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slugluv's review
4.0
3.5ish—I loved the overall story and the way mythology was woven into it! I found the characters a little annoying and melodramatic at times. and I will scream if I have to read the word “vermilion” one more time, I swear to god she uses it 20+ times in the book in these visual descriptions that are over the top and repetitive.
bas0513's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mandersdraws's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I really wanted to love this book (I mean, allow me to judge by its cover for a moment - it's BEAUTIFUL), but this just didn't resonate with me the way I hoped.
I like the premise a lot, and the world building, the setting, the tie in with Chinese mythology and the legend of Chang'e, were all really inspiring. I think the plot of the book is pretty interesting and I enjoyed the path of the story overall.
My only issue with this book is just how much time Xingyin, the main character and narrator, spends explaining her own feelings and thought process. I feel like Xingyin tells me instead of showing me how she feels, and it often felt repetitive to me. There's a love story that pulled on my heart strings at first, but then started to bore me, because the confused feelings of the protagonist were repeated in the narration, at great length. Jealousy between the male love interests also came up with some frequency, and got old quickly.
Xingyin has no shortage of adventures but the narration in between them kind of bogged down the pacing of the book. I got the audiobook version of this and Natalie Nautus did a wonderful job as narrator, for what it's worth, but I wonder whether the pacing might have felt better if I had read the text instead of listening to it. I am curious about the next installment though, so maybe I'll find out someday if I decide to pick up the sequel!
I like the premise a lot, and the world building, the setting, the tie in with Chinese mythology and the legend of Chang'e, were all really inspiring. I think the plot of the book is pretty interesting and I enjoyed the path of the story overall.
My only issue with this book is just how much time Xingyin, the main character and narrator, spends explaining her own feelings and thought process. I feel like Xingyin tells me instead of showing me how she feels, and it often felt repetitive to me. There's a love story that pulled on my heart strings at first, but then started to bore me, because the confused feelings of the protagonist were repeated in the narration, at great length. Jealousy between the male love interests also came up with some frequency, and got old quickly.
Xingyin has no shortage of adventures but the narration in between them kind of bogged down the pacing of the book. I got the audiobook version of this and Natalie Nautus did a wonderful job as narrator, for what it's worth, but I wonder whether the pacing might have felt better if I had read the text instead of listening to it. I am curious about the next installment though, so maybe I'll find out someday if I decide to pick up the sequel!
morganaegan's review
5.0
Right I’m giving this 5 stars because I feel like I super wronged the book in the beginning and almost DNFed it.
Whatever you do, KEEP READING THE BOOK.
I don’t know what it was about the beginning but I super didn’t connect with it. I felt the writing style made it feel like you, as the reader, were kept far away from what was happening, and the very flowery detailed descriptions were hard for me to follow.
I ended up picking up the book again because I needed a book for the plane, and the other one I hadn’t read yet was thiiiiick.
And oh my god im so glad I took the book with me. Idk what happened, but once I got back into it I couldn’t put it down. It was amazing!!!! The romance was beautiful and heartbreaking and the main character was so so so cool. Also dragons??? Magic powers??? Hell yes.
I highly highly highly recommend this book. Can’t wait to read the next one! Going to go to the bookstore tonight to get it.
Whatever you do, KEEP READING THE BOOK.
I don’t know what it was about the beginning but I super didn’t connect with it. I felt the writing style made it feel like you, as the reader, were kept far away from what was happening, and the very flowery detailed descriptions were hard for me to follow.
I ended up picking up the book again because I needed a book for the plane, and the other one I hadn’t read yet was thiiiiick.
And oh my god im so glad I took the book with me. Idk what happened, but once I got back into it I couldn’t put it down. It was amazing!!!! The romance was beautiful and heartbreaking and the main character was so so so cool. Also dragons??? Magic powers??? Hell yes.
I highly highly highly recommend this book. Can’t wait to read the next one! Going to go to the bookstore tonight to get it.
booksofhollie's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-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? Yes
3.75
silvia_fletch's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ms_hartman's review
DNF @ 71%
I just could not bring myself to care.
I'm so indifferent to this main character and to this world, I think I needed more info. Weirdly, I wish this was either way more descriptive of the magic system/political system with longer trials and deeper character relationships/arcs or I wish it would have been YA. It feels like this really badly wants to be YA...
I just could not bring myself to care.
I'm so indifferent to this main character and to this world, I think I needed more info. Weirdly, I wish this was either way more descriptive of the magic system/political system with longer trials and deeper character relationships/arcs or I wish it would have been YA. It feels like this really badly wants to be YA...
octopuses's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I enjoyed it! But I also don't think it's some incredible masterpiece.
taylor_riegs's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0