These are three books that I read during mid-April (and one from May) which I really enjoyed! Definitely check them out, they’re all super good <3
(Note: If you’re not really a major fan of fantasy/romance I’m very sorry, I will try my best to give recommended reads/reviews on more varied genres next time t-t)
──── Rogue Heart ────
by Axie Oh
“He says, his voice like broken glass, “Ama.”
For a moment I can’t breathe.
“Are you haunting me?” On the monitor, his temperature has risen another degree. His fever must have broken through the illusion. He sees the real me, but he isn’t aware, caught as he is in a fever dream.”– Axie Oh, ‘Rogue Heart’
Genres: Sci-Fi | Young Adult | Romance | Fantasy | Dystopia | Fiction | Asian Literature
Age Rating: 13+ (mentions of mind manipulation, war, and blood)
I don’t usually read sci-fi, but this was probably one of the best books I’ve ever read 🥹
Set two years after the battle of Neo Seoul (currently 2201), Ama, a successful experiment of the Teramasu Project and an eighteen-year-old telepath, hides out in Neo Beijing. Her life is uneventful, and that’s how she’ll like it to stay- far away from her past.
But when an organization, PHNX, asks her to join them to save other young girls trapped in the government experiment like hers, and soon she’s embarking on dangerous journeys. Ama starts using her telepathic and telekinetic abilities again, things she’s stopped for so long.
And then, as the war approaches, they hear about a young commander in the Alliance: Alex Kim, the same boy that she once loved and betrayed her. So, in order to fool the Alliance, she uses her telepathic abilities to create an illusion in everyone’s mind and become an officer in the army. She takes on the name of ‘Wang Jangmi’, but as soon as she joins the Alliance, she can’t stop her feelings and the tension between her and Alex.
This is basically the entire plot, and in order to understand the worldbuilding (it’s really interesting) you should probably check ‘Rebel Seoul’ out first, which is set in 2199 (2 years before) and evolves around Jaewon and Tera’s relationship! It’s also very well-written, though I personally like Rogue Heart better :’D
Okay, so I LOVED Ama and Alex’s relationship <3 Alex has had suspicions, though they’re not about her identity, but more or less about whether she’s a spy/traitor to the Alliance, and he actually believes that she’s dead after what happened at the end of Rebel Seoul. Ama, on the other hand, is basically just forced to fight her feelings for Alex- they’ve become strangers, friends/allies, then perhaps something more, but she still needs to carry out her plan amidst all the mess.
The four/five, Ama, Alex, Tera, Jaewon, and Tsuko, reuniting was also very heartfelt. I honestly felt pretty bad for Tsuko (the Su component in the ‘Teramasu Project’, who you’ll know and get to understand more about in this novel!
Ama’s relationship with Helen, Shun, and Shiori (the members of PHNX) is also so funny. Helen is basically like the older sister she never had, and they all get along so easily. I lowkey died laughing at Ama and Shun’s ‘dating/married’ alias and Shiori’s scripts while they acted 😂
Anyway, this novel is quite emotional and very sweet (in my opinion) with sci-fi/adventure and romance weaved smoothly together, so you should definitely read this sometime especially if you love fantasy romance/dystopia!
──── To Kill a Kingdom ────
by Alexandra Christo
“People don’t tell secrets because someone needs to know them. They do it because they need someone to tell.”
– Alexandra Christo, ‘To Kill a Kingdom’
Genres: Fantasy | Young Adult | Fiction | Enemies to Lovers | Retellings | Pirates
Age Rating: 13+ (Mentions of monsters, blood, violence, wars)
I’m honestly also not a big fan of reading about mythical creatures, but this book about sirens was just really appealing to me! The descriptions were really vivid, and I adore the FMC, the siren Princess Lira! The way she was ‘punished, robbed of her own song’ by the Sea Queen is a big insight into the daughter-and-mother relationship, which will be explored further on (I HATE the Sea Queen SO MUCH, if you read this book you’ll know)
So, Lira is also turned into a human, which is the very thing sirens loathe. She has seventeen prince hearts, one for each birthday on her year, and she’s set out on a mission to kill Prince Elian (who’s also a pirate with his own crew) and steal his heart. This is because she murdered a mermaid to fight for his heart and the Sea Queen finds her ‘insolent’, but although Lira was about to kill Prince Elian, he ends up saving her from the sea after she’s transformed!
Well, of course, they fall in love <3
Their relationship is genuinely so cute, and so is Madrid and Kye’s (members of Elian’s crew!) I’m kinda sad, actually, that there was no more insight offered into whatever relationship they have but Kye is really so cheeky lol.
Anyway, they all become friends, and they have various run-ins with other people (trying my best not to spoil it 🫠). Finally, Lira’s secret is discovered, the betrayal is countered, fights happen, and you’ll see what happens next!
To wrap up, I really like both the FMC and MMC. Their personalities and the whole dynamic were so well written, and the worldbuilding is fantastic too! There are multiple languages that make Elian suspicious about Lira’s identity first when he saves her from the ocean, and the kingdoms, royal setting, and mythical creatures like sirens and the Flesh-Eater (?) are just so intriguing. You can sort of picture them in your mind but not grasp it accurately, so that leaves a lot of room for imagination.
──── I Am Not Jessica Chen ────
by Ann Liang
“I’ve always had this theory that if I wanted something badly enough, the universe will make sure to keep it just out of my reach— either out of boredom or cruelty, like an invisible hand dangling stars on a string.”
– Ann Liang, ‘I Am Not Jessica Chen’
Genres: Romance | Young Adult | Fantasy | Fiction | Magical Realism | Asian Literature
Age Rating: 13+ (related a bit more of academics+pressure?)
If you’ve ever felt pressured by stereotypes and academics, this book is for you!
Jenna Chen is a Chinese American girl that was supposed to get into Harvard just like her perfect cousin Jessica Chen, and excel at everything just like Jessica and their childhood friend Aaron Cai. But when she doesn’t, she is disappointed in herself, and pressured by the expectations of her Asian parents, and feels shadowed by her cousin Jessica, who got into Harvard. Everything she fought for, Jessica makes it look so effortless. Everything she ever wanted, Jessica, the golden child, seems to have.
Jessica has ‘always been a natural’, ‘born to be the best’. But on the day when the Chen families and Aaron (who returned from his Paris program) gather together, a shooting star appears, and Jenna wishes to be her cousin. Horrifyingly, the next day, she wakes up as Jessica Chen, and her cousin magically disappears.
She first experiences her cousin’s life as perfect, surrounded by admirers and other studious students like Leela and Celine. Posing as her cousin, she finds many difficulties, such as keeping up with Jessica’s straight 100s, her attitude/personality, being a ‘model student’, her teacher’s high expectations, and getting confused between calling her aunt ‘Mum’ and her mum ‘Aunt’. She also find out more about Jenna’s relationship with Aaron and accidentally does a lot of ‘Jenna-actions’ like calling him by his Chinese name, which is super cute !
However, she then notices a change in her cousin’s perfect life: Jessica has a journal where she pours all her thoughts in. It turns out that Jessica works super hard and feels burnt out because she constantly has to be ‘the best’. Then, after receiving ominous notes, she realizes that Jessica might’ve done a very bad thing (which you’ll find out hehe)
Without spoiling any more of the book, if you’re all too familiar with high expectations and feeling shadowed, ‘I Am Not Jessica Chen’ is a very relatable book! It’s also pretty heartwarming and offers more insight into what it’s really like to have academic pressure, and Jenna and Aaron’s relationship is just so adorable haha^^
──── Bring Me Their Hearts ────
“I suppose when you want something badly enough, when you lose the thing most precious to you, people just become toys, puppets to move around to achieve your goals.”
– Sara Wolf, ‘Bring Me Their Hearts’
Genres: Fantasy | Enemies to Lovers | Fiction | Young Adult | Romance
Age Rating: 13 (Mentions of blood, gore, eating raw animal parts as well as the Hunger, manipulation, ‘dark’ thoughts about one’s worth, etc.)
I stumbled upon this book unexpectedly while searching for something new to read in the library, and this is just chef’s kiss <3
First of all, Zera is just the best character ever! She is a Heartless under the witch Nightsinger, where she has a constant Hunger to kill people and eat raw animal parts. It has been two years since Nightsinger saved her from death at 16, and this means that her mind, her heart, and her inner voice in her mind are always conflicted.
Then, she is given the seemingly impossible task by Nightsinger: Her witch wants a Crown Prince’s heart in exchange of Zera’s own heart, and to complete the task, she must infiltrate the d’Malvane court and capture the heart of Crown Prince Lucien d’Malvane. But she’s supposed to be Heartless, so why is she feeling so much and slowly falling in love with Prince Lucien?
This is honestly an incredible novel, and the two other books in the trilogy were also just as good. But in order not to spoil anything I’ve decided to not write reviews for them hehe 😀
It shouldn’t be relatable too because Zera’s not a normal human being, but you can easily emphasize with her emotions. Also, she has a very sarcastic personality. She is stubborn and acts carefree although she’s always worried about what her friends, Prince Lucien, Lady Fione, the beneather Malachite (and Lucien’s guard and best friend) will think after her betrayal. She also loves making snarky remarks and is sometimes hotheaded, but she is really in a way unselfish and caring to her friends.
Her relationship with Lucien was also very cute. They developed great chemistry over only a period of two weeks, and I also like the fact how she saw him first as the thief ‘Whisper’, it’s like a secret they share together. Although he is kind of hostile to her when they first meet in the Royal Court, he also finds her interesting and not afraid to state her own opinions unlike the other choices for his Spring Bride.
Furthermore, Malachite was one of my favorite characters. He teaches Zera a lot of Beneather words, which is a really nice touch to the worldbuilding in my opinion, and also loves sarcasm. I also like how loyal he is to Lucien!
Overall, it’s very fun to read honestly, but one thing is that if you’re easily grossed out then you should keep an eye out for how Heartless eat food (?) Here’s a warning: If they eat normal human food they will weep tears, so they have to eat raw animal parts. If you see the author mentioning them casually eating deer eyes and etc. I hope you don’t feel nauseated 😭🙏
Hopefully you will have some time to check the four books mentioned above out!
Thank you all for reading, and have a wonderful day/night 💗
5/28/26 ♡
Sources:
Works Cited
“Amazon.com: Bring Me Their Hearts (Bring Me Their Hearts Series Book 1) EBook : Wolf, Sara: Kindle Store.” Amazon.com, 2026, www.amazon.com/Bring-Their-Hearts-Sara-Wolf-ebook/dp/B07232WZBF. Accessed 28 May 2026.
“Bring Me Their Hearts Quotes by Sara Wolf.” Goodreads.com, 2026, www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/56468289-bring-me-their-hearts. Accessed 28 May 2026.
“I Am Not Jessica Chen.” Goodreads, www.goodreads.com/book/show/61374793-i-am-not-jessica-chen. Accessed 28 May 2026.
“Rogue Heart.” Goodreads, www.goodreads.com/book/show/44676446-rogue-heart. Accessed 28 May 2026.
“To Kill a Kingdom (Hundred Kingdoms, #1).” Goodreads, www.goodreads.com/book/show/34499221-to-kill-a-kingdom. Accessed 28 May 2026.
