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bionerdatgc's review
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, and Fire/Fire injury
forestmaiden's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Minor: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
justinekorson'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? No
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and War
kaneebli's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, and War
Minor: Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
boba_nbooks'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
4.5
This novel is a love letter to the fated mates trope, and I ate it up.
Sai has only ever known a quiet life taking after his deceased father's teahouse. However, he does have a supernatural power: he can see the red threads of fate that connect soulmates. Every day he sees healthy red threads or even black ones for those whose soulmates have passed on. But his own thread is a strange grey color that he has never seen on anyone else before. Sai is determined to use his power to bring his mother money to cure her illness, but when he tries the miracle cure of a dragon scale, the emperor catches wind and blackmails Sai into finding the last dragon of the east for him. From there, Sai is thrust into a years-long war, foreign lands, and possibly the end to the search for his Fated One.
The Last Dragon of the East is a beautiful story that pays homage to Chinese mythology and shows the lengths people will go to in order to find their soulmates.
Sai is unlike any hero you've met before. He doesn't know how to fight, he's sarcastic, and he's great at making tea. I love his refreshing character and the fun way he banters with other characters. Throughout the novel, Sai's reality is challenged time and time again as he realizes there is so much more to this world, and his life, than he thought.
I can't say much more without spoiling the story, but trust me when I say readers who love a good love story and fated mates who find each other through time will absolutely love The Last Dragon of the East.
Graphic: Death, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Sexual content, and War
Minor: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
fictionandfarming's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
The Last Dragon of the East is a fast-paced and dramatic fantasy romance debut from Canadian author Katrina Kwan. Told from the POV of Sai, a young man struggling to keep his family’s teashop afloat while also caring for his ill mother, the story kicks off quickly and sends Sai on an epic adventure inspired by Chinese legends and myths.
Our introduction to Sai and his regular life is quick and well-executed, displaying his ability to see the red threads of fate and the way the people around him react to his gift before taking us back to the teashop where we meet Sai’s mother. While his mother doesn’t get a lot of page time, the moments we do get are very sweet.
The pacing after Sai finds himself in trouble and sent to find the dragon felt disjointed until we reach the point where he meets Jyn. Once the pair are forced together the pacing begins to feel much more natural and everything begins to really come together.
As far as characters go, Jyn was the highlight for me, the poor woman has really been through it, not to mention the way Sai kept needing to be saved. I would have loved to see more of Feng, but she certainly leaves an impression regardless. I can’t help but feel that Sai is such a big dork (meant affectionately), the man has no sense of self-preservation, but he certainly means well and has such an optimistic attitude to everything.
While I enjoyed the way Kwan told the story, the violence was comically over-the-top and detracted from the story. The sheer amount of violence was heavy-handed and stretched my ability to suspend disbelief, and there was a feeling of dissonance between the romantic/myth storyline and the violence.
Overall, a solid debut from a promising author that will definitely appeal to lovers of soulmates and love stories that feel like the stuff of legend.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada/Saga Press for making the DRC available to me. All opinions are my own.
Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cannibalism
Minor: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
devynreadsnovels's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail