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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
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One of my most anticipated reads of 2019 became one of my most disappointed reads of 2019. I had such high hopes for this book because of the fact that it’s Asian inspired and we don’t really have that many out there. Plus it’s a fantasy and that’s my go-to genre. Unfortunately I was just so disappointed with this book in every aspect. I mean, I didn’t hate the book but it just lacked so much that I just felt very “meh” about it.
My biggest issue was probably my lack of interest and connection with any of the characters. At first glance, Lu seemed like your typical badass female warrior but nothing about her stood out to me. I found her very mediocre for the most part. As for Min, the other main character and Lu’s younger sister, she stood out to me in the wrong ways. For the entire book, I simply found her naïve, childish, and way too innocent that she was constantly used by the others in the court. She had no backbone and even at the end, when she grew up a little and started to see the world for all of its negative aspects, she grew up in the worst ways – all bitter and mean.
As for the plot, a lot of it felt as if we were just wandering around and it just felt so dull. I did enjoy a little about that other realm or whatever but the author didn’t explore that very much and I felt that was a missed opportunity. Even the love interest/romance in the book felt uninteresting – in fact, I would even say that it took me away from the plot itself because it was actually pretty unnecessary. I think Lu could have managed without the romance.
Overall, while this book wasn’t terrible, nothing about it really stood out to me. There weren’t any great action scenes, the characters weren’t really interesting, the plot was dull and even the ending was pretty obvious. The book also ended on a cliffhanger but because I am so “meh” about this book, I don’t think I am intrigued enough to continue with this series.
One of my most anticipated reads of 2019 became one of my most disappointed reads of 2019. I had such high hopes for this book because of the fact that it’s Asian inspired and we don’t really have that many out there. Plus it’s a fantasy and that’s my go-to genre. Unfortunately I was just so disappointed with this book in every aspect. I mean, I didn’t hate the book but it just lacked so much that I just felt very “meh” about it.
My biggest issue was probably my lack of interest and connection with any of the characters. At first glance, Lu seemed like your typical badass female warrior but nothing about her stood out to me. I found her very mediocre for the most part. As for Min, the other main character and Lu’s younger sister, she stood out to me in the wrong ways. For the entire book, I simply found her naïve, childish, and way too innocent that she was constantly used by the others in the court. She had no backbone and even at the end, when she grew up a little and started to see the world for all of its negative aspects, she grew up in the worst ways – all bitter and mean.
As for the plot, a lot of it felt as if we were just wandering around and it just felt so dull. I did enjoy a little about that other realm or whatever but the author didn’t explore that very much and I felt that was a missed opportunity. Even the love interest/romance in the book felt uninteresting – in fact, I would even say that it took me away from the plot itself because it was actually pretty unnecessary. I think Lu could have managed without the romance.
Overall, while this book wasn’t terrible, nothing about it really stood out to me. There weren’t any great action scenes, the characters weren’t really interesting, the plot was dull and even the ending was pretty obvious. The book also ended on a cliffhanger but because I am so “meh” about this book, I don’t think I am intrigued enough to continue with this series.
tw: attempted rape scene
4.5 stars
BRILLIANT SHOWSTOPPING!!!!!
I have almost no words that can coherently describe how desperately I have longed for this kind of sweeping epic East Asian fantasy that is reminiscent of those 50+ episode historical dramas that had backstabbing family politics, bloodlust, ambition, betrayal, dangerous emotions!, and everything else. Needless to say, this book completely took me by surprise by how far it leaned into the bitterness and complicated feelings with siblings, especially royal ones. I just ????? this book hit all the right notes and while it definitely took some time to build up, once you dug into the politics and all the messy messy emotions and ambitions and cruelty, we had a winner.
this review makes absolutely no sense! but anyway pick this book up PLEASE
4.5 stars
BRILLIANT SHOWSTOPPING!!!!!
I have almost no words that can coherently describe how desperately I have longed for this kind of sweeping epic East Asian fantasy that is reminiscent of those 50+ episode historical dramas that had backstabbing family politics, bloodlust, ambition, betrayal, dangerous emotions!, and everything else. Needless to say, this book completely took me by surprise by how far it leaned into the bitterness and complicated feelings with siblings, especially royal ones. I just ????? this book hit all the right notes and while it definitely took some time to build up, once you dug into the politics and all the messy messy emotions and ambitions and cruelty, we had a winner.
this review makes absolutely no sense! but anyway pick this book up PLEASE
I have to admit, it took me a while to warm to The Girl King as a book, as initially it seemed as though it was going through all the usual YA tropes and heading in an utterly predictable direction. We have, after all Boy Who is Secretly Special But Traumatised, Girl Who is a Better Fighter Than Everyone and that's just the main characters, not to mention there's a Tragic Romance That Can Never Be...
The basic premise of The Girl King is that Lu has been raised to believe by her father than she is going to be named as his heir - she somehow has been allowed, in a very hierarchical and gender-strict system, to be both a pampered princess and be trained as a warrior. Meanwhile, her weedy sister Min is always in Lu's shadow, so when Lu is overlooked in favour of their slightly-unhinged cousin, Min immediately gets groomed to marry said cousin regardless of his obvious negative qualities. Min also has a secret, and this is one place where things start to diverge slightly from my experience of YA and she starts to want power for herself.
Meanwhile Lu has been forced to flee the capital after the death of her father and has met up with Nokhai, who she knew when they were both younger and who is one of the last survivors of a people who Lu's father has pretty much massacred wholesale. Nokhai is a shapeshifter but unable to control his abilities; together, they set out to try and find allies for Lu in order to help her regain the throne and unseat the dodgy cousin. This plan goes all sorts of wrong as the allies they try to recruit are not themselves the most reliable of people.
One thing I didn't expect is that the moustache-twirling cousin meets a bad end before the end of the book, putting Min and Lu as antagonists in their own right rather than Min as someone else's puppet. I'm not sure I would buy the next book in this series (and to be honest, I got this one from the library) but I wouldn't turn it down if I managed to get my hands on it the same way. All in all, some interesting ideas and an author who may bear watching in the longer term.
The basic premise of The Girl King is that Lu has been raised to believe by her father than she is going to be named as his heir - she somehow has been allowed, in a very hierarchical and gender-strict system, to be both a pampered princess and be trained as a warrior. Meanwhile, her weedy sister Min is always in Lu's shadow, so when Lu is overlooked in favour of their slightly-unhinged cousin, Min immediately gets groomed to marry said cousin regardless of his obvious negative qualities. Min also has a secret, and this is one place where things start to diverge slightly from my experience of YA and she starts to want power for herself.
Meanwhile Lu has been forced to flee the capital after the death of her father and has met up with Nokhai, who she knew when they were both younger and who is one of the last survivors of a people who Lu's father has pretty much massacred wholesale. Nokhai is a shapeshifter but unable to control his abilities; together, they set out to try and find allies for Lu in order to help her regain the throne and unseat the dodgy cousin. This plan goes all sorts of wrong as the allies they try to recruit are not themselves the most reliable of people.
One thing I didn't expect is that the moustache-twirling cousin meets a bad end before the end of the book, putting Min and Lu as antagonists in their own right rather than Min as someone else's puppet. I'm not sure I would buy the next book in this series (and to be honest, I got this one from the library) but I wouldn't turn it down if I managed to get my hands on it the same way. All in all, some interesting ideas and an author who may bear watching in the longer term.
Warnings: parental abuse, domestic abuse, slavery, violence
The Girl King was an interesting read, with a storyline that keeps you on your toes, and a wide variety of characters to interest you. Told through three main perspectives in the third person - Lu, Min and Nokahi - it is a politically-minded story that has themes of imperialism, colonialism and xenophobia. Lu is the older daughter of the Hu (an ethnic group)Emperor, and a natural leader - she has been trained like a warrior, studied statecraft like a politician, and the grace of a princess to round her out into the perfect heir. Which is why she is enraged when her father instead chooses her first cousin (and her archenemy) for his heir, and her to be his wife. Meanwhile, Min, her younger sister has been bullied by the Empress (who is Hana, another ethnic group) into being a docile obedient princess who doesn't have much aspirations of her own, but who is starting to awaken some latent magical powers. Nokhai comes from a line of shape-shifters called Kith, whose culture had been decimated and people enslaved by the Hu two generations ago.
With such a volatile political situation, the ascension of the next Emperor results in Lu being framed for her father's death, and ridiculed as the eponymous Girl King. The people in the kingdom are a mix of Hu and Hana, but while their loyalties are more towards the Hu monarchy, they definitely are much more comfortable with a man in charge; Lu rails against this misogyny as she thinks she is better than her cousin Set, who marries Min instead (manipulating a 15 year old is super easy for the golden warrior). As a fugitive, she goes on with Nokhai to gain support from Yunis, another city-state that was conquered by her own ancestors. While on the way, she has to face the truth about her line, how they have destroyed other cultures or subjugated them, how they mistreat people just because they have magic, and contend with her family's bloody history.
While Lu is a good character to look through, primarily because she is, well, badass, and also because she grows so much in the book, understands her privilege and the honor she falsely attributed to her family line, Min is pretty much the opposite. The latter is set up to be the antagonist, or at least to be used by the antagonists which makes her blatant oversight over the terrible things her husband and his advisor do even more frustrating. Granted, she was bullied by her mother and Set showing her any interest was enough to give her loyalty to him, but she keeps supporting him even when he shows he has no qualms about endangering her, or even after 'witnessing' what he and her mother did; heck, she keeps going on and on about giving him babies to be heirs *eyeroll* Even when she gains her own power, she only wants to use it for Set's sake, with no ambition of her own. Nokhai, meanwhile feels terribly underutilized only as a love interest and I hope with that ending, he has a larger role to play in the plot of the next book.
The magic system of this book could have done with more development. For most of the book, I was confused as to the existence of Yunis, and why there were gates made before it crossed into the Inbetween. Then there is the whole shamanesses thing, which is never really cleared. As for the sisterly rivalry, that seems to be an exaggeration in the blurb - Min and Lu barely have any interaction, and Min is never really at odds with Lu; her resentment towards the golden child seems justified, but she also looks up to Lu, so it seems odd that she sides with Set over her (yes I know he is her husband but still...). Otherwise, on a plot and pacing level, as well as diving into the themes it wanted to discuss, this book was pretty good. I just feel it needed to do better in the amount of detail that went into the world-building and motivations for the characters.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Gollancz, via Netgalley.
The Girl King was an interesting read, with a storyline that keeps you on your toes, and a wide variety of characters to interest you. Told through three main perspectives in the third person - Lu, Min and Nokahi - it is a politically-minded story that has themes of imperialism, colonialism and xenophobia. Lu is the older daughter of the Hu (an ethnic group)Emperor, and a natural leader - she has been trained like a warrior, studied statecraft like a politician, and the grace of a princess to round her out into the perfect heir. Which is why she is enraged when her father instead chooses her first cousin (and her archenemy) for his heir, and her to be his wife. Meanwhile, Min, her younger sister has been bullied by the Empress (who is Hana, another ethnic group) into being a docile obedient princess who doesn't have much aspirations of her own, but who is starting to awaken some latent magical powers. Nokhai comes from a line of shape-shifters called Kith, whose culture had been decimated and people enslaved by the Hu two generations ago.
With such a volatile political situation, the ascension of the next Emperor results in Lu being framed for her father's death, and ridiculed as the eponymous Girl King. The people in the kingdom are a mix of Hu and Hana, but while their loyalties are more towards the Hu monarchy, they definitely are much more comfortable with a man in charge; Lu rails against this misogyny as she thinks she is better than her cousin Set, who marries Min instead (manipulating a 15 year old is super easy for the golden warrior). As a fugitive, she goes on with Nokhai to gain support from Yunis, another city-state that was conquered by her own ancestors. While on the way, she has to face the truth about her line, how they have destroyed other cultures or subjugated them, how they mistreat people just because they have magic, and contend with her family's bloody history.
While Lu is a good character to look through, primarily because she is, well, badass, and also because she grows so much in the book, understands her privilege and the honor she falsely attributed to her family line, Min is pretty much the opposite. The latter is set up to be the antagonist, or at least to be used by the antagonists which makes her blatant oversight over the terrible things her husband and his advisor do even more frustrating. Granted, she was bullied by her mother and Set showing her any interest was enough to give her loyalty to him, but she keeps supporting him even when he shows he has no qualms about endangering her, or even after 'witnessing' what he and her mother did; heck, she keeps going on and on about giving him babies to be heirs *eyeroll* Even when she gains her own power, she only wants to use it for Set's sake, with no ambition of her own. Nokhai, meanwhile feels terribly underutilized only as a love interest and I hope with that ending, he has a larger role to play in the plot of the next book.
The magic system of this book could have done with more development. For most of the book, I was confused as to the existence of Yunis, and why there were gates made before it crossed into the Inbetween. Then there is the whole shamanesses thing, which is never really cleared. As for the sisterly rivalry, that seems to be an exaggeration in the blurb - Min and Lu barely have any interaction, and Min is never really at odds with Lu; her resentment towards the golden child seems justified, but she also looks up to Lu, so it seems odd that she sides with Set over her (yes I know he is her husband but still...). Otherwise, on a plot and pacing level, as well as diving into the themes it wanted to discuss, this book was pretty good. I just feel it needed to do better in the amount of detail that went into the world-building and motivations for the characters.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Gollancz, via Netgalley.
Hello
This story is everything you could ever possibly want in a fantasy
Go preorder it now
Goodbye
This story is everything you could ever possibly want in a fantasy
Go preorder it now
Goodbye
Okay but where’s the sequel!!!!!!!
This is an incredible fantasy, one that grapples with imperialism/colonialism in a way most “fantasy royal befriends commoners on a quest for their rightful throne” absolutely skip over. Unsurprisingly, colonialism and imperialism is not solved in this first installment but it mentioned, it is not shoved under the rug, assumed that all the displaced and exploited people would be happy to help the rich royal descendent of the people who had murdered their families and communities.
I felt I owed the book more than just endless screaming so there you go a review at midnight talking about imperialism.
Also the first fantasy I’ve read mentioning menstruation in conjunction with magic since a Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho. Hell yeah.
This is an incredible fantasy, one that grapples with imperialism/colonialism in a way most “fantasy royal befriends commoners on a quest for their rightful throne” absolutely skip over. Unsurprisingly, colonialism and imperialism is not solved in this first installment but it mentioned, it is not shoved under the rug, assumed that all the displaced and exploited people would be happy to help the rich royal descendent of the people who had murdered their families and communities.
I felt I owed the book more than just endless screaming so there you go a review at midnight talking about imperialism.
Also the first fantasy I’ve read mentioning menstruation in conjunction with magic since a Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho. Hell yeah.
"For years, he'd ignored it in favor of his disbelief, his resentment, his fury. He'd let all that coil around it like a knot of scar tissue, calcify into a shell. Kept the whole thing like a stone in his gut, named it grief"
I actually loved this book so much.
I loved the dynamic between Min and Lu, both being justified in their actions- Min desperate for the attention she never got as a child, finally given a power that could make people see just how special she is, Lu, cold, proud and confident, faced with the realities of her families imperialism and forced to work with people who would prefer her bloodline dead. I have no idea who I'm going to root for in the next book because I spent the last few chapters screaming about how proud I was for both of them. I loved Nokhai too, of course, but it was so refreshing to have two uniquely strong female protagonists leading the main conflict of the story that they out shone him a little imo.
The setting was wonderful, I loved the descriptions of the courts and political systems, even though I'll admit it made the first hundred pages or so quite slow going. Reading books with fantasy settings outside of the usual western inspired mythos is so exciting and refreshing. I loved the location, the magic system the gods and the Kith aaaaaa The ending was so bittersweet and perfect, I'm so excited to see where this goes!
I actually loved this book so much.
I loved the dynamic between Min and Lu, both being justified in their actions- Min desperate for the attention she never got as a child, finally given a power that could make people see just how special she is, Lu, cold, proud and confident, faced with the realities of her families imperialism and forced to work with people who would prefer her bloodline dead. I have no idea who I'm going to root for in the next book because I spent the last few chapters screaming about how proud I was for both of them. I loved Nokhai too, of course, but it was so refreshing to have two uniquely strong female protagonists leading the main conflict of the story that they out shone him a little imo.
The setting was wonderful, I loved the descriptions of the courts and political systems, even though I'll admit it made the first hundred pages or so quite slow going. Reading books with fantasy settings outside of the usual western inspired mythos is so exciting and refreshing. I loved the location, the magic system the gods and the Kith aaaaaa The ending was so bittersweet and perfect, I'm so excited to see where this goes!
(2.5 stars) *I received an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review*
This is one of those books just on the better side of “okay” that it’s hard to talk about. Was it bad? Nope. Did I love it? Nah.
The book follows three viewpoints: Lu, Min, and Nokhai. Of the three of them, I thought Min’s viewpoint chapters had the most interesting plot. Lu and Nok’s journey was more predictable and didn’t grab me, but I wasn’t sure where Min was going to go, which was cool.
There was definitely some interesting stuff with Lu having to confront the oppression and genocide her family’s power was built on, and the background of the royal family hinted at some political intrigue possibilities. But I feel like Lu’s character growth was mostly in having the same conversation many different times, and not as much in emotionally confronting the truth about her family. I could have used more slam-you-in-the-face emotion, as well as more rounded development. Lu is a very physically strong, fight you with a sword, refuse to cry because that’s "weak", kind of person. I thought the book would challenge more of her assumptions about what being a good leader is and present different options from this, but we didn’t get as much as I expected.
And I didn’t like the brief scene when soldier tries to rape Nok. It’s true that rape between men happens, and can be written about with the care that any serious subject deserves. But I feel that if you have space to write in a gay rapist, then — especially considering that gay men are stereotyped as rapists by bigots irl — you should make space elsewhere to write in at least one good gay character so we know you don’t think that’s what gay men are like. And there aren't any other LGBTQ characters in this book at all. Like, in that case, just get rid of the attempted-rape scene — it’s not like it was a plot point or was ever addressed again.
I did get more invested in the story as the book went on. Though I’m frustrated that it wasn’t better, I’m somewhat interested in how things will develop in the sequel, if I read it.
This is one of those books just on the better side of “okay” that it’s hard to talk about. Was it bad? Nope. Did I love it? Nah.
The book follows three viewpoints: Lu, Min, and Nokhai. Of the three of them, I thought Min’s viewpoint chapters had the most interesting plot. Lu and Nok’s journey was more predictable and didn’t grab me, but I wasn’t sure where Min was going to go, which was cool.
There was definitely some interesting stuff with Lu having to confront the oppression and genocide her family’s power was built on, and the background of the royal family hinted at some political intrigue possibilities. But I feel like Lu’s character growth was mostly in having the same conversation many different times, and not as much in emotionally confronting the truth about her family. I could have used more slam-you-in-the-face emotion, as well as more rounded development. Lu is a very physically strong, fight you with a sword, refuse to cry because that’s "weak", kind of person. I thought the book would challenge more of her assumptions about what being a good leader is and present different options from this, but we didn’t get as much as I expected.
And I didn’t like the brief scene when soldier tries to rape Nok. It’s true that rape between men happens, and can be written about with the care that any serious subject deserves. But I feel that if you have space to write in a gay rapist, then — especially considering that gay men are stereotyped as rapists by bigots irl — you should make space elsewhere to write in at least one good gay character so we know you don’t think that’s what gay men are like. And there aren't any other LGBTQ characters in this book at all. Like, in that case, just get rid of the attempted-rape scene — it’s not like it was a plot point or was ever addressed again.
I did get more invested in the story as the book went on. Though I’m frustrated that it wasn’t better, I’m somewhat interested in how things will develop in the sequel, if I read it.
The Girl King has drama, action, magic and a splash of romance.
When I read the synopsis of the book, I thought I would like one sister more than the other. It surprised me that wasn't the case. I am always drawn to the person with magic ability over the warrior type. At the beginning of the book I did like Mim more than Lu, but as the book progress my opinion of Lu changed and I respected her more.
Mim is a character that divides my opinion.
I feel sorry for her as she is desperate for love from anyone. She is willing to be who ever they want her to be. In other part I find her annoying and that you can tell she is young .She is wiling to ignore facts that don't fit with the reality she wishes for. Also she is happy to blame other people for the situation she is in, and doesn't take responsibility for her own actions.
The evolution of Lu and Nokhai relationship thought out the book is one of my favourite element of the book. Especially for Lu side, the people she is friends with are servant. Nokhai isn't, and though there friendship makes her a better princess.
The Girl King added with a great twist and I can't wait to see what happens next.
My rating for The Girl King is 4.5 out of 5
When I read the synopsis of the book, I thought I would like one sister more than the other. It surprised me that wasn't the case. I am always drawn to the person with magic ability over the warrior type. At the beginning of the book I did like Mim more than Lu, but as the book progress my opinion of Lu changed and I respected her more.
Mim is a character that divides my opinion.
I feel sorry for her as she is desperate for love from anyone. She is willing to be who ever they want her to be. In other part I find her annoying and that you can tell she is young .She is wiling to ignore facts that don't fit with the reality she wishes for. Also she is happy to blame other people for the situation she is in, and doesn't take responsibility for her own actions.
The evolution of Lu and Nokhai relationship thought out the book is one of my favourite element of the book. Especially for Lu side, the people she is friends with are servant. Nokhai isn't, and though there friendship makes her a better princess.
The Girl King added with a great twist and I can't wait to see what happens next.
My rating for The Girl King is 4.5 out of 5
The last part was pretty entertaining, but I never felt a connection to any of the main characters. The story was interesting. It was almost like a legend or a fable. The story and world is what makes it, the characters just fulfill a need for the storytelling.