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hiveretcafe's review
2.0
tw: suicide
What a disappointment. I was hoping for a good Mongolian historical epic, but that really just goes to show me to have lower expectations lol.
So I've learned like halfway through the book that this story is based on an opera called Turandot, but this story is still Not Good. Jinghua is a slave girl and is almost instantaneously attracted to Khalaf. She is so attracted to this dumbass and I don't understand it. Later on, we learn why she is the way that she is, but it still doesn't explain her instalove.
On the topic of Khalaf being a dumbass -- I'm being unnecessarily harsh. Probably. He's the third son of the Khan of the Kipchak province and so of course he has no designs to rule the Khanate. He's a philosopher and a scholar who's read tons of literature and books and stuff and he finds himself in the position of having to think of the future and what's best for the Khanate, which is probably not his strong suit. He's just green and ignorant and kind of a dumbass and I really don't understand the attraction between the two. The "chemistry" between the two felt very forced.
On the upside, Khalaf's father, Timur Khan, is gruff and rough around the edges and kind of a dick. But he also cares about his son and is a huge drama queen. He comes around to having Jinghua in their little travel posse and he's probably my favourite character in this book.
Another good thing about this book is all the historical aspects. Admittedly, I don't know much about the Mongolian empire at all, but the way in which the world is portrayed and all the sort of politics and systems are described, were very informative. There are further notes in the end of the book that go on to describe more of the research the author did for this book and what has been altered for fictional purposes.
What a disappointment. I was hoping for a good Mongolian historical epic, but that really just goes to show me to have lower expectations lol.
So I've learned like halfway through the book that this story is based on an opera called Turandot, but this story is still Not Good. Jinghua is a slave girl and is almost instantaneously attracted to Khalaf. She is so attracted to this dumbass and I don't understand it. Later on, we learn why she is the way that she is, but it still doesn't explain her instalove.
On the topic of Khalaf being a dumbass -- I'm being unnecessarily harsh. Probably. He's the third son of the Khan of the Kipchak province and so of course he has no designs to rule the Khanate. He's a philosopher and a scholar who's read tons of literature and books and stuff and he finds himself in the position of having to think of the future and what's best for the Khanate, which is probably not his strong suit. He's just green and ignorant and kind of a dumbass and I really don't understand the attraction between the two. The "chemistry" between the two felt very forced.
On the upside, Khalaf's father, Timur Khan, is gruff and rough around the edges and kind of a dick. But he also cares about his son and is a huge drama queen. He comes around to having Jinghua in their little travel posse and he's probably my favourite character in this book.
Another good thing about this book is all the historical aspects. Admittedly, I don't know much about the Mongolian empire at all, but the way in which the world is portrayed and all the sort of politics and systems are described, were very informative. There are further notes in the end of the book that go on to describe more of the research the author did for this book and what has been altered for fictional purposes.
Spoiler
So if you've looked up the Turandot opera by now, you would know that the opera is kinda racist and also that the slave girl (Liu in the opera) aka Jinghua ends the story by killing herself in order to protect Khalaf's life. How do I feel about this? It's kind of Romeo and Juliet-y and I think while it is based on this opera, the story could be infinitely more interesting if it were a retelling that continued on and didn't have her commit suicide. Especially as we learn that Jinghua herself is a princess in her own right. But also their chemistry is kind of forced feeling anyways so *shrug emoji*steinmetzdan's review
2.0
I just spent forty-five minutes writing an essay in this goddamn window only for the app to crash and lose all of it, because in the year of our lord 2021 GR doesn’t autodraft. Fml.
TLDR, frustrating. For all the wild historical detail and Arabic poetry and Confucian philosophy, the story didn’t seem like it had any structure and the characters spent a lot of time wandering around the desert arguing about what to do next. Main characters didn’t have any chemistry, protag had no motivation, no setups and payoffs, and it annoyed me.
I’ll rewrite an actual review when my seething rage at Amazon’s policy of keeping their acquired sites as time capsules subsides.
TLDR, frustrating. For all the wild historical detail and Arabic poetry and Confucian philosophy, the story didn’t seem like it had any structure and the characters spent a lot of time wandering around the desert arguing about what to do next. Main characters didn’t have any chemistry, protag had no motivation, no setups and payoffs, and it annoyed me.
I’ll rewrite an actual review when my seething rage at Amazon’s policy of keeping their acquired sites as time capsules subsides.
autumn_mesmer's review
5.0
This book crushed my soul and I’m not okay because now I don’t know what to do with myself. I couldn’t stop-I still can’t stop-thinking about the whole plot and story. It’s all I was thinking about the whole week I read it. It’s just so good. Definitely a new favorite.
brookey8888's review
adventurous
dark
funny
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
3.5
That ending pissed me off.
The first hundred pages of this I was bored and confused, but then I started to get into it and the characters and their interactions and ended up enjoying the rest. I really loved our main character and the strength she had and the relationships she developed especially with the king(?). The ending though?? Like I’m glad the author went there(I didn’t realize this was a retelling so it makes sense), but I’m not exactly happy she did.
The first hundred pages of this I was bored and confused, but then I started to get into it and the characters and their interactions and ended up enjoying the rest. I really loved our main character and the strength she had and the relationships she developed especially with the king(?). The ending though?? Like I’m glad the author went there(I didn’t realize this was a retelling so it makes sense), but I’m not exactly happy she did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Trafficking, Violence, War, Death, Death of parent, Suicide, Classism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Torture
_camk_'s review
4.0
What a tale. It wasn't until I finished it and actually digested it, did I truly appreciate the story.
It starts slow but towards the third riddle you will be speed reading to know how it ends and what an ending it was.
It starts slow but towards the third riddle you will be speed reading to know how it ends and what an ending it was.
nancy163's review
5.0
That was the saddest ending I've ever read. 1000 times worse than Allegiant. That ending completely broke me. I don’t think I’ll ever recover. I actually started crying at the end.