You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
3.5 ⭐️ however closer to a 4 then a 3 thus the rating.
Lu - all her life Lu has been preparing to be the first female emperor upon the announcement that she will marry her cousin set while he becomes emperor, refusing to be put behind someone especially someone she things unworthy she prepares to fight for her throne.
Nok - the last of his kith a tripe of shapeshifters who’s forced to work with the princess who’s father had eradicated his people in order to save the man who saved and raised him.
Set - always believing he was the rightful male heir to the throne, he isn’t expecting to have to fight for it, but using tricks and a magician he believes in a prophecy stating he will change the empire.
Min - always in her sisters shadow and afraid of everything min’s life is vastly changed by the decisions made by both her sister and cousin.
Honestly this story is one that we’ve seen before from strong female character Traveling with hot dude, to a queen trying to reclaim her throne, however I throughly enjoyed all of it.
Mimi yu weaves a vast world and magic system heavily inspired by East Asian history and culture. This book is filled with not only action packed scenes but also a lot of political intrigue, the plot is slow going but it works to flesh out and develop the world and the characters.
I enjoyed the story and Yu’s writing and can’t wait to pick up the next book but also anything else she comes out with.
Lu - all her life Lu has been preparing to be the first female emperor upon the announcement that she will marry her cousin set while he becomes emperor, refusing to be put behind someone especially someone she things unworthy she prepares to fight for her throne.
Nok - the last of his kith a tripe of shapeshifters who’s forced to work with the princess who’s father had eradicated his people in order to save the man who saved and raised him.
Set - always believing he was the rightful male heir to the throne, he isn’t expecting to have to fight for it, but using tricks and a magician he believes in a prophecy stating he will change the empire.
Min - always in her sisters shadow and afraid of everything min’s life is vastly changed by the decisions made by both her sister and cousin.
Honestly this story is one that we’ve seen before from strong female character Traveling with hot dude, to a queen trying to reclaim her throne, however I throughly enjoyed all of it.
Mimi yu weaves a vast world and magic system heavily inspired by East Asian history and culture. This book is filled with not only action packed scenes but also a lot of political intrigue, the plot is slow going but it works to flesh out and develop the world and the characters.
I enjoyed the story and Yu’s writing and can’t wait to pick up the next book but also anything else she comes out with.
I received this book from the publisher for an honest review, which does not affect my opinions.
I was super excited for this book because it is Asian inspired and high fantasy, but unfortunately I couldn’t connect to it. This ended up being a DNF for me and because I am in the business of reading books I enjoy, I decided to call it a day.
Some people seem to love this and then there are others like me who found it a little boring and couldn’t connect to the characters.
I was super excited for this book because it is Asian inspired and high fantasy, but unfortunately I couldn’t connect to it. This ended up being a DNF for me and because I am in the business of reading books I enjoy, I decided to call it a day.
Some people seem to love this and then there are others like me who found it a little boring and couldn’t connect to the characters.
i really enjoyed this, and am surprised it is rated so low! however i am not a fantasy expert so disclaimer there.
loved the slow world building, it felt manageable to understand. so the characters were a little bit ‘typical’?? i still liked them and rooted for them. looking forward to the sequel
loved the slow world building, it felt manageable to understand. so the characters were a little bit ‘typical’?? i still liked them and rooted for them. looking forward to the sequel
I received a free copy of this through NetGalley in return for an honest review
I so wanted to love this book. It sounded so good and the characters and premise interested me.
But I got so bored.
I found myself skimming it more and more as I got near the end and I'm not sure why. The plot was interesting or not but the language could get repetitive and something about it felt so slow yet the romance was too fast. There was nothing overtly wrong with it but...it just wasn't for me sadly.
I so wanted to love this book. It sounded so good and the characters and premise interested me.
But I got so bored.
I found myself skimming it more and more as I got near the end and I'm not sure why. The plot was interesting or not but the language could get repetitive and something about it felt so slow yet the romance was too fast. There was nothing overtly wrong with it but...it just wasn't for me sadly.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I loved the characters, the story and the setting. I really enjoyed the magic and I hope there are more books to follow because I would definitely like to learn more about the magic and lore.
I loved the romance and how it was slow and very much in the background, there were so many other parts of the story that were much more important and I loved how the romance didn't overshadow any of this.
I really loved Yunis and Jin, Shen and Vrea. I just wished there was more of them and what they could really do in the first book.
The ending has definitely hooked me and I am so ready to carry on with this series, I am so excited to see what happens to Nokhai, Min, Nasan and Lu.
A side note:
I completely understand what people mean when they say that parts of this book are similar to lots of other recent YA fantasies but I feel like its impossible to be completely unique and different when there are so many YA fantasies out now. There will always be something in the book that is similar to others and people will completely market the book as cliche which I think is wrong. Yes this book did have similarities to other YA books but so do so many others which are super popular. I don't understand the problem, surely if you love one book and find a book that has similar qualities that should make you want to read it, not put you off? But whatever!
I recommend this for fans of Strange the Dreamer and The Poppy War!
I loved the romance and how it was slow and very much in the background, there were so many other parts of the story that were much more important and I loved how the romance didn't overshadow any of this.
I really loved Yunis and Jin, Shen and Vrea. I just wished there was more of them and what they could really do in the first book.
The ending has definitely hooked me and I am so ready to carry on with this series, I am so excited to see what happens to Nokhai, Min, Nasan and Lu.
A side note:
I completely understand what people mean when they say that parts of this book are similar to lots of other recent YA fantasies but I feel like its impossible to be completely unique and different when there are so many YA fantasies out now. There will always be something in the book that is similar to others and people will completely market the book as cliche which I think is wrong. Yes this book did have similarities to other YA books but so do so many others which are super popular. I don't understand the problem, surely if you love one book and find a book that has similar qualities that should make you want to read it, not put you off? But whatever!
I recommend this for fans of Strange the Dreamer and The Poppy War!
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m not huge on Asian-inspired tales, but this was pretty well crafted.
Recommendation from Marjorie M. Liu
After reading a couple of chapters I skipped to the end. I didn't care for any of the characters, the world building was ok. it all felt disjointed, a lot of POV changing.
Merged review:
Recommendation from Marjorie M. Liu
After reading a couple of chapters I skipped to the end. I didn't care for any of the characters, the world building was ok. it all felt disjointed, a lot of POV changing.
After reading a couple of chapters I skipped to the end. I didn't care for any of the characters, the world building was ok. it all felt disjointed, a lot of POV changing.
Merged review:
Recommendation from Marjorie M. Liu
After reading a couple of chapters I skipped to the end. I didn't care for any of the characters, the world building was ok. it all felt disjointed, a lot of POV changing.
- was a bit scared I was going to DNF this based on reviews I'd seen, but ended up pushing through and enjoying it
- a key element that appears first in the prologue and then much later on in the book, I really didn't like... it just seemed to come out of nowhere and didn't make sense within the rest of the narrative?
- also didn't like the romance, I didn't get the chemistry at all
- LOVED the villain origin story element
- a key element that appears first in the prologue and then much later on in the book, I really didn't like... it just seemed to come out of nowhere and didn't make sense within the rest of the narrative?
- also didn't like the romance, I didn't get the chemistry at all
- LOVED the villain origin story element