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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
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:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
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
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
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:
Complicated
I devoured this book. Im so glad there is more because I'm not ready to part with any part of this world or these characters. I love the action and the thoughtfulness of each part I love the push and pull of the protagonist. I love the way the main character sees the world and how they describe things.
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
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-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
Laat ik beginnen met dat ik het plot van dit boek heel tof vind, de karakters goed uitgewerkt en de representatie fantastisch.
Helaas was de schrijfstijl het alleen niet voor mij. Ik merkte dat ik alsmaar stukken opnieuw moest lezen omdat ze gewoon niet binnen kwamen, ik niet meevoelde met de karakters en echt aan het aftellen was tot het boek afgelopen was. Jammer, want het verhaal zelf is heel tof.
Deel 2 ligt al klaar en ik gok wel dat ik die uiteindelijk nog ga oppakken, maar voorlopig nog niet.
Helaas was de schrijfstijl het alleen niet voor mij. Ik merkte dat ik alsmaar stukken opnieuw moest lezen omdat ze gewoon niet binnen kwamen, ik niet meevoelde met de karakters en echt aan het aftellen was tot het boek afgelopen was. Jammer, want het verhaal zelf is heel tof.
Deel 2 ligt al klaar en ik gok wel dat ik die uiteindelijk nog ga oppakken, maar voorlopig nog niet.
challenging
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i wanted to enjoy this a lot more than i did.
i thought the troubled & complex exploration of gender was *really* well done, but i just didn't buy some of the character arcs: both our main characters but particularly zhu seemed to whiplash between being principled but regretfully pragmatic to coolly ruthless in a way that wasn't evenly developed and coherent but rather undone and redone over the course of the book. it made for a very satisfyingly devastating ending but frankly i'm not sure how much the middle part really earned it. i also think there were too many pov characters & a lot of the pacing issues might have been solved by committing to zhu & ouyan's povs, though i do also recognise that might detract from the epic, sweeping proportions of the plot.
(i also think this book works so much better as a standalone and i'm slightly disappointed it seems to be part of a planned series.)
the writing was mostly serviceable but sometimes had really beautiful moments of clarity and intimacy, and i wish we had spent more time in the monastery at the beginning! but the back cover suggests parker-chan was going for an english-language book in the style of an epic east asian historical drama, and in that sense the book does deliver.
i thought the troubled & complex exploration of gender was *really* well done, but i just didn't buy some of the character arcs: both our main characters but particularly zhu seemed to whiplash between being principled but regretfully pragmatic to coolly ruthless in a way that wasn't evenly developed and coherent but rather undone and redone over the course of the book. it made for a very satisfyingly devastating ending but frankly i'm not sure how much the middle part really earned it. i also think there were too many pov characters & a lot of the pacing issues might have been solved by committing to zhu & ouyan's povs, though i do also recognise that might detract from the epic, sweeping proportions of the plot.
(i also think this book works so much better as a standalone and i'm slightly disappointed it seems to be part of a planned series.)
the writing was mostly serviceable but sometimes had really beautiful moments of clarity and intimacy, and i wish we had spent more time in the monastery at the beginning! but the back cover suggests parker-chan was going for an english-language book in the style of an epic east asian historical drama, and in that sense the book does deliver.
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-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 have mixed feelings about this book. Ouyang's story was compelling and it's explorations of gender identity, ableism, and trauma were complex and interesting. Similarly, Zhu's struggle in the first half of the book made for good reading. The second half of Zhu's story started to drag for me and felt repetitive, like the reader wasn't trusted to understand her motivations and constantly had to be reminded. Far from a bad book, but didnt live up to the expectations I had for it.