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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-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
Torn between 4 and 5 stars. I really loved it! Sometimes I thought it was a bit complicated/confusing but overall, super good!
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i am still recovering from this
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-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
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Den politischen Teil des Buches fand ich teilweise sehr schwierig zu verstehen weil ich nicht immer mitgekommen bin wer jetzt auf welcher Seite steht und fand daher den mittleren Teil sehr kompliziert.
Den Anfang im Kloster fand ich recht gelungen, speziell die Freundschaft zwischen Zhu und Xu Da hat mir gefallen.
Auch das Erkunden von Geschlecht und Identität in Gestalt von Ouyang und Zhu war gelungen.Ich fand Ouyangs Entscheidung Prinz Esen zu töten zugegebenermaßen sehr ungewöhnlich. Natürlich möchte er Rache üben, aber für mich war eigentlich klar, dass sie sich geliebt haben😭
Insgesamt hat es sich sehr gezogen und ich habe ewig gebraucht um das Buch zu beenden, das fand ich ein bisschen schade
Den Anfang im Kloster fand ich recht gelungen, speziell die Freundschaft zwischen Zhu und Xu Da hat mir gefallen.
Auch das Erkunden von Geschlecht und Identität in Gestalt von Ouyang und Zhu war gelungen.
Insgesamt hat es sich sehr gezogen und ich habe ewig gebraucht um das Buch zu beenden, das fand ich ein bisschen schade
adventurous
emotional
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
Oh this was incredible. The concept of the sheer want, the desire for power and greatness, were brilliantly explored in this fantasy. I also loved how it dealt with identity and queer desire, and the power dynamics so far are fascinating. Very curious how this will end in book 2!
The summary does this book a disservice by not even mentioning Ouyang, because he's a main character of this book just as much as Zhu. And when the narrative first switched to him and lost focus on Zhu it was really disconcerting.
But that's a quibble - Ouyang was a great character and I'm glad he had a perspective because he broadened the scope of the world and had the more fulfilling plot arc of the two. Zhu and Ouyang are dark and complex characters and it was refreshing to see how ruthless both of them were in their own ways. Their feelings about their gender identities were also explored really well.
But this book fell kind of flat for me. I think it stems from the fact that there was a lot of telling and not showing about character beliefs and relationships. It made it hard to get invested or even believe the depth of feelings described.
It was also hard to root for Zhu when her goals are so abstract. I loved her determination, but she just "wants greatness." Like what greatness? And for what? She is continually overshadowed by her brother's fate of greatness (which was actually dealt with super well with her constantly thinking about how Heaven, not just the people around her, saw her). But this means that we never really get out of that concept, even after Zhu lets go of her worry about Heaven. Even when it becomes clear that she wants to, I still couldn't root for her, because she gave up so much for power and what was the point? Because she pretends she's not Chen, but she is Chen and then why am I reading a book about her?
Like in contrast to Ouyang - if Ouyang had, I would have been with him. Like obviously it would be wrong, but he has motivation and I would totally get why he did it. And he would be wracked with remorse for it so there would be fulfillment to the scene. Compare that with , which just left me cold. But Ouyang's arc has its issues as well, like the fact that he just pulled a . I was also left just really annoyed by the men in Ouyang's plotline being toxic constantly. Like it was well written but got tiring fast.
And Zhu is never in any kind of trouble for longer than a paragraph. All her problems seem to be solved by ✨female insight✨ that nobody else has, luck, posturing, literally any plot contrivance other than actual talent. Which, while it made for a very easy reader experience, doesn't make for a fulfilling one.
But that's a quibble - Ouyang was a great character and I'm glad he had a perspective because he broadened the scope of the world and had the more fulfilling plot arc of the two. Zhu and Ouyang are dark and complex characters and it was refreshing to see how ruthless both of them were in their own ways. Their feelings about their gender identities were also explored really well.
But this book fell kind of flat for me. I think it stems from the fact that there was a lot of telling and not showing about character beliefs and relationships. It made it hard to get invested or even believe the depth of feelings described.
It was also hard to root for Zhu when her goals are so abstract. I loved her determination, but she just "wants greatness." Like what greatness? And for what? She is continually overshadowed by her brother's fate of greatness (which was actually dealt with super well with her constantly thinking about how Heaven, not just the people around her, saw her). But this means that we never really get out of that concept, even after Zhu lets go of her worry about Heaven. Even when it becomes clear that she wants to
Spoiler
become EmperorLike in contrast to Ouyang - if Ouyang had
Spoiler
killed a child as part of his whole revenge programSpoiler
Zhu's murder of a childSpoiler
whole traitor faction out of his pocket for his revenge at the end when literally we were only shown Shao till thenAnd Zhu is never in any kind of trouble for longer than a paragraph. All her problems seem to be solved by ✨female insight✨ that nobody else has, luck, posturing, literally any plot contrivance other than actual talent. Which, while it made for a very easy reader experience, doesn't make for a fulfilling one.