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htavary's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
emaurreads's review against another edition
5.0
got to read this beautiful book because of netgalley and the publisher! so grateful for this!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
i don’t quite understand the complaints having to do with this book as it is very clear it is setting the scene for the main part of what will occur in the next book, which as described by the author is: childhood friends to enemies to lovers.
although antony is seen as the male lead in this book, he isn’t meant to be for the rest of the books (if there is any). he is very clearly symbolizing everything that is wrong with the roman’s.
the constant internal back and forth is what truly got me. i could sympathize with ruying and how she was feeling throughout the book. especially her inner thoughts telling her what she was doing was wrong, but she needed to do what was good for her family.
i enjoyed the world molly created with the bits and pieces from historical situations as well as the nod to chinese culture and mythology. i loved how she included the pinyin and the translations in the book, because it truly showed that even throughout the book ruying was communicating in the language that antony preferred even though he has claimed to take the time to learn her native language.
overall a great read if you enjoy fantasy (mainly magical powers) with ties to real weird experiences and cultures as well as some morally gray characters.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
i don’t quite understand the complaints having to do with this book as it is very clear it is setting the scene for the main part of what will occur in the next book, which as described by the author is: childhood friends to enemies to lovers.
although antony is seen as the male lead in this book, he isn’t meant to be for the rest of the books (if there is any). he is very clearly symbolizing everything that is wrong with the roman’s.
the constant internal back and forth is what truly got me. i could sympathize with ruying and how she was feeling throughout the book. especially her inner thoughts telling her what she was doing was wrong, but she needed to do what was good for her family.
i enjoyed the world molly created with the bits and pieces from historical situations as well as the nod to chinese culture and mythology. i loved how she included the pinyin and the translations in the book, because it truly showed that even throughout the book ruying was communicating in the language that antony preferred even though he has claimed to take the time to learn her native language.
overall a great read if you enjoy fantasy (mainly magical powers) with ties to real weird experiences and cultures as well as some morally gray characters.
artmajorese's review against another edition
Didn’t realize when I checked out the book that it was so serious or dark and I wasn’t in the mood
morgvnn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Unfortunately this book was a lot of misses for me.
1) The repetition is crazy. I don’t think we needed to be told half as many times that we are willing to throw morals to the wind to protect and comfort family. Because of the heavy emphasis on this internal debate the story is seriously lacking when it comes to
1) The repetition is crazy. I don’t think we needed to be told half as many times that we are willing to throw morals to the wind to protect and comfort family. Because of the heavy emphasis on this internal debate the story is seriously lacking when it comes to
chocorealis's review against another edition
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
No, just no.
This had such promise. However, the insertion of the romance aspect with the colonizing torturer was just… a choice. The book is incredibly slow paced which isn’t helped that the first person narrator is an extremely anxious and repetitive character.
This would have been better served with less repetition, no romance and a faster moving plot that didn’t rely on this story continuing in a subsequent novel.
Underwhelming.
This had such promise. However, the insertion of the romance aspect with the colonizing torturer was just… a choice. The book is incredibly slow paced which isn’t helped that the first person narrator is an extremely anxious and repetitive character.
This would have been better served with less repetition, no romance and a faster moving plot that didn’t rely on this story continuing in a subsequent novel.
Underwhelming.
khaleesirose's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
emilyparagraph's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
DNF'd at 60%. D+/C-
Not as bad as booktube is making it out to be, but very boring. I think Chang shows a lot of promise with her prose style, but she needs to learn how to self-edit better and/or surround herself with people who will not let her get away with so much unnecessary repetition. Revision and copyediting suck to do, but they're always worth the effort.
Not as bad as booktube is making it out to be, but very boring. I think Chang shows a lot of promise with her prose style, but she needs to learn how to self-edit better and/or surround herself with people who will not let her get away with so much unnecessary repetition. Revision and copyediting suck to do, but they're always worth the effort.
macmannwood's review against another edition
3.0
I couldn't quite get into this book. I can see how it would be fascinating for other readers, and encourage folks to read for themselves, but this one wasn't for me.
kelsie17's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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
kaelstrom's review against another edition
2.0
I almost dnf’d this one. There’s a lot of ideas that I want to love. The execution just doesn’t deliver.
I think it was a mistake to wait until the last quarter of the book to make it explicitly clear that Rome is the same Rome of our Earth. There needed to be more to make me believe that a modern version of that empire was making portals through space to other worlds.
The magic is interesting but at the same time sits in the background unless Ruying is using it.
There was not enough of a foundation between her and Antony to believe their relationship at all. We skip through 6 months of time after the first quarter of the book was detailed set up.
Antony’s character suffers tremendously for this. None of his personality was clear and the intent to make him morally grey just made him wishy washy.
I
This story was a disappointment for me.
I think it was a mistake to wait until the last quarter of the book to make it explicitly clear that Rome is the same Rome of our Earth. There needed to be more to make me believe that a modern version of that empire was making portals through space to other worlds.
The magic is interesting but at the same time sits in the background unless Ruying is using it.
There was not enough of a foundation between her and Antony to believe their relationship at all. We skip through 6 months of time after the first quarter of the book was detailed set up.
Antony’s character suffers tremendously for this. None of his personality was clear and the intent to make him morally grey just made him wishy washy.
I
This story was a disappointment for me.