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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
Read this full review and more at between-the-shelves.com!
Thanks to Net Galley and Bloomsbury YA for providing an eARC in exchange for my honest review.
We'll start with my favorite aspect of this book: the magic. I though the system that Yu created was unique, giving this book an edge when put alongside other YA fantasy books. Additionally, I thoroughly enjoyed the sort of sibling rivalry that's included in the book; we don't see many YA fantasy books where sisters are pitted against each other, and just having a strong female power on both sides of the narrative adds another element to the book that makes it that much more enjoyable.
Despite the magical and mystical elements, the world building here fell a bit flat to me, as did some of the character development. While I enjoyed the different types of magic included here, I didn't feel like I got a good sense of the world as a whole. I wanted more detail, more information about the lives that Lu and Min lead, more about Nok's background. I feel that this would have made the book more immersive--and easier to follow.
Overall, this is an enjoyable read that I think many YA fantasy fans will enjoy. Despite falling into similar tropes of the genre, Mimi Yu is still able to create a compelling narrative that I think will bring fans back for book 2 (because there's obviously going to be a book 2).
3.5/5 stars
Thanks to Net Galley and Bloomsbury YA for providing an eARC in exchange for my honest review.
We'll start with my favorite aspect of this book: the magic. I though the system that Yu created was unique, giving this book an edge when put alongside other YA fantasy books. Additionally, I thoroughly enjoyed the sort of sibling rivalry that's included in the book; we don't see many YA fantasy books where sisters are pitted against each other, and just having a strong female power on both sides of the narrative adds another element to the book that makes it that much more enjoyable.
Despite the magical and mystical elements, the world building here fell a bit flat to me, as did some of the character development. While I enjoyed the different types of magic included here, I didn't feel like I got a good sense of the world as a whole. I wanted more detail, more information about the lives that Lu and Min lead, more about Nok's background. I feel that this would have made the book more immersive--and easier to follow.
Overall, this is an enjoyable read that I think many YA fantasy fans will enjoy. Despite falling into similar tropes of the genre, Mimi Yu is still able to create a compelling narrative that I think will bring fans back for book 2 (because there's obviously going to be a book 2).
3.5/5 stars
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.
Thanks to Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for an advanced reader copy of The Girl King!
--
The Girl King was an incredibly compelling debut book by new author Mimi Yu! I am honestly incredibly skeptical when I read things like “for fans of Sabaa Tahir and Alwyn Hamilton” but Mimi Yu’s The Girl King definitely lived up to that; she’s immediately on my “authors to watch” list!
The Girl King follows two sisters, Lu and Min. Lu has always been bold, brash, and unafraid to speak her mind; she is a fighter and gets the nickname of “the Girl King” when it becomes clear that she’ll most likely be named heir to her father’s throne (in a very patriarchal society) from a young age. Min is younger and more timid; she doesn’t understand her sister’s brazenness and is largely ignored by her father and coddled by everyone else. But when the Emporer makes the announcement, it is not Lu who is given the role of heir… it’s her cousin Set, whose vicious streak and obsession with beating out Lu makes him toxic and dangerous. When Lu is betrothed to him, she instead challenges him to a series of fights to earn the title of heir for herself… and instead, Set’s men try assassinate her on the first challenge. She flees, running into a childhood acquaintance, Nokhai, along the way, while Min is left behind to pick up the pieces that Lu left behind. She takes Lu’s place as Set’s intended and learns that there is something much more to herself than anyone could have possibly anticipated.
Things I Loved:
- I thought that Set as a villain/bad guy was perfect. He’s despicable for a number of reasons and aside from a single moment where I thought he could potentially not be horrible, I was able to hate on him to my heart’s content. And I believed his motive(s) and the strength of his feeling the entire time. Yu wrote an incredibly convincing character in Set and I LOVED it.
- I thought the characters were, for the most part, really well done in general. The Girl King definitely leans into certain tropes-- the warrior girl who wants to inherit and best the boys, the meek girl who is possibly the most powerful and dangerous of them all, hateful mothers with Reasons and Secrets, and so on… and I enjoyed them all, which is not typical. I think the tropes were done well… the author simultaneously played into them enough to make it familiar and subverted them enough to make them unique.
- Nokhai was amazing. In the beginning he struck me as passive and whiny, but I think the story arc set up for him throughout the book was perfect and it definitely struck a chord for me. The backstory about his people was incredible and very well built up.
- The way that different characters had different pieces of the puzzle for the reader but had no opportunity to interact or engage with each other to put them together. Often, I’ll read a book and think “why don’t they just ASK or talk to each other my goodness!” and it frustrates me to no end. In The Girl King, it was handled perfectly-- we found out key bits of information from people literally on opposite ends of the world and there’s no way they just could have chatted to resolve the conflict. It made for really excellent tension that propelled me through the book way faster than I thought.
Things I Liked:
- Lu was a wonderful character, but at times, she seemed a little bit too much. There were moments where I sympathized with Min about Lu’s intensity and her inability to just lock it down when safety was at stake. I loved the punch that Lu packed… but sometimes that rebounded a little bit on me.
- Some bits and pieces of the world were incomplete. I was really interested in all of the world building and I thought Mimi Yu did a fantastic job of creating some place that I could visualize so clearly… but there were gaps that could have been filled in even more for a richer reading experience. I’m guessing that these were intentional and exist to fill up the world even more in the next book.
- The writing style was really compelling. There were tiny bits of lyrical prose, but most of the writing was blunt and beautiful at the same time and it worked very well for the story.
Things I Didn’t Like:
- At times, Min was frustratingly naive-- and I understand that this is the point-- but every once in a while, there was a little bit of something missing from her narration to make it seem interesting or important. I would get frustrated (towards the middle of the book) with her perspective and her constant lying to herself about what she had to know was going on.
- The conclusion that Min jumps to about family in the end and how it stays there. I really disliked how that was represented, even by a character like Min, and I hope this is touched on more in the next book.
- The Yunis and their city was a bit on the confusing side, but I felt more like there was so much built up there that I didn’t get a chance to see, because the story became a bit rushed at that point. I felt like the book could have been paced a little better so that we got a more holistic sense of what was going on with the Yunis and how the heck the triumvirate actually governed and functioned and whatnot.
- Sometimes, all of the main characters made decisions that just seemed abundantly stupid to me. Often, they were minor, but at times, the willful ignorance that led to disastrous results (*side eye at Min and the things she saw but didn’t believe*) was incredibly irritating.
Overall, I would really recommend this book. For fans of fantasy in general (and Asian-coded fantasy in particular), this would be an excellent read. For lovers of seriously feisty female characters, Lu is probably your girl. If you enjoy multiple points of view and complicated family dynamics that span a whole empire, then The Girl King should definitely make its way onto your TBR… I can only anticipate that the rest of the story to follow will be explosive and immersive! But if you’re not a fan of alternating POVs or feel frustrated by characters making inconsistent or ridiculous decisions, then I’d suggest passing on The Girl King. Personally, I cannot wait for the next installation and will be following Mimi Yu’s work closely from here on out!
4/5 stars
--
The Girl King was an incredibly compelling debut book by new author Mimi Yu! I am honestly incredibly skeptical when I read things like “for fans of Sabaa Tahir and Alwyn Hamilton” but Mimi Yu’s The Girl King definitely lived up to that; she’s immediately on my “authors to watch” list!
The Girl King follows two sisters, Lu and Min. Lu has always been bold, brash, and unafraid to speak her mind; she is a fighter and gets the nickname of “the Girl King” when it becomes clear that she’ll most likely be named heir to her father’s throne (in a very patriarchal society) from a young age. Min is younger and more timid; she doesn’t understand her sister’s brazenness and is largely ignored by her father and coddled by everyone else. But when the Emporer makes the announcement, it is not Lu who is given the role of heir… it’s her cousin Set, whose vicious streak and obsession with beating out Lu makes him toxic and dangerous. When Lu is betrothed to him, she instead challenges him to a series of fights to earn the title of heir for herself… and instead, Set’s men try assassinate her on the first challenge. She flees, running into a childhood acquaintance, Nokhai, along the way, while Min is left behind to pick up the pieces that Lu left behind. She takes Lu’s place as Set’s intended and learns that there is something much more to herself than anyone could have possibly anticipated.
Things I Loved:
- I thought that Set as a villain/bad guy was perfect. He’s despicable for a number of reasons and aside from a single moment where I thought he could potentially not be horrible, I was able to hate on him to my heart’s content. And I believed his motive(s) and the strength of his feeling the entire time. Yu wrote an incredibly convincing character in Set and I LOVED it.
- I thought the characters were, for the most part, really well done in general. The Girl King definitely leans into certain tropes-- the warrior girl who wants to inherit and best the boys, the meek girl who is possibly the most powerful and dangerous of them all, hateful mothers with Reasons and Secrets, and so on… and I enjoyed them all, which is not typical. I think the tropes were done well… the author simultaneously played into them enough to make it familiar and subverted them enough to make them unique.
- Nokhai was amazing. In the beginning he struck me as passive and whiny, but I think the story arc set up for him throughout the book was perfect and it definitely struck a chord for me. The backstory about his people was incredible and very well built up.
- The way that different characters had different pieces of the puzzle for the reader but had no opportunity to interact or engage with each other to put them together. Often, I’ll read a book and think “why don’t they just ASK or talk to each other my goodness!” and it frustrates me to no end. In The Girl King, it was handled perfectly-- we found out key bits of information from people literally on opposite ends of the world and there’s no way they just could have chatted to resolve the conflict. It made for really excellent tension that propelled me through the book way faster than I thought.
Things I Liked:
- Lu was a wonderful character, but at times, she seemed a little bit too much. There were moments where I sympathized with Min about Lu’s intensity and her inability to just lock it down when safety was at stake. I loved the punch that Lu packed… but sometimes that rebounded a little bit on me.
- Some bits and pieces of the world were incomplete. I was really interested in all of the world building and I thought Mimi Yu did a fantastic job of creating some place that I could visualize so clearly… but there were gaps that could have been filled in even more for a richer reading experience. I’m guessing that these were intentional and exist to fill up the world even more in the next book.
- The writing style was really compelling. There were tiny bits of lyrical prose, but most of the writing was blunt and beautiful at the same time and it worked very well for the story.
Things I Didn’t Like:
- At times, Min was frustratingly naive-- and I understand that this is the point-- but every once in a while, there was a little bit of something missing from her narration to make it seem interesting or important. I would get frustrated (towards the middle of the book) with her perspective and her constant lying to herself about what she had to know was going on.
- The conclusion that Min jumps to about family in the end and how it stays there. I really disliked how that was represented, even by a character like Min, and I hope this is touched on more in the next book.
- The Yunis and their city was a bit on the confusing side, but I felt more like there was so much built up there that I didn’t get a chance to see, because the story became a bit rushed at that point. I felt like the book could have been paced a little better so that we got a more holistic sense of what was going on with the Yunis and how the heck the triumvirate actually governed and functioned and whatnot.
- Sometimes, all of the main characters made decisions that just seemed abundantly stupid to me. Often, they were minor, but at times, the willful ignorance that led to disastrous results (*side eye at Min and the things she saw but didn’t believe*) was incredibly irritating.
Overall, I would really recommend this book. For fans of fantasy in general (and Asian-coded fantasy in particular), this would be an excellent read. For lovers of seriously feisty female characters, Lu is probably your girl. If you enjoy multiple points of view and complicated family dynamics that span a whole empire, then The Girl King should definitely make its way onto your TBR… I can only anticipate that the rest of the story to follow will be explosive and immersive! But if you’re not a fan of alternating POVs or feel frustrated by characters making inconsistent or ridiculous decisions, then I’d suggest passing on The Girl King. Personally, I cannot wait for the next installation and will be following Mimi Yu’s work closely from here on out!
4/5 stars
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Girl King
3.75/5 stars
Immediate thoughts:
The start of this book is sloooow. The past unwinds with the present in a way that is beautifully done, but sort of took me out of the story. It’s a lot of questions and character building to set up the series.
It’s described as the story of two sisters, Lu and Min, but I honestly didn’t care about one of them at all until the very end. Min was boring and childish, despite being the one with powers. Her storyline just fell sort of flat for me.
I’m going to bottom-line this review: 3/4 of the book held my interest but didn’t wow me. The last 1/4 was awesome and I will definitely read the next one, but I sort of wish this was more of the story than the two sisters. So that said, it was mediocre as a whole. I’m a reader who enjoys the tedious task of world and character building, but it left me a little wanting here.
3.75/5 stars
Immediate thoughts:
The start of this book is sloooow. The past unwinds with the present in a way that is beautifully done, but sort of took me out of the story. It’s a lot of questions and character building to set up the series.
It’s described as the story of two sisters, Lu and Min, but I honestly didn’t care about one of them at all until the very end. Min was boring and childish, despite being the one with powers. Her storyline just fell sort of flat for me.
I’m going to bottom-line this review: 3/4 of the book held my interest but didn’t wow me. The last 1/4 was awesome and I will definitely read the next one, but I sort of wish this was more of the story than the two sisters. So that said, it was mediocre as a whole. I’m a reader who enjoys the tedious task of world and character building, but it left me a little wanting here.
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
1.5 Stars
I have never felt more disappointed in my life after reading this book, because this book was a disaster. It wasn't bad, but there was a lot of stuff that happened that I really just not liked one bit. This was one of my hyped books after I got past the weariness of it, especially from the title and the cover. It gave me Mulan vibes and literally the title just sounded epic. But it Disappointed Me.
I expected sword-fighting, and you know an actual plot? There should have been a lot more badass action instead of just endless adventure, and very boring POV's. And I have like no idea where to begin, because everything really had struggles. (Watch knowing me, I'll probably edit my rating later and this turns to 1 star rating.) And I already did went from 2 stars to 1.5.
The Characters:
Normally, I either love them or I find them quite irritating which unfortunately became the latter option. The characters didn't suck at least, but really they were really typical YA girls. They're either strong or they're naive and girly. Why is there no in between? Please authors, please don't make them just strong or girly and being naive. Have female characters be girly, but also wield a sword at the same. Or better yet, have girls literally use anything as a weapon if they find themselves in a dangerous situation while being in a dress. It will make your book more memorable, and a lot of people will appreciate you.
Lu: I liked Lu, but not really. She was barely touching the liking mark of my character expectations, but she was really a cliche. I could name hundreds of female characters who are like her, and she was really no expectation. She didn't bring anything new, and she was a little boring.
Her personality was quite the same as the others, and she felt really one-dimensional. She didn't feel fleshed out as she should have been. All I knew was that she just wanted her throne and that was basically it. She didn't bring anything new with her, and was really boring.
Min: I never liked Min at all. She got really annoying and reminded me of my cousin (who's a spoiled brat). That's how annoying she gotten with her sweet, naivety personality and basically that was about it. I barely know any of the characters backstories at all. Did I mention she had no other qualities besides being sweet and naive?
That's how flat they were. There was nothing special about them. Oh wait, there's another character, and yay, my favorite part (not).
Nok: First of all, Nok brought nothing new (obviously). He was just on the neutral level, and I couldn't really connect with him. His perspective was boring, his personality was boring. And he was quite bland, and brought nothing new to the story.
THERE'S A CHARACTER IN THIS BOOK (UNFORTUNATELY I DO NOT REMEMBER HIS NAME), BUT I DO REMEMBER THAT THE CHARACTER IS QUEER. HE ATTEMPTED TO RAPE NOK. USUALLY, IF IT'S JUST ONE CHARACTER AND THERE'S OTHER QUEER FOLKS IN THE BOOK, I DON'T FIND THAT AN ISSUE. BUT IF THERE'S ONLY ONE QUEER PERSON AND ATTEMPTED TO RAPE NOK, THAT'S WRONG! THAT PUTS QUEERS FOLKS TO BE RAPISTS, IT'S HARMFUL TO QUEER FOLKS. PLEASE DON'T DO THAT.
The Plot:
OMG, I'm just literally trying not to laugh as I write the word 'plot'. There was no plot at all. Nothing happened that was truly special in the 400 pages this book covered. It was just an endless adventure that Lu goes on, and Min just stays at the castle being emotionally abused (which is again, NOT okay). So yeah, the plot was like nonexistent and literally just brought about five more issues to the mix, which will be lovely to write about.
Writing:
The writing wasn't too bad (yeah right). I just wanted to say that instead of downright saying, this was not the best writing at all. It wasn't pathetic, but ever wanted to read a disjointing 3rd person POV? Yeah, it wasn't fun and that's what happened in this book.
The writing was really boring. It made the characters seem quite disjointing in their chapters, as it went back and forth between them. It brought major issues to the pacing, and I mean major, because it was really challenging in trying to find some form of entertainment in this book.
The pacing was really slow. It moved at a snail's pace up until the last 50 pages where the action happened, but it was mediocre at best. It was where the pacing picked up quite a bit, and literally just rushed through it all. That's what I mean it really had major problems with it. I haven't seen such a major pacing issue in books, but this one was a special case.
Coming back to the disjointing issues. Reading through the book, it was a struggle. The character's chapters didn't seem like they line up well with each other and just brought an entire mess with it.
Other Things I Can't Categorize:
-I loved the Asian setting and characters. And that's pretty much it that I really liked besides the cover.
-Lu's and Min's tendency of calling people's names from other kingdoms/nations/ethnically? They called people from Ellandaise "pink." and I don't know how to really respond to that. It just seems like a harmful thing to say to people.
-The slur used-skipskin. I have no idea what that is, the author doesn't bother going in detail to explain it, but it's really offensive. I don't appreciate how "anti-otherness" the author is in this book using offensive language and slurs to people.
I have never felt more disappointed in my life after reading this book, because this book was a disaster. It wasn't bad, but there was a lot of stuff that happened that I really just not liked one bit. This was one of my hyped books after I got past the weariness of it, especially from the title and the cover. It gave me Mulan vibes and literally the title just sounded epic. But it Disappointed Me.
I expected sword-fighting, and you know an actual plot? There should have been a lot more badass action instead of just endless adventure, and very boring POV's. And I have like no idea where to begin, because everything really had struggles. (Watch knowing me, I'll probably edit my rating later and this turns to 1 star rating.) And I already did went from 2 stars to 1.5.
The Characters:
Normally, I either love them or I find them quite irritating which unfortunately became the latter option. The characters didn't suck at least, but really they were really typical YA girls. They're either strong or they're naive and girly. Why is there no in between? Please authors, please don't make them just strong or girly and being naive. Have female characters be girly, but also wield a sword at the same. Or better yet, have girls literally use anything as a weapon if they find themselves in a dangerous situation while being in a dress. It will make your book more memorable, and a lot of people will appreciate you.
Lu: I liked Lu, but not really. She was barely touching the liking mark of my character expectations, but she was really a cliche. I could name hundreds of female characters who are like her, and she was really no expectation. She didn't bring anything new, and she was a little boring.
Her personality was quite the same as the others, and she felt really one-dimensional. She didn't feel fleshed out as she should have been. All I knew was that she just wanted her throne and that was basically it. She didn't bring anything new with her, and was really boring.
Min: I never liked Min at all. She got really annoying and reminded me of my cousin (who's a spoiled brat). That's how annoying she gotten with her sweet, naivety personality and basically that was about it. I barely know any of the characters backstories at all. Did I mention she had no other qualities besides being sweet and naive?
That's how flat they were. There was nothing special about them. Oh wait, there's another character, and yay, my favorite part (not).
Nok: First of all, Nok brought nothing new (obviously). He was just on the neutral level, and I couldn't really connect with him. His perspective was boring, his personality was boring. And he was quite bland, and brought nothing new to the story.
THERE'S A CHARACTER IN THIS BOOK (UNFORTUNATELY I DO NOT REMEMBER HIS NAME), BUT I DO REMEMBER THAT THE CHARACTER IS QUEER. HE ATTEMPTED TO RAPE NOK. USUALLY, IF IT'S JUST ONE CHARACTER AND THERE'S OTHER QUEER FOLKS IN THE BOOK, I DON'T FIND THAT AN ISSUE. BUT IF THERE'S ONLY ONE QUEER PERSON AND ATTEMPTED TO RAPE NOK, THAT'S WRONG! THAT PUTS QUEERS FOLKS TO BE RAPISTS, IT'S HARMFUL TO QUEER FOLKS. PLEASE DON'T DO THAT.
The Plot:
OMG, I'm just literally trying not to laugh as I write the word 'plot'. There was no plot at all. Nothing happened that was truly special in the 400 pages this book covered. It was just an endless adventure that Lu goes on, and Min just stays at the castle being emotionally abused (which is again, NOT okay). So yeah, the plot was like nonexistent and literally just brought about five more issues to the mix, which will be lovely to write about.
Writing:
The writing wasn't too bad (yeah right). I just wanted to say that instead of downright saying, this was not the best writing at all. It wasn't pathetic, but ever wanted to read a disjointing 3rd person POV? Yeah, it wasn't fun and that's what happened in this book.
The writing was really boring. It made the characters seem quite disjointing in their chapters, as it went back and forth between them. It brought major issues to the pacing, and I mean major, because it was really challenging in trying to find some form of entertainment in this book.
The pacing was really slow. It moved at a snail's pace up until the last 50 pages where the action happened, but it was mediocre at best. It was where the pacing picked up quite a bit, and literally just rushed through it all. That's what I mean it really had major problems with it. I haven't seen such a major pacing issue in books, but this one was a special case.
Coming back to the disjointing issues. Reading through the book, it was a struggle. The character's chapters didn't seem like they line up well with each other and just brought an entire mess with it.
Other Things I Can't Categorize:
-I loved the Asian setting and characters. And that's pretty much it that I really liked besides the cover.
-Lu's and Min's tendency of calling people's names from other kingdoms/nations/ethnically? They called people from Ellandaise "pink." and I don't know how to really respond to that. It just seems like a harmful thing to say to people.
-The slur used-skipskin. I have no idea what that is, the author doesn't bother going in detail to explain it, but it's really offensive. I don't appreciate how "anti-otherness" the author is in this book using offensive language and slurs to people.
3.5ish stars. Not bad, but also not really my thing on a personal level.
Review to come later. Watching Dead Pixels at the moment, sorry.
Right, I found this very enjoyable, easy to read and fun. There's some nice influences going on, and the magic is certainly interesting; the 'slipskins' are almost mythical, were-creatures who have been hunted to extinction. There's a young woman to inherit the throne, the younger sister who is over looked but has her own secrets and strengths, the scheming mother and the usurper to the throne.
The Girl King has many things we've seen before in YA fantasy and it depends on if you like the lead characters as to how much you'll enjoy this version. I really liked it and am looking forward to reading the sequel, though I've no idea where it's heading without spoiling it.
If you want a fun, fantasy tale about family lies, friendships and desperation, this might be the book for you.
Also the author listened to The Hounds of Love album while writing. One of my favourite albums.
Right, I found this very enjoyable, easy to read and fun. There's some nice influences going on, and the magic is certainly interesting; the 'slipskins' are almost mythical, were-creatures who have been hunted to extinction. There's a young woman to inherit the throne, the younger sister who is over looked but has her own secrets and strengths, the scheming mother and the usurper to the throne.
The Girl King has many things we've seen before in YA fantasy and it depends on if you like the lead characters as to how much you'll enjoy this version. I really liked it and am looking forward to reading the sequel, though I've no idea where it's heading without spoiling it.
If you want a fun, fantasy tale about family lies, friendships and desperation, this might be the book for you.
Also the author listened to The Hounds of Love album while writing. One of my favourite albums.
adventurous
fast-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated