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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
short version: would not recommend.
There's no good way to say this.
I've been really really excited for The Girl King (I'm #OwnVoices for it too, so you know I was super pumped!).
But, this ended up being uncomfortable for me? Part of this book felt pretty problematic, and I'm just really sad and disappointed that this did not work out for me.
I dislike writing negative reviews. I try to be picky about the books I choose so I don't have to write negative reviews. And I avoid writing them when I can do it, and I would have done that for this book if not for some of the issues I had. This review isn't even publisher-associated (the lovely Kristen @ Barnie Bookworm sent me this book) and normally for non-publisher associated ARCs, I just won't review it at all if it was going to be negative.
But this is something I think people deserve to know, and I feel the need to let people know about this book.
Know that I am not the person who decides what is wrong and what is right. Maybe these things aren't actually an issue. Maybe they are. But they ended up making me, an #OwnVoices reviewer, feel uncomfortable, and that I believe has a tiny bit of weight.
First off . . .
The only vaguely queer character in this book is a rapist.
There are no queer main characters. There are no queer side characters. There is only one character who is in one scene who is a guard (named Wailun) who is vaguely queer. Wailun tries to rape Nok (the male protagonist) and this made me really uncomfortable.
Not because of a rape scene and obviously not because of queer characters, but because the only character with even a slight hint of queerness ends up being a rapist? Like what?
And I could have missed something. Maybe there are other queer characters. And there probably wasn't bad intent behind this. But this is a really harmful trope and stereotype that is being used, instead of being deconstructed..
I find this to be an issue? That the only portrayal of queerness is when you're villainizing a character? And one that invokes a very real history of trauma queer folks have experienced?
So yeah. This is up to you, but I've laid out the facts (if you have a copy, it's on page 226-227) and it's up to you to judge if it influences if you read. (Also using rape to further the plot was . . . nice.)
The way they talk about some ethnicities is kind of uncomfortable.
One of the more obvious is how they (Lu and Min, the female protagonists) call the Ellandaise "pink."
I assume this is meant to indicate that the Ellandaise (who are like visitors from another country/kingdom) are white people, yet I feel like it's kind of reductive for the (Asian) characters to use this. It's not deconstructed, and it feels like it was never adequately discussed.
Yes, Lu corrects Min to not say that and it's not a huge problem, but I still think that the overall culture of the book was very anti-otherness.
There's a slur for the Gifted Kith ethnicity: slipskin. And this was also used, and even though Lu stops using it, it never felt like she understood the offensiveness of her words.
There's a lot of different ethnicities, and nowhere in the book did I really feel like they were disabling part of that xenophobia and racism. Sure, they stopped using the offensive words. But just because you don't use hurtful words, doesn't mean you aren't racist.
And so I was just uncomfortable sometimes with Lu and Min and a lot of royalty, and how Lu wants her throne back and is willing to help them now, but in my opinion, she never achieves the level of empathy and respect she needs to treat them as equals.
You can use slurs in a book when they have a purpose. I just didn't think they really added anything to the book.
I felt like some of the violence was almost unnecessary.
This is kind of unrelated to the problematicness, but I just felt like some of the scenes (the rape scene among others) were overly violent for no real purpose.
Yes, violence can be used to make a book better and more impactful. But personally, for me? It didn't contribute to the story. It didn't make the book stronger--it only highlighted Lu's flaws and made me like her less.
I feel like the violence in here was elaborated in a way that was a little unnecessary. I'm not squeamish, nor am I anti violence in books. But this mixed in with my general uncomfortableness with different aspects of the book just made it too much for me.
There were some good aspects, but I don't think it was worth it.
I'd rather have not had that reading experience.
I was uncomfortable, and not in the good way that made you think. I think this story had a lot of potential and frankly, it was a pretty good concept and plot. But the way it was executed did not do it for me, and I unfortunately wouldn't recommend.
It might not have been The Continent level of bad, but it was still pretty uncomfortable for me.
If you're looking for a diverse read feat. sisterhood themes, you might want to look elsewhere.
Thank you to Kristen @ Barnie Bookworm for sending me her ARC! All thoughts are my own honest opinion.
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There's no good way to say this.
I've been really really excited for The Girl King (I'm #OwnVoices for it too, so you know I was super pumped!).
But, this ended up being uncomfortable for me? Part of this book felt pretty problematic, and I'm just really sad and disappointed that this did not work out for me.
I dislike writing negative reviews. I try to be picky about the books I choose so I don't have to write negative reviews. And I avoid writing them when I can do it, and I would have done that for this book if not for some of the issues I had. This review isn't even publisher-associated (the lovely Kristen @ Barnie Bookworm sent me this book) and normally for non-publisher associated ARCs, I just won't review it at all if it was going to be negative.
But this is something I think people deserve to know, and I feel the need to let people know about this book.
Know that I am not the person who decides what is wrong and what is right. Maybe these things aren't actually an issue. Maybe they are. But they ended up making me, an #OwnVoices reviewer, feel uncomfortable, and that I believe has a tiny bit of weight.
First off . . .
The only vaguely queer character in this book is a rapist.
There are no queer main characters. There are no queer side characters. There is only one character who is in one scene who is a guard (named Wailun) who is vaguely queer. Wailun tries to rape Nok (the male protagonist) and this made me really uncomfortable.
Not because of a rape scene and obviously not because of queer characters, but because the only character with even a slight hint of queerness ends up being a rapist? Like what?
And I could have missed something. Maybe there are other queer characters. And there probably wasn't bad intent behind this. But this is a really harmful trope and stereotype that is being used, instead of being deconstructed..
I find this to be an issue? That the only portrayal of queerness is when you're villainizing a character? And one that invokes a very real history of trauma queer folks have experienced?
So yeah. This is up to you, but I've laid out the facts (if you have a copy, it's on page 226-227) and it's up to you to judge if it influences if you read. (Also using rape to further the plot was . . . nice.)
The way they talk about some ethnicities is kind of uncomfortable.
One of the more obvious is how they (Lu and Min, the female protagonists) call the Ellandaise "pink."
I assume this is meant to indicate that the Ellandaise (who are like visitors from another country/kingdom) are white people, yet I feel like it's kind of reductive for the (Asian) characters to use this. It's not deconstructed, and it feels like it was never adequately discussed.
Yes, Lu corrects Min to not say that and it's not a huge problem, but I still think that the overall culture of the book was very anti-otherness.
There's a slur for the Gifted Kith ethnicity: slipskin. And this was also used, and even though Lu stops using it, it never felt like she understood the offensiveness of her words.
There's a lot of different ethnicities, and nowhere in the book did I really feel like they were disabling part of that xenophobia and racism. Sure, they stopped using the offensive words. But just because you don't use hurtful words, doesn't mean you aren't racist.
And so I was just uncomfortable sometimes with Lu and Min and a lot of royalty, and how Lu wants her throne back and is willing to help them now, but in my opinion, she never achieves the level of empathy and respect she needs to treat them as equals.
You can use slurs in a book when they have a purpose. I just didn't think they really added anything to the book.
I felt like some of the violence was almost unnecessary.
This is kind of unrelated to the problematicness, but I just felt like some of the scenes (the rape scene among others) were overly violent for no real purpose.
Yes, violence can be used to make a book better and more impactful. But personally, for me? It didn't contribute to the story. It didn't make the book stronger--it only highlighted Lu's flaws and made me like her less.
I feel like the violence in here was elaborated in a way that was a little unnecessary. I'm not squeamish, nor am I anti violence in books. But this mixed in with my general uncomfortableness with different aspects of the book just made it too much for me.
There were some good aspects, but I don't think it was worth it.
I'd rather have not had that reading experience.
I was uncomfortable, and not in the good way that made you think. I think this story had a lot of potential and frankly, it was a pretty good concept and plot. But the way it was executed did not do it for me, and I unfortunately wouldn't recommend.
It might not have been The Continent level of bad, but it was still pretty uncomfortable for me.
If you're looking for a diverse read feat. sisterhood themes, you might want to look elsewhere.
Thank you to Kristen @ Barnie Bookworm for sending me her ARC! All thoughts are my own honest opinion.
Blog | Instagram | Twitter
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Girl King is an exciting action tale featuring court life with intricate traditions and brutal violence. Eldest daughter of the Emperor, Lu always expected to ascend the throne, but instead her father names her cousin -and enemy -Set as the new heir. Lu's aggressive nature leads her to reject a destiny as Set's wife, so she fights back and is soon ostracized by the court. As she gets close to Nokhai, a boy with extraordinary abilities who has experienced the brutal consequences of royalty asserting their control, Lu recognizes the responsibilities of true power as she learns to fight for herself even more than for her crown. Meanwhile, Lu's younger sister Min realizes that she does not have to stay in her fixed position as the weak, subservient girl in her sister's (and the throne's) shadow. Lu, Min, and Nokhai all discover who they really are and what they can do with all the violence and factions that exist in their Empire. All three of these characters find it difficult to stick to their stereotypical roles, and they break out as they discover their true power. This book has all the main elements of popular successful YA fantasy series: a cast of strong and diverse characters, a unique magic system, royal and court intrigue, and transcendent themes such as securing individual identity through outer turmoil. Yu's novel combines expert world-building with engaging characters, with a decent balance between action and dialogue. I wanted to give it five stars, but I felt as though the ending was holding back a little bit from the denouement I wanted to read. Instead the end felt more like a set-up for an upcoming book in the series rather than completing a stand-alone novel. Still, The Girl King lives up to its book jacket and provides an engaging reading experience.
Feels awkward forcing the colonised to her the coloniser, even if she does come to realise that she’s part of a legacy of colonising and genocide eventually. Like dude should have been able to go “no thanks. Gonna go somewhere better for my existence thanks”
This book was just okay for me. I felt like Lu's chapters were really good and then I'd get to another Min chapter and everything would slow down. She was just so young and naive and whined during a lot of her part. And going into it with the idea that the sisters are fighting for the crown just seemed so misleading. Min was manipulated for most of her life and Lu was always the one who was suppose to be heir to the throne so when everything changed at the last minute, I expected there to be something between the sisters, a big confrontation or something, but it was all orchestrated by outside people. I'm not sure what to expect in the next one but I'm also not sure if I'll read it. Here are a few other thoughts (which might contain some mild spoilers):
-I really wish the relationship had been developed more between the sisters. They never appeared close or even much concerned with the other at all so when things happen that seem to make them on opposite sides, there isn't as much emotion or tension as you would think with sisters fighting for the same crown.
-I was not a fan of the romance. I feel like I keep saying this, but girls and boys can be friends and/or enemies without the need to develop some sort of romantic relationship. There was a lot to unpack between the two and it all could have been done (and done well) with a platonic relationship. I just feel like sometimes the hormones and chemistry get in the way or are used as an easy way around all of their history.
-I really wish Min had grown up at some point. I kept hoping for her moment but even that wasn't even really her moment. I don't know how to say it without spoilers but I just never felt like she was able to be her own character without everyone else making her choices and moving her story along for her.
-I really didn't get the magic at all. Which I was fine with for a while. But then the end is full of it and I just couldn't really understand what was happening and why.
-Ugh. Random stupid sort-of love triangle.
-I did actually enjoy most of Lu's storyline and almost wish it could have been only about her. It would have made the book shorter and faster and we could have focused on her past a little bit more and how she intends to change things within her kingdom to fight back against the empire that has taken land from so many people. She was strong and brave and a little reckless and knew what she wanted. She wasn't perfect but she was trying. Min wasn't even her own person and she felt incredibly young to be a MC in a YA novel. I can't even remember her age but she acted very young and it just didn't seem to go with the rest of the book. For me, at least.
So overall, it was okay. I think some people will like it more than me and that's great. I wish I had loved it too.
-I really wish the relationship had been developed more between the sisters. They never appeared close or even much concerned with the other at all so when things happen that seem to make them on opposite sides, there isn't as much emotion or tension as you would think with sisters fighting for the same crown.
-I was not a fan of the romance. I feel like I keep saying this, but girls and boys can be friends and/or enemies without the need to develop some sort of romantic relationship. There was a lot to unpack between the two and it all could have been done (and done well) with a platonic relationship. I just feel like sometimes the hormones and chemistry get in the way or are used as an easy way around all of their history.
-I really wish Min had grown up at some point. I kept hoping for her moment but even that wasn't even really her moment. I don't know how to say it without spoilers but I just never felt like she was able to be her own character without everyone else making her choices and moving her story along for her.
-I really didn't get the magic at all. Which I was fine with for a while. But then the end is full of it and I just couldn't really understand what was happening and why.
-Ugh. Random stupid sort-of love triangle.
-I did actually enjoy most of Lu's storyline and almost wish it could have been only about her. It would have made the book shorter and faster and we could have focused on her past a little bit more and how she intends to change things within her kingdom to fight back against the empire that has taken land from so many people. She was strong and brave and a little reckless and knew what she wanted. She wasn't perfect but she was trying. Min wasn't even her own person and she felt incredibly young to be a MC in a YA novel. I can't even remember her age but she acted very young and it just didn't seem to go with the rest of the book. For me, at least.
So overall, it was okay. I think some people will like it more than me and that's great. I wish I had loved it too.
This is one of the best fantasy books I have read in a long time, and I am SO EXCITED for the next book. The world-building is extraordinary, every character feels real and fleshed-out - I would DIE for Lu - and I can't believe how invested I got in a pair of heterosexuals. I am so intrigued by the storyline with Nok and the beast gods, I am PUMPED to see what happens with Min's place in court, and I just... AHHHH!!!
I can't even articulate my ideas on this. It's so good. It's SO GOOD.
I can't even articulate my ideas on this. It's so good. It's SO GOOD.
3.5 stars
Note: This review contains TWs for sexual assault, genocide
Regarding the common points I've seen about this book:
1. Is it Asian?
Yes. - me, an Asian.
It's hard to miss (turnip cake, anyone?), but some people will definitely miss it if they don't know what to look for.
2. Regarding the slurs
It's in-universe racism and about in-universe peoples. They are fictional racial slurs. In some cases, usage of these slurs is corrected by the characters in-text, but other characters will still use them because guess what, some characters are racist against other fictional peoples in their world.
3. Regarding the "bury your gays" trope + sexual assault scene:
So basically a soldier tries to rape Nokhai while another soldier in his squad is seeking treatment for a wound from Nokhai's master, Omair. In the passage describing it, it's said the soldiers abused their power this way with women, children and also men. Obviously, no one is fucking defending this character's actions regardless if the perpetrator of sexual assault and the victim are both men (see Terry Crews' accounts of his sexual assault). The act of assaulting Nohkai, who happens to be male, does not necessarily indicate the soldier's sexuality. It just means he was going to commit rape (if Lu hadn't stopped him).
I know the initial mention of this can be upsetting to some readers, but it's important to know the context of the aforementioned sexual assault in the story. In my opinion, this was more about the soldiers' abuse of power on the people in Lu's kingdom than killing a gay character for shock value. We don't know this character's sexuality and fyi men who assault other men are not necessarily queer. It's not as if this type of abuse in power hasn't happened historically and in contemporary times.
So, ultimately, it's up to you to decide how you feel about this because everyone (meaning those in the queer community) has a different threshold for what is acceptable and what isn't for tropes like "bury your gays" in particular. To one person this might be unacceptable but to another, they might note that this book shows that there are male sexual assault victims, who are often erased.
---------
Now that those are out of the way...
What I liked:
- Lu, Min, and Set are all introduced with sympathetic backstories.
- Set as a villain. It was very easy to love to hate this guy, even though I could sympathize with his need to beat Lu at everything, which eventually became an obsession, and his drug addiction.
- The sibling dynamic between Lu and Min
- Lu as a character in general. What a headstrong badass. She's straightforward to a fault, but she still sees that she needs to learn from others and friggin' think about what her family is responsible for.
- Min's development. I was living for the meek girl to off-the-rails transition! And ugh the complex she has in relation to Lu. Too close to home. It was probably my favorite thing about this book after Lu being headstrong™ as her MO.
- Magical Furries, y'all.
- Nok's flashbacks to the labor camp Hurt me with a capital H. I thought his chapters were fine, but I was more interested in Lu and Min's. He *does* have a lot of trauma to adresss and the plot is a catalyst for him to start that process.
-
Needs improvement:
- There didn't seem like there was a grand scheme to things. I certainly couldn't come up with a consistent main theme. The Girl King has a lot of things to offer that are done decently well, but many of the elements didn't feel cohesive enough with one another to help drive forward a main idea or set of ideas. For me personally, I would have loved if there were a heavier focus on Min and Lu's dynamic, but they were apart for the majority of the page count.
- The action scenes and physical descriptions of things were hard to get through. The action doesn't flow well at certain points and the physical descriptions in certain cases didn't have a point than to make you wait for further plot developments.
- The romance-ish thing Lu and Nok have.
- Even though Nok's chapters are fine, I just felt like everytime I was ready to read more about Min or Lu, I was interrupted with some Nok chapter.
Overall, The Girl King is a decent read. Its strong suits lie in the establishment of Lu and Min's relationship with each other and their family. The worldbuilding behind the Gifted Kith's genocide and loss of their Pacts was interesting in itself, but in comparison to the Lu/Min plots the storytelling was lacking in this department because it felt like its own separate story within Lu and Min's book. The plot is a straightforward "Heir reclaims their Kingdom" premise, but all of us who love this stuff know the fun is seeing all the different variations you can write with the same, old premise. If there were a more cohesive feel to the storytelling in The Girl King, I would have bumped it up to a 4 star.
Note: This review contains TWs for sexual assault, genocide
Regarding the common points I've seen about this book:
1. Is it Asian?
Yes. - me, an Asian.
It's hard to miss (turnip cake, anyone?), but some people will definitely miss it if they don't know what to look for.
2. Regarding the slurs
It's in-universe racism and about in-universe peoples. They are fictional racial slurs. In some cases, usage of these slurs is corrected by the characters in-text, but other characters will still use them because guess what, some characters are racist against other fictional peoples in their world.
3. Regarding the "bury your gays" trope + sexual assault scene:
So basically a soldier tries to rape Nokhai while another soldier in his squad is seeking treatment for a wound from Nokhai's master, Omair. In the passage describing it, it's said the soldiers abused their power this way with women, children and also men. Obviously, no one is fucking defending this character's actions regardless if the perpetrator of sexual assault and the victim are both men (see Terry Crews' accounts of his sexual assault). The act of assaulting Nohkai, who happens to be male, does not necessarily indicate the soldier's sexuality. It just means he was going to commit rape (if Lu hadn't stopped him).
I know the initial mention of this can be upsetting to some readers, but it's important to know the context of the aforementioned sexual assault in the story. In my opinion, this was more about the soldiers' abuse of power on the people in Lu's kingdom than killing a gay character for shock value. We don't know this character's sexuality and fyi men who assault other men are not necessarily queer. It's not as if this type of abuse in power hasn't happened historically and in contemporary times.
So, ultimately, it's up to you to decide how you feel about this because everyone (meaning those in the queer community) has a different threshold for what is acceptable and what isn't for tropes like "bury your gays" in particular. To one person this might be unacceptable but to another, they might note that this book shows that there are male sexual assault victims, who are often erased.
---------
Now that those are out of the way...
What I liked:
- Lu, Min, and Set are all introduced with sympathetic backstories.
- Set as a villain. It was very easy to love to hate this guy, even though I could sympathize with his need to beat Lu at everything, which eventually became an obsession, and his drug addiction.
- The sibling dynamic between Lu and Min
- Lu as a character in general. What a headstrong badass. She's straightforward to a fault, but she still sees that she needs to learn from others and friggin' think about what her family is responsible for.
- Min's development. I was living for the meek girl to off-the-rails transition! And ugh the complex she has in relation to Lu. Too close to home. It was probably my favorite thing about this book after Lu being headstrong™ as her MO.
- Magical Furries, y'all.
- Nok's flashbacks to the labor camp Hurt me with a capital H. I thought his chapters were fine, but I was more interested in Lu and Min's. He *does* have a lot of trauma to adresss and the plot is a catalyst for him to start that process.
-
Spoiler
The Hu are actually tiger Kith?? Binch I knew it.Needs improvement:
- There didn't seem like there was a grand scheme to things. I certainly couldn't come up with a consistent main theme. The Girl King has a lot of things to offer that are done decently well, but many of the elements didn't feel cohesive enough with one another to help drive forward a main idea or set of ideas. For me personally, I would have loved if there were a heavier focus on Min and Lu's dynamic, but they were apart for the majority of the page count.
- The action scenes and physical descriptions of things were hard to get through. The action doesn't flow well at certain points and the physical descriptions in certain cases didn't have a point than to make you wait for further plot developments.
- The romance-ish thing Lu and Nok have.
- Even though Nok's chapters are fine, I just felt like everytime I was ready to read more about Min or Lu, I was interrupted with some Nok chapter.
Overall, The Girl King is a decent read. Its strong suits lie in the establishment of Lu and Min's relationship with each other and their family. The worldbuilding behind the Gifted Kith's genocide and loss of their Pacts was interesting in itself, but in comparison to the Lu/Min plots the storytelling was lacking in this department because it felt like its own separate story within Lu and Min's book. The plot is a straightforward "Heir reclaims their Kingdom" premise, but all of us who love this stuff know the fun is seeing all the different variations you can write with the same, old premise. If there were a more cohesive feel to the storytelling in The Girl King, I would have bumped it up to a 4 star.