I write adult and young adult fantasy. I’ve always been fascinated with the concept of magic. While growing up in China, I often found myself immersed in fantasy literature based on Asian history, mythology, and legends. I enjoyed getting lost in the rich imaginary worlds where the characters came to life. These tales fed my imagination and inspired me to create my own magical adventures. Writing has allowed me to expand on the ancient legends and mythology that I’ve always loved. Moreover, I’ve enjoyed creating lifelike characters, especially strong women who inspire young girls.
This book is pitched as Mulan meets Project Runway, but it’s so much more than that.
The beautiful writing style adds to the fairytale feeling of the story. Based on a mixture of the folklore of East Asian and Middle Eastern cultures, the vibrant world sets a perfect backdrop for the main character’s adventure.
The story is enriched by an incredible journey to the sun, moon, and stars, and a heart-throbbing romance. Not to mention stunning dresses created by a gifted tailor with her magical scissors!
Project Runway meets Mulan in this sweeping fantasy about a teenage girl who poses as a boy to compete for the role of imperial tailor and embarks on an impossible journey to sew three magic dresses, from the sun, the moon, and the stars. And don’t miss Elizabeth Lim’s new novel, the instant New York Times bestseller, Six Crimson Cranes!
“All the cutthroat competition of a runway fashion reality show and the thrilling exploits of an epic quest." —The Washington Post
Maia Tamarin dreams of becoming the greatest tailor in the land, but as a girl, the best she can…
I adore an anti-heroine story, and Dao delivers in this Asian-inspired reimagining of the Evil Queen about one peasant girl’s quest to become Empress by unleashing the darkness inside her.
The worldbuilding is lush, full of vivid details. The characters have amazing depth, never becoming one-dimensional stereotypes.
The protagonist is wonderfully complex. You sympathize with her at one point and then, in the next, she does something totally hateful. Her dark jealousies and obsession with her own beauty would make you despise her, but you’d also feel her frustration for having her ambition smothered as a woman in a patriarchal world.
The Wrath and the Dawn meets Snow White and the Huntsman in this dark and mystical East Asian fantasy reimagining of The Evil Queen legend about one peasant girl's quest to become Empress.
"A richly developed fantasy world . . . Julie C. Dao is a talent to watch."-Marie Lu, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Young Elites
Eighteen-year-old Xifeng is beautiful. The stars say she is destined for greatness, that she is meant to be Empress of Feng Lu. But only if she embraces the darkness within her.
Inspired by a Korean myth and Ghibli’s Spirited Away, a girl throws herself into the ocean as a sacrifice to the Sea God to save her brother’s beloved. As a human in the Spirit Realm, she’s determined to save her people before it’s too late.
I enjoyed the concept about people being pushed out of comfortable homes to make new lives in a totally different, strange world.
Every character has depth, with a compelling motive that justifies their action. The prose is elegant, capturing the dreamy side of Asian fairy tales. And the sheer beauty of it all–the wondrous mythology, vibrant spirit world, and lively atmosphere–is breathtaking.
Deadly storms. An ancient curse. Will her sacrifice save them all?
For generations, deadly storms have ravaged Mina's homeland. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curse them with death and despair. To appease him, each year a maiden is thrown into the sea, in the hopes that one day the 'true bride' will be chosen and end the suffering.
Many believe Shim Cheong - Mina's brother's beloved - to be the legendary true bride. But on the night Cheong is sacrificed, Mina's brother follows her, even knowing that to interfere is a death sentence. To save…
Everything about this book feels exquisite for me, from the rich worldbuilding, the slow burn romance, to the intricate magic system.
I rooted for the main characters from the beginning–a village girl in possession of forbidden magic, trying to protect her grandmother, and an exiled prince looking for vengeance. They start off as reluctant allies, but as they go through hardship and danger together, their relationship develops into something beautiful and meaningful.
I love how the story focuses on their personal growth, dealing with their past and coming to terms with what the future may hold for them.
Girls of Paper and Fire meets A Song of Wraiths and Ruin in June CL Tan’s stunning debut, where ferocious action, shadowy intrigue, rich magic, and a captivating slow-burn romance collide.
In an empire on the brink of war . . .
Ahn is no one, with no past and no family.
Altan is a lost heir, his future stolen away as a child.
When they meet, Altan sees in Ahn a path to reclaiming the throne. Ahn sees a way to finally unlock her past and understand her lethal magical abilities.
This book has the most badass female protagonist of all young adult novels I’ve read!
Talking about a resolute heroine set on overhauling an entire misogynistic system. She’s not restrained by what society deems as appropriate or moral, and despite their constant attempts to oppress her, she grows even more determined to break free.
The book blends mecha-science and fantasy perfectly. It has Pacific Rim vibes, but they are based in a Chinese composite of history and culture, while also rooted in traditional Chinese Qi magic.
Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid's Tale in this blend of Chinese history and mecha science fiction for YA readers.
The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn't matter that the girls often die from the mental strain.
When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it's to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister's death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through…
Mingshin helped the man she loved become king, but soon after his coronation, Ren betrayed and murdered her. As she is dying, she prays to the gods to give her a chance to avenge her murder and make things right.
Mingshin wakes up two years earlier. She vows that Ren will never become king, and she will never fall in love again. But the timeline in this life has changed: a dark mage poses a great threat to her kingdom’s peace, and Ren’s ambition runs deeper than she could have imagined. While trying to survive the vipers’ nest at the royal court, Mingshin must use all her wit and intelligence to defeat her enemies, both old and new.
I always want to be where I am not. This was why I read sci-fi and fantasy as a child. This was why I left the country of my birth and became a professional nomad. This is why I am spellbound by mountains I will never climb and oceans I will never dive into. Imagination can take you everywhere. It took me to the academy, where speculative literature became my scholarly field, and to the publishing world, where I am now getting ready for the launch of my eighth novel. When you are at home nowhere, you are at home everywhere–including on the summits of impossible mountains.
In Svetlana's country, it’s a felony to break a mirror. Mirrors are conduits of the Voice, the deity worshiped by all who follow Light. The Voice protects humans of MotherLand from the dangers that beset them on all sides: an invading army of wolf-headed men on their borders and the infectious, ever-evolving, zombie-like Enemy that plagues them at home. When Svetlana meets Andrei, a traumatized and amnesiac soldier from another war, she embarks on a harrowing journey of adventure and self-discovery that leads her to question everything she was taught to…
A voice through Svetlana's mirror guides her beloved MotherLand from behind its' electric tower. The war with Wulfstan is not going as well as Sveta and her parents hope, but Sveta trusts the Voice. When her best friend Tattie goes missing, and Sveta saves Andrei, a soldier in summer uniform in the dead of winter, it takes Sveta through a crucible of Light, doubt, and back to the altar of true belief. Girl of Light unravels Sveta's beloved MotherLand in a war-torn adventure through monsters, missing eyes and broken mirrors.
