Celestial Banquet - by Roselle Lim (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Iron Chef meets The Hunger Games in Roselle Lim's dazzling YA fantasy debut, following a young noodle chef who competes in a cutthroat cooking competition for the gods. "Celestial Banquet is a magical and delectable adventure through a culinary landscape rich in East Asian tradition. It is also a very real look at family, home, and how food ties into both, with an empowered and resilient teen girl at the center. Equal parts action-packed and heartfelt, I cannot wait for readers to devour it." -Ayesha Curry, Sweet July Books Once every generation, the Major Gods hold a Celestial Banquet, inviting chefs from all over the Continent to prepare mouthwatering fantastical feasts. The winner is awarded the fabled Peaches of Immortality, along with a lifetime of fame and fortune. The losers perish per the whims of the fickle gods. Hot-headed noodle chef Cai enters the competition with dreams of owning her own restaurant and supporting her impoverished Peninsula town. Along with the drunken Minor God Kama, her childhood crush-turned-friend Bo, and dreamy noble Seon, Cai must now compete against the Continent's finest culinary masters in trials that range from hunting and serving up mystical sea serpents to preparing a magical omurice from the eggs of the legendary Jian bird. Battling impossible odds and inconvenient feelings for both Bo and Seon, Cai is determined to prepare a feast fit for the gods-even if she loses her life. Set in a spectacular world inspired by Chinese and Southeast Asian folklore, Celestial Banquet is an ode to food, home, and family, wrapped in an epic and thrilling adventure"--

Book Synopsis

Iron Chef meets The Hunger Games in Roselle Lim's dazzling YA fantasy debut, following a young noodle chef who competes in a cutthroat cooking competition for the gods.

"Celestial Banquet is a magical and delectable adventure through a culinary landscape rich in East Asian tradition. It is also a very real look at family, home, and how food ties into both, with an empowered and resilient teen girl at the center. Equal parts action-packed and heartfelt, I cannot wait for readers to devour it." --Ayesha Curry, Sweet July Books

Once every generation, the Major Gods hold a Celestial Banquet, inviting chefs from all over the Continent to prepare mouthwatering fantastical feasts. The winner is awarded the fabled Peaches of Immortality, along with a lifetime of fame and fortune. The losers perish per the whims of the fickle gods.

Hot-headed noodle chef Cai enters the competition with dreams of owning her own restaurant and supporting her impoverished Peninsula town. Along with the drunken Minor God Kama, her childhood crush-turned-friend Bo, and dreamy noble Seon, Cai must now compete against the Continent's finest culinary masters in trials that range from hunting and serving up mystical sea serpents to preparing a magical omurice from the eggs of the legendary Jian bird.

Battling impossible odds and inconvenient feelings for both Bo and Seon, Cai is determined to prepare a feast fit for the gods--even if she loses her life. Set in a spectacular world inspired by Chinese and Southeast Asian folklore, Celestial Banquet is an ode to food, home, and family, wrapped in an epic and thrilling adventure.

Review Quotes

"Roselle Lim is cooking up something good and you're going to want to take a big bite of it. The author, who is also making her YA fantasy debut with Celestial Banquet, is partnering up with Ayesha Curry's Sweet July Books for her next big release. And this new power duo is bringing their love for food and books to a whole other level with this very special treat." --Cosmopolitan

"In this dazzling East Asian-influenced fantasy, Lim weaves together deadly magic, deliciously described dishes, and intensely personal stakes to deliver a tale that satisfies all the senses." -Publishers Weekly (starred)

"The cooking competition, while cutthroat and full of deadly perils, offers an original take on the usual divine tests of skills found in fantasy novels.... The worldbuilding, which is influenced by both East and Southeast Asia, is a delightful medley of cuisines and cultures. Delicious and dangerous, with a side helping of romance." -Kirkus

"Celestial Banquet is a magical and delectable adventure through a culinary landscape rich in East Asian tradition. It is also a very real look at family, home, and how food ties into both, with an empowered and resilient teen girl at the center. Equal parts action-packed and heartfelt, I cannot wait for readers to devour it." --Ayesha Curry, Sweet July Books

"A beautifully imagined world, a tenderhearted love triangle, and the most delicious of food descriptions, Celestial Banquet has it all! I flew through this magical adventure." --Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval series and the Once Upon a Broken Heart trilogy

"A feast for the senses. Roselle Lim has taken all the ingredients of a sweeping fantasy novel--fierce competition, lush world-building, epic romance--and created something truly dazzling." --Ann Liang, New York Times bestselling author of I Hope This Doesn't Find You

"Roselle Lim serves a banquet of shimmering world-building and delicious adventure in her YA debut. Vivid and fun and intense, this epic fantasy will leave you hungry for more." --Elizabeth Lim, New York Times bestselling author of Six Crimson Cranes and Her Radiant Curse

"One of the things I love about a good book is its ability to transport me to another world. Another time. Another place. Roselle Lim's Celestial Banquet is a feast for all the senses, quite literally. I could see and touch and taste Cai's world, and I enjoyed every second of her journey." --Renée Ahdieh, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"A delicious tale of dangerous competition and delightful magic. Prepare yourself . . . you'll be hungry when you read this book!" --Judy I. Lin, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Magic Steeped in Poison

"Intricate world building creates a well-defined framework, and a complex competition with creative challenges keeps the plot moving steadily....[M]outhwatering." -Booklist

"[A]n Asian-inspired fantasy crossed with Top Chef. Into it." -Reactor

"Lim's graceful blending of power and weakness, wisdom and fear, skill and uncertainty, results in a dynamic character that leaps off the page. . . . [I]f you love a book with delightful characters, vivid imagery, a sweet love triangle, and plenty of delicious food, then Celestial Banquet is for you!" --BookTrib

About the Author

Roselle Lim is the critically acclaimed author of adult novels Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune, Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop, Sophie Go's Lonely Hearts Club, Night for Day, and her YA debut, Celestial Banquet. She lives on the north shore of Lake Erie and always has an artistic project on the go.