Reviews - She Who Became the Sun

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16k reviews for:

She Who Became the Sun

Shelley Parker-Chan

3.98 AVERAGE

mirasmitty's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous 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

heidini101's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous emotional informative mysterious reflective 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

itscati's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

Let me start by saying I really enjoyed my time reading this! Even tho some parts dragged, when the book gets good, it gets so good. The ending was, next to the beginning, my favorite part—what a ride!! The writing is beautiful, maybe a bit too flowery for me at times, but overall it fits the vibe of the story well. The character dynamics were really interesting, and Zhu in general was such a fascinating character; definitely my favorite POV. Some of her choices were completely wild and unhinged, but that just made her even more intriguing! I think the book would’ve worked imo better if it had stuck to Zhu’s POV like it did in the first part, because Ouyang’s chapters later on felt way slower, and sadly a bit repetitive.

My main issue aka what really threw me off was the constant over-explaining, and telling (thinking about it makes my eye twitch ngl). The whole "fate" thing was hammered into us again and again and again, almost like the author didn’t trust the reader to remember the characters’ motivations. Aside from that, the pacing was a bit weird too. The chapters are really long, and yet at the same time, some big events just… happened off-page?! Like, there’s this huge battle that gets hyped up, all the characters (and me) are ready for it, and then the next chapter is like, "Oh yeah, that already happened, we’re home now hehe :)" like?? What do you mean it already happened??? 😀💀

All that being said, I really think it was such a solid and enjoyable read! The setting, the political intrigues,

the betrayals

—it definitely all pulled me in. I do wish I could give it a higher rating, the potential was there, but I just couldn’t look past some of the writing choices. But if you are interested in this genre, I think it's worth a try :)

ijc1138's review against another edition

3.0

dark sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

crofteereader's review against another edition

4.0

I was enraptured in the beginning: the way Parker-Chan introduces us to Zhu and the whole opening sequence (mostly in the descriptions) was absolutely epic. I was sad to see that level of detail lost as we delved into the politics and dialogue, but I found each member of our main cast to be compelling - and seeing them both from the inside and the outside (both on the same team and from their opponents) really gave us such a clear and deep picture.

I also loved that the story is rooted in want. Zhu wants greatness so she will take it. She will take it from anyone who stands in her way. And if she has to suffer for it, then that is the cost and she has known nothing but suffering and so she will pay it. Over and over. And each time she is confronted with that choice, she continues to pay more and more. I cannot wait to see how her story ends.

Also, hello sapphic trifecta! The sapphic relationship at the core of this book is fantastic because they challenge and encourage each other, they talk plainly, they fulfill each other's needs, and they still are rooted in wants: what is a woman allowed to want? What is a woman allowed to want when the world thinks her a man? Again, we are back at wanting.

{Thank you Tor Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review; all thoughts are my own}