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lastblossom's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
tl;dr
Secrets upon secrets power a fast-moving plot and some fanciful world building.
Thoughts
Ooh, this one's twisty. Ying dreams of joining the Engineer's Guild, a goal rather hampered by the fact that it's a boys only situation. When her father is murdered, seemingly in connection with the Guild, she disguises herself as a boy and joins to find his killer. But her deception is far from the only one. We've got political machinations, assassins, secret machines of war, and other hidden identities, all wrapped up in a power grab for the future of the kingdom. The plot moves from one twist to the next at a speedy pace that kept me turning pages, but never felt like it was overdoing it with the drama. Ying is a great lead - determined, capable, but also incredibly conflicted, especially as more secrets come to light and the reality of war unfolds. There's also a romance woven into this for fans who like it with... complications. World building is a bit steampunk and a lot of Chinese lore woven together in an original world that sparks the imagination, and by that I mean there's a mechanical dragon that flies and it's awesome.
Thanks to NetGalley and Viking Books for an advance copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.
Secrets upon secrets power a fast-moving plot and some fanciful world building.
Thoughts
Ooh, this one's twisty. Ying dreams of joining the Engineer's Guild, a goal rather hampered by the fact that it's a boys only situation. When her father is murdered, seemingly in connection with the Guild, she disguises herself as a boy and joins to find his killer. But her deception is far from the only one. We've got political machinations, assassins, secret machines of war, and other hidden identities, all wrapped up in a power grab for the future of the kingdom. The plot moves from one twist to the next at a speedy pace that kept me turning pages, but never felt like it was overdoing it with the drama. Ying is a great lead - determined, capable, but also incredibly conflicted, especially as more secrets come to light and the reality of war unfolds. There's also a romance woven into this for fans who like it with... complications. World building is a bit steampunk and a lot of Chinese lore woven together in an original world that sparks the imagination, and by that I mean there's a mechanical dragon that flies and it's awesome.
Thanks to NetGalley and Viking Books for an advance copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: War, Blood, Violence, Murder, and Sexism
Minor: Sexual violence
trips's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was a really solid debut novel!
A Steam Punk-y Mulan-style story bursting with fun, loveable characters and imaginative engineering. Every time I thought "eh, the story is probably going to be pretty straightforward from here on out", I was wrong! I was delightfully surprised by the way this tale was weaved, the way the mystery resolves, and Ying's relationships with the various characters in this novel. I am already looking forward to the next installment in this series.
I will say, it does feel like Ying overcomes all of her obstacles with relative ease, but I think there was a reason for that, I'm curious to see if this will change in the sequel (and curious to know others thoughts on it!). The writing was good, but a little too explain-y at times. I do understand this is a YA novel but I do believe in young readers being able to put two and two together when things start lining up plot-wise.
Overall though, I was surprised with how often I wanted to return back to this story, I would recommend to those who liked Iron Widow and Tamora Pierce novels!
Thank you to Viking Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for this arc.
A Steam Punk-y Mulan-style story bursting with fun, loveable characters and imaginative engineering. Every time I thought "eh, the story is probably going to be pretty straightforward from here on out", I was wrong! I was delightfully surprised by the way this tale was weaved, the way the mystery resolves, and Ying's relationships with the various characters in this novel. I am already looking forward to the next installment in this series.
I will say, it does feel like Ying overcomes all of her obstacles with relative ease, but I think there was a reason for that, I'm curious to see if this will change in the sequel (and curious to know others thoughts on it!). The writing was good, but a little too explain-y at times. I do understand this is a YA novel but I do believe in young readers being able to put two and two together when things start lining up plot-wise.
Overall though, I was surprised with how often I wanted to return back to this story, I would recommend to those who liked Iron Widow and Tamora Pierce novels!
Thank you to Viking Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for this arc.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
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