Mundie Moms

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

FOREST OF A THOUSAND LANTERNS By Julie C. Dao / Blog Tour: Book Review & Giveaway #ForestofaThousandLanterns



Welcome to the next stop in the FOREST OF A THOUSAND LANTERNS blog tour, hosted by Penguin Teen. I'm so thrilled to feature Julie's debut on the blog today. Below, you'll find my review, and a giveaway! Be sure to enter to win. 

ABOUT THE BOOK



By: Julie C. Dao
Published by: Penguin Teen 
Released on: October 10, 2017
Series: Rise of the Empress #1
Purchase from: Publisher | Amazon | B&N
Add it to Goodreads
Rating: 4 stars 
An arc of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review 

Eighteen-year-old Xifeng is beautiful. The stars say she is destined for greatness, that she is meant to be Empress of Feng Lu. But only if she embraces the darkness within her.

Growing up as a peasant in a forgotten village on the edge of the map, Xifeng longs to fulfill the destiny promised to her by her cruel aunt, the witch Guma, who has read the cards and seen glimmers of Xifeng's majestic future. But is the price of the throne too high? Because in order to achieve greatness, she must spurn the young man who loves her and  exploit the callous magic that runs through her veins--sorcery fueled by eating the hearts of the recently killed. For the god who has sent her on this journey will not be satisfied until his power is absolute.

Set in an East Asian-inspired fantasy world filled with both breathtaking pain and beauty, Forest of a Thousand Lanterns possesses all the hallmarks of masterful fantasy: dazzling magic, heartbreaking romance, and a world that hangs in the balance. Fans of HeartlessStealing Snow, and Red Queen will devour this stunning debut.
 


An enchanting, dark debut. Rich in Asian mythology and folklore, Dao has created an unique, and mesmerizing story that reads like an ancient legend you'd find hidden on the shelves in an old bookstore. This book had my attention from the get go. Even though the story went into a different direction than I was excepting it to, I couldn't stop reading it. 

My word, this story has one intriguing anti-heroine who takes being an evil Empress/ruler, to a whole new level. I was NOT excepting that. I guess next time I need to do a better job at researching what I'm going to read. I'll admit, the element of surprise was great. I've not always been a fan of the anti-hero/anti-heroine storyline, but there's something about Xifeng I both admired, and feared.  

Xifeng is a strong character who had a troubled up bringing. Being raised by an abusive aunt, and not in the best circumstances should have broken her. In some ways it did, but it also made her a resilient character who learned patience, found her inner strength, and discovered that sometimes patience was best when it came to getting what she wanted. It afforded her time to calculate how to best act. She's cunning. She is one character who will do whatever it takes to get what she wants. If someone is in her way, well, than they pay for it. Dearly. 

In her quest to following her destiny, Xifeng becomes the fearless, passionate, empress who won't let anything get in her way. She is an incredibly well written anti-hero you can't help but continue reading about, because you want to see how her story will transpire. I have to admit, I admired her strength. To match Xifeng, are also a variety of well written characters who breathe life, love, passion, and a host of other elements to this story. I love it when characters have purpose, and each of the characters in this book do. Whether for good, or bad, they all add something to Xifeng's over all story arch.

Dao effortless transported me into Xifeng's frightening story, and I loved how everything came together. The East Asian culture is so vivid in this story. It's one of my favorite elements. Not only was this the heart of the story, it was also crucial to it as well. It was incredibly easy to visual the colorful apparel the characters adorned, smell the spices and foods they ate, and picture how each of the characters looked in my mind. Same could be said about the world in which they live. This fantasy world was fascinating. 

Dao's writing and imagining is simply stunning. If this is Dao's debut, I can hardly wait to read her next book. I definitely need more of this story! If you love a good villain story with some strong characters, and vivid story telling, pick up this book! 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR



Julie C. Dao (www.juliedao.com) is a proud Vietnamese-American who was born in upstate New York. She studied medicine in college, but came to realize blood and needles were her Kryptonite. By day, she worked in science news and research; by night, she wrote books about heroines unafraid to fight for their dreams, which inspired her to follow her passion of becoming a published author. Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is her debut novel. Julie lives in New England. Follow her on Twitter @jules_writes. 

ENTER TO WIN 

Enter for a chance to be one (1) of three (3) winners to receive a hardcover copy of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie Dao. (ARV: $18.99 each).

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter between 12:00 AM Eastern Time on October 2, 2017 and 12:00 AM on October 27, 2017.  Open to residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 13 and older. Winners will be selected at random on or about October 30, 2017. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

FOLLOW THE SCHEDULE 

 Week One:
October 2 – Alexa Loves Books – Author Guest Post 
October 3 – No BS Book Reviews – Review
October 4 – The Young Folks – 10 Reasons to Read FOATL
October 5 – Chasing Faerytales – Author Guest Post
October 6 – Arctic Books – Favorite Villains & Anti-Heroes
Week Two:
October 9 – NovelKnight – Review
October 10 – The Book’s Buzz – Author Q&A
October 11 – Across the Words – Author Q&A
October 12 – What Sarah Read – FOATL Mood Board
October 13 – One Way or an Author – History 
Week Three:
October 16 – MrsLeif's Two Fangs About It Book Reviews – Review 
October 17 – Twirling Pages – Author Guest Post 
October 18 – Mundie Moms – Review
October 19 – Book Nerd Addicts – Author Q&A
October 20 – Little Lillie Reads – Review & Playlist
Week Four:
October 23 – Tales of the Ravenous Reader – Author Guest Post  
October 24 – The Eater of Books! – Favorite FOATL Quotes
October 25 – A Page With a View – Author Q&A
October 26 – A Perfection Called Books – Review & Mood Board
October 27 – Xpresso Reads – Author Guest Post

5 comments:

  1. This debut sounds powerful and exciting to read. I love the cover too. Debut authors are excelling in "my book" this year.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This book sounds really original and exciting!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This cover is so, so pretty. And the world sounds aaamazing :D I'm so glad you enjoyed it a lot sweetie :) I'm curious about this book.

    ReplyDelete

Labels