8 Must-Read Books Releasing in July 2023 by Asian Authors
Discover a compelling lineup of eight must-read books by talented Asian authors, set to release in July 2023. From mesmerizing fantasies to poignant romances and thought-provoking historical fiction, these diverse stories promise to captivate and transport readers.
Immortal Longings (Flesh and False Gods #1) by Chloe Gong
#1 New York Times bestselling YA author Chloe Gong’s adult epic fantasy debut, inspired by Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra , is a fiery collision of power plays, spilled blood, and romance amidst a set of deadly games.
Every year, thousands in the kingdom of Talin will flock to its capital twin cities, San-Er, where the palace hosts a set of games. For those confident enough in their ability to jump between bodies, competitors across San-Er fight to the death to win unimaginable riches.
Princess Calla Tuoleimi lurks in hiding. Five years ago, a massacre killed her parents and left the palace of Er empty…and she was the one who did it. Before King Kasa’s forces in San can catch her, she plans to finish the job and bring down the monarchy. Her reclusive uncle always greets the victor of the games, so if she wins, she gets her opportunity at last to kill him.
Enter Anton Makusa, an exiled aristocrat. His childhood love has lain in a coma since they were both ousted from the palace, and he’s deep in debt trying to keep her alive. Thankfully, he’s one of the best jumpers in the kingdom, flitting from body to body at will. His last chance at saving her is entering the games and winning.
Calla finds both an unexpected alliance with Anton and help from King Kasa’s adopted son, August, who wants to mend Talin’s ills. But the three of them have very different goals, even as Calla and Anton’s partnership spirals into something all-consuming. Before the games close, Calla must decide what she’s playing for—her lover or her kingdom.
Release Date: July 18, 2023
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Adult, Retellings, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical
What's the Book About? In Chloe Gong's debut adult epic fantasy novel, inspired by Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, Princess Calla Tuoleimi plans to bring down the monarchy and avenge her parents' death by participating in a deadly set of games held in the capital city. Exiled aristocrat Anton Makusa, seeking to save his comatose childhood love, joins the games with the hope of winning. As Calla forms an unexpected alliance with Anton and receives assistance from King Kasa's adopted son, August, their intertwined goals and burgeoning romance complicate their choices between love and the fate of their kingdom.
The Sea Elephants by Shastri Akella
For fans of Shuggie Bain and A Burning, a queer coming-of-age novel set in 1990s India, about a young man who joins a traveling theater troupe
Shagun knows he will never be the kind of son his father demands. After the sudden deaths of his beloved twin sisters, Shagun flees his own guilt, his mother’s grief, and his father’s violent disapproval by enrolling at an all-boys boarding school. But he doesn’t find true belonging until he encounters a traveling theater troupe performing the Hindu myths of his childhood.
Welcomed by the other storytellers, Shagun thrives, easily embodying mortals and gods, men and women, and living on the road, where his father can’t catch him. When Shagun meets Marc, a charming photographer, he seems to have found the love he always longed for, too. But not even Marc can save him from his lingering shame, nor his father’s ever-present threat to send him to a conversion center. As Shagun’s past begins to engulf him once again, he must decide if he is strong enough to face what he fears most, and to boldly claim his own happiness.
Utterly immersive and spellbinding, The Sea Elephants is both dark and beautiful, harrowing and triumphant. An ode to the redemptive joys of art, Shastri Akella’s debut novel is a celebration of hard-won love—of others and for ourselves.
Release Date: July 18, 2023
Genres: Fiction, LGBT, Historical Fiction, Queer, Historical, Adult, Literary Fiction
What's the Book About? "The Sea Elephants" is a powerful coming-of-age novel set in 1990s India that follows Shagun, a young man who escapes his troubled family by joining a traveling theater troupe. As Shagun finds solace in performing the Hindu myths of his childhood, he also discovers love with Marc, a photographer. However, the shadows of his past and the threat of his father's disapproval loom over him, forcing Shagun to confront his deepest fears and fight for his own happiness. Shastri Akella's debut is a mesmerizing and transformative tale that explores identity, redemption, and the transformative power of art.
Owner of a Lonely Heart: A Memoir by Beth Nguyen
From the award-winning author of Stealing Buddha’s Dinner, a powerful memoir of a mother-daughter relationship fragmented by war and resettlement.
At the end of the Vietnam War, when Beth Nguyen was eight months old, she and her father, sister, grandmother, and uncles fled Saigon for America. Beth’s mother stayed—or was left—behind, and they did not meet again until Beth was nineteen. Over the course of her adult life, she and her mother have spent less than twenty-four hours together.
Owner of a Lonely Heart is a memoir about parenthood, absence, and the condition of being a refugee: the story of Beth’s relationship with her mother. Framed by a handful of visits over the course of many years—sometimes brief, sometimes interrupted, sometimes with her mother alone and sometimes with her sister—Beth tells a coming-of-age story that spans her own Midwestern childhood, her first meeting with her mother, and becoming a parent herself. Vivid and illuminating, Owner of a Lonely Heart is a deeply personal story of family, connection, and belonging: as a daughter, a mother, and as a Vietnamese refugee in America.
Release Date: July 4, 2023
Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Biography
What's the Book About? "Owner of a Lonely Heart" is a poignant memoir by Beth Nguyen, the award-winning author of Stealing Buddha's Dinner. The book delves into the complex mother-daughter relationship between Beth and her mother, fragmented by war and resettlement. As a Vietnamese refugee in America, Beth recounts the sparse encounters she had with her mother throughout her life and explores themes of parenthood, absence, and the longing for connection. With heartfelt prose, the memoir explores the challenges of finding belonging and navigating identity as a daughter, a mother, and a refugee.
Sunshine Nails by Mai Nguyen
A tender, humorous, and page-turning debut about a Vietnamese Canadian family in Toronto who will do whatever it takes to protect their no-frills nail salon after a new high end salon opens up—even if it tears the family apart. Perfect for readers of Olga Dies Dreaming and The Fortunes of Jaded Women.
Vietnamese refugees Debbie and Phil Tran have built a comfortable life for themselves in Toronto with their family nail salon. But when an ultra-glam chain salon opens across the street, their world is rocked.
Complicating matters further, their landlord has jacked up the rent and it seems only a matter of time before they lose their business and everything they’ve built. They enlist the help of their daughter, Jessica, who has just returned home after a messy breakup and a messier firing. Together with their son, Dustin, and niece, Thuy, they devise some good old-fashioned sabotage. Relationships are put to the test as the line between right and wrong gets blurred. Debbie and Phil must choose: do they keep their family intact or fight for their salon?
Sunshine Nails is a light-hearted, urgent fable of gentrification with a cast of memorable and complex characters who showcase the diversity of immigrant experiences and community resilience.
Release Date: July 4, 2023
Genres: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Adult
What's the Book About? "Sunshine Nails" is a tender and humorous debut novel that follows the Vietnamese Canadian Tran family in Toronto as they navigate the challenges of protecting their modest nail salon from a high-end competitor and rising rent prices. Debbie and Phil Tran, along with their children Jessica and Dustin, embark on a mission of sabotage to save their business, testing their relationships and forcing them to confront difficult choices. This light-hearted and urgent fable explores themes of gentrification, immigrant experiences, and the resilience of community.
Love & Resistance by Kara H.L. Chen
Seventeen-year-old Olivia Chang is at her fourth school in seven years. Her self-imposed solitude is lonely, but safe. At Plainstown High, however, Olivia’s usual plan of anonymity fails when the infamous Mitzi Clarke (influencer, queen bee, bully) makes a pointed racist comment in class. Olivia knows what she must do: let it go. But Olivia is tired of ignoring things just so she can survive. This time, she defends herself.
That is the end of her invisible life.
Soon, Olivia discovers, and joins forces with, the Nerd Net: a secret society who has been thwarting Mitzi’s reign of terror for months. Together, they plan to unite the masses and create true change at Plainstown High.
But in order to succeed, Olivia must do something even more terrifying than lead a movement: trust other people. She might even make true friends along the way . . . if Mitzi doesn’t destroy her first.
Release Date: July 4, 2023
Genres: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Young Adult
What's the Book About? In this captivating novel, seventeen-year-old Olivia Chang finds herself at a new school, where her usual strategy of staying invisible is challenged when she stands up to a racist comment made by the popular Mitzi Clarke. Joining forces with the Nerd Net, a secret society dedicated to countering Mitzi's bullying, Olivia takes on the daunting task of uniting the student body for genuine change at Plainstown High. As she confronts her fears and learns to trust others, Olivia must navigate the treacherous path of friendship while facing the relentless threat of Mitzi's wrath.
What a Desi Girl Wants by Sabina Khan
The romance of Becky Albertalli meets the nuanced family dynamics of Darius the Great is Not Okay in this YA novel from acclaimed author Sabina Khan.
Mehar hasn't been back to India since she and her mother moved away when she was only four. Hasn't visited her father, her grandmother, her family, or the home where she grew up. Why would she? Her father made it clear that she's not his priority when he chose not to come to the US with them.
But when her father announces his engagement to socialite Naz, Mehar reluctantly agrees to return for the wedding. Maybe she and her father can heal their broken relationship. And after all, her father is Indian royalty, and his home is a palace--the wedding is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime affair.
While her father still doesn't make the time for her, Mehar barely cares once she meets Sufiya, her grandmother's assistant, and one of the most grounded, thoughtful, kind people she's ever met! Though they come from totally different worlds, their friendship slowly starts to blossom into something more . . . Mehar thinks.
Meanwhile, Mehar's dislike for Naz and her social media influencer daughter, Aleena, deepens. She can tell that the two of them are just using her father for his money. Mehar's starting to think that putting a stop to this wedding might be the best thing for everyone involved.
But what happens when telling her father the truth about Naz and Aleena means putting her relationship with Sufiya at risk . . .
Release Date: July 18, 2023
Genres: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, LGBT, Adult
What's the Book About? In this YA novel by acclaimed author Sabina Khan, Mehar, who hasn't returned to India since she was four, reluctantly agrees to attend her father's wedding after he announces his engagement to socialite Naz. Hoping to mend their broken relationship, Mehar finds solace in her friendship with Sufiya, her grandmother's assistant. As Mehar's dislike for Naz and her daughter Aleena deepens, she becomes torn between revealing the truth about them and risking her blossoming relationship with Sufiya. This captivating story explores themes of family dynamics, love, and the complexities of honesty.
Beyond The Story: 10-Year Record of BTS by BTS
Myeongseok Kang, Translators: Anton Hur, Slin Jung, Clare Richards
THE FIRST EVER OFFICIAL BOOK—
Published in celebration of BTS’s 10th Anniversary, stories that go beyond what you already know about BTS, including unreleased photos, QR codes of videos, and all album information.
After taking their first step into the world on June 13, 2013, BTS will celebrate the 10th anniversary of their debut in June 2023. They have risen to the peak as an iconic global artist and during this meaningful time, they look back on their footsteps in the first official book. In doing so, BTS nurtures the power to build brighter days and they choose to take another step on a road that no one has gone before.
BTS shares personal, behind-the-scenes stories of their journey so far through interviews and more than three years of in-depth coverage by Myeongseok Kang, who has written about K-pop and other Korean pop culture in various media. Presented chronologically in seven chapters from before the debut of BTS to the present, their vivid voices and opinions harmonize to tell a sincere, lively, and deep story. In individual interviews that have been conducted without a camera or makeup, they illuminate their musical journey from multiple angles and discuss its significance.
In addition, portrait photos that show BTS as individuals and artists open the book, and throughout there are concept photos, tracklists of all previous albums, and over 330 QR codes. As digital artists, BTS has been communicating with the world through the internet and this book allows readers to immediately access trailers, music videos, and more online to have a rich understanding of all the key moments in BTS history. Complete with a timeline of all major milestones, BEYOND THE STORY is a remarkable archive—truly everything about BTS in one volume.
Release Date: July 9, 2023
Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography
What's the Book About? "BEYOND THE STORY" is the official book published in celebration of BTS's 10th Anniversary. Filled with exclusive content, including unreleased photos and QR codes for videos, the book provides a deeper look into BTS's journey. Through interviews and in-depth coverage, BTS shares personal stories and reflections, offering fans a comprehensive and immersive experience.
