. It was one of those books where you think they’re gonna tie of a loose end but another just grows and it was a bit hard to keep up with at the end. However, I loved that for once there was a poly relationship that wasn’t just in my head.

Content Warnings

jupitersuns's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Such an amazing book! It's another one that I wish I could rate it 100 out of 5 ⭐

The ending was a complete twist that I wasn't expecting 😹 I am screaming rn and I love it!!!!

Content Warnings

ufollowbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

a bit of mary sue fanfic kind of vibe, but in a good way

what a book! traditions from our world intertwined with technology you cannot fathom properly, sprinkled with female rage, political intrigues, surprisingly great romance, and, of course, brilliant writing.

basically, it's "labour" by paris paloma, but in a book form.

i already knew that there's a polyamory done right - it was the main reason i added this book to my tbr in all honesty - as well as disability rep, but damn! it was amazing and seeing a badass wheelchair user made my heart go "wheee" 🫶🏻

it's definitely a very fast paced book, and an intense one, too. a lot of violence happening, but it never is just for the sake if violence, as it often happens with male-written fantasy. and yes, it felt much more like fantasy to me than as sci-fi, though there are element of it for sure. maybe because sci-fi to me is more about space and aliens, and there are little of that! 😅

the ending felt a but rushed, and i can actually understand the motivation behind the way things end. discussing the ending in detail and with spoilers:

yes it's not very thought through and a lot of decisions are made here and now, but that's how the whole book is! Zetian is young, and emotional (in the best way possible!), and she has a lot of power for literally the first time in her life. she doesn't play the nuanced game, she never did - she comes in hot and does things the way she sees fit, without compromises. taking over control of the golden dragon and planning to overtake the country is very much in her character, so you're either ok with it or not. can't wait to read the second book to see how it all will be addressed!

the romance is... well. it's m/f/m triangle, but the proper one, where everyone is queer. gender identity is also mentioned, but the book did felt a bit too cis and straight to me, with only the main throuple being part of the lgbtq+ community. it didn't worsen the story, but looking back it was, indeed, a bit odd. on the other side, this also highlights once again that Zetian is different from people around her - and her partners are, too. overall, the romance is a pretty big part of the storyline.

❗️ beware, there will be a second book, and the story ends on a BIG cliffhanger! so if you're not ready to commit to thus - wait until 30th of april, 2024, when "Heavenly Tyrant" comes out.

to summarise, a great book, which i can definitely recommend to those who like intense, fast-paced fantasy with elements of sci-fi and historical basis

8/10 ⭐️

Content Warnings

dragon_s_hoard's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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helfire124's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Great book! Couldn't put it down.

Content Warnings

ketreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I don't believe this book is for everyone but BOY, was it for me!

SPOILER FREE:
I first heard about Xiran Jay Zhao's work through, like most people, her youtube content. I always enjoyed hearing information from her historical fact videos and hearing she was taking inspiration from these histories to weave together a story about female rage mixed with pacific rim had my undivided attention. (If you don't already know, Pacific Rim is one of my favourite franchises)

In Zhao's world, aliens have attacked and the only weapon that works against them are Chrysalises, giant transforming robots built from the bodies of dead aliens that require both a male and female pilot to work. The story follows our main character of Zetian who, after the death of her sister takes it upon herself to sign her life away into becoming a concubine, a female pilot for a Chrysalise who often die after every battle. Zetian has no intentions of getting in the Chrysalise, as her only intention is one of revenge.

I really enjoyed this book. I can't quite put into words what single element did it for me, but I loved the mix of futuristic tech yet archaic mindsets that create the perfect setting for a story of female rage. As well as the casual yet nuanced relationship the characters have.
Let me tell you, this is the only love triangle I'll ever root for. Truly, the strongest shape.

The Chrysalises' designs were fun references to mythological creatures, some I recognised, others I didn't. The idea of transforming robots is always such a goofy but cool concept that I think Zhao managed to capture just the right amount of corny but actually really awesome to watch.

The story has many twists and turns, all of which I enjoyed with every new narrative descovery or character choice made. All of which leads up to, what would have been a rushed ending, if I didn't love the decision.
I also recognise that this ending may not have been for everyone, but it worked so well with the themes and world built upon since page 1. It also helps that this leaves us with one hell of a point to start book 2 on, which I'm 100% getting my hands on ASAP. I think, from what I've seen, a lot of people misunderstand this ending and the character choices leading up to it. I for one support the chaos that was this books ending.

I read this through my local library but I'm pretty sure I will also buy the physical once I find one.

Content Warnings

blackberryjambaby's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Content Warnings

tbd24's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

shockingly bad. this book was so bad. terrible pacing, cheesy metaphors, i can’t count how many times the phrase “a scream suffocated in my throat” was said. like, what? only redeeming quality was the

love triangle into poly couple

and even that is so clunky. literally every time there was a “plot twist” my first thought was “hmmm was i supposed to think this was an impossible task??? i just learned about its existence soooo???”. also maybe if the author wanted to write about sexism/misogyny they should have done a little research into the actual systems of oppression and power and the way they function in society instead of just making a laughably evil world where women are murdered wholesale for ostensibly no good reason and with no repercussions. idk it just kinda delegitimizes the whole argument, i felt like this was a book written by a trad fem to satirize feminism, especially when it got to the weirdly gendered relationship roles the main character happily puts herself into. anyway I wasn’t planning on dunking on this book for that long but seriously this was so bad. also i still can’t get over

when the main characters waterboarded and murdered that guy and felt literally nothing about it lmaoooo like i’m all for morally grey characters but that shit was kinda hilariously evil

. anywayyyy i wish i never read this book, though it did give me something fun to complain about with my friends

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