Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - Girls of Paper and Fire

I loved this book a lot, I love the way it’s heavily inspired by Asian folklore and culture and it was enjoyable to read but I will say massive TW for sexual assault, violence against women, and slut shaming. Tho I do wish some of the characters where a bit more developed and the relationship between Wren and Lei. I will add this as well, I remember reading some of the reviews under this book saying how it was ‘unoriginal’ and ‘fell into a lot of clichés’ here’s the thing, there’s technically no such things as something being ‘completely original’ because everything is influenced by something and can be compared to something else or anything similar, the only exception I could make for this is that it feels like copy and paste but then that would probably fall under plagiarism and with other legal issues. Point I’m trying to make is that I don’t like that criticism since everything is influenced by something or someone. I do look forward to reading the second book soon.

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julesnw's review

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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booksandprosecco's review

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adventurous challenging dark fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

“I don’t want an easy life. I want a meaningful one.”

Girls of Paper and Fire is such an incredibly immersive story – I could not put it down. The story is not necessarily a new one and there are hints of other YA stories in it – the girl who lives in a small village who is taken against her will to live at the palace and forced to do things she does not want to do.

However, the uniqueness of this story comes in its details and its lush writing. Natasha Ngan has a way with words folks.

In Girls of Paper and Fire, there are three castes:
1) Paper caste – fully human
2) Steel caste – part human, part demon
3) Moon caste – fully demon

The Demon King of Ikhara has made it very clear that Papers are the lowest of the low, and they should know their place. However, he still needs them to follow him, so every year, the Demon King takes eight Paper Girls as his consorts.

One year, a ninth girl is chosen.

“What did they say when baby-me opened her eyes to reveal luminous, liquid gold?”

Lei, a Paper, lives in a small village with her father, and helps him run his herb shop with Tien, a Steel. Lei is pretty normal – except that her eyes are pure gold and rumours of her beauty reached the King’s men and they steal her away to gift her to the King. Otherwise, totally normal.

At the Hidden Palace, the Paper Girls spend their days learning about the kingdom… and about how to please the king. They are expected to be available to him, and only him, at any time. But Lei does the worst thing possible. She falls in love with someone else.

“It doesn’t matter how beautiful the cage is. It’s still a prison.”

There are so many things I loved about this book! First, this is an Asian-inspired fantasy and the world is so fantastic. I expect there will be a little more world-building in book two, since we are in the palace for the most part in book one, but I felt like I was trapped in that palace with Lei.

As I mentioned above, the broad story is one many of us have heard before, but it didn’t always feel like that. From the different castes to the lush world, the details were different enough that it felt new.

“And we have all been taught what happens to Paper that tries to defy demons. It gets torn apart.”

Lei was a great character. I really love that she didn’t do everything right the first time. She made mistakes and fumbled along. But she also stood up for herself and for others. She learns from her mistakes and tries to be better. She grows and it is wonderful.

I also liked the diversity of the other paper girls (all of the characters were diverse, but I just loved the paper girls so much). They all have different personalities, and even though we don’t get to know them that well, I felt like I could pick them out from a group.

Also, hello sapphic relationship! Yes. The love interest is a girl and it was beautiful. In a short amount of time, we really get to see their relationship blossom in such a healthy way. Yes, again. A healthy relationship!

“Well, despite what they look like, all demons have the same blood as us.”
“We are all the same really, little one. Deep down.”

Despite the great love story within this book, there are also a lot of heavy themes and topics. The story is about people being oppressed and having to fight for their right to live, and in the palace, the paper girls are raped and sexually assaulted/abused.

These are things people in our world face every single day and I think Ngan did an amazing job of tackling such terrible topics with both sensitivity and boldness. All of these things are wrong and she makes that very clear.

“Remember, even that which seems impossible at first can be overcome by strength of mind and heart.”

This book is truly a work of art, and I am so unbelievably excited for book two, Girls of Storm and Shadow!

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