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Bright Heart

Bright Heart

YA FantasyHistorical Fiction
Published
2023
Language
English

Synopsis

Bleeding out and betrayed, Mingshin makes one last plea to the gods to turn back time — and wakes up two years earlier, before her lover Ren jailed and killed her to clear his path to the throne through her cousin Aylin. This time around, the timeline has already shifted: a dignitary wielding dark magic threatens the kingdom's peace, and Ren's hunger for power runs deeper than Mingshin ever realized. Allying with Jieh, another contender for the throne, Mingshin sets out to rewrite her fate in a royal court where nothing is what it looks like.

A YA fantasy of court intrigue, vengeance, and second chances, drawing on classic Chinese storytelling tropes.

Prose complexity
4/10

Vibe

DarkTenseRomantic
Time LoopRevengeCourt Intrigue

Genres

YA Fantasy Historical Fiction Romance Young Adult Fantasy Romantasy

About the author

K
Kate Chenli

Kate Chenli is a first-generation Chinese immigrant and U.S. citizen who writes adult and young adult fantasy. She holds an MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering and lives in Michigan with her husband. Her debut novel, A Bright Heart, is a YA tale of vengeance and court intrigue inspired by classic Chinese tropes, followed by its sequel, A Fiery Spirit.

Characters

MingshinProtagonist

Given a second chance after being betrayed and killed in her original timeline.

JiehSupporting

A fellow claimant to the throne who allies with Mingshin.

All characters in Bright Heart