Genre: Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction set in a fictional universe, often inspired by real world myth and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama. From the twentieth century it has expanded further into various media, including film, television, graphic novels, manga and video games.

Fantasy is distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the absence of scientific or macabre themes respectively, though these genres overlap. In popular culture, the fantasy genre predominantly features settings of a medieval nature. In its broadest sense, however, fantasy consists of works by many writers, artists, filmmakers, and musicians from ancient myths and legends to many recent and popular works.

Wikipedia

The Red Threads of Fortune

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The Red Threads of Fortune
,

, Book # 2
Tor.com
September 26th 2017
Paperback
213
English
March 6, 2022 March 10, 2022
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Fallen prophet, master of the elements, and daughter of the supreme Protector, Sanao Mokoya has abandoned the life that once bound her. Once her visions shaped the lives of citizens across the land, but no matter what tragedy Mokoya foresaw, she could never reshape the future. Broken by the loss of her young daughter, she now hunts deadly, sky-obscuring naga in the harsh outer reaches of the kingdom with packs of dinosaurs at her side, far from everything she used to love.

On the trail of a massive naga that threatens the rebellious mining city of Bataanar, Mokoya meets the mysterious and alluring Rider. But all is not as it seems: the beast they both hunt harbors a secret that could ignite war throughout the Protectorate. As she is drawn into a conspiracy of magic and betrayal, Mokoya must come to terms with her extraordinary and dangerous gifts, or risk losing the little she has left to hold dear.

About the book

As for the first one, I don’t know what this book is about … Seriously, why did I buy them?

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The Black Tides of Heaven

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The Black Tides of Heaven
,

, Book # 1
Tor
September 26th 2017
Paperback
236
English
February 26, 2022 March 2, 2022
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Mokoya and Akeha, the twin children of the Protector, were sold to the Grand Monastery as children. While Mokoya developed her strange prophetic gift, Akeha was always the one who could see the strings that moved adults to action. While his sister received visions of what would be, Akeha realized what could be. What's more, he saw the sickness at the heart of his mother's Protectorate.

A rebellion is growing. The Machinists discover new levers to move the world every day, while the Tensors fight to put them down and preserve the power of the state. Unwilling to continue to play a pawn in his mother's twisted schemes, Akeha leaves the Tensorate behind and falls in with the rebels. But every step Akeha takes towards the Machinists is a step away from his sister Mokoya. Can Akeha find peace without shattering the bond he shares with his twin sister?

About the book

We come to a sore point of my journey through books. I honestly do not know what is narrated in this book so I refer you to the official plot above. By the way, the Italian synopsis is misleading since it gives gender to the twins (or at least on Goodreads).

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Brilliance of the Moon

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Brilliance of the Moon
, ,
, Book # 3
Riverhead Books
June 3rd 2004
Paperback
346
English
February 7, 2022 February 25, 2022
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A beautiful, haunting evocation of the medieval Japan of Lian Hearn's imagination, this thrilling follow-up to Grass for His Pillow and Across the Nightingale Floor delves deeper into the complex loyalties that bind its characters from birth. Filled with adventure and surprising twists of plot and fortune, this final volume travels beyond the Three Countries, to the outside influences that threaten to intrude upon this isolated realm.

About the book

Last book in the first trilogy of the Tales of the Otori series. Takeo and Kaede got married without Arai Daiichi’s permission and this unleashes his anger. In addition, the noble Fujiwara, a great friend of Arai, considered himself to be Kaede’s fiancé and therefore feels betrayed by the woman. If we add Takeo’s uncles who don’t recognise him as the heir of the noble Shigero, Takeo faces a tough battle. But a prophecy awaits him: “You will have to fight five battles to obtain peace: four you will win, one you will lose”. And it seems to come true. But what became of Yuki’s son? Will he meet his father?

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Grass for His Pillow

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Grass for His Pillow
, ,

, Book # 2
Riverhead Books
August 11th 2003
Paperback
344
English
February 2, 2022 February 6, 2022
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Praised for its epic scope and descriptive detail, Across the Nightingale Floor, the first book in the Tales of the Otori series, was an international bestseller and critical success, named by the London Times as "the most compelling novel to have been published this year." With Grass for His Pillow, Book Two, we return to the medieval Japan of Lian Hearn's creation—a land of harsh beauty and deceptive appearances.In a complex social hierarchy, amid dissembling clans and fractured allegiances, there is no place for passionate young love. The orphan Takeo has been condemned to work as an assassin—an enforced occupation that his father sacrificed his own life to escape. Meanwhile, Takeo’s beloved Shirakawa Kaede, heir to the Murayama and alone in the world, must find a way to unify the domain she has inherited, as she fights off the advances of would-be suitors and hopes against fading hope that Takeo will return to her...

About the book

Second book in the Otori Saga series. Here, we find Takeo and Kaede divided after their night together. He followed the Tribe and is hidden for a while because he was wanted by Arai. She returns to her feud, meets her grown-up sisters together with her father and tries to establish her dominion over her lands. But she is a woman, she cannot rule for her husband. And she isn’t married or maybe she is? To hide Takeo’s pregnancy, she claims that she is Shigeru’s wife and that immediately after the wedding he was killed.

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Unravel the Dusk

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Unravel the Dusk
, ,

, Book # 2
Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
July 7th 2020
Hardcover
355
English
January 28, 2022 February 1, 2022
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Maia Tamarin’s journey to sew the dresses of the sun, the moon and the stars has taken a grievous toll. She returns to a kingdom on the brink of war. The boy she loves is gone, and she is forced to don the dress of the sun and assume the place of the emperor’s bride-to-be to keep the peace.

But the war raging around Maia is nothing compared to the battle within. Ever since she was touched by the demon Bandur, she has been changing . . . glancing in the mirror to see her own eyes glowing red, losing control of her magic, her body, her mind. It’s only a matter of time before Maia loses herself completely, but she will stop at nothing to find Edan, protect her family, and bring lasting peace to her country.

YA fantasy readers will love the sizzling forbidden romance, mystery, and intrigue of Unravel the Dusk

About the book

Short review this time, too.

I liked this second book less than the first. I understood the ending way before the actual finale even if I didn’t have idea who would become the emperor.

I liked the story between Edan and Maia, I liked how Maia is described and what she does. Even if I liked the first book more, I recommend this series. I didn’t find anything that I disliked, I just find it a little bit slow in the beginning and the middle and too fast the ending.

Anyway, I liked the world built by the author and the characters, too.

And, here, too, I like the second cover more than the first, the one with the palace.