You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
Mimi Yu’s The Girl King’s synopsis really intrigued me, following two sisters who soon become rivals over their father’s decision to cast their male cousin as their empire’s ruler. A YA high fantasy, I really liked The Girl King’s setting, having not read too many Asian-inspired fantasies. Before I dive into the characters more, I will say that I really liked Lu and thought she was a strong female character. I did enjoy side characters like Omair and Yuri, who I felt provided a lot of world building.
However, while I liked Nok as a character, I felt his perspective wasn’t necessary and really distracted from the sister-centric story. In addition, we definitely didn’t spend as much time with Min as we did Lu. I did find Min’s storyline to be intriguing, but considering the book’s synopsis, I felt like she really didn’t become a rival for Lu until the end. And that’s saying a lot, unfortunately, for a book that is almost 500 pages long. I also found myself struggling with the world’s terminology & the action. One minute Lu and Nok would be talking, the next they would be fighting for their lives. The romance also felt really forced.
Overall, while I appreciated The Girl King's setting and strong female lead, I struggled connecting with this world and action, often finding myself glossing over sections.
This review is based on an advance reading copy I received at Book Expo 2018. By no means did being provided this copy affect my thoughts or opinions.
However, while I liked Nok as a character, I felt his perspective wasn’t necessary and really distracted from the sister-centric story. In addition, we definitely didn’t spend as much time with Min as we did Lu. I did find Min’s storyline to be intriguing, but considering the book’s synopsis, I felt like she really didn’t become a rival for Lu until the end. And that’s saying a lot, unfortunately, for a book that is almost 500 pages long. I also found myself struggling with the world’s terminology & the action. One minute Lu and Nok would be talking, the next they would be fighting for their lives. The romance also felt really forced.
Overall, while I appreciated The Girl King's setting and strong female lead, I struggled connecting with this world and action, often finding myself glossing over sections.
This review is based on an advance reading copy I received at Book Expo 2018. By no means did being provided this copy affect my thoughts or opinions.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was the first YA Fantasy I had read in a worryingly long time and it was super refreshing - the worldbuilding was great (even if it could have been developed a bit more) and I loved all the characters, particularly Nasan and Lu. I also really liked how the author didn't shy away from the fact that empires in themselves aren't good things, no matter how good the person who runs them is, which isn't something that's too common in this genre. When the book was good, it was amazing: the dialogue was great, and I was sucked in both by the political intrigue and Lu and Nok's escapades elsewhere. However, the moments where it slipped - lack of development of certain ideas/plot points, issues with character motivation (which led to quiet a flat romance) and confusing description - were an issue for me, hence the lower rating.
TWs for attempted rape, domestic violence, emotional abuse/manipulation, violence, and on-page death.
This was the first book I finished in 2019 and I think my expectations were too high, because I ended up being disappointed. The plot wasn't as cohesive as it could have been and elements of the world-building seemed to be dropped in at random more than halfway through the story, rather than introduced in the beginning. Pacing was also an issue, and Nok was the only character I felt invested in toward the final chapters of the book. There's an attempted rape scene that I had issues with because it really didn't need to be there. At all. It added nothing to the plot, and was never mentioned again by any of the characters afterwards, or challenged in any way. It also paints the only potentially queer character in the novel as a predator and abuser.
Having said all that, the book did some things really well. The Asian-inspired folklore was rich and enjoyable, and I really liked the fact that there was an Asian-based naming system for all characters, as it served to deepen the world-building. The narrative itself had moments of excellence, particularly the descriptions of the palace and colours. On the whole, the concept for this book had a lot of potential, but the execution wasn't great.
This was the first book I finished in 2019 and I think my expectations were too high, because I ended up being disappointed. The plot wasn't as cohesive as it could have been and elements of the world-building seemed to be dropped in at random more than halfway through the story, rather than introduced in the beginning. Pacing was also an issue, and Nok was the only character I felt invested in toward the final chapters of the book. There's an attempted rape scene that I had issues with because it really didn't need to be there. At all. It added nothing to the plot, and was never mentioned again by any of the characters afterwards, or challenged in any way. It also paints the only potentially queer character in the novel as a predator and abuser.
Having said all that, the book did some things really well. The Asian-inspired folklore was rich and enjoyable, and I really liked the fact that there was an Asian-based naming system for all characters, as it served to deepen the world-building. The narrative itself had moments of excellence, particularly the descriptions of the palace and colours. On the whole, the concept for this book had a lot of potential, but the execution wasn't great.
3.5* I really liked this! The beginning was kind of slow, and it felt like we were going nowhere, but when you started getting to the end... it was like a punch to the face! RTC!
I wanted to like this book so much, but even though this has it marked as fast-paced, I didn’t find it particularly so.
Nothing was explained and it took a while to get to the point.
I also didn’t find this as Asian-inspired as I wanted or hoped, so I’m DNF-ing.
Nothing was explained and it took a while to get to the point.
I also didn’t find this as Asian-inspired as I wanted or hoped, so I’m DNF-ing.
FULL Review on the blog! https://literaryleisha.wordpress.com/2019/01/15/review-the-girl-king-by-mimi-yu-blog-tour/
*This was sent to me for free in exchange for a review.
The plot is definitely a slow one, especially at the beginning. At the start, I was intrigued and hopeful but the middle chunk of the book was just too slow. There’s a lot of build-up and background information going on. (I read the ARC – which is an uncorrected proof. How much of this ended up in the final copy, I don’t know) It did feel unnecessarily long in places, with editing down it could’ve been great. The last 150-200 pages were the best, they were gripping and interesting – I was really engrossed at this point. At almost 500 pages, it really needed to pick up before then. It was pretty long winded, I feel it would’ve been better condensed down.
The world-building; simplistic and minimal. There are hints and glimpses of the world but not enough, in my opinion. The parts of the world and magic we did see, were so interesting and cool – I just wish there was more to it! Hopefully, the sequel will enlighten us.
As with a lot of YA, it has its tropes. A lot of the plot twists and turns were pretty predictable. Nothing was particularly surprising, there was no ‘shock factor’ because you could see what was going to happen.
Nothing was overly original, it wasn’t bad at all. Just nothing new, really. It’s the same fantasy story of the royal claiming back their throne – just with a slightly different setting.
*This was sent to me for free in exchange for a review.
The plot is definitely a slow one, especially at the beginning. At the start, I was intrigued and hopeful but the middle chunk of the book was just too slow. There’s a lot of build-up and background information going on. (I read the ARC – which is an uncorrected proof. How much of this ended up in the final copy, I don’t know) It did feel unnecessarily long in places, with editing down it could’ve been great. The last 150-200 pages were the best, they were gripping and interesting – I was really engrossed at this point. At almost 500 pages, it really needed to pick up before then. It was pretty long winded, I feel it would’ve been better condensed down.
The world-building; simplistic and minimal. There are hints and glimpses of the world but not enough, in my opinion. The parts of the world and magic we did see, were so interesting and cool – I just wish there was more to it! Hopefully, the sequel will enlighten us.
As with a lot of YA, it has its tropes. A lot of the plot twists and turns were pretty predictable. Nothing was particularly surprising, there was no ‘shock factor’ because you could see what was going to happen.
Nothing was overly original, it wasn’t bad at all. Just nothing new, really. It’s the same fantasy story of the royal claiming back their throne – just with a slightly different setting.
Thank you to Net galley and Bloomsbury for sending me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
This was one of my most anticipated books for 2019 but unfortunately, it just fell flat for me.
The Girl King is the first book in a young adult fantasy series which is marketed as an Asian fantasy.
It started off fairly well but I quickly got bored - the characters and world lacked depth for me and there are so many YA tropes in this book. Also, other than the character names and the clothing style, I personally couldn't see anything Asian about this fantasy - if you'd replaced Lu and Min with Kate and Emma then it would have read like most other fantasies.
The writing style also just didn't engage me - I read continued reading this only because all my physical books are packed and I think that if I wasn't moving and had other options, then I would have put this down and picked up something else.
The series has potential to improve in the next book but I probably won't be picking it up as there are so many other books that I would like to read first.
This was one of my most anticipated books for 2019 but unfortunately, it just fell flat for me.
The Girl King is the first book in a young adult fantasy series which is marketed as an Asian fantasy.
It started off fairly well but I quickly got bored - the characters and world lacked depth for me and there are so many YA tropes in this book. Also, other than the character names and the clothing style, I personally couldn't see anything Asian about this fantasy - if you'd replaced Lu and Min with Kate and Emma then it would have read like most other fantasies.
The writing style also just didn't engage me - I read continued reading this only because all my physical books are packed and I think that if I wasn't moving and had other options, then I would have put this down and picked up something else.
The series has potential to improve in the next book but I probably won't be picking it up as there are so many other books that I would like to read first.
3.5/5 stars
The first 200 pages moved super slowly for me, but after that, things picked up and I started enjoying the story a lot more. The last 100 pages had me absolutely enthralled and I definitely want to read the next installment in this series.
The first 200 pages moved super slowly for me, but after that, things picked up and I started enjoying the story a lot more. The last 100 pages had me absolutely enthralled and I definitely want to read the next installment in this series.