Under A Lavender Moon
Christina Mai Fong
(Nightingale Songs, #1)
Published by: Acorn Publishing
Publication date: February 11th 2021
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Sixteen-year-old Rilla Marseas believes she has a calling to become a healer. Her soul yearns to help people and save lives. Why else would Heaven grant her a singing voice that can heal any ailment? But if the palace discovers her power, she’ll be selected for the annual Showcase, where the most beautiful and magically gifted girls in Seracedar Kingdom compete for the chance to enter the emperor’s harem. That’s the last thing Rilla wants. To avoid such a fate, she hides her power. No matter how the other villagers ridicule her for being worthless and talentless, she suppresses the urge to reveal her powerful voice and prove them wrong. When a palace scout poisons Rilla’s auntie and coerces her into revealing her power, she’s thrown into the competition. The scout threatens to harm her family if she doesn’t win. But Rilla learns there really is no winning. The emperor and empress keep girls with magical powers as pets. In cages. With some help from a handsome, but brooding prince and his mysterious bodyguard, Rilla must outsmart the palace and escape. If she fails, she’ll spend the rest of her life as the royal couple’s puppet, using her voice to grant them eternal youth.
My Blurb (3 / 5 stars)
Magic (YA fantasy) and POC author are the two main reasons I chose to join in this blog tour & to read this book for the purpose of providing a review. The description was quite appealing to me personally and the cover is really quite gorgeous. I thought this would be one I’d easily enjoy.
I was quite fascinated by this universe. It was a lot darker and painful than I thought it would be. The opulence of the background in contrast to the unhappiness & tortuous existence of most of the characters in this novel was intriguing. However, I found characters to be a little bit flat. I found protagonist to be mostly okay; a bit frustrating at times with her choices but that’s my personal opinion – you may agree with her choices. Hints at a love triangle, however, was my biggest beef with this book. If I’d known, I’d probably wouldn’t read it.
Under the Lavender Moon was a pretty enjoyable read as I was truly drawn into this world. I just wish there was more emphasis on the protagonist friendship with another than the romance.
My thanks to Xpresso Book Tours for having me on this tour and copy of ebook in exchange of honest review
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About the author
I was a Bio major, pre-med in college, but I couldn’t stand the sight of blood. I used to write poems and stories in the margins of my science notebooks. Well, after a reality check, I decided to pursue a career in Food Science because I like food, and everyone needs to eat. Meanwhile, I continued to write. My absolute FAVORITE books are YA Fantasy, so it’s no surprise that I chose to write it, too.
Having been raised in Southern California, where there’s a healthy blend of cultures, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t put an Asian American spin in my stories. And having always been the “quiet, shy girl,” who often felt like a wallflower even though I wanted desperately to be the heroine, I’m so glad I now get the opportunity to make the underestimated good girls my heroines. But of course, I’m forcing them out of their comfort zones so they have to embrace their dark side and kick some villainous butt.
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Thanks for being on the tour! 🙂