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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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Fiery Magic by Niranjan

Time travel is risky and regulated, but breaking the law could save her life.

Audrey is a hunter mage, employed by the largest magical corporation in the country. Temporal Corps has an exclusive license for time travel, but the laws are strict. It’s to be used only for exigencies approved by the government.

When she’s sent to the past and poisoned on arrival, the only one Audrey can depend on is her partner Lyle, who is waiting safely in the future. He’ll have to break at least a dozen laws to help her. Unfortunately, getting caught is a life sentence.

Changing the past is a serious crime, but when she receives a message from another version of herself, Audrey realises she may have no choice. It’s a race against the clock, each choice possibly changing her future so much she’ll never undo the damage. She might save her life, but she could lose everything and everyone that’s important to her in the process.

Fiery Magic is a futuristic science fantasy adventure. If you enjoy fantasy worlds where magic and technology co-exist, strong female leads, and found families, you will love Niranjan’s novel.

Buy Fiery Magic today for a trip back in time where you face danger and betrayal at every turn.

COVER ARTIST: Ravenborn Covers
PUBLISHER: Geetha Krishnan
YEAR: 2024
LENGTH: 177 pages 
AGE: Adult
GENRE: Fantasy, Science Fiction
RECOMMENDED: Yes

Queer Rep Summary: Gay/Achillean Main Character(s), Bi/Pan Main Character(s).

FIERY MAGIC is a time travel story which blends magic and technology together in a way that breaks a bunch of "rules" of time travel stories in a great way. I hadn't realized just how many assumptions I had about what could and couldn't happen with time travel until it deftly sidestepped them by doing its own thing in a way that was excellent and internally consistent, pulling me into a new way of thinking. The most obvious of these was the presence of a means of communication between the past and the future while the changes were still in flux.

I like Audrey and Lyle's relationship, especially the way they worked together with their friend, Nico to get things figured out. 

The ending felt a bit abrupt, but there was just enough of an epilogue to tie up narrative loose ends, even though it left me hanging a bit, emotionally. I wanted a bit more time actually seeing how things ended up, instead of just getting a summary of the most important points. 

If you like this you may like:

  • Curse of Souls by Niranjan
  • Beneath the Rising by Premee Mohamed

Moderate CW for grief, fire, drugs, kidnapping, confinement, car accident, domestic abuse, blood, torture, violence, murder, child death, death.

Indie Story Geek

A woman in a white tunic and leather armor, wearing a green cloak, stands mid-action as she throws fire


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