Reviews

This one's very dark, darker than the first one. We spend a lot of time following deeply unhappy and cruel people. That's usually not something I like, but it's very well written, and well worth the effort.

aehc's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I’ll say it: this should have been a trilogy. The pacing is maintained at an extremely fast clip, but it picks up steam so rapidly in the back half that I was holding on with white knuckles not to get swept away. It’s a testament to Parker-Chan’s superb skills that this pace means that the book is merely very very good, as opposed to transcendant and triumphant as the first novel was. I do think that a slightly more leisurely pace and a third book would have strengthened the narrative by allowing for some more breathing room and space for the reader to sink in to the world.

Content Warnings

janhavi1718's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

Many of the reviews I've seen online seem disappointed that this isn't a happy story with positive rep. I've seen compliants that it was too dark and the characters were too unlikeable. I don't really understand those points. Because, just based on the first one, why would this be a happy story all the way through? Of course the characters aren't the most palatable, they're fighting a war!

This book was miles better than the first one, for me. With the first one I was confused at times why certain characters did what they did. I didn't understand their motives. It was only after I finished it that I found out it was based on an actual emperor's ascent to power. Thankfully, I felt that aspect was delt with better in this one. Motivations made sense. I could understand why certain events occurred. I was even able to forget that is was loosely based on real life.

To expect this to be some happy and sweet love story with great rep feels a bit odd considering the setting.

ilovemagpies's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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