Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Joan

Overall I really enjoyed this book. Initially I found it hard to get into because of the amount of focus on her basically just being abused by her dad - was a little too much. Having said that, it does feed into Joan’s character development really nicely later on and is really important in truly understanding her. As soon as Joan meets Charles, the book transformed and instantly became a page-turner for me (as I predicted).
I loved how in Katherine J Chen really puts the reader in Joan’s head; it always felt very personal, like I knew her and to an extent was her. I also enjoyed the choice of making her relationship with God so strained to begin with because it left the question of whether she truly was divine or blessed so open and ambiguous.
This is not only a great read, but also I think an important one, and would highly recommend.

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legs_n_chins's review

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I think I’m just not a fan of war stories lol. Through most of the middle sections I found myself less absorbed than the beginning, and I thought it was a little meandering at times. Ironically, as I’ve just said that I don’t like war stories, I thought the battle scenes were really strong. Chen does a fantastic job laying out just how bloody battles are and describing the chaos and fear on a battlefield. The atmosphere she’s able to create is very effective in these parts. But beyond that, I struggled to decide what I did or did not really like about the book.

What struck me most was the final meeting with Joan, the Queen, and Yolande. This is where I really felt the roots of feminism in the story, when they were saying that Joan had so much further to fall. That she’s been reduced back to a woman and that’s all. Joan really reconciling that the stakes have always been so much higher for her. The last part of the book was probably the strongest for me because I did find it more interesting when Joan faced defeat and those interpersonal and existential conflicts. It was great when she won, when we celebrated with her and saw her getting deserved praise, but I ended up feeling just slightly more detached from her then. Maybe because Joan wasn’t meant to be in court like that and Chen really effectively conveyed that between the lines. Or maybe just because I like seeing the characters I love suffer a little.

I did waver around those parts with the feeling of “strong female character can punch good.” When Joan grew and was demonstratively good with weapons with little training. I was perfectly willing to suspend disbelief, I did want to see her succeed in these things and I was pretty thrilled when she loosed that first arrow, but it was dulled by, admittedly, my own cynicism. I understand why Chen had Joan be this physically imposing person and the ways she reflected masculinity in her dress and company, and I don’t think this falls under the trope of making a strong female character only physically strong ultimately. It’s just what was on my mind, which dampened some of my enjoyment.

I did like Joan overall, and she made for a very good protagonist. The voice Chen chose for her felt absolutely spot on and I liked her being a strategist and so determined and goal oriented. That felt very relatable (and as such I also am going to personally claim her as an aroace queen) and I liked the way the character was developed. That said, I wish we’d gotten a little more from the other characters. The King is fleshed out pretty well, Catherine and Jacques and Laxart work, but even some of Joan’s friends I just didn’t feel like we really knew them. Even at the end, when Jean pledged his allegiance to Joan, I found it very touching but I realized that beyond his position in her household and these moments of loyalty and affection, he essentially had no character at all. Which I found a little sad because I would’ve liked more of him. (If I consider it in a meta sense I wonder if Chen purposefully left many of the men as somewhat two dimensional because of how often women are left unexplored in so many stories. And I like that even if I wanted to get a little more out of the side characters lol.)

I think Chen’s writing style bumped this up at least a half star for me. There’s something very lyrical I found, but not teetering into overly poetic. It’s really flowing and beautiful. As I mentioned previously, she creates atmosphere so well and I really appreciate how she can set a scene. I liked reading this book because every word was such a pleasure to absorb. A lot of what kept me turning to the next page even way after my bedtime was Chen’s writing. Just wanting to know how she would hook me with the first sentence of a new chapter, or how she was describe a place, or what little detail she would throw in to really ground the moment and solidify the picture. I definitely would read more of her work for the writing style alone.

Overall, I like her version of Joan d’Arc and I think she paints a very compelling portrait of her life. Her strength of will, her resilience, and above all, her kindness and belief in the human spirit.

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emilyjeanne's review

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adventurous emotional informative inspiring sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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lanternheart's review

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emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A riveting, poetic story of a woman becoming a myth, and the myth becoming a woman — a sword, a shield, and a promise. "Joan" is beautifully written, and quite a book to dive into if given the time to savor.

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kchessrice's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“Before each battle, the foot soldiers, artillerymen, and sappers will bend their heads and call my name. They will say, Joan, give me strength and courage, and I shall hear them, wherever I am. I can never die.”

What a thumping good historical fiction novel! Joan is a character that comes to life as a fully developed character - shaped by her harsh childhood in a small French village during the 100 Years War and becoming the legendary heroic figure (and eventual saint) that we remember today. The narrative is told in a way very similar in style to Hilary Mantel's "Wolf Hall" trilogy; we are with Joan the whole time as though just looking at what is happening from standing in line with her shoulder.

The descriptions of Joan in her shining battle armour and her incredible strength/prowess in battle reminded me of the portrayal of Brienne of Tarth from Game of Thrones! Which then led me to thinking whether George R.R. Martin was inspired to write such a character into his novels by the legend of Joan of Arc.

Going into this novel I had no knowledge of Joan of Arc whatsoever (other than she was French and met a horrible end...) and I don't think that affected my enjoyment of this book at all.

One to pick up if you enjoy historical fiction with a feminist edge, action-packed and pacy storytelling with vivid descriptions of people and place.

TW: Child abuse/animal death/battle injury

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loki2's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring medium-paced

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

4.25

Joan took a little bit of time to become engaging. The first few chapters focused primarily on her childhood which include an abusive father. It definitely took a little bit of motivation for me to push past the simultaneous slow drag of childhood and the abusive circumstances to get into the military career of Joan. However, once the book got into the military portion it was an amazing storytelling. The book is emotional and while it completely takes out any mention of the more religious aspects of Jones military stardom, it does focus on her spirit and strength of character which are so beloved and iconic to Joan of Arc. The book captures her strength of will and the resolution she must have had as a 17-year-old girl in a men's world fighting against all of the discrimination to simply be in the same room as a soldier. This book, while not perfect, is one of the best at capturing how she inspired the men around her while also being in the midst of a political landscape that she didn't have the tools to understand or fight with and how that ultimately affected her. Even knowing how the story ended I wished so desperately that she could have had a better ending. This book was a great retelling of the story of Joan.

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