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tashtasher's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Bullying, Gore, Blood, and Death of parent
txikimandy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
tense
fast-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
4.75
This book was amazing! I couldn’t put it down. The plot was intriguing and the characters were likeable. The only things keeping me from giving 5 stars are the role of the supporting characters, which is where all of the other women in the story were, and Tan’s prose.
The plot of this story was a more complex plot than I was expecting. Every new obstacle was a surprise, but each one contributed to Xingyin’s journey and her growth. I really enjoyed reading each adventure she took!
I’m not someone who is overly familiar with Chinese mythology, though I am aquatinted with a few deities and legends. Tan did a fantastic job with the world-building— she never sounded like she was taking time away from the narrative to explain the mythological roots of the story like the readers were children; instead, she wove the lore of the world into the narrative with the skill of an expert.
The characters were all likeable (and the villains, you liked to hate). Xingyin experiences many traumas and tragedies, and her flaws are apparent, which all lend a wonderful depth and realism to her character. The male leads are interesting and have enough differences to evoke the “pick a side” attitude of the Hunger Games and Twilight franchises. The nostalgia attached to that feeling wasn’t something I necessarily loved, but it added to the complexity of Xingyin’s emotional growth in a respectable way.
My two complaints keeping me from giving the book 5 stars lie with the supporting characters and Tan’s prose. All of the other women in this story are supporting characters, which didn’t sit extremely well with me. I wanted some of Xingyin’s female friends to have a larger role and was left extremely wanting. The supporting characters are also static; even when they have a deep conversation with Xingyin about their lives and futures, nothing changes for them.
While she’s an amazing story-teller, Tan’s prose is lacking. There are many instances of sentence fragments that do not work as fragments, and caused me to read the passage once or twice more. She uses a lot of chiches, including frequently calling eyes “orbs”, which is one of my personal pet peeves.
The plot of this story was a more complex plot than I was expecting. Every new obstacle was a surprise, but each one contributed to Xingyin’s journey and her growth. I really enjoyed reading each adventure she took!
I’m not someone who is overly familiar with Chinese mythology, though I am aquatinted with a few deities and legends. Tan did a fantastic job with the world-building— she never sounded like she was taking time away from the narrative to explain the mythological roots of the story like the readers were children; instead, she wove the lore of the world into the narrative with the skill of an expert.
The characters were all likeable (and the villains, you liked to hate). Xingyin experiences many traumas and tragedies, and her flaws are apparent, which all lend a wonderful depth and realism to her character. The male leads are interesting and have enough differences to evoke the “pick a side” attitude of the Hunger Games and Twilight franchises. The nostalgia attached to that feeling wasn’t something I necessarily loved, but it added to the complexity of Xingyin’s emotional growth in a respectable way.
My two complaints keeping me from giving the book 5 stars lie with the supporting characters and Tan’s prose. All of the other women in this story are supporting characters, which didn’t sit extremely well with me. I wanted some of Xingyin’s female friends to have a larger role and was left extremely wanting. The supporting characters are also static; even when they have a deep conversation with Xingyin about their lives and futures, nothing changes for them.
While she’s an amazing story-teller, Tan’s prose is lacking. There are many instances of sentence fragments that do not work as fragments, and caused me to read the passage once or twice more. She uses a lot of chiches, including frequently calling eyes “orbs”, which is one of my personal pet peeves.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Sexism, and Classism
spcandybars's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Gracious, I loved this book. It moved quickly, guiding you quickly through a childhood, spending more time in adolescence and dedicating the final half or so to the adventurous tale of our heroine’s ultimate purpose. The romantic relationships have such solid footing and even in the presence of my most loathed trope - the love triangle - I couldn’t deny that I appreciated what felt like legitimate chemistry with both male leads. And the plot feels important. It feels so reasonable to be so driven, to endure so much for the mother you love to no end.
There are definitely things that give away this being a debut novel - the pacing has its stumbling points, friendships that mean so much by the end never get ample time in the lead, and there are moments where Xingyin over explains to herself as a way to guide exposition and it almost always feels unnecessary narratively because the doubt she experiences that leads to these monologues feels out of character somehow. There are also things l believe may dissuade the typically adult fantasy reader - the story is very insular with only a small set of characters that will ever mean anything significant, it has a very approachable feel to the writing style that could be mistaken as YA at points, and the world building/lore is on the sparse side to accommodate for general plot progression. It’s enough insight to make you curious about the Chinese legend that exists behind Xingyin’s mother - enough to get the story - but not enough to ground itself in a way that I believe would be sustainable beyond this small cast.
In spite of its flaws, that’s all encapsulated within wonderful writing, relationships that feel so fulfilling, angst that’s so justified, and an overall story that’s just so interesting you don’t want to stop.
There are definitely things that give away this being a debut novel - the pacing has its stumbling points, friendships that mean so much by the end never get ample time in the lead, and there are moments where Xingyin over explains to herself as a way to guide exposition and it almost always feels unnecessary narratively because the doubt she experiences that leads to these monologues feels out of character somehow. There are also things l believe may dissuade the typically adult fantasy reader - the story is very insular with only a small set of characters that will ever mean anything significant, it has a very approachable feel to the writing style that could be mistaken as YA at points, and the world building/lore is on the sparse side to accommodate for general plot progression. It’s enough insight to make you curious about the Chinese legend that exists behind Xingyin’s mother - enough to get the story - but not enough to ground itself in a way that I believe would be sustainable beyond this small cast.
In spite of its flaws, that’s all encapsulated within wonderful writing, relationships that feel so fulfilling, angst that’s so justified, and an overall story that’s just so interesting you don’t want to stop.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Blood
Minor: War
linneak's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Kidnapping, Grief, and Death of parent
morvvenna's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Torture and Pregnancy
kylieqrada's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
3.5
Withholding my review in solidarity with the Harper Collins Union strike. I will post upon the union receiving a fair bargain.
I really liked this, but it did have some problems that I didn't initially realize. Overall, I'm glad I read it but I won't be continuing in the series.
I really liked this, but it did have some problems that I didn't initially realize. Overall, I'm glad I read it but I won't be continuing in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and War
Moderate: Death, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
charmander17's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Blood, and Kidnapping
moonrisxng's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
romantic fantasy and adventure that was a dream to read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Gore, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
sugaryplum's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
I loved this book so much! The author writes in such a beautiful way, especially the descriptions (through it felt a bit slow at times!). I loved the love triangle, it felt really respectful and the main character wasn't simply throwing people around! It honestly felt like the perfect YA book.
The only thing I wish was for the pace to be a bit quicker at times, it felt like there were too many descriptions of how things looked that were fitted between scenes making me really impatient to find out what's happening, I stopped caring about the ceiling when we are at a moment full of suspense and my eyes ended up skipping the descriptions to get going! It just felt a bit winded, HOWEVER, the book is so amazing that you honestly can very easily ignore these parts. There is so much story, the characters are so well written and there is a good amount of plot twists that you'd never expect. Another thing I congratulate the author for is closing all the plots so well in the end, the book would be great as a stand alone (not fully sure if I will read the sequel, it ended so well!) and I was left without questions. If you love fantasy, romances with princes, light and respectful love triangles with strong female leads without gore and unnecessary bloodshed this is for you!
This NEEDS to be turned into a TV show or something! It deserves the praise.
The only thing I wish was for the pace to be a bit quicker at times, it felt like there were too many descriptions of how things looked that were fitted between scenes making me really impatient to find out what's happening, I stopped caring about the ceiling when we are at a moment full of suspense and my eyes ended up skipping the descriptions to get going! It just felt a bit winded, HOWEVER, the book is so amazing that you honestly can very easily ignore these parts. There is so much story, the characters are so well written and there is a good amount of plot twists that you'd never expect. Another thing I congratulate the author for is closing all the plots so well in the end, the book would be great as a stand alone (not fully sure if I will read the sequel, it ended so well!) and I was left without questions. If you love fantasy, romances with princes, light and respectful love triangles with strong female leads without gore and unnecessary bloodshed this is for you!
This NEEDS to be turned into a TV show or something! It deserves the praise.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Misogyny
chrisljm's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Another book that didn’t live up to the hype. The writing is flowery and pretty, but that’s it. The plot and characters lack depth and it felt like 400+ pages of just trying to fit every plot point the author had planned.
The characters were so boring. Xingyin the female main character, is two-dimensional and lacks growth, but the worst thing to be done to her character was to end up having her centered around her love interests. The romance was definitely the worst thing about the book, and I could not have cared less. The characters had no chemistry, the two male leads had no personality, and the development in their relationships came off even worse because the pacing in the story was poorly done.
This book had me apathetic at best. The romance? Didn’t care. Xingyin only likes these boys because they’re there and the male leads. The plot? Also didn’t care. It’s hard to feel bad for any of her issues when there is no emotional impact in the writing, and so much telling and no showing.
This book just lacked in so much: personality, depth, climax, tension. The only thing it has going for it is pretty words but at the end of the day, who cares.
And you know what. You know how ridiculous it felt, reading about how hurt Xingyin was that Lingwei chose another woman, only for her to tell Wenzhi she wants to leave the army with him and be with him in the next fucking line. And then for Lingwei to come back in the next scene and have her be depressed over him again. Girl stfu.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Sexism, Torture, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Stalking and Pregnancy