Scan barcode
cyngharris's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- 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
4.25
moonlit_dewdrops's review against another edition
3.5
I found this book super interesting despite having basically no knowledge about The Three Kingdoms. The political intrigue woven into this book was what especially got me hooked other than the dynamic between Crow and Zephyr. Man, I’m really a sucker for rivals to lovers! There was such good chemistry between these two despite their obvious mistrust of each other. The fact that they were both strategists and saw each other as equals also added to their dynamic! They were always trying to figure one another out and read each other’s mind. Even when they first met, it was like they knew each other’s moves
Admittedly, one thing I was bothered by were the inconsistencies with the usage of names.
Ex: November and Ren
I did read the author’s post on Instagram about sobriquets and given names but it was mainly about Lotus, Cloud, Ren, and Zephyr. It would be pretty cool if I also saw an explanation for the names of characters like Miasma, Tourmaline, Cicada
I’m very excited for the second book!! I need to see Crow finding out Zephyr is still alive!!
Admittedly, one thing I was bothered by were the inconsistencies with the usage of names.
Ex: November and Ren
I did read the author’s post on Instagram about sobriquets and given names but it was mainly about Lotus, Cloud, Ren, and Zephyr. It would be pretty cool if I also saw an explanation for the names of characters like Miasma, Tourmaline, Cicada
I’m very excited for the second book!! I need to see Crow finding out Zephyr is still alive!!
c_ab_bage's review against another edition
5.0
was this the most well structured book i’ve ever read? no, but fantasy exposition is always tricky, and joan he’s writing is certainly not unpleasant to read, either way. the story, however, is one of the most interesting and entertaining things i’ve read lately. even knowing this author’s penchant for plot twists and tricky narrative turns, i still was unable to guess exactly what they were and many of them took me entirely off guard. super, super immersive writing, as always, so it was a very quick read; hard to put down.
eagerly awaiting the sequel!
eagerly awaiting the sequel!
shelby7's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- 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
4.5
cobaltbookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
This was definitely a page turner. I liked that almost everyone in power was women, but the romance part was weak.
neptunenad's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
asreadbykat's review against another edition
3.0
True Rating: 3.8/5 Stars
First of all, these cover is gorgeous. Second of all, I'm so happy there's more Asian-inspired fantasy being published. It brings a much-needed diversity to the fantasy genre, and makes things a little unpredictable. Third of all, I REALLY wanted to love this book. The synopsis, the first page, the cover, all of it made me sure I would fall in love. Sadly, I didn't end up loving this book as much as I hoped I would.
Things I Enjoyed:
The characters. With the exception of one person, all of our main characters are women of different specialties and personalities. They're all smart, strong, weak, naive -they're all so well-written because they're flawed. No character in this story is perfect, and it makes the story that much more interesting. Although we're most aware of Zephyr's (our 1st-person POV) flaws, through her we get to see not only the PERCEIVED flaws in others, but eventually their real flaws. What's more, even characters I expected to fully hate (such as Miasma) I ended up having some form of respect for. I hated them, but I loved to hate them.
The world. This is a world that is vaguely familiar, but very different at the same time. The story is loosely inspired/based on the Three Kingdoms saga which, as explained in the afterward/Author's Note, does hold to some Confucian ideas. One of those ideas is the idea that every person has a specific role in society based on their family or gender. The author really plays into this with the characters, who do have these strict roles. This idea of roles slowly morphs into the struggle of identity. In theory, your role should help you know and understand who you are. But what happens when your role changes? Does your identity change with it? This gets explored in the latter half of the novel, and I think the author did a really great job of exploring this among different characters.
What I Didn't Like As Much:
The Twist. This is what lost this book one star for me. I don't mind twists in movies or novels; in fact, I think they can be fun and extremely effective and used well. And, truthfully, I probably would have enjoyed the twist in this more if it wasn't so jarring. In the moment of reading, there don't seem to be ANY hints as to what the twist is going to be. The synopsis is worded to make you think one thing, but the reality is something very different from what I expected. When the twist did happen, I actually had to put the book down because I couldn't believe what i had just read because I had had NO IDEA. It was only AFTER the twist had already happened and I finished the novel that I was able to identify what the "clues" in the first half were -which doesn't really make them clues.
In my PERSONAL PREFERENCE, a twist should be written in such a way that readers, if they're really paying attention, should be able to notice the clues and attempt to piece them together to possibly figure it out. If the twist comes with no real warning, especially a twist like this one that really changes the story, it becomes the kind of jarring that can make someone love or hate a novel.
I will say that Joan He's writing is so good that even though I didn't enjoy how sudden and unexpected the twist was, I still ended up really enjoying the second-half of the book once I got past it.
The Pacing. The pacing in this novel isn't HORRIBLE. I've read books with much, much worse pacing before, and this one isn't unreadable. But some of the plot points would be much more effective and hit harder if we could have spent more time with the characters. Again, it's not a completely horrible pacing, so it only lost a little bit of a star for me, and I'm sure most others won't even notice. It's just, again, a PERSONAL PREFERENCE.
Overall, I didn't love the book as much as I expected, but I did still enjoy it and I plan to read the sequel when it's published because I HAVE to know what happens next.
TL;DR: Great characters and world, twist can be very jarring and unexpected and pull the reader out. Still worth reading!
First of all, these cover is gorgeous. Second of all, I'm so happy there's more Asian-inspired fantasy being published. It brings a much-needed diversity to the fantasy genre, and makes things a little unpredictable. Third of all, I REALLY wanted to love this book. The synopsis, the first page, the cover, all of it made me sure I would fall in love. Sadly, I didn't end up loving this book as much as I hoped I would.
Things I Enjoyed:
The characters. With the exception of one person, all of our main characters are women of different specialties and personalities. They're all smart, strong, weak, naive -they're all so well-written because they're flawed. No character in this story is perfect, and it makes the story that much more interesting. Although we're most aware of Zephyr's (our 1st-person POV) flaws, through her we get to see not only the PERCEIVED flaws in others, but eventually their real flaws. What's more, even characters I expected to fully hate (such as Miasma) I ended up having some form of respect for. I hated them, but I loved to hate them.
The world. This is a world that is vaguely familiar, but very different at the same time. The story is loosely inspired/based on the Three Kingdoms saga which, as explained in the afterward/Author's Note, does hold to some Confucian ideas. One of those ideas is the idea that every person has a specific role in society based on their family or gender. The author really plays into this with the characters, who do have these strict roles. This idea of roles slowly morphs into the struggle of identity. In theory, your role should help you know and understand who you are. But what happens when your role changes? Does your identity change with it? This gets explored in the latter half of the novel, and I think the author did a really great job of exploring this among different characters.
What I Didn't Like As Much:
The Twist. This is what lost this book one star for me. I don't mind twists in movies or novels; in fact, I think they can be fun and extremely effective and used well. And, truthfully, I probably would have enjoyed the twist in this more if it wasn't so jarring. In the moment of reading, there don't seem to be ANY hints as to what the twist is going to be. The synopsis is worded to make you think one thing, but the reality is something very different from what I expected. When the twist did happen, I actually had to put the book down because I couldn't believe what i had just read because I had had NO IDEA. It was only AFTER the twist had already happened and I finished the novel that I was able to identify what the "clues" in the first half were -which doesn't really make them clues.
In my PERSONAL PREFERENCE, a twist should be written in such a way that readers, if they're really paying attention, should be able to notice the clues and attempt to piece them together to possibly figure it out. If the twist comes with no real warning, especially a twist like this one that really changes the story, it becomes the kind of jarring that can make someone love or hate a novel.
I will say that Joan He's writing is so good that even though I didn't enjoy how sudden and unexpected the twist was, I still ended up really enjoying the second-half of the book once I got past it.
The Pacing. The pacing in this novel isn't HORRIBLE. I've read books with much, much worse pacing before, and this one isn't unreadable. But some of the plot points would be much more effective and hit harder if we could have spent more time with the characters. Again, it's not a completely horrible pacing, so it only lost a little bit of a star for me, and I'm sure most others won't even notice. It's just, again, a PERSONAL PREFERENCE.
Overall, I didn't love the book as much as I expected, but I did still enjoy it and I plan to read the sequel when it's published because I HAVE to know what happens next.
TL;DR: Great characters and world, twist can be very jarring and unexpected and pull the reader out. Still worth reading!
hatonkinson_23's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5