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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
GOOD.👏🏼 FOR.👏🏼 HER. 👏🏼
If you want to read feminine rage, a TRUE morally grey FMC, and a unique magic system in a futuristic Chinese-inspired world - step right up!
I read this immersively and the audio was *chef's kiss*. I'm super excited to read book 2!
Also, yes there is a poly relationship but this is YA and book 1 so it's on the lighter side.
If you want to read feminine rage, a TRUE morally grey FMC, and a unique magic system in a futuristic Chinese-inspired world - step right up!
I read this immersively and the audio was *chef's kiss*. I'm super excited to read book 2!
Also, yes there is a poly relationship but this is YA and book 1 so it's on the lighter side.
This is the most frustrating and bland book I’ve ever read. There is no depth to these characters and to this universe. I have no idea how it got to 400 pages when the author summarizes giant swathes of plot in 5 sentences. I couldn’t immerse myself in this world because the author moves on to something else in a paragraph. There is no time spent developing these characters, these relationships, or this world. They are telling us how to feel instead of leading us to it.
The connections between these characters felt cringy and unrealistic. The main character is a hypocrite and a narcissist. She is also insanely cringy.
Can you tell I am very frustrated after reading this book? I was excited for it, but it has literally no depth and reads like an 8th grader wrote it.
The connections between these characters felt cringy and unrealistic. The main character is a hypocrite and a narcissist. She is also insanely cringy.
Can you tell I am very frustrated after reading this book? I was excited for it, but it has literally no depth and reads like an 8th grader wrote it.
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Absolutely incredible, I can't wait to read the next one! We need more books like this!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism
Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, Alcohol, War
Ok I feel like I’m a little generous with the five star ratings but HOLY SHIT THIS ONE REALLY DESERVE IT. I am FURIOUS at the cliffhanger ending and can’t fucking wait for the sequel. This is a feminist masterpiece and Wu Zetian is my new favorite character. EVERYONE READ THIS BOOK
dark
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Never at any point did I know where this was going and it was the best thing ever.
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
[read for SASS book club August 2025] I hesitate to rate this so low because I love the concept - a retelling of Wu Zetian's rise but make it sci fi and feminist! With amazing bisexual and poly representation! If you're interested in either of those - ignore me and read this.
I'm not sure when this was written, but I'm almost certain it was written by someone who is very familiar with BookTok. It reads as a collection of popular tropes (feminist retelling! love triangle! why choose!) with a novel written around it. This may work for a younger audience, but I found the story that fills in the gaps between the tropes to lack any substance; it seems to be all show, no tell.
The feminism in this book is less progressive than that of the Barbie movie. It reminds me of the time in the early 2000s and the Lean In era where all a feminist needed to do was be strong, loud, and unapologetic - basically just emulate the traits of the men who created the system in the first place. There are many passages in this that could be seen on tiktok as digestible "feminist" quotes, but from 2005. If you have the kindle edition - see all the highlights for exactly what I'm talking about. Again, it seems like the story was written just to include these quotable bits of Zetian's monologue.
I would have preferred if Zhao didn't feel the need to make this feminist. Wu Zetian (the real one) already embodied feminism by becoming an empress in a time where that was unheard of - there's no need for Zetian (the protag of this book) to beat the reader over the head with "feminism". I'm actually more interested in how bloodthirsty she is, and how she has disdain for almost every other woman she meets. An exploration of her girlboss feminism would have been more interesting to me than it being played as actual straight feminism.
The last chapter goes hard though - I could see this book being rewritten with no change to the plot, but massive edits to the prose, to be something I absolutely love. I may pick up the second book, just because it seems to be very different from this one.
I'm not sure when this was written, but I'm almost certain it was written by someone who is very familiar with BookTok. It reads as a collection of popular tropes (feminist retelling! love triangle! why choose!) with a novel written around it. This may work for a younger audience, but I found the story that fills in the gaps between the tropes to lack any substance; it seems to be all show, no tell.
The feminism in this book is less progressive than that of the Barbie movie. It reminds me of the time in the early 2000s and the Lean In era where all a feminist needed to do was be strong, loud, and unapologetic - basically just emulate the traits of the men who created the system in the first place. There are many passages in this that could be seen on tiktok as digestible "feminist" quotes, but from 2005. If you have the kindle edition - see all the highlights for exactly what I'm talking about. Again, it seems like the story was written just to include these quotable bits of Zetian's monologue.
I would have preferred if Zhao didn't feel the need to make this feminist. Wu Zetian (the real one) already embodied feminism by becoming an empress in a time where that was unheard of - there's no need for Zetian (the protag of this book) to beat the reader over the head with "feminism". I'm actually more interested in how bloodthirsty she is, and how she has disdain for almost every other woman she meets. An exploration of her girlboss feminism would have been more interesting to me than it being played as actual straight feminism.
The last chapter goes hard though - I could see this book being rewritten with no change to the plot, but massive edits to the prose, to be something I absolutely love. I may pick up the second book, just because it seems to be very different from this one.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No