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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
Choose this book to help me get back into reading but unfortunately, it didn't really help me another book did. The plot was definitely interesting with the whole sister thing and wolf shapeshifter but I don't know it was kinda meh to me. I procrastinated a lot. But nevertheless, I'll probably still consider buying the second book as I am still curious of the ending.
Maybe the reason I didn't find this as trope-heavy as other readers is because I spent all my time in high school trying to understand Standard Level Mathematics for the International Student instead of reading (a poor decision, in hindsight). Now I'm catching up on all the YA fiction I missed, and since this is one of the first epic fantasies I'm delving into, I didn't find it too cliched at all. I thought the world building and descriptions were fantastic! Full of color and imagery and traditions and excitement, I could almost see everything. And I really loved the characters, too. To me, they seemed very distinct, all touched by tragedy and dealing with it in different ways that I found very believable. Lu is a complete badass, and I loved her character arc, but can we talk for a second about Min?! WOW, that was amazing. Really satisfying build-up, and I can't wait to see what happens next with her. There were other characters who seemed interesting but we didn't get to see much of, so I'm hoping they come into play in later books.
Also, I love the realistic portrayal of menstruation (just as a fact of life, not as a pregnancy scare thing), and I love the fact that it can give women extra-powerful magic even more. I could get behind that becoming a trope, ngl.
Like some other reviewers have mentioned, I take issue with the only non-straight character being an attempted rapist. That's not okay, it plays into harmful stereotypes, and it's a blemish on an otherwise fantastic book.
All in all, though, this is, in my admittedly unprofessional opinion, EPIC. I guess it's not crazyy original, but then what is? It's at least a unique spin on old tropes, and definitely worth reading.
Also, I love the realistic portrayal of menstruation (just as a fact of life, not as a pregnancy scare thing), and I love the fact that it can give women extra-powerful magic even more. I could get behind that becoming a trope, ngl.
Like some other reviewers have mentioned, I take issue with the only non-straight character being an attempted rapist. That's not okay, it plays into harmful stereotypes, and it's a blemish on an otherwise fantastic book.
All in all, though, this is, in my admittedly unprofessional opinion, EPIC. I guess it's not crazyy original, but then what is? It's at least a unique spin on old tropes, and definitely worth reading.
"You will address me as 'Empress' from now on."
I'm all for more asian representation in a fantasy series.
This was my most anticipated reads.
I love a sibling fantasy series.
This book was an enjoyable read but there were some holes that could be filled better.
I was excited that it is an asian inspired fantasy with culture and history however with the content of the book, I wish we got more than what we were given.
Considering it is the first book, it was actually quite a lengthy book but I guess it is understandable as I think its a duology.
I think the book was such a slow pace because of the world building it is trying to explain and the history and secrets behind all of it.
The character development wasn't much but it was fast.
I love all the characters, even the villains.
My favourite character has to be Nok. He is such a sweetheart but I know under all that he is a badass.
I am excited to see his character development as a shape shifter. I definitely need to see more action.
I love Lu too but I felt like her character development wasn't much. I didn't feel her strength as compared to her sister Min.
I am excited to see what Min can do for us.
I want to see more side character involvement and I definitely want to see more action.
I guess that is the unsatisfactory part of the book. The action wasn't much and if there was it feels too quick. One of the death of a character got me like WHAT THATS IT.
I want to know more about the secrets everyone is hiding.
"A girl who could be anyone. A girl who could be nothing at all."
I'm all for more asian representation in a fantasy series.
This was my most anticipated reads.
I love a sibling fantasy series.
This book was an enjoyable read but there were some holes that could be filled better.
I was excited that it is an asian inspired fantasy with culture and history however with the content of the book, I wish we got more than what we were given.
Considering it is the first book, it was actually quite a lengthy book but I guess it is understandable as I think its a duology.
I think the book was such a slow pace because of the world building it is trying to explain and the history and secrets behind all of it.
The character development wasn't much but it was fast.
I love all the characters, even the villains.
My favourite character has to be Nok. He is such a sweetheart but I know under all that he is a badass.
I am excited to see his character development as a shape shifter. I definitely need to see more action.
I love Lu too but I felt like her character development wasn't much. I didn't feel her strength as compared to her sister Min.
I am excited to see what Min can do for us.
I want to see more side character involvement and I definitely want to see more action.
I guess that is the unsatisfactory part of the book. The action wasn't much and if there was it feels too quick. One of the death of a character got me like WHAT THATS IT.
I want to know more about the secrets everyone is hiding.
"A girl who could be anyone. A girl who could be nothing at all."
High fantasy of the highest caliber, the Girl King is a world full of fascination and magic, political intrigue and fierce beauty. Mimi Yu has a wonderful skill in writing, and I truly loved this book. I cannot wait for more.
Lu would be King, and will not let her gender, her parents or her sister stand in the way. When she is betrothed to a cousin (and a despicable and manipulative one at that) she circumvents her nations traditions in an attempt to win her own hand in marriage. After her betrothed attempts to murder her she flees into the wilds and must scrounge up some allies to save the throne - even if it takes a ghost army to do it.
This book is difficult to be brief about. It is the story of Lu - the girl who would be King; and her sister Min, who only ever wanted to be accepted, and approved of. It is the story of an ostracized orphan, Nokhai, who must grapple with personal losses and new transformations while on the run from persecutors he doesn't wholly fathom. It is a story of a Prince schooled in manipulation and deception, who seeks to rule the world. It is the story of a mysterious monk his search for a lost city, and mystical power. It is the story of a hidden and enchanted city - and the monarchs that rule it seeking to preserve their way of life from the brutality of the outside world - and I'm excited to see where Yu takes the series.
Lu is incredibly singleminded, but my heart is reserved for Nokhai and his parallel journey from ostracized orphan to a leader. Min, Lu's sister also has an interesting trajectory, I fear it will be that of a falling star (or supernova...) and that Min will be crushed under her sister's persistence.
I really enjoyed the world building, and seeing familiar tropes from a different mythology.
This book is difficult to be brief about. It is the story of Lu - the girl who would be King; and her sister Min, who only ever wanted to be accepted, and approved of. It is the story of an ostracized orphan, Nokhai, who must grapple with personal losses and new transformations while on the run from persecutors he doesn't wholly fathom. It is a story of a Prince schooled in manipulation and deception, who seeks to rule the world. It is the story of a mysterious monk his search for a lost city, and mystical power. It is the story of a hidden and enchanted city - and the monarchs that rule it seeking to preserve their way of life from the brutality of the outside world - and I'm excited to see where Yu takes the series.
Lu is incredibly singleminded, but my heart is reserved for Nokhai and his parallel journey from ostracized orphan to a leader. Min, Lu's sister also has an interesting trajectory, I fear it will be that of a falling star (or supernova...) and that Min will be crushed under her sister's persistence.
I really enjoyed the world building, and seeing familiar tropes from a different mythology.
4.75 / 5 stars
Holy crap! This book took elements from like EVERY ya fantasy series that I love and then made them work and focused on the sisters and their relationships instead of the romances (can I get a damn amen?!). The pacing was great, the characters were really well defined and I loved all of the influences/parallels of real world colonisation infused (the opium wars, for one). My only criticism is that the magic system and paranormal aspects need to be more fleshed out and explained because it really lacked structure
Holy crap! This book took elements from like EVERY ya fantasy series that I love and then made them work and focused on the sisters and their relationships instead of the romances (can I get a damn amen?!). The pacing was great, the characters were really well defined and I loved all of the influences/parallels of real world colonisation infused (the opium wars, for one). My only criticism is that the magic system and paranormal aspects need to be more fleshed out and explained because it really lacked structure
i loved the characters and the plot but like i wasn’t VERY invested and i missed it tbh
lu is such a strong character with her flaws shes very ambitious thats good but she doesn’t notice how she uses and hurt people, min was really annoying to me at first but she got interesting
and the relationship between lu and sokhai. well it wasn’t really necessary i think. but both of them were still very independent and have their own responsibilities and stays their priorities so it doesn’t bothered me that much
now the plot was good there was a lot of betrayal with allies and ennemies but it still feels like another fantasy book it had potential but not fully used
lu is such a strong character with her flaws shes very ambitious thats good but she doesn’t notice how she uses and hurt people, min was really annoying to me at first but she got interesting
and the relationship between lu and sokhai. well it wasn’t really necessary i think. but both of them were still very independent and have their own responsibilities and stays their priorities so it doesn’t bothered me that much
now the plot was good there was a lot of betrayal with allies and ennemies but it still feels like another fantasy book it had potential but not fully used
"Let's get down to business, to rewrite this book"
How can something than sounds so interesting turn out so boring? Like I was lost throughout parts of it because the mythos wasn't expanded fully and given time to breathe so we can understand who, what when, where, and why. The book has that habit to jump between POV which is fine, however I found some of the chapters woefully boring. I find it ironic that between the character who is a kick ass and is super smart and pretty, and a guy that fricking can turn into a wolf/summon wolves (never fully explained so IDEK) yet the younger sister who was basically a combination of Sansa and Danerys was much more interesting in court. And honestly that's what I can make of this book. It felt like Game of Thrones in China. It was kind of dull and sometimes I was just interested enough that I just wanted to finish it to say I finish it but honestly a low key disappointment. I don't know if I will continue the series or not. I need something captivating after this.
How can something than sounds so interesting turn out so boring? Like I was lost throughout parts of it because the mythos wasn't expanded fully and given time to breathe so we can understand who, what when, where, and why. The book has that habit to jump between POV which is fine, however I found some of the chapters woefully boring. I find it ironic that between the character who is a kick ass and is super smart and pretty, and a guy that fricking can turn into a wolf/summon wolves (never fully explained so IDEK) yet the younger sister who was basically a combination of Sansa and Danerys was much more interesting in court. And honestly that's what I can make of this book. It felt like Game of Thrones in China. It was kind of dull and sometimes I was just interested enough that I just wanted to finish it to say I finish it but honestly a low key disappointment. I don't know if I will continue the series or not. I need something captivating after this.
This was such a solid book, and I cannot understand the low ratings and mixed reviews for this one! I thought that for a debut it was really really good, and I definitely found myself wondering if this author is actually a debut author after all. There are so many good things about it (and yes maybe there were a few things I didn't love as much), and all in all I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy, kickass female characters and awesome magic systems.
The Girl King is an Asian inspired YA fantasy following sisters Lu and Min, who are the princesses of the empire. The two of them are very different: Lu is basically just this angry bean that wants to punch something, and does quite a lot of stuff without thinking, and sometimes she can be quite naive, not because she's unkind, simply because she doesn't realise the consequences for other people, while Min is much quieter, overshadowed by her sister who is bold and can get away with everything, while she is fearful and afraid of getting into trouble. I really liked both of these characters; they felt really dynamic and real, with a good balance of flaws and qualities. I'm not quite in love with them yet, but I think that could definitely happen later in the series. They both also had really good arcs - Lu learns to open her mind and realises what life is really like for the people in the empire, and realises the naiveté of her good intentions. Min has a dark descent into a sort of twisted cruelty in which she thinks she is doing the right thing. Her arc was really convincing - there was no drastic change, and the author charted it perfectly, so it feels very natural for her character. I love dark characters like this, and even though Min sounds weak and fearful, her character is actually very compelling and I think she might be my favourite. We also followed Nokhai, a Gifted Kith from the Ashina clan whose family was killed by the empire. He is such a sweet potato and I loved the fact that he wasn't a 'brooding bad boy' like I was worried he was going to be. All of the characters turned out differently from what I expected, actually.
The world and magic system were really interesting and worked well with the story, but some parts maybe needed a bit more development. We don't really get a sense of what the empire is like, geographically and sort of the hierarchy system, but I do get the sense that this will be explored later in the series. I would have loved to see more of the religion and different types of magic, but again, the sequels may bring this to light. And on a positive note, I did feel like the history was interesting, and the world and plot worked well together - no info dumping here!
The writing and plot was really well done. I was really impressed by the writing style - its nothing flowery or anything, but the turns of phrases are really beautiful and it felt very sophisticated. It makes me want to read more from the author. Also, the way we were given information was flawless - as I said above, there were no info dumps, but you also weren't thrown into the story with no hope of knowing what was going on. The only criticism that I would suggest is that the plot did flag a little in the middle, what with some of the travelling and not much happing. The big battle also didn't feel very climactic, although maybe that was just me.
In all, I really loved this book. I will definitely be continuing with the series and anything else this author decides to write. The concept was also fabulous and I loved the idea of two sister's fighting for the throne. Also, there are feminist themes, but the female strength is subtle and I really liked that too. This was so masterfully brought together, and the threads all come together in the story as if this author has many published books - nothing is blatant, clumsy, or too 'in your face'. The main thing that kept me rating it from five stars is some detachment from the story and the characters that meant that big plot points didn't have enough meaning for me.
The Girl King is an Asian inspired YA fantasy following sisters Lu and Min, who are the princesses of the empire. The two of them are very different: Lu is basically just this angry bean that wants to punch something, and does quite a lot of stuff without thinking, and sometimes she can be quite naive, not because she's unkind, simply because she doesn't realise the consequences for other people, while Min is much quieter, overshadowed by her sister who is bold and can get away with everything, while she is fearful and afraid of getting into trouble. I really liked both of these characters; they felt really dynamic and real, with a good balance of flaws and qualities. I'm not quite in love with them yet, but I think that could definitely happen later in the series. They both also had really good arcs - Lu learns to open her mind and realises what life is really like for the people in the empire, and realises the naiveté of her good intentions. Min has a dark descent into a sort of twisted cruelty in which she thinks she is doing the right thing. Her arc was really convincing - there was no drastic change, and the author charted it perfectly, so it feels very natural for her character. I love dark characters like this, and even though Min sounds weak and fearful, her character is actually very compelling and I think she might be my favourite. We also followed Nokhai, a Gifted Kith from the Ashina clan whose family was killed by the empire. He is such a sweet potato and I loved the fact that he wasn't a 'brooding bad boy' like I was worried he was going to be. All of the characters turned out differently from what I expected, actually.
The world and magic system were really interesting and worked well with the story, but some parts maybe needed a bit more development. We don't really get a sense of what the empire is like, geographically and sort of the hierarchy system, but I do get the sense that this will be explored later in the series. I would have loved to see more of the religion and different types of magic, but again, the sequels may bring this to light. And on a positive note, I did feel like the history was interesting, and the world and plot worked well together - no info dumping here!
The writing and plot was really well done. I was really impressed by the writing style - its nothing flowery or anything, but the turns of phrases are really beautiful and it felt very sophisticated. It makes me want to read more from the author. Also, the way we were given information was flawless - as I said above, there were no info dumps, but you also weren't thrown into the story with no hope of knowing what was going on. The only criticism that I would suggest is that the plot did flag a little in the middle, what with some of the travelling and not much happing. The big battle also didn't feel very climactic, although maybe that was just me.
In all, I really loved this book. I will definitely be continuing with the series and anything else this author decides to write. The concept was also fabulous and I loved the idea of two sister's fighting for the throne. Also, there are feminist themes, but the female strength is subtle and I really liked that too. This was so masterfully brought together, and the threads all come together in the story as if this author has many published books - nothing is blatant, clumsy, or too 'in your face'. The main thing that kept me rating it from five stars is some detachment from the story and the characters that meant that big plot points didn't have enough meaning for me.