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ratleyreads's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
mastersal's review against another edition
2.0
I’ve had this on my TBR for too long and I was not prepared - for how underwhelming it was. I should have known I was in trouble when 15 pages in I was a little annoyed. I don't exactly know why but the writing felt stilted.
The concept of the novel was interesting - a geisha setting in a fantasy world. I’ve never seen that before so I was interested - how the mix did not really work in the execution.
The novel is constructed in a series of flashbacks as our heroine, Tea, is telling her younger life story to a bard. There are a lot of ominous tones and “foreshadowing” - none of which pays off in the book. This was an issue for me - I get that the future scenes are meant to show you where Tea will end up. This kind of robbed the “past” chapter of any sense of narrative tension or momentum.
This device can and has worked before but we flipped back and forth too often and sometimes in the middle of a sequence which is then interrupted by exposition. Plus, future Tea is doing way more cooler things and is more powerful which makes past Tea seem like a pale comparison.
There was also this odd shallowness in the world and magic which bothered me. The geisha part of Tea’s life (the dress, the dance, the intrigue) seems kind of separate from the bone witch powers. The bone witch magic could be removed with little difference to the world - which is a sign of a shallow setting. The geisha setting is just that - setting. It’s interesting but only because it’s unusual in a fantasy context. The structure matters little to the world building however.
For example, in the world - dance is considered to be a feminine trait and is looked down upon. Why would this be the case if magic can literally stop the dead and make fireballs and what not? The gender convention does not make sense here. The real world concept of the geisha being the repository of traditional Japanese femininity doesn’t get explored here as an example so there is not context to why this gender bias would exist. The magic doesn’t change the world.
Take as an alternative example, Phèdre's Trilogy. There, an entire new religion has been created around the new gods. The culture of fantasy France differs from the rest of the world because of the magic / gods they believe. The place of prostitutes in society differs depending on what the belief system is. That to me is worldbuilding which is thought through - I don't need the magic “explained”, I need it to matter.
The irony is that it obviously matters to future Tea who is off saving the world. It just doesn’t impact the rest of the book as much. The magic system could have been removed and the geisha story would still have functioned the same - which is a shame. This could have been overcome if we were not shifting back and forth and taking me out of the more historical parts.
Plus there are unnecessary twists in the future parts which are meant to hook us but left me bored.
I will say that on a technical level the writing was pretty good so I’ll probably complete the series.
2 stars in the end - it was ok but weaker than I expected. For people interested in geisha stories, read [b:Memoirs of a Geisha|929|Memoirs of a Geisha|Arthur Golden|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1409595968l/929._SY75_.jpg|1558965] (which this reminded me of).
The concept of the novel was interesting - a geisha setting in a fantasy world. I’ve never seen that before so I was interested - how the mix did not really work in the execution.
The novel is constructed in a series of flashbacks as our heroine, Tea, is telling her younger life story to a bard. There are a lot of ominous tones and “foreshadowing” - none of which pays off in the book. This was an issue for me - I get that the future scenes are meant to show you where Tea will end up. This kind of robbed the “past” chapter of any sense of narrative tension or momentum.
This device can and has worked before but we flipped back and forth too often and sometimes in the middle of a sequence which is then interrupted by exposition. Plus, future Tea is doing way more cooler things and is more powerful which makes past Tea seem like a pale comparison.
There was also this odd shallowness in the world and magic which bothered me. The geisha part of Tea’s life (the dress, the dance, the intrigue) seems kind of separate from the bone witch powers. The bone witch magic could be removed with little difference to the world - which is a sign of a shallow setting. The geisha setting is just that - setting. It’s interesting but only because it’s unusual in a fantasy context. The structure matters little to the world building however.
For example, in the world - dance is considered to be a feminine trait and is looked down upon. Why would this be the case if magic can literally stop the dead and make fireballs and what not? The gender convention does not make sense here. The real world concept of the geisha being the repository of traditional Japanese femininity doesn’t get explored here as an example so there is not context to why this gender bias would exist. The magic doesn’t change the world.
Take as an alternative example, Phèdre's Trilogy. There, an entire new religion has been created around the new gods. The culture of fantasy France differs from the rest of the world because of the magic / gods they believe. The place of prostitutes in society differs depending on what the belief system is. That to me is worldbuilding which is thought through - I don't need the magic “explained”, I need it to matter.
The irony is that it obviously matters to future Tea who is off saving the world. It just doesn’t impact the rest of the book as much. The magic system could have been removed and the geisha story would still have functioned the same - which is a shame. This could have been overcome if we were not shifting back and forth and taking me out of the more historical parts.
Plus there are unnecessary twists in the future parts which are meant to hook us but left me bored.
Spoiler
For example, the love interest turned out to be “surprise - Kalen” and not the prince who we were spending time with. This was meant to be all foreboding and a surprise but it felt unearned. I don't care about either romance for it to matter - this is not how foreshadowing it done. This was a one line twist which did not matter to the story. The withholding of the name of the “great love” made it too obvious that we were being set up for a twist which made me lose interest in the love story with the Prince.I will say that on a technical level the writing was pretty good so I’ll probably complete the series.
2 stars in the end - it was ok but weaker than I expected. For people interested in geisha stories, read [b:Memoirs of a Geisha|929|Memoirs of a Geisha|Arthur Golden|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1409595968l/929._SY75_.jpg|1558965] (which this reminded me of).
amieroseee's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 Stars
I really enjoyed this one.
I loved the setting and the characters although some were unlikable I really liked them all. The writing was beautiful yet also simple enough to get through. Neither being a bad thing.
The plot kept me hooked from the first chapter.
I’m very glad I read this one and can’t wait to see where the rest of the series takes me.
I really enjoyed this one.
I loved the setting and the characters although some were unlikable I really liked them all. The writing was beautiful yet also simple enough to get through. Neither being a bad thing.
The plot kept me hooked from the first chapter.
I’m very glad I read this one and can’t wait to see where the rest of the series takes me.
sapphiread's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
cerberus91's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- 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
3.25
Slow to get going, doesn’t really pick up until the last few chapters. Feel it’s setting the premise for the second book. Enjoyable, but somewhat confusing near the end.
saraf7990's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
kayceelain's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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
3.5