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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...
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Harley in the Sky by Akemi Dawn Bowman

Harley Milano has dreamed of being a trapeze artist for as long as she can remember. With parents who run a famous circus in Las Vegas, she spends almost every night in the big top watching their lead aerialist perform, wishing with all her soul that she could be up there herself one day.

After a huge fight with her parents, who continue to insist she go to school instead, Harley leaves home, betrays her family and joins the rival traveling circus Maison du Mystère. There, she is thrust into a world that is both brutal and beautiful, where she learns the value of hard work, passion and collaboration. But at the same time, Harley must come to terms with the truth of her family and her past—and reckon with the sacrifices she made and the people she hurt in order to follow her dreams.

TITLE: Harley in the Sky
AUTHOR: Akemi Dawn Bowman
PUBLISHER: Simon Pulse
YEAR: 2020
LENGTH: 384 pages
AGE: Young Adult
GENRE: Contemporary
RECOMMENDED: N/A

DNF 98 pages in (24%).

Partial Queer Rep Summary: No canon queer rep.

I don't like the main character and I vehemently disagree with her choices early in the book. At this point I can't help feeling like she brought this mess on herself and it makes it hard for me to sympathize with her. Since that's not a great feeling for me, I'm stopping. I can tell from the description that part of the point is that this is a mess and a lot of it is her fault, but this just isn't the book for me. 

TW for Harry Potter reference.

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The yellow and black stripes of a big-top tent, viewed from underneath, with the shadow of a young woman doing acrobatics silhouetted against the stripes.


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