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Blood of a Thousand Stars

(Empress of a Thousand Skies #2)

Rhoda Belleza (Goodreads Author)

3.50 · Rating details · 1,078 ratings · 205 reviews

Empress

With a revolution brewing, Rhee is faced with a choice: make a deal with her enemy, Nero, or denounce him and risk losing her crown.

Fugitive

Framed assassin Alyosha has one goal in mind: kill Nero. But to get his revenge, Aly may have to travel back to the very place he thought he’d left forever—home.

Princess

Kara knows that a single piece of technology located on the ...more

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Hardcover, 359 pages

Published February 20th 2018 by Razorbill

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Start your review of Blood of a Thousand Stars (Empress of a Thousand Skies, #2)

Apr 06, 2018 Jasmine from How Useful It Is rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, from-publisher

About: Blood of a Thousand Stars is a young adult fantasy written by Rhoda Belleza. It was recently published on 2/20/18 by Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin Random House, paperback, 358 pages. The genres are young adult, science fiction, and fantasy. This book is intended for readers ages 12 and up, grades 7 and up.

My Experience: I started reading Blood of a Thousand Stars on 3/26/18 and finished it on 4/6/18. The final installment of Empress of a Thousand Skies is an excellent read! I love tha About: Blood of a Thousand Stars is a young adult fantasy written by Rhoda Belleza. It was recently published on 2/20/18 by Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin Random House, paperback, 358 pages. The genres are young adult, science fiction, and fantasy. This book is intended for readers ages 12 and up, grades 7 and up.

My Experience: I started reading Blood of a Thousand Stars on 3/26/18 and finished it on 4/6/18. The final installment of Empress of a Thousand Skies is an excellent read! I love that there are three POVs. I like following Alyosha’s views the most because he has experienced so much in his life. He’s blunt with honesty about what had happened and what he’s left with. He’s so hard on himself when comes to love. He’s so adorable when comes to love too! I like the connection to love & loss between Aly and Rhee. Their realization to the people that are close to them is heartbreaking. The misunderstanding with Kara and Aly is heartbreaking as well. It reminds readers to cherish the time we have with each other because we may not have another chance to say the things we want to say.

This book is told in the third person point of view following Kara (Josselyn (Joss) Ta’an, the lost older sister, Kalu princess) as she and Aly (Alyosha, a Wraetan revolutionary boys that was wanted for murder of princess Rhiannon in book 1) follow Julian to find a way to get in touch with the Lancer (Veyron – Julian’s dad and Rhee’s trainer) to find and destroy the overwriter technology that have the ability to steal, suppress, and alter to create new memory. Another point of view is Rhiannon (Rhee) Ta’an, empress of Kalu. After book 1, she announced to everyone that she’s in fact still alive. She now knows Nero, ambassador to the late King was behind her assassination. He has a large number of followers due to his presences on the DroneVision, a TV personality that citizens love to tune to night after night. Nero stepped in to be King when the planet thought that the last Ta’an heir, Rhee, was killed. Now that Rhee is back and taking back the family’s throne, the homecoming erupted with protests & attacks on neutral territories. Rhee’s rise to power is rocky right from the start. The final point of view is of Aly. He’s angry for what’s taken away from him. At times, he wants to hide away with Kara, but the mission to destroy the bad is too great. He can’t live life freely because he’s a foreigner. Currently there is a dangerous weapon out there that could cause havoc if gets into the wrong hands. Kara is in danger of being discovered by the wrong people. Rhee is challenged in her new position and may be force to work with her #1 enemy.

A well written story, this book has actions, romance, humor, and challenges that keeps me turning the pages. I like the turn of events when Aly was invited to join a new mission. I like all the things that Kara’s mom Lydia taught her and how she obtained knowledge based on her mom’s profession. I like Pavel’s personality, a robot with humor. Following Kara’s personal battle of who she is or was and how she wanted to have control on her life is interesting. I was hoping for a little romance between Rhee and Julian at the end but Rhee spent too much time crying over Dahlen. I thought Rhee has the hots for Julian because of her obsessive study on Julian’s jaw at their unconventional reunion. Other than that, Rhee prove herself in this book with her fighting skills that she trained so long for. I highly recommend everyone to read this book!

Pro: easy to read, fast paced, page turner, humor, romance, adrenaline rush,

Con: none

I rate it 5 stars!

***Disclaimer: Many thanks to Penguin Young Readers for the opportunity to read and review. Please be assured that my opinions are honest.

xoxo,
Jasmine at www.howusefulitis.wordpress.com for more details
...more

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Apr 12, 2017 Ricky rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, why-isn-t-this-a-bloody-movie-yet, action-adventures, young-adult, thrillers, fantasy

I can't believe how much I loved the first book.

I refuse to believe this sequel will be the last.

But apparently it is. And while this final book does provide more than enough closure to its predecessor, it's still...another duology? Really? I'm not a big fan of this particular trend.

But for this pair of books from Rhoda Belleza, she's got a couple of great stories here, loaded with engaging characters, on-point social commentary, and knocks on our overdependence on media in particular. I refer b ...more

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Aug 28, 2017 Chelsies Reading Escape rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018-releases, completed-series

I need this book in my life so bad. Who do I sell my soul to for a copy.

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Feb 25, 2018 Sue (Hollywood News Source) rated it really liked it

Shelves: authors-of-color, diverse-books, filipino-authors, characters-of-color, scifi

“Something inside Rhiannon rose up; the thing that made her who she was, whether it was pride or stubbornness or her soul, she couldn’t say, but it was like a power, pulsing inside her, waking her up from this nightmare, telling her there was still a way.”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀
I read Blood of a Thousand Stars a couple of weeks ago and I fell in love with it. It was even better than the first book. It reminds me why I love stories about lost royalty ...more

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Feb 17, 2018 MsArdychan rated it it was ok

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Please Note: I received an advance audio copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not influence the opinions of my review in any way.

When I saw that the audio book of Blood of a Thousand Stars, by Rhonda Belleza, was available for review, I got really excited. I had Empress of a Thousand Skies but had not read it yet. So I quickly read the first book in preparation for the audio book. While I loved the first book, and all of Rhee's needing to outpace assass ...more

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Jul 19, 2018 Adah Udechukwu rated it it was amazing

Blood of a Thousand Stars was an excellent sequel

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Mar 18, 2018 Sara Saif rated it it was amazing

Shelves: seriously-so-good-i-can-t-even, 2018

The best thing I can come up with right now is that this book, this duology was adorable. The world, the characters, the story, they were all adorable. What I mean by that is I enjoyed these books and had a pretty decent time but great as they were, they weren’t memorable. I wish there were more books in this series because these two were solid.

I read the first book in February last year but to my surprise and pleasure I remembered quite a bit. Enough that I didn’t feel a pang for not rereading ...more

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Jul 16, 2017 Cindy ✩☽♔ rated it liked it

I’m so used to my YA books having an overall happy ending that this book just leaves me rather bitter and sad

*Review to come*

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Feb 23, 2018 Mel Anie rated it liked it

Shelves: ya, young-adult, 2018, sci-fi, fantasy

Too many mixed feelings.

This wasn't a bad book. It was problematic. Some ideas of this book appeared dropped in process and confusing. It was hard to follow explanation of something complex in just three short sentences, especially due to technological aspects of this sci-fi read.

More to come in a full review!
____________________
Am I the only one who thinks that this cover looks so much like a cover of one of the albums by Nicki Minaj? Up close it looks nicer.

Hoping to like this one! ...more

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Sep 15, 2020 Nella ☾ rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, sci-fi

Omg this was great, but also

description

I wasn't expecting to tear up. (view spoiler) (Cara and Aly's romance, Rhi and Dalan's friendship, the loyalty and devotion between them all--so touching. Warms my heart.)["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]> ...more

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Feb 26, 2018 Bickazer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: made-me-cry

Where do I even begin with this? I don't know. I feel like I should type up a formal review but I'm out of practice and my feels just cannot be contained. So apologies, this is just going to be some random (and probably really long) splooge. I'll try to avoid spoilers, but it might be difficult.

To be perfectly honest, I came into Blood of a Thousand Stars with pretty low expectations. I'm used to YA authors dropping the ball when it comes to sequels and I was certain one book just wouldn't be en Where do I even begin with this? I don't know. I feel like I should type up a formal review but I'm out of practice and my feels just cannot be contained. So apologies, this is just going to be some random (and probably really long) splooge. I'll try to avoid spoilers, but it might be difficult.

To be perfectly honest, I came into Blood of a Thousand Stars with pretty low expectations. I'm used to YA authors dropping the ball when it comes to sequels and I was certain one book just wouldn't be enough to conclude such a sprawling, ambitious story. And, to be honest, I still feel that way. Yet I still gave it five stars because in spite of everything against it, the book managed to rip my heart out and stomp on it and two weeks after reading it I have yet to recover.

But yeah, about that length thing. Two short-ish book is NOT enough. The story aches so badly to be a long, epic saga. Kind of like, you know, Saga. It almost makes me wish it would have been an adult sci fi book instead. Each book should have been at least a hundred pages longer and I feel like the series should have at least had one more book, if not two. I just feel like the current version of the story we have is just the Cliff Notes version. I want to dive so much deeper into this world and spend more time with its colorful cultures, tangled histories, and stunning vistas. To say nothing of the characters, of course!

Yeah, the characters. I would have been happy if Dahlen had just existed and done something in this book, so I was blown away by just how prominent he was in it. In the end, it really was his show, and I will not lie, I loved every last second of it. Last book, he was definitely my favorite but still pretty much an enigma, but here you get to see so many sides of him. His strict morality, his devotion to his religion, and the way he struggles with the high standards he sets for himself. Mm, pretty boy angst, can't say no. He also got some awesome banter with Aly, which was everything I could have asked for--Aly is the perfect straight man to Dahlen's intensity. And his relationship with Rhee....oh god. Oh god. It's so hard to talk about without spoilers, but...yeah, I was not wrong to ship them in book one. It's very underplayed, but I appreciated that; swoony romance doesn't suit either of these characters. And then the ending and ugh...so hard to talk without spoilers.

AT THE SAME TIME, while I am completely satisfied with the direction their relationship took and the trajectory of their character arcs and the feels and crying I did afterward one hundred percent warrant those five stars, I completely understand when people say it feels rushed, because it did. A lot of it just came from my own deep affection for these characters and my shipping lizard brain, but my rational side is well aware that there simply is not enough groundwork in place to justify the depth and intensity of a lot of the relationships. Everything in both these books still happens over the course of like, three weeks, and the prose is sparse and utilitarian at best. Like I said, it feels like the Cliff Notes version. I loved what we got, but an even longer version with deeper introspection from all characters and more time for their relationships to develop organically? I wouldn't object.

I guess other stuff happened besides Dahlen being awesome, but this is definitely a case where one character stole the show for me, and I feel no shame in that. Of course, the other characters we great too--I was amazed by how much Rhee in particular grew and matured and learned from her mistakes in just the space of two books. Her behavior in the last book could be infuriating, but now I understand it was one hundred percent meant to be that way. She reflects on how she was blinded by vengeance then, and now tries to act more carefully--sometimes a little too much. But she's still the same fundamental person. She just felt so much more real and alive to me this time around; Aly too. I really appreciate how Aly was positioned as just an ordinary guy thrown into this mess of war and conspiracy and royal politics going on, almost like what Finn would be like if Star Wars didn't insist on treating him like a joke. I admit to still feeling rather cold about Kara; I just never connected to her much and her relationship with Aly is still boring as all get out, sorry guys. We got to meet some new characters too, and I especially loved Issa and Lahna, though again I wish we got more time to know them better, because they still felt kind of thinly sketched by the end.

What else, what else. Like always, I appreciate how Belleza raises moral issues without clear-cut answers; it's part of what makes this world feel so vivid and alive. I particularly liked how this time around, she did some poking at the concept of a hereditary monarchy and how those with power, no matter how benevolent, can still abuse it and be blind to the struggles going on below (this is another way in which I appreciated Aly's character, because he offered the perspective of the lower classes, so to speak). We also get a bit more background on Nero and why he and the Kalusion second-wavers think the way they do, which feel very fair and even-handed, though (like everything) it could be fleshed out more. I'm still not entirely clear on this whole second-wave/first-wave distinction and where the second-wavers even came from.

I know this is the end of these particular characters' journeys, but I hope it isn't the last we see of this world, because I want to know so much more. How about a look at the Chram? Or actually getting to visit Fontis? Learning more about the Order of the Light? Spending more time in the Outer Belt? Gah, this just cannot be the end of it all.

But in the end, I'll admit I will remember these books mostly for the "pure, impossible boy" at the heart of it all. The best characters leave an impression that will never go away, and I'm happy to add Dahlen to that list. I feel so grateful I was able to read these books, experience this world, and get to meet him. I'll be thinking about him for a long time afterwards. ...more

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Feb 26, 2018 Mila rated it it was ok

This is pretty much the equivalent of the "Episode I - The Phantom Menace" and I mean it in the worst way possible. But it's still an improvement from the first book so there's that.

The characters are all unlikable, the pacing is a mess and the action in some places bored me to death. Also actual plot who? But for some reason I just don't feel the same hatred I did towards the first book. I guess I burned out already at the ripe age of 21.

I do regret the time and money I spent on this duology b ...more

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Feb 18, 2018 Laura (bbliophile) rated it liked it

Shelves: 2018-releases

I absolutely adored the first book in this series, Empress of a Thousand Skies. I loved the plot, the world, the characters, the writing, I loved everything. So of course I had to request an ARC of Blood of a Thousand Stars, and I was absolutely over the moon when I was accepted, so of course I dove straight into it.

Sadly, I had a lot of trouble getting into the book. The world in this book is quite complicated, especially when it comes to the political aspects of it, and because it had been a f I absolutely adored the first book in this series, Empress of a Thousand Skies. I loved the plot, the world, the characters, the writing, I loved everything. So of course I had to request an ARC of Blood of a Thousand Stars, and I was absolutely over the moon when I was accepted, so of course I dove straight into it.

Sadly, I had a lot of trouble getting into the book. The world in this book is quite complicated, especially when it comes to the political aspects of it, and because it had been a few months since I read the first book I had forgotten a couple details, such as the names of certain characters and planets, and who sided with who. Normally when you read a sequel it kind of recaps what happened previously, and I felt like this book did make an attempt at doing this, but it failed. I felt very lost while reading the first 1/3th of the book, and once I finally got what was going on, I still felt very disconnected from the story. I had to force myself to pick it up again, which is never a good sign.

Rohda Belleza’s writing was absolutely gorgeous, but I also felt like there was a bit too much of it. For instance, while having a dialogue there would be a lot of focus on what the characters where thinking or feeling, or what the setting or the other characters looked like. Every single description was beautiful and it made the reading experience very immersive, but it also causes a conversation that could’ve easily taken 2 pages last a whole chapter. Which was fine, but I just started feeling like nothing was happening and I got a bit bored. And that, in combination with my confusion, was not good, and I almost ended up DNF’ing the book.

So, am I glad that I didn’t DNF the book? Meh. There were, of course, parts of this book that I absolutely loved and that made my struggle worth it, like the characters. It took me some time to really connect with them, but once I did, I fell in love with them and I really cared about what was going to happen to them. I also really liked the overall plot. It was very interesting, and it took a few twists that I didn’t see coming. It was really too bad that it was so slow, because I know I would’ve loved it otherwise.

I think I could’ve really loved the book. Maybe if I had picked the book up as an audiobook, because I don’t mind audiobooks being slow at all, or if I had read it right after finishing the first book so I wouldn’t have forgotten a few of the details. I am, however, very interested to see what Rhoda Belleza will publish in the future, and I’m pretty sure I’ll still pick it up, even if I didn’t like this one that much. ...more

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May 27, 2017 Anne's Bookish Travels rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-2019

✨♥

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Jan 25, 2018 Sol ~ TheBookishKing marked it as to-read

Thank you Penguin for the ARC!

Cant wait to see if this is better than book one 🙌🏽

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Jun 14, 2018 Kayla rated it liked it

I guess I liked this slightly better than the first book but it's still not my favrouite and I feel the book overall has a few flaws. ...more

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May 21, 2020 belle ☆ﾐ (thisbellereadstoo) rated it liked it

Shelves: read-2020, ebook, asian-rep-or-author

actual rating: 3.5 stars

honestly, i wasn't vibe-ing with blood of a thousand stars. with how the characters are separated into different places, i understood the need for multiple pov. but, i did think that it totally took away the character development rhee needed to become an empress. maybe it's intentional since the author also focused on kara's insecurities and fear of who she was in the past and what her title meant. she's finding the tech that could hide her from the rest of the world for ...more

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Dec 12, 2018 Grace rated it really liked it

Great conclusion to the duology?
Yeah!
Would this story make a better standalone?
Kinda!
But still enjoyable?
Definitely :)
I really like Rhoda Belleza’s fast paced writing style and the unique quirks she provides in this story. I’m definitely interested in seeing what she has to offer next!

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Sep 07, 2017 Elle (ellexamines) marked it as zzzzz-coverporn-etc

Shelves: x-coverporn

Yeah, no, the writing has not improved. It's that weird sort of “she knew this” and “he thought that” third person. Not a fan and I feel a lot better about disliking book one. ...more

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Sep 27, 2019 Cecily Kyle rated it liked it

Better than the first one in my opinion but the subject matter is still not really my thing. I really love the cover art of is series and I love the advanced technology ideas that were discussed in the book, such as "the cube."
Not my favorite but a good read nonetheless! ...more

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Sep 29, 2020 Cheyenne rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-i-own-and-read, read-2020

4.5 stars it wasn't bad I actually liked it but wish there was a better ending ...more

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May 13, 2018 Helen rated it liked it · review of another edition

Excellent narration. This didn’t hold my attention in the same way as book one.

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Feb 01, 2018 USOM rated it it was amazing

(Disclaimer: I received this free book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

This was OMG amazing. If I thought I was in love with the first and its technology and Aly/Kara plotline, this is even better. I loved the ethical conflicts, Kara, Aly, Rhee and all these new side charaacters. It kept me up at night even after I finished the book thinking WOW. This was entirely stunning.

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Mar 20, 2018 Shelley rated it liked it

Shelves: borrowed-library, 2018-releases, young-adult-science-fiction

*Source* Library
*Genre* Young Adult, Fantasy
*Rating* 3.5

*Thoughts*

Blood of a Thousand Skies is conclusion to the Empress of a Thousand Skies duology. Story picks up right where the first installment left off. The story features four distinctive characters: Kara, Aly, Rhiannon, and Nero. As the story opens, Princess Josselyn Ta'an, who was thought to be dead, is actually alive and living under the name Kara. Since the sister she doesn't remember announced that Josselyn was in fact alive, she's be ...more

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Jul 18, 2021 Sara L. rated it liked it

This was less confusing than the last book. But still very confusing.

I loved most of the characters and absolutely adored Rhee and Kara!!

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Feb 28, 2018 jess (bibliophilicjester) rated it really liked it

I think...4.25 stars. I want to go 4.5, but I still have some questions, and there were a few things I didn't like enough to drop the rating a bit. If that makes sense. Anyway.

I don't know how to mark spoilers on my phone, so for now, just be warned that spoilers will happen!! I'll update this once I can edit it on my iPad.

I shall start with dislikes:

• Miscommunication plotlines. Far too much of it omg! I'm okay with it sometimes, but this was just irritating. It DID make sense because all our ...more

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Sep 06, 2020 Karin rated it it was ok

Shelves: fiction, young-adult-fiction, american-author, kapk, series, american, sequels, pick-a-shelf, play-book-tag, american-authors

The first thing you have to know is that Belleza can write, but I didn't care for some of the things in the story (personal opinion), so while my enjoyment was less than 2 stars, the writing is definitely better than that.

The second thing you should know is that while I regularly suspend my disbelief while reading science fiction (it is fiction, after all), some things go beyond my ability to suspend enough. I will give you one example that you can't see unless you click on (view spoiler) ...more

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Mar 04, 2018 Mónica Bustamante Wagner rated it it was amazing

Wow! I loved this sequel. There are murder plots, sacrifices, revenge, unpredictable twists (I I specially liked the last twist—but I won’t spoil it!), and very interesting and original technology (this is one of the reasons why I really liked the world-building). Also the character development is well done—how the characters evolve. It was interesting to see how the different POVs showed what was happening simultaneously around the solar system—and it was cool to see how it all comes together i ...more

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Mar 03, 2020 Julia rated it it was ok

Shelves: sci-fi-current, ya

So boring. No one's motivations made any sense and yet we were reminded of what they were c.o.n.s.t.a.n.t.l.y so we could think about how dumb they were. Rhee blames herself for things that she literally couldn't have known and so do other people, which is so irritating. Kara just has really dumb plans. Dhalen is insufferable and a terrible love interest. The plot is convoluted and busy and boring all at the same time. ...more

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Dec 01, 2018 Alex rated it liked it

Actual rating 3.5 stars

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About Rhoda Belleza

Rhoda Belleza

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Rhoda Belleza was raised in Los Angeles, where she grew up writing XFiles fanfiction and stuffing her face with avocados. When she's not writing, Rhoda obsesses over nail art tutorials, watches kung fu movies, and sews together crooked things that pass for clothes. She's a children's editor at a publishing house and writes from a sunny Brooklyn apartment stuffed far too many bikes and far too many ...more