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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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Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries. Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in mortal world. Aislinn fears their cruelty—especially if they learn of her Sight—and wishes she were as blind to their presence as other teens. Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries. Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer. Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention. But it's too late. Keenan is the Summer King who has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost—regardless of her plans or desires. Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything. Faerie intrigue, mortal love, and the clash of ancient rules and modern expectations swirl together in Melissa Marr's stunning 21st century faery tale.

TITLE: Wicked Lovely
AUTHOR: Melissa Marr
PUBLISHER: HarperCollins
YEAR: 2007
LENGTH: 328 pages (10 hours 10 minutes)
AGE: Young Adult
GENRE: Fantasy, Romance
RECOMMENDED: N/A

DNF 4 hours 34 minutes in (45%).

I liked this as a teenager, but now I'm bothered by the paradigm where Aislinn has no sexual experience and is being pursued by two different people with a lot of previous partners. I remember how the series handles the love triangle and I still care about this series as something more complicated than "girl chooses between two guys", but the story overall feels off to me now.

Graphic/Explicit CW for emotional abuse, toxic relationship

Moderate CW for bullying, sexual harassment, violence

Minor CW for physical abuse, ableist language, drug use.

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