Reviews

The end twist was extremely good. After reading this book I understand a lot more about the Cat Corrain debacle and why Xiran was such a fierce fighter for those who were hurt by Corrian. I know this was absolutely not a romance book but I do wish it had taken a little less time haha. Will be intrigued to read the sequel.

erton's review

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-paced

5.0

booksarebetter's review against another edition

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5.0

I actually started writing notes at a quarter of the way through the book. It was intense reading (and I had no idea it was 400 pages, it flew by fast!) But I still loved it. I did have my issues with the book, but it thankfully came with trigger warnings listed at the front! (I wish more authors would do this!)

Trigger Warnings: misogyny and femicide, rape mentioned, physical and emotional abuse, suicidal ideation, alcoholism, blood and gore, murder, torture, torture of a child

This is not a book for the faint hearted or those easily offended.

Wu Zitan is a girl fixing to go off to war for her family, as she has no desire to be married. She also doesn’t want to die but it’s common knowledge that girls don’t live long upon serving the men in the army. Wu Zitan is only going so that she can get vengeance for her Big Sister who was killed recently. (Unsure if this is a SPOILER) she succeeds… and falls into worse trouble.

I loved Wu Zitan’s character. She was strong willed despite shit after shit flung at her, and she still triumphed against all odds though that cliffhanger was definitely not what I saw coming. I had suspicions for something else entirely but it’s nice to be surprised. I liked that there wasn’t a love triangle. I won’t say anything because I don’t want too many spoilers. But I’m happy for how the relationship turned out. The books cliffhanger is still frustrating and I need the second book. I can’t begin to rate this highly enough but I believe it’s earned it’s rating!

My Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of the book. I definitely look forward to the sequel!

mackm104's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective tense fast-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

4.5

alice_clawford's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

cheythepepper's review against another edition

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3.0

Overall, I enjoyed the plot and was rooting for the main character. It reminded me a lot of Hunger Games in the way Katniss was fighting against the broken system of sacrificing children (in this case, girls). I will say the story was quite abrupt and was definitely setting up for a sequel, but in a way that left me a little confused and unfulfilled. The writing definitely matched Zetian’s fiery personality, but sometimes it ended up harming the story rather than aiding it. I think the book touched on topics that are important for exposure (queer relationships) and I wish the polyamorous relationship was further explored. With that being said I am still looking forward to the sequel and will be reading!

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