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littleskylights's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.0
A very enjoyable read!
I wouldn't say that it necessarily blew my mind in any way, but it was a fun story, and I enjoyed the characters and the plot. It was pretty obvious from the beginning what the twist was, but it was still interesting to watch it unfold.
I wouldn't say that it necessarily blew my mind in any way, but it was a fun story, and I enjoyed the characters and the plot. It was pretty obvious from the beginning what the twist was, but it was still interesting to watch it unfold.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Cannibalism
Minor: Self harm and Suicidal thoughts
betanianne's review against another edition
4.0
Ok well now I need this cdrama! This was right up my alley and I could see it so clearly.
Sai runs his family's teahouse but has a side business as a matchmaker. He's able to see the red thread connecting soulmates, so for a fee he'll help the villagers find theirs. He needs the money from his side business to pay for some valuable medication that could heal his mother. And then he's caught by the emperor who commands him to track down a dragon in the next country over. On his quest, Sai also meets a new friend who wants to kill the dragon to scavenge for parts. So Sai must decide if he'll help the hunter kill the dragon, give the dragon to the emperor, or do a ~secret third thing~. Oh, and as he continues his quest, he finds that his own Fated One thread, once frayed and gray, is slowly beginning to move and turn red again.
I was excited to find about 25% of the way through that this book was going in the direction I made a crazy guess.
This is a great book for anyone who enjoys cdrama romances with a human, spirits, and reincarnation. I loved watching Sai fall in love and flirt his way into his soulmate's hardened heart. This was nice! I had a good evening reading this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and Saga Press for this e-ARC.
Sai runs his family's teahouse but has a side business as a matchmaker. He's able to see the red thread connecting soulmates, so for a fee he'll help the villagers find theirs. He needs the money from his side business to pay for some valuable medication that could heal his mother. And then he's caught by the emperor who commands him to track down a dragon in the next country over. On his quest, Sai also meets a new friend who wants to kill the dragon to scavenge for parts. So Sai must decide if he'll help the hunter kill the dragon, give the dragon to the emperor, or do a ~secret third thing~. Oh, and as he continues his quest, he finds that his own Fated One thread, once frayed and gray, is slowly beginning to move and turn red again.
I was excited to find about 25% of the way through that this book was going in the direction I made a crazy guess.
This is a great book for anyone who enjoys cdrama romances with a human, spirits, and reincarnation. I loved watching Sai fall in love and flirt his way into his soulmate's hardened heart. This was nice! I had a good evening reading this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and Saga Press for this e-ARC.
_teej's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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? No
4.75
alanna5's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
canobi's review
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
yinspirit's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
viedai's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
lunarsyrin's review
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I love practically everything about this, from structure, to characters, and to vibes. Admittedly there were moments the world building and pacing felt a little shaky but I could very easily overlook that since I was having such a good time while reading.
Sai is a delight, I personally find him rather entertaining. His personally contrasts nicely with Jyn who is very guarded. The Emperor is a little one dimensional but that was okay with me. I didn’t feel like I needed to know everything about him. I enjoyed that we would get glimpses of the legend of the dragons and those served backstory for each of our main cast.
Perhaps one of the biggest wins with this book for me though was its length. This is a standalone, fantasy novel just barely over 300 pages. Those are hard to find! I love me some massive and expansive fantasy reads but sometimes you want something you could finish in a few days and not have to dedicate weeks of your time to it.
shunsicker's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
robinreads707's review
3.0
Good idea, not the best execution. The characters felt immature, especially considering the centuries of reincarnation that was supposed to have occurred. The writing seemed too modern at times, which didn’t jibe with other aspects of the writing.
Favorite character: Jyn, although none of them were that compelling.
The buildup to the plot was really long and the resolution too short, unable to adequately resolve all the plot holes or do justice to the characters and story.
I normally enjoy stories with mythology entwined into the storyline (e. g. The Queen’s Thief series) but this wasn’t well done and it was not only confusing but also not interesting.
The red fate threads leave a lot of unresolved questions about fate and love, completely denying the possibility of loving someone else after your first love dies or loving two people at the same time, among other issues.
Also, I really thought the book was going to be more gay, but the one of gay couple in the story ended up being an evil villain, which isn’t exactly the kind of representation I want to see.
The story reminds me of Kung Fu Panda and Twilight, so if you like those maybe you’ll like this? I think it’s better as an irreverent story than thought of as high fantasy.
Favorite character: Jyn, although none of them were that compelling.
The buildup to the plot was really long and the resolution too short, unable to adequately resolve all the plot holes or do justice to the characters and story.
I normally enjoy stories with mythology entwined into the storyline (e. g. The Queen’s Thief series) but this wasn’t well done and it was not only confusing but also not interesting.
The red fate threads leave a lot of unresolved questions about fate and love, completely denying the possibility of loving someone else after your first love dies or loving two people at the same time, among other issues.
Also, I really thought the book was going to be more gay, but the one of gay couple in the story ended up being an evil villain, which isn’t exactly the kind of representation I want to see.
The story reminds me of Kung Fu Panda and Twilight, so if you like those maybe you’ll like this? I think it’s better as an irreverent story than thought of as high fantasy.