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samugranjo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The characters are lovable at times but with most of them you are gonna feel annoyed too, feel like they have went too far. You both understand them and want to stop them.
The way the author writes about gender is outstanding, I was surprised by how much I related to this book as a genderqueer person. There's also some representation in the ace spectrum that I think was done well considering how little space it had.
Overall really recommend this read, and have to end this review by praising the writing in this novel.
Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual content, War, and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Slavery, Torture, Alcohol, Body horror, Classism, Cursing, Genocide, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Animal death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Infertility, and Vomit
josiev_08's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Violence, Child death, Classism, Cursing, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Misogyny, Sexism, Child abuse, Medical trauma, and War
inting3270's review
- 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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Death of parent, Torture, War, Death, Dysphoria, Medical trauma, and Misogyny
Moderate: Child death, Slavery, and Classism
handful_of_frogs's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Violence, Body horror, Blood, Cannibalism, Classism, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, and Sexual content
andromeda_1998's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Characters
Zhu is a strong character that has come a long way in the journey to find themselves. Eventhough she does some despicable things, you will still find yourself rooting for her. This book has muliple pov’s, and eventhough I liked Ouyangs story less I do think it’s an important pov to have. It transforms Ouyang from a mythical angry general into a hurt and damaged men who’s trying to take revenge for what has been done to his family.
Ma Yingzi is one of the characters I liked less. She is nothing more than the empathetic woman who follows Zhu trough her troubles and I would have loved for her to have more moments where she would show her desires for life.
Worldbuilding
This book is a genderbended retailing of the ascension of Zhu Yuanzhuang, the first emperor of the Ming dynasty. It has fantasy elements, and it has been done beautifully. The story focuses a lot on political games and can be a bit hard to read but in the end it’s worth it.
Writing
The writing is beautifully done. There are some amazing quotes in this book!
Story
Like I said before the story focuses on political games and war themes. It has some big triggerwarnings and the book can be very heavy to read.
Recommendations
If you loved this book I would recommend you the poppy war but also the priory of the orange tree. The poppy war and she who became the sun are closer together but this kind of epic story also fits in very well with the priory of the orange tree
Graphic: Eating disorder, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Sexism, War, and Animal death
ye_li's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Violence, Body horror, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Classism, War, Child abuse, Death, and Colonisation
Moderate: Sexual content
therainbowshelf's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Classism, Death, Dysphoria, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Gore, Torture, Xenophobia, Transphobia, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Outing, Murder, Physical abuse, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual content, Grief, Homophobia, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and War
serena_hien's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, Misogyny, Violence, War, Ableism, Alcohol, Murder, Classism, Dysphoria, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Body horror and Torture
Minor: Child death
hannahbailey's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.0
However, I did love the exploration of gender in the setting of war and violence. It was really interesting to watch the different characters grow into their respective roles. The subtle use of fantasy added an extra element of risk, so the story felt believable with incredibly high stakes.
Fantasy fans will love the diverse cast and character development, as well as the exciting, action-packed plot. I would've enjoyed the book a lot more had it been written in first-person, though I think this is more a fault of my own than that of the book's.
Check trigger warnings for this book as it's packed full of them - definitely not a light read.
thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review
Graphic: Classism, Slavery, Body horror, Grief, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Physical abuse, Sexism, War, Child death, Ableism, Bullying, Gore, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Racial slurs
ate_reads's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Death, Murder, Sexism, Blood, Body shaming, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Cursing, Death of parent, Alcohol, Animal death, Grief, Sexual content, Violence, and War