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The Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean

Each generation, a competition is held to find the next empress of Honoku. The rules are simple. Survive the palace's enchanted seasonal rooms. Conquer Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Marry the prince. All are eligible to compete--all except yokai, supernatural monsters and spirits whom the human emperor is determined to enslave and destroy. Mari has spent a lifetime training to become empress. Winning should be easy. And it would be, if she weren't hiding a dangerous secret. Mari is a yokai with the ability to transform into a terrifying monster. If discovered, her life will be forfeit. As she struggles to keep her true identity hidden, Mari's fate collides with that of Taro, the prince who has no desire to inherit the imperial throne, and Akira, a half-human, half-yokai outcast. Torn between duty and love, loyalty and betrayal, vengeance and forgiveness, the choices of Mari, Taro, and Akira will decide the fate of Honoku in this beautifully written, edge-of-your-seat YA...

Clear Your Shit: The Journey Begins (Shortest Book)

Okay so I've barely begun this quest thing (thanks, wizard) and I get ransacked on my first night. Luckily my Magical Belt Pouch of Hiding Books for Later That I'll Definitely Get To Sometime had a copy of Strawberry Milkshake by Cate Wurtz in it. I sat down on a rock (definitely not named Carl) to read it and was very impressed and shaken by its portrayal of gaslighting and distorted reality. I was about to stand up when I realized that my Magical Belt Pouch had two more books in it, one of which I'd been "getting to later" for about eight months, and another which I keep reading one story at a time when I ought to be able to just breeze through it. I sighed and picked up No Man of Woman Born by Ana Mardoll, feeling guilty that it's taking me so long to read this really cool book of awesome stories where prophecies are fulfilled through subverting gender-related expectations. Wondering how I took so long, I finished the last three stories, stretched my back after sitting, then paused as I felt two more volumes tucked into the back of my belt. Slightly puzzled, I discovered I was practically sitting on my copies of Strangers in Court by Seanan McGuire and The Awakened Kingdom by N. K. Jemisin, both of which are novellas providing one more story in a longer series (October Daye and The Inheritance Trilogy, respectively). 

After reading all four books (why, who knows, I just couldn't leave until I read them all) I started walking into town. I'm still walking, so it might be a while before I know what happens next. I just know I'll probably need supplies since when I was ransacked I lost the little I was carrying (other than the books).

Go here to read the whole story.

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