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cass_ward's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Physical abuse, Violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Domestic abuse, War, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Kidnapping
Minor: Pregnancy
dmrains's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Suicide attempt, Classism, Murder, Violence, Confinement, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Physical abuse, Blood, Mental illness, Rape, and Abandonment
Minor: Torture
gattolinos_nerdy_nook's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.5
The final book in the Girls of Paper and Fire trilogy! Where I found the second book to be a bit of a drag to read through this book really hit it off.
I found I was a lot more invested in the story and wondering how it will end. It was great to see familiar faces from the first book and how consequences of actions performed across the series catches up to everyone.
There is a lot of excellent moments that grips you for all different reason. I'm glad that I read this book. It is a beautiful way to send off the series.
I found I was a lot more invested in the story and wondering how it will end. It was great to see familiar faces from the first book and how consequences of actions performed across the series catches up to everyone.
There is a lot of excellent moments that grips you for all different reason. I'm glad that I read this book. It is a beautiful way to send off the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Rape and Torture
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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
5.0
5 ⭐ CW: violence, blood, death, torture, self-harm, references to sexual abuse, references to trauma
Girls of Fate and Fury by Natasha Ngan is the final book in the Girls of Paper and Fire trilogy. I cannot stress enough how amazing this YA series is. Ngan tackles some really hard topics in a sensitive and informed way. This final book was equal parts heartbreaking and satisfying a great end for a great series. Spoilers for the first two books ahead.
We pick up with Wren after the events of the last book, as we see her deal with her grief over Lei being gone and the Sickness making it harder to sustain her magical Xia state. Wren finds herself being that which Lei had accused her, showing no mercy. She grapples with the expectations of her father, and the enormous weight of waging a war against the dominant power that is the Demon King. Meanwhile, Lei is dealing once again with being the prisoner of the Demon King by being forced to continue her role as Moonchosen. The king isn't as fearless as her would have his court believe, because he clearly fears Lei. Lei is also trying to find a way to not only escape, but to find a way to free the rest of the Paper Girls who have been forced to be serve Lei.
There is a lot of plot that happens in this book, but it doesn't move slow or get boring. There is so much character stuff that is happening. I loved getting to know Lova better and getting some nuance from her. I also appreciate the care and attention given to Nitta's disability. Honestly, Nitta is one of my favorite side characters (especially since Bo isn't around anymore 😭). She gets a wheelchair and is always has a positive attitude about it. She never complains or feels her life is over just because she's a wheelchair user.
I absolutely love that Ngan chose not to end the book on death and leave us wondering how things will change. The last section of the book is dedicated to healing, physically and emotionally. Though there was much to cry about in this book, it ended in a way that makes you feel hopeful. Ngan has done a superb job weaving in elements about sexual abuse, trauma recovery, and disability rep all encased in a unique Malaysian inspired fantasy. If you're looking for a YA series with a lot of heart, sapphic love, great characters, and revolution, this series is for you.
Girls of Fate and Fury by Natasha Ngan is the final book in the Girls of Paper and Fire trilogy. I cannot stress enough how amazing this YA series is. Ngan tackles some really hard topics in a sensitive and informed way. This final book was equal parts heartbreaking and satisfying a great end for a great series. Spoilers for the first two books ahead.
There is a lot of plot that happens in this book, but it doesn't move slow or get boring. There is so much character stuff that is happening. I loved getting to know Lova better and getting some nuance from her. I also appreciate the care and attention given to Nitta's disability. Honestly, Nitta is one of my favorite side characters (especially since Bo isn't around anymore 😭). She gets a wheelchair and is always has a positive attitude about it. She never complains or feels her life is over just because she's a wheelchair user.
I absolutely love that Ngan chose not to end the book on death and leave us wondering how things will change. The last section of the book is dedicated to healing, physically and emotionally. Though there was much to cry about in this book, it ended in a way that makes you feel hopeful. Ngan has done a superb job weaving in elements about sexual abuse, trauma recovery, and disability rep all encased in a unique Malaysian inspired fantasy. If you're looking for a YA series with a lot of heart, sapphic love, great characters, and revolution, this series is for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault and Self harm
ms_sarah621's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Emotional abuse, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual violence, War, Blood, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Torture
beth019's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and War
Moderate: Ableism and Torture
sammysamsam's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Racism, Kidnapping, Death, Injury/Injury detail, War, Suicide, Child death, Gore, Torture, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Grief, Gaslighting, and Blood
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Self harm, Medical content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Homophobia
prettynerdy3's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Torture, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Gore, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Blood, Genocide, Medical trauma, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Violence, and War
schnaucl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I was frustrated. I do get that people can continue to love someone even when that person has done horrible things. The heart wants what the heart wants, etc.
But it felt like the assassinations/war crimes commuted by Wren and her father were glossed over and Lei mostly feels bad about what she said to Wren regarding, you know, the war crimes. She puts her mercy killing of someone who asked to die in the same category as the political assassination of an innocent person and the murder of innocent civilians with a kind of well, everyone's got blood on their hands so it's all the same. But it isn't the same. At all.
And Wren may have to confess what she's done to Aoki, but that happens off screen and it's personal, there are no systematic consequences. All the other families who lost someone because of Wren and her father never learn the truth.
It's compounded by the fact that Wren's father doesn't survive so no one has to actually grapple with the fact that he also would have been a terrible, power hungry ruler who probably continued to commit atrocities while thinking he was behaving righteously. Even the fact the fact that he sent his daughter to be repeatedly raped is given a paragraph where Wren basically says she's tried really hard not to think about it over the years. I also get that having her father live probably would have required another book to deal with his disastrous reign and that would probably be stretching the story too far.
And I also get that Wren was a product of her upbringing which obviously shaped her thinking and personal ethics and morals.
But the book really does seem to have an attitude that everyone's hands are dirty and the good side won in the end so I guess sacrificing innocent people was the right call? Aside from the one fight with Lei and Wren there's no real grappling with the consequences of what Wren and her father did. Wren feels really bad about it at the end. But she's still part of the ruling council. What keeps Wren and Lei from living together isn't that one of them committed war crimes it's that Wren has a duty to rule without asking if she deserves to have that power. Weirdly, that doesn't seem to be a question that's ever asked.
Maybe there was no other way but you can say that and still think the people who committed the war crimes shouldn't hold power after because they may be tempted to reach for those same methods when it is expedient rather than (arguably) necessary.
The second book at least raises questions about even if a person does the ruthless but necessary thing whether they'll be able to live with it after the war is over and I just felt like this book doesn't seriously return to the question and it really needed to.
I'm not saying Wren needed to be executed or exiled. But it seems like there should be more personal consequences than she gets to rule and help shape the future of the new country and live happily ever after with her beloved. It's not that it costs her nothing, she does lose a key ally and the woman she loves is mad at her for a while and certainly people she cares about die but their deaths aren't really a personal consequence unless say there wouldn't have been a war in the first place but the book doesn't really go there, either.
I also get that if she came out at the end and said let me confess the truth to the country it would undoubtedly tear the new government and country apart. But there's never even a question about doing it. It doesn't occur to anyone that it might be necessary except in the case of one particular friend, which again is off screen and there's certainly no suggestion that Aoki might reveal it to anyone else.
And Lei still never questions how well she knows Wren or her own ability to judge people after the woman she loves admits to war crimes. Also her own alcoholism is entirely absent in this book so I guess withdrawal wasn't a problem in captivity.
I did like the very end which talked about new traditions.
But it felt like the assassinations/war crimes commuted by Wren and her father were glossed over and Lei mostly feels bad about what she said to Wren regarding, you know, the war crimes. She puts her mercy killing of someone who asked to die in the same category as the political assassination of an innocent person and the murder of innocent civilians with a kind of well, everyone's got blood on their hands so it's all the same. But it isn't the same. At all.
And Wren may have to confess what she's done to Aoki, but that happens off screen and it's personal, there are no systematic consequences. All the other families who lost someone because of Wren and her father never learn the truth.
It's compounded by the fact that Wren's father doesn't survive so no one has to actually grapple with the fact that he also would have been a terrible, power hungry ruler who probably continued to commit atrocities while thinking he was behaving righteously. Even the fact the fact that he sent his daughter to be repeatedly raped is given a paragraph where Wren basically says she's tried really hard not to think about it over the years. I also get that having her father live probably would have required another book to deal with his disastrous reign and that would probably be stretching the story too far.
And I also get that Wren was a product of her upbringing which obviously shaped her thinking and personal ethics and morals.
But the book really does seem to have an attitude that everyone's hands are dirty and the good side won in the end so I guess sacrificing innocent people was the right call? Aside from the one fight with Lei and Wren there's no real grappling with the consequences of what Wren and her father did. Wren feels really bad about it at the end. But she's still part of the ruling council. What keeps Wren and Lei from living together isn't that one of them committed war crimes it's that Wren has a duty to rule without asking if she deserves to have that power. Weirdly, that doesn't seem to be a question that's ever asked.
Maybe there was no other way but you can say that and still think the people who committed the war crimes shouldn't hold power after because they may be tempted to reach for those same methods when it is expedient rather than (arguably) necessary.
The second book at least raises questions about even if a person does the ruthless but necessary thing whether they'll be able to live with it after the war is over and I just felt like this book doesn't seriously return to the question and it really needed to.
I'm not saying Wren needed to be executed or exiled. But it seems like there should be more personal consequences than she gets to rule and help shape the future of the new country and live happily ever after with her beloved. It's not that it costs her nothing, she does lose a key ally and the woman she loves is mad at her for a while and certainly people she cares about die but their deaths aren't really a personal consequence unless say there wouldn't have been a war in the first place but the book doesn't really go there, either.
I also get that if she came out at the end and said let me confess the truth to the country it would undoubtedly tear the new government and country apart. But there's never even a question about doing it. It doesn't occur to anyone that it might be necessary except in the case of one particular friend, which again is off screen and there's certainly no suggestion that Aoki might reveal it to anyone else.
And Lei still never questions how well she knows Wren or her own ability to judge people after the woman she loves admits to war crimes. Also her own alcoholism is entirely absent in this book so I guess withdrawal wasn't a problem in captivity.
I did like the very end which talked about new traditions.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Physical abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, War, Torture, Death, and Violence
Minor: Racism, Rape, and Pregnancy
steffi_23's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Do you ever read a book and start crying multiple times
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Rape, Torture, and Sexual violence