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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
At first I really struggled to keep reading this book - not because it was bad, but because mentally I couldn’t quite connect and that was reflection of me and the world right now. I tried twice and was about to put aside for later (definitely not a dnf!) when a friend mentioned reading it on audio. So I thought I’d try that, and I’m really glad I did.
While it does take a while to get going, I loved the characters throughout, and especially liked how the relationships progressed through the story. Nothing is simple and clear cut, and there is insta-like but time is needed for feelings to develop.
You also get a beautifully complicated political world, from Xiulan and her family, to the iron prince and his throne. Jimuro really grew on me, and at the end he is really strong despite wavering in places through the book. I loved Lee, and her history and her flirting. Tala (and Mang!) is fantastic and probably goes through the most - certainly her storyline made me full on sob at one point. And Xiulan is probably my favourite, just for her reliance on her detective stories and her formalities. I loved them.
I also loved that there were multiple magic systems in place, and it was an evolving world - certainly seeing that start to happen politically was incredibly satisfying.
This sits brilliantly on its own, and it’s so satisfying to jump into a stand-alone novel that is as well done as this one. While I’d love to read more snippets from this universe, I think the ending perfectly wraps everything up while leaving enough room for hope and the future. An easy 4.5 star read.
While it does take a while to get going, I loved the characters throughout, and especially liked how the relationships progressed through the story. Nothing is simple and clear cut, and there is insta-like but time is needed for feelings to develop.
You also get a beautifully complicated political world, from Xiulan and her family, to the iron prince and his throne. Jimuro really grew on me, and at the end he is really strong despite wavering in places through the book. I loved Lee, and her history and her flirting. Tala (and Mang!) is fantastic and probably goes through the most - certainly her storyline made me full on sob at one point. And Xiulan is probably my favourite, just for her reliance on her detective stories and her formalities. I loved them.
I also loved that there were multiple magic systems in place, and it was an evolving world - certainly seeing that start to happen politically was incredibly satisfying.
This sits brilliantly on its own, and it’s so satisfying to jump into a stand-alone novel that is as well done as this one. While I’d love to read more snippets from this universe, I think the ending perfectly wraps everything up while leaving enough room for hope and the future. An easy 4.5 star read.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
If I could sum this book up in one sentence, it would be A novel that shows what truly happens after the war has ended.
I was given the opportunity to provide my honest review on this post-war fantasy novel. Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, for giving me a copy to read.
Okay, this book starts off pretty slow as we follow Lee and Tala, who are two very different people with different morals and background. Then it starts to pick up when we meet Jimuro and Xiulan a princess who is nerdy and curious. Lee is a thief awaiting execution, Xiulan is an Inspector looking for Steel Prince, Jimuro is a prince who the entire world wants dead, and last but not least, Tala is a special forces soldier. All three are victims of the war and have different outlooks on one another's countries. The first thing I thought while I was reading from Tala's perspective, was that she reminds me of an anime character in specific scenes. She reminds me of Edward The Full Metal Alchemist" Elric from Full Metal Alchemist. Tala's character with a very touching connection to family and military prowess makes her the character you look forward to reading about. Out of all of them, she is my second favorite. While Lee is very straightforward, morally grey character, you can not help but love. She is the comic relief within the story and gives that outside looking in perspective in scenes that are slow and dark. These four individuals are living in a post-war society where they are trying to come back after the war with the Iron Lords has come to an end.
The story pacing has some slow parts and parts that are a bit too drawn out. The multi-perspectives in one chapter were confusing towards the end. However, overall, the politics and historical back story made me invest emotionally with story, plot, and characters. The magic system using pact systems as a method for magic is explained and presented in evenly paced scenes. Lee is hilarious, Tala is stubborn, Xiulan is wonderfully naive, and Jimuro is prejudice, but the character arc for each character was outstanding! The ending was terrific, and I think everyone should read this book. My favorite scene, by far is the rooster scene!!
I was given the opportunity to provide my honest review on this post-war fantasy novel. Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, for giving me a copy to read.
Okay, this book starts off pretty slow as we follow Lee and Tala, who are two very different people with different morals and background. Then it starts to pick up when we meet Jimuro and Xiulan a princess who is nerdy and curious. Lee is a thief awaiting execution, Xiulan is an Inspector looking for Steel Prince, Jimuro is a prince who the entire world wants dead, and last but not least, Tala is a special forces soldier. All three are victims of the war and have different outlooks on one another's countries. The first thing I thought while I was reading from Tala's perspective, was that she reminds me of an anime character in specific scenes. She reminds me of Edward The Full Metal Alchemist" Elric from Full Metal Alchemist. Tala's character with a very touching connection to family and military prowess makes her the character you look forward to reading about. Out of all of them, she is my second favorite. While Lee is very straightforward, morally grey character, you can not help but love. She is the comic relief within the story and gives that outside looking in perspective in scenes that are slow and dark. These four individuals are living in a post-war society where they are trying to come back after the war with the Iron Lords has come to an end.
The story pacing has some slow parts and parts that are a bit too drawn out. The multi-perspectives in one chapter were confusing towards the end. However, overall, the politics and historical back story made me invest emotionally with story, plot, and characters. The magic system using pact systems as a method for magic is explained and presented in evenly paced scenes. Lee is hilarious, Tala is stubborn, Xiulan is wonderfully naive, and Jimuro is prejudice, but the character arc for each character was outstanding! The ending was terrific, and I think everyone should read this book. My favorite scene, by far is the rooster scene!!
If I could sum this book up in one sentence, it would be A novel that shows what truly happens after the war has ended.
I was given the opportunity to provide my honest review on this post-war fantasy novel. Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, for giving me a copy to read.
Okay, this book starts off pretty slow as we follow Lee and Tala, who are two very different people with different morals and background. Then it starts to pick up when we meet Jimuro and Xiulan a princess who is nerdy and curious. Lee is a thief awaiting execution, Xiulan is an Inspector looking for Steel Prince, Jimuro is a prince who the entire world wants dead, and last but not least, Tala is a special forces soldier. All three are victims of the war and have different outlooks on one another's countries. The first thing I thought while I was reading from Tala's perspective, was that she reminds me of an anime character in specific scenes. She reminds me of Edward The Full Metal Alchemist" Elric from Full Metal Alchemist. Tala's character with a very touching connection to family and military prowess makes her the character you look forward to reading about. Out of all of them, she is my second favorite. While Lee is very straightforward, morally grey character, you can not help but love. She is the comic relief within the story and gives that outside looking in perspective in scenes that are slow and dark. These four individuals are living in a post-war society where they are trying to come back after the war with the Iron Lords has come to an end.
The story pacing has some slow parts and parts that are a bit too drawn out. The multi-perspectives in one chapter were confusing towards the end. However, overall, the politics and historical back story made me invest emotionally with story, plot, and characters. The magic system using pact systems as a method for magic is explained and presented in evenly paced scenes. Lee is hilarious, Tala is stubborn, Xiulan is wonderfully naive, and Jimuro is prejudice, but the character arc for each character was outstanding! The ending was terrific, and I think everyone should read this book. My favorite scene, by far is the rooster scene!!
I was given the opportunity to provide my honest review on this post-war fantasy novel. Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, for giving me a copy to read.
Okay, this book starts off pretty slow as we follow Lee and Tala, who are two very different people with different morals and background. Then it starts to pick up when we meet Jimuro and Xiulan a princess who is nerdy and curious. Lee is a thief awaiting execution, Xiulan is an Inspector looking for Steel Prince, Jimuro is a prince who the entire world wants dead, and last but not least, Tala is a special forces soldier. All three are victims of the war and have different outlooks on one another's countries. The first thing I thought while I was reading from Tala's perspective, was that she reminds me of an anime character in specific scenes. She reminds me of Edward The Full Metal Alchemist" Elric from Full Metal Alchemist. Tala's character with a very touching connection to family and military prowess makes her the character you look forward to reading about. Out of all of them, she is my second favorite. While Lee is very straightforward, morally grey character, you can not help but love. She is the comic relief within the story and gives that outside looking in perspective in scenes that are slow and dark. These four individuals are living in a post-war society where they are trying to come back after the war with the Iron Lords has come to an end.
The story pacing has some slow parts and parts that are a bit too drawn out. The multi-perspectives in one chapter were confusing towards the end. However, overall, the politics and historical back story made me invest emotionally with story, plot, and characters. The magic system using pact systems as a method for magic is explained and presented in evenly paced scenes. Lee is hilarious, Tala is stubborn, Xiulan is wonderfully naive, and Jimuro is prejudice, but the character arc for each character was outstanding! The ending was terrific, and I think everyone should read this book. My favorite scene, by far is the rooster scene!!
queer characters! siblings! anti-colonial POV! dogs! need I say more?
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Probably a 3.3 for having too many tropes and predictable characters, but it did for me what a lot of fiction hasn't been able to do recently, which is get me immersed and dashing through the book as quickly as possible. The magical concepts were well-established with fairly clear rules.
My problem with this novel is that while I enjoyed it, I just didn't care about any of it. It's advantage is that it's a very unique fantasy by being creative and not falling into overdone fantasy tropes with an accepting world which is refreshing to see. However the characters I just didn't care for, they were fine to read about but I didn't connect to them, there was something missing there and the plot took a while to hook me into the story.
Rating:
Characters-2.5
Plot - 2.5
Writing - 3
Relationships - 2.5
Enjoyment - 3.5
World Building - 2.5
Originality- 3
For a total of 2.78 rounded to 3.
Potential to continue series-Moderate
Rating:
Characters-2.5
Plot - 2.5
Writing - 3
Relationships - 2.5
Enjoyment - 3.5
World Building - 2.5
Originality- 3
For a total of 2.78 rounded to 3.
Potential to continue series-Moderate