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jjjreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, Abandonment, Dysphoria, War, and Classism
Moderate: Deadnaming, Physical abuse, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
kitkatkick's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Genocide, Excrement, and Fire/Fire injury
psbibi's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Genocide, Sexual content, Blood, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Xenophobia, Grief, and Classism
internationalreads's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
samugranjo's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.5
The characters are lovable at times but with most of them you are gonna feel annoyed too, feel like they have went too far. You both understand them and want to stop them.
The way the author writes about gender is outstanding, I was surprised by how much I related to this book as a genderqueer person. There's also some representation in the ace spectrum that I think was done well considering how little space it had.
Overall really recommend this read, and have to end this review by praising the writing in this novel.
Graphic: Body shaming, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Genocide, Slavery, Torture, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Vomit, and Death of parent
josiev_08's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Dysphoria, War, and Classism
inting3270's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Misogyny, Torture, Blood, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Dysphoria, and War
Moderate: Child death, Slavery, and Classism
handful_of_frogs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
andromeda_1998's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Characters
Zhu is a strong character that has come a long way in the journey to find themselves. Eventhough she does some despicable things, you will still find yourself rooting for her. This book has muliple pov’s, and eventhough I liked Ouyangs story less I do think it’s an important pov to have. It transforms Ouyang from a mythical angry general into a hurt and damaged men who’s trying to take revenge for what has been done to his family.
Ma Yingzi is one of the characters I liked less. She is nothing more than the empathetic woman who follows Zhu trough her troubles and I would have loved for her to have more moments where she would show her desires for life.
Worldbuilding
This book is a genderbended retailing of the ascension of Zhu Yuanzhuang, the first emperor of the Ming dynasty. It has fantasy elements, and it has been done beautifully. The story focuses a lot on political games and can be a bit hard to read but in the end it’s worth it.
Writing
The writing is beautifully done. There are some amazing quotes in this book!
Story
Like I said before the story focuses on political games and war themes. It has some big triggerwarnings and the book can be very heavy to read.
Recommendations
If you loved this book I would recommend you the poppy war but also the priory of the orange tree. The poppy war and she who became the sun are closer together but this kind of epic story also fits in very well with the priory of the orange tree
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Classism
ye_li's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Violence, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual content