Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - She Who Became the Sun

Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

115 reviews

sunsetcity's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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sophiahelix's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? Yes

4.0

It’s really strong and creative, with memorable characters and a story I want to continue with through the series. Sometimes the content warnings on here are over the top but in this case actually do heed them because it’s pretty violent and graphic at times.

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genny's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

First of all, I gotta throw it out there that this is very low fantasy. It's really more historical fiction, so adjust expectations accordingly. Anyway, I truly enjoyed the set-up - Shelley Parker-Chan paints a vivid story reminiscent of Mulan, only the protagonist's primary driving force is a desperate bid for survival rather than familial duty (now that I think about it, the desire to honor family is the motivation for the "antagonist", Ouyang, so that's interesting). I enjoyed listening to the story (great audiobook narration!) even as it gave me an odd feeling of dread. Morally gray characters in a high-stakes setting will do that to you, haha.

I appreciated the conversations on gender and sexuality. There's a lot to unpack there for both Zhu and Ouyang, and I think it was executed beautifully. The monastery section was great, but I became less invested once we left that setting. For a book set in a time of war, the action scenes were forgettable and felt like filler. My heart did twinge a bit at "that scene" with Ouyang and Esen, so there's that! That said, I couldn't help but feel that Zhu as a protagonist was a little...one-note? Take away the intense ambition and there's not much left of her personality; even the comical side of her felt like a mask. This was fine up until the point when

she has an epiphany that she doesn't need to pretend to be her brother; she no longer needs to become "great" to survive.

From then on, I was never fully convinced by why she was doing all that she did.

She didn't seem to truly care about the rebels' cause, the fate of people who aren't directly under her command...anything, really. She knew she could live a peaceful life and heaven wouldn't strike her down for it, she just didn't want to. But why? Power for the sake of power, I guess? Or is it simply an answer to a world that tried to confine who she could be?

I'm sure the next book will explore this more, because the question was acknowledged by Zhu herself. 🤔

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booksandteatime's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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? Yes

4.5

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hamstringy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

4.25

A great exploration of the politics of desire and gender. Absolutely love the way the two main characters exist like two orbiting stars, and the way this book grips u and doesn’t let go. It isn’t a light read, but it’s rewarding

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braiths_book_thoughts's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

"Don't go through life thinking of duty. When all we have are these brief spans between our nonexistences, why not make the most of the life you are living now? The price is worth it"

This quote describes the entire book quite nicely I feel. It follows Zhu, a child dying of starvation and becoming something great.

I really enjoyed the book, right up until the last chapter. Zhu performs an act that, even though was glossed over greatly, broke my heart. And left a sour taste in my mouth.

The majority of the book I found was excellent. There was some parts in the middle I felt were boring and a lot of the major events that would have been enjoyable to read, were just skipped, which feels like an odd choice as it left the world feeling sort if flat.

However, I greatly liked all the characters. To Zhu struggling with gender identity to Ouyang dealing with his mutalation and self hatred. There was a lot of heavy sub plots here and the sapphic romance was a surprise and welcomed.

What we must remember is that Zhu, though the main character, is not the hero of this story. She is definitely an anti-hero with incredible drive and she will do anything to get the destiny she believes is rightfully hers. Even when the cost is her loved ones suffering.

Ouyangs ending was a little bit if a surprise, not because of how it ended, he makes it clear throughout what he intends to do (even though it broke his heart and mine!), but a lot of the build up was removed. There was no mention of acts like, gathering the generals to him, which was a pretty significant detail! It felt like a disservice to his growth and and plot line.

I definitely preferred Zhu's story line to Ouyang'm s, I still greatly enjoyed Ouyangs story. I just read his parts faster to get back to Zhu.

The book doesn't wrap up everything, because obviously there will be a second book. Even though I doing completely connect with either Zhu or Ouyang and there heaven made connection felt a little forced, I cannot wait to see how their story ends.

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