Blog Tour - Review + Giveaway : A Bright Heart by Kate Chenli



A Bright Heart by Kate Chenli
Genre : YA Fantasy
Publisher Union Square & Co.
Publication Date October 17th, 2023
What if you could avenge your own murder? A brilliant young woman gets a second chance at life in this debut YA tale of vengeance, court intrigue, and romance, inspired by classic Chinese tropes.
 
Mingshin outsmarted three princes to help the man she loved become king. But she doesn’t see Ren’s betrayal coming, not until she’s lying in a pool of her own blood on the palace steps.
 
As she’s dying, Mingshin makes a desperate plea to the gods to turn back time and give her a chance to make things right.
 
Mingshin wakes up two years earlier, her prayer granted, and swears two things: Ren will never become king, and she will never fall in love again.
 
But the timeline in this life has changed: a dignitary gifted with dark magic is threatening her kingdom’s peace, and Ren’s thirst for power runs deeper than Mingshin could have imagined. 
 
She finds herself allying with Jieh, another contender for the throne. Mingshin knows better than anyone not to give her heart to a prince. But in the viper’s nest of the royal court, she and Jieh prove a phenomenal team. Can Mingshin avert the catastrophe of her past by once again learning to trust…and maybe even love? 

Pre-order here!
B&N
I love reading stories like these where the protagonist goes back in time or gets a second chance at life!❣️✨ Who doesn't have regrets lol. And bonus points if the book involves a revenge plot😆 It's kind of a common theme in manhwas and chinese novels and I think my obsession with reading these started with Shen Miao's story from Rebirth of the Malicious Empress. This made me very excited to read A Bright Heart by Kate Chenli which has an MC who gets a second chance at life and wishes to get revenge while changing things(also how pretty is that cover?😍)

In her last life, Mingshin worked hard to put her fiance on the throne but was rewarded with betrayal and death. When she gets a second chance to do it all over again, she's determined to be smarter this time and to prevent Ren from becoming the king while she protects her mother from her scheming uncle and cousins. Though some things have stayed the same, there seem to be many changes too and Mingshin is pulled back into the vortex of the royal court and political intrigue, with the addition of magic - something that she hadn't known about in her previous life. 

This was an interesting debut novel with a protagonist that I grew to love! Mingshin's rebirth gives her more experience, but she still has a lot to learn and I loved watching her character grow! She tries her best to correct things while still holding on to her bottomline. The plot was also intriguing with the inclusion of magic - and that surprised me in a good way! I was waiting to see what would happen next and it was really good! I hope it gets even better in the next book!

This one comes out on 10/17 so make sure to check it out if you're interested in a YA fantasy with a revenge plot and political intrigue(or if you're a fan of c-dramas😆)!❣️✨

You can also find this review on my bookstagram here 


*I was provided with an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

During this tour there is an opportunity to win a finished copy of A Bright Heart. This giveaway is US Only. The giveaway will run from October 9th until October 15th.



Kate Chenli writes adult and young adult fantasy. As a Chinese immigrant, Kate is a proud US citizen who also cherishes her Chinese heritage. She has a Master’s degree in Computer Engineering, but has always enjoyed creating elaborate worlds and characters more than designing complex software. Besides reading and writing, her passion is world travel (five continents down and counting.)


 You can also follow the rest of the tour by checking the schedule here!

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