Scan barcode
kirstinlwx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Torture, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Rape, Grief, Death, and Body horror
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Outing, Sexual violence, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Ableism, and Blood
judythedreamer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, War, Self harm, Infertility, Sexual assault, Dysphoria, Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Violence, Classism, Bullying, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Gore, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Ableism, Abortion, Body horror, Emotional abuse, and Sexual violence
sofipitch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Dysphoria, Misogyny, Transphobia, Sexual violence, Grief, Homophobia, Outing, Vomit, and Rape
Moderate: War and Miscarriage
sabrinz's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Honestly, there was so much going on in this book - not necessarily plot-wise, we still follow Zhu and her quest to become the Great Khan to remake the world, but for each individual character who's POV we see or may see as part of another character's POV.
The focus of the book shifts slightly to Wang Baoxiang and his machinations, but we still get a lot of page time from Zhu and Ouyang as well as Madam Zhang - all of them striving for power in different and yet so similar ways. The amount of mirroring and contrasts is amazing in this book.
It's a lot to take in and while it does get dark at times there is still hope, and that hope is also there at the end so that you close the book (still slightly reeling from Part 3) with a positive feeling.
This book is really worth the read - just like the first one - and such an excellent take on what is gender if not what we make of it.
Graphic: Classism, War, Grief, Violence, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Suicide, Slavery, Rape, Racism, Physical abuse, Dysphoria, and Body shaming
Minor: Abortion
throwback682's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
That being said, I couldn’t put it down. I finished this one much more quickly than the first. It was very gripping. The reason I gave it 1/2 star less than its predecessor is just because of the r*pe scenes honestly.
Re: the title
The backstabbing really gets kicked up a notch in this book too.
I kind of thought at one point that the book was getting a bit predictable/tired and then OPE THERE’S A TWIST and then WHOOPS ANOTHER ONE. Hang in there.
The protagonist of the first book continues to beat the odds in unexpected ways as she did before and again it’s spectacular. Also as before, I found myself rooting for and even loving really cruel, dark, awful characters. The author has a talent for coaxing out empathy for the worst baddies.
Graphic: Child death, Colonisation, Grief, Slavery, Sexual content, Ableism, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Self harm, War, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Violence, Pregnancy, Rape, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Abortion, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Torture, Animal death, Body shaming, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Confinement
Minor: Vomit
There is a lot more triggering content in this book than in the first installment of the duology, She Who Became the Sun. Specifically there are multiple rape scenes: - one is maritalyourbookishbff's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Our character foils from book one, Zhu and General Ouyang, orbit each other even more closely in this installment, and I was fascinated to see the ways in which they aided and betrayed one another. I was surprised by how much time we spend with Wang Baoxiang, and didn't anticipate how central his storyline would become, but I honestly loved how the threads came together and how his story intersects with Zhu and General Ouyang. And never fear, because my favorite side character from book one, Ma, becomes pivotal in the final act, and I was so delighted to see how she influences the course of the narrative.
Though this book was exceedingly dark with significant on-page trauma (including rape, sexual violence, miscarriage and abortion, in addition to murder and war), these scenes felt intentional more than gratuitous, as Parker-Chan examines the intersections of revenge, sex, pain and violence in compelling and devastating ways.
I felt the story was surprisingly well-paced (given its length), and there were significant landmark scenes throughout that will haunt me for some time (sailing through ghosts?! IYKYK).
Because of how graphically violent and dark this duology is, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to all fantasy readers, but I would absolutely recommend for those who love historical fantasy, historical retellings, speculative fiction, gender+bent history, and queer retellings with deeply (deeply) morally gray characters.
Graphic: Blood, Death, War, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Ableism, Classism, Murder, Outing, Abortion, Grief, Sexual violence, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Gore, Dysphoria, Infidelity, Confinement, and Body shaming
shibh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Physical abuse, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Animal death, Homophobia, Body shaming, Classism, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Medical content, Sexual assault, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Murder, Abortion, Confinement, Genocide, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Lesbophobia, Addiction, Misogyny, Child death, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Gore, Infertility, Pregnancy, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, War, Vomit, Xenophobia, Sexism, Transphobia, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture
chroniquesdekellen's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Dysphoria, Murder, Self harm, Pregnancy, Blood, and Outing
cheye13's review against another edition
- 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
Even more so than the previous book, the transness in this one is tangible. A number of lines were clearly written in response to current events in our world. The interweaving of the ensemble is just as masterful as the first book. Beginning this book, I was afraid that it would fall short because my favorite element of book one couldn't continue (
My options discussing this book are to break it down entirely and speak at length, or to simply say it's magnificent, and I suppose I'll settle for the latter.
(I strongly recommend checking content warnings. If you would prefer not to, keep the tone and events of book one in mind and know book two pushes a little bit further.)
Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, War, Miscarriage, Self harm, Death, Misogyny, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Sexual violence, Rape, Homophobia, Ableism, Suicide, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Sexual content
Minor: Abortion, Colonisation, Cursing, Dysphoria, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Trafficking
A number of characters rely on dissociation as a coping mechanism. Especially compared to the previous book, there is quite a bit of on-page sex. While technically on page, it is almost never graphically detailed. Additionally (and fitting for the setting), it almost always falls into the dicey consent grounds of transactional sex – e.g. a lesbian actively choosing to sleep with a certain man for money or power. There is a single rape scene, and again, while on-page, it's brief and sparsely detailed.taowlette's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Ableism, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Gore, Grief, Sexual content, Addiction, Murder, Rape, Death, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship