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bluejayreads's review against another edition
3.25
Graphic: Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and War
Moderate: Blood and Terminal illness
Minor: Alcohol, Vomit, Death of parent, Child death, and Animal death
mattiedancer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
- Fans of fantasy novels
- Fans of Joan He
- War, death, violence, blood, child death, injury, grief, animal death, death of parent, alcohol,
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Alcohol, Violence, Murder, War, Blood, and Animal death
scrubsandbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Violence, Death, and War
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Blood
Minor: Death of parent and Animal death
olive_lol's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Overall, a fun book with a lot of personality and a divisive protagonist.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol, Grief, Chronic illness, and Child death
Minor: Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, and Vomit
beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
Graphic: War, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Blood
Moderate: Animal death and Animal cruelty
mandkips's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: War, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Child death
Minor: Death of parent, Animal death, and Alcohol
lqvekanej's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: War, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Sexism, Alcohol, and Animal death
azrah786's review against another edition
3.25
CW: violence, blood, injury, war, death, animal death, death of parents (off page), vomiting, physical abuse, terminal illness, grief
It breaks my heart to say this but I did not enjoy this book as much as I had hoped to :(
I absolutely loved both of Joan He’s previous books, I just felt like there was something missing for me in this one that I can’t entirely put my finger on.
Strike the Zither is a reimagining of the Chinese epic Three Kingdoms with the twist that the leading characters are predominantly female – it has such an noteworthy and unique premise but I just couldn’t click with the story.
Don’t get me wrong He’s writing and twisty storytelling is as brilliant as ever here and the characters were interesting and well established enough. However, the fast pacing with not much action was reminiscent of She Who Became the Sun and Daughter of the Moon Goddess, two other reads that I didn’t vibe with this year for similar reasons.
Everything was happening too fast for me, relationships and alliances included, and then the big plot twist didn’t shock me at all, I just skimmed over it and continued reading without much other thought.
Maybe being more familiar with the original story that this was inspired by would have given me a better understanding and appreciation for the nuances and links but unfortunately this wasn’t my cup of tea so I doubt I will be picking up the sequel.
If you’re a fan of historical c-dramas and Wuxia then I’d definitely recommend checking it out though!
Final Rating – 3.25/5 Stars
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, War, and Death
Moderate: Grief, Terminal illness, and Physical abuse
Minor: Death of parent, Animal death, and Vomit
displacedcactus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Still don't understand why she insisted on using words like "wardlordess", "prime minstress", and "milordess" and why her editor let her get away with it, but that's beside the point.
One thing I liked about this book is that Zephyr is pretty arrogant. It makes her unlikeable at times, but we could use more unlikeable female leads. But more to the point, so many YA heroines spend way too much of the book bemoaning how plain, unremarkable, and untalented they are. It was refreshing to see a young woman who was confident in her skills and her worth in the world, even if this unfortunately resulted in her being a bit of a jerk to people who didn't really deserve it.
If you'd like a fantasy-tinged YA retelling of Romance of the Three Kingdoms where most of the main players are women, and you don't mind the inclusion of the typical 19 year old mysterious love interest, go ahead and give this a try.
Also, quick note: MC appears to be straight but there is a side character with a same-sex crush and this is treated as normal. The MC is a jerk about a lot of things but she's not a homophobe!
Moderate: War, Violence, and Chronic illness
Minor: Death of parent and Animal death
TW animal death:betweentheshelves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
And the plot twists! Between the scheming and the plotting, there are twists that you don't see coming all throughout the book. I was thoroughly entertained throughout the entire book!
Graphic: Violence, Death, and War
Moderate: Blood, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, and Death of parent