summery sounded interesting, but not really my type, which is more fantastical or mythological. That being said, I put off reading the book forever. Once I started, I finished the book in less than half a day.

This novel is about a woman named Irene who works at the Invisible Library. At this library they collect important and rare books from different worlds. These are all variations of earth some have magic, others are more technologically advanced. Irene and her assistant Kai are sent to collect a book from a chaos infected world. The rules of reality are skewed in some of these worlds. They find that not only had the book been stolen, there were many powerful groups and people who were also after the book.

Peasread: Heir To Sevenwaters

I can't help but finish the books in this Sevenwaters series. I am actually done and have been but writing out a review it just takes more effort. This fourth installment by Juliet Marillier was pretty good. I liked it, I will say none of them have compared to Daughter of the Forest. Still I feel that the  fantasy aspect is back, it was not as prevalent in the last book. There was magic of course, as Fianne had magic powers. This is just a different, other world setting that I liked.

Peasread: Unblemished

Description from the back of the book:

Eliyana has always recoiled from her own reflection in the mirror. But what if that were only one Reflection—one world? What if another world existed where her blemish could become her strength?Eliyana is used to the shadows. With a hideous birthmark covering half her face, she just hopes to graduate high school unscathed. That is, until Joshua hops a fence and changes her perspective. No one, aside from her mother, has ever treated her as normal. Maybe even beautiful. Because of Joshua, Eliyana finally begins to believe she could be loved.But one night her mother doesn’t come home, and that’s when everything gets weird.Now Joshua is her new, and rather reluctant, legal Guardian. Add a hooded stalker and a Central Park battle to the mix and you’ve gone from weird to otherworldly.Eliyana soon finds herself in a world much larger and more complicated than she’s ever known. A world enslaved by a powerful and vile man. And Eliyana holds the answer to defeating him. How can an ordinary girl, a blemished girl, become a savior when she can’t even save herself?

I really wanted to love this book. I thought I would. Fantasy? Check. Adventure. Check. Female heroine? Check. I read the reviews and even I recommended it to my tween and let her read it.  Before I read it. Probably not a good idea. She liked it quite a bit though. I had a hard time getting through the middle of the book. Is it possible to not really love a book but want to know what happens to one of the characters in the upcoming book? Because that is where I'm at.

Peasread: Beauty Begins

Beauty Begins is a Christian/Biblical living book about true beauty. It is about God's definition of beauty, beauty as He created it/US to be. The book talks about how we have lost sight of what true beauty is and are looking at ourselves and those around us through the world's eyes. Instead of seeing that we are created in God's image and are perfect we start letting what society defines as beautiful creep into out thoughts. After a while we forget that true beauty is reflecting God's image, His love, grace, mercy, kindness.
We can never reach the world's standards on beauty, trends change, we're all made differently (fearfully and wonderfully), we can't all fit into one mold.  But God is unchanging. He is constant, and He has made us perfectly, for a perfect purpose. To love well, and reflect him. It's so important that we remember this and Beauty Begins is a helpful reminder that we need to "Make peace with our reflection" and focus on what's important and what is eternal.