12. Peony in Love by Lisa See Lisa See brings another little known (at least in the Western world) phenomenon from Chinese women's history to life. Peony, the character and the book, is representative of a historical cohort of women who fell in love with a fifteenth century opera, The Peony Pavilion , and, in imitation of the main character, wasted away from 'lovesickness.' Read my full review here. 13. The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson 14. The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson Like the first book, A Girl of Fire and Thorns , the second and third books in this compelling trilogy, show that author Rae Carson is not afraid to pull the hard punches. The novels continue to be strong on character development, especially for the main character Princess Elisa, and world-building, set in a mostly desert world with a fascinating religious backstory. Overall, I think the first book is my favorite, but I'm glad I continued to follow Elisa...
Life, Books, and SFF