I know a ‘Chosen One’ when I see one | Book recommendations

By Samantha Pak
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY

Dragonfruit

By Makiia Lucier
Clarion Books, 2024

The egg of a seadragon has the power to undo a person’s greatest sorrow. So when Hanalei’s father steals an egg—meant for an ailing princess—in order to save her life, the young Hanalei survives. But she’s then forced into exile, even though she’s part of an old Tamarind family. Unfortunately, every wish comes with a price. So while her father saves Hanalei, he is killed shortly afterwards, leaving her all alone.

As she grows up, Hanalei studies the seadragons of the Nominomi Sea, and when she comes across a pregnant female dragon, she sees her chance to return home and right a wrong.

And when she does, she reconnects with her childhood friend, Samahtitamahenele (Sam), the last remaining prince of Tamarind—who cannot inherit the throne as Tamarind is a matriarchal society. With news of a possible dragonfruit out there, Sam feels something he hasn’t felt in a long time: hope. There may be a way to save his mother, who has been ill for the past decade. But Hanalei and Sam are not the only ones looking for a miracle. And as they battle enemies for the egg, there’s also the danger that comes from the dragonfruit itself.

Inspired by Pacific Island mythology, “Dragonfruit” is a story filled with action and adventure, as well as romance and love—of all kinds. To nobody’s surprise, sparks start to fly and feelings begin to develop between Hanalei and Sam, and it’s fun to watch that relationship grow. But Lucier does a great job of also showing us examples of familial and platonic love, as our two protagonists develop relationships with relatives and new friends. Because those are just as important as romantic relationships.

As someone fairly unfamiliar with Pacific Island culture—and I’m probably not the only one—I also really enjoyed getting a glimpse into what island life could be like (outside of the fantasy elements). This story highlighted how little many of us might know about the Pacific Islands, and can encourage us to learn more.

Sorcerer to the Crown

By Zen Cho
Ace, 2016

The Royal Society of Unnatural Philosophers maintains the magic within His Majesty’s lands. But lately, the institute has fallen into disgrace: They’ve named a completely unsuitable gentleman as their Sorcerer Royal, and England’s magic stores are running dry.

At his wit’s end,  Zacharias Wythe, the aforementioned unsuitable Sorcerer Royal, travels to the border of Fairyland to see if he can figure out why England’s magic is drying up. Along the way, he meets Prunella Gentlewoman, a biracial Indian woman with great power and an unfathomable magical gift.

This fateful meeting will have Zacharias questioning what he’s been taught about magic and sorcery—something he’d been doing his whole life as his magical abilities have always been under scrutiny, simply because he is Black. Prunella has similarly faced scrutiny her whole life, both for her race and for gender—especially when people realize how powerful her magic is as women aren’t supposed to practice magic.

“Sorcerer to the Crown” is a fun fantasy tale set in Regency England, but what I love about it is that the two protagonists are people of color. While they are obviously the main characters of this story, it soon becomes clear that they are main characters in the bigger picture of England’s magical society. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have to deal with prejudice along the way. If anything, it means they have to deal with more prejudice, because white people don’t like to give up their power to people who are different from them—for any reason.

One thing I particularly enjoyed in the story was how powerful and magical some of the female characters were and how surprised Zacharias and other men were when they learned this. I always love a moment when someone is underestimated, only to prove their naysayers and doubters wrong—and that is definitely what happens here.

Wings Once Bound & Cursed

By Piper J. Drake
Sourcebooks Casablanca, 2023

At first glance, Peeraphan Rahttana is your average woman living in Seattle. That is, until a violent clash outside her dance rehearsal has her literally whisked off her feet by brooding vampire Bennet Andrews. Bennet is part of a secret organization, Darke Consortium, dedicated to finding mythical and magical objects and tucking them away so they can’t do any harm—which is why he was at the dance rehearsal to begin with, to save Peeraphan, or Punch, from a deadly cursed object. Unfortunately, he’s too late.

But Punch has her own secret: She’s actually a kinnaree, a legendary Thai bird princess—so rare that she’s likely the only known kinnaree in existence, which makes her all the more valuable to some (and puts her in a lot of danger). So while the curse won’t kill her immediately, it’s only a matter of time.

Thus, Punch is plunged into a supernatural world she’s never dreamed of, but always hoped for as she has longed to meet others like her. And meet them she does. In addition to Bennet, members of the Darke Consortium include a werewolf, a witch, Fae, and more—all dedicated to protecting the world from magical chaos.

While this is a romance novel—and I really enjoyed seeing Punch and Bennet’s relationship grow—my favorite part of “Wings” was the consortium and its assorted members. Drake does a great job of weaving supernatural beings representing different mythologies from around the world, into a found family. It was fun to see how their different magics worked together to help them on their missions.

I was also particularly interested in Punch and her being a kinnaree, as I recognized the image—if not the name—from my own Cambodian culture. I was reminded of how close it is to Thai culture and that encouraged me to read into the mythology behind the creature more.