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crybabybea's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I'm sad because I really wanted to love this but it just wasn't it for me.
This leans more toward the younger side of YA, which isn't bad but means the world and writing is quite simple, and the stakes don't feel as high as they could. The premise of the book is so interesting and unique - a main character who can't speak and uncovers a plot to take the throne. But, her not being able to speak doesn't actually matter at all, except that she can't tell anyone her true identity. People understand her perfectly, and the consequences for her being mute and cursed with an unremovable bowl on her head are nearly irrelevant.
I felt like this book tried to do too much at once. I found the weaving together of fairy tales (the main two being Hachikazuki and The Wild Swans) interesting and a unique take on a retelling. However, being YA, a lot of time was spent on the love story aspect which felt lackluster and caused the pacing to drag horribly in the middle of the book. The story was all over the place with fairytales, magic, love, battles, multiple antagonists, changing settings... it was just a lot and it caused the quality of the main plot to suffer.
The world didn't feel very clear to me, it was a pan-Asian fantasy setting that pulled from Chinese, Japanese, and Korean culture and didn't really have an identity of its own. The magic system still doesn't make all that much sense to me which really makes the last twist for our main character fall flat. It felt like the magic only existed as a plot device to invent either conflict or resolutions for Shiori. Her paper crane familiar, Kiki, is cute but was used to unnaturally move the plot forward. Same for Seryu, the dragon.
The characters were also quite flat and uninteresting. The whole emotional investment of the story comes from Shiori's desire to save her brothers, but we are never introduced to their personalities enough to care, the narrative just tells us who they are and how they act but they spend the entire story as cranes and we rarely interact with them. The main love interest is sweet but he very much falls into the Prince Charming role and doesn't have much complexity. The coolest character is a shapeshifting dragon but he disappears after we meet him and only shows up as a plot device once or twice in the story. I will say I did like our main character, Shiori, and her growth as a character felt satisfying and realistic.
As a fairytale retelling, this is fun and wholesome, and I especially enjoyed the weaving in of East Asian mythology/fairy tales as well as the way the author turned some of the tropes of the genre on its head. I did like the writing and the ideas of the author so I'm not completely turned off from trying something by Elizabeth Lim again though!
This leans more toward the younger side of YA, which isn't bad but means the world and writing is quite simple, and the stakes don't feel as high as they could. The premise of the book is so interesting and unique - a main character who can't speak and uncovers a plot to take the throne. But, her not being able to speak doesn't actually matter at all, except that she can't tell anyone her true identity. People understand her perfectly, and the consequences for her being mute and cursed with an unremovable bowl on her head are nearly irrelevant.
I felt like this book tried to do too much at once. I found the weaving together of fairy tales (the main two being Hachikazuki and The Wild Swans) interesting and a unique take on a retelling. However, being YA, a lot of time was spent on the love story aspect which felt lackluster and caused the pacing to drag horribly in the middle of the book. The story was all over the place with fairytales, magic, love, battles, multiple antagonists, changing settings... it was just a lot and it caused the quality of the main plot to suffer.
The world didn't feel very clear to me, it was a pan-Asian fantasy setting that pulled from Chinese, Japanese, and Korean culture and didn't really have an identity of its own. The magic system still doesn't make all that much sense to me which really makes the last twist for our main character fall flat. It felt like the magic only existed as a plot device to invent either conflict or resolutions for Shiori. Her paper crane familiar, Kiki, is cute but was used to unnaturally move the plot forward. Same for Seryu, the dragon.
The characters were also quite flat and uninteresting. The whole emotional investment of the story comes from Shiori's desire to save her brothers, but we are never introduced to their personalities enough to care, the narrative just tells us who they are and how they act but they spend the entire story as cranes and we rarely interact with them. The main love interest is sweet but he very much falls into the Prince Charming role and doesn't have much complexity. The coolest character is a shapeshifting dragon but he disappears after we meet him and only shows up as a plot device once or twice in the story. I will say I did like our main character, Shiori, and her growth as a character felt satisfying and realistic.
As a fairytale retelling, this is fun and wholesome, and I especially enjoyed the weaving in of East Asian mythology/fairy tales as well as the way the author turned some of the tropes of the genre on its head. I did like the writing and the ideas of the author so I'm not completely turned off from trying something by Elizabeth Lim again though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury
dollwon's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Grief, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Car accident, Murder, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death
magicalmooncakes's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
fragrant_stars's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
My god I am starstruck by this book. I cannot wait to devour the sequel!! I loved the characters, and my heart genuinely ached for the main character as she went through her struggles. The Wild Swans was one of my very favourite fairytales as a child and as a Chinese person seeing this beloved myth retold as a East Asian fantasy was so thrilling to me that I procrastinated for maybe a whole year. I was so nervous because I desperately wanted to love this book, but if I could go back now I'd be shrieking at my past self to dive right in post haste.
One of the things I loved best was how much agency was given to Shiori as a character. The blurb on the back of the book suggested to me that she would be getting a lot more help from Seryu, but as I read the bookthat didn't seem to be the case. Yes, he helped Shiori in some key moments, but most of the time Shiori got on using her wits. I also thought, based on something Seryu had said in an earlier chapter, that Shiori being forced to not use her words would eventually figure out to use wordless magic, and maybe that would be what saved the day- but no, not even that. Mostly wits. I found that brilliant.
My only regret is that the Raikama, the main antagonist / twist villain / antihero of the story, died before all the loose ends could be satisfactorily tied together. Then again, I guess that's just life for ya. Death doesn't really tie things neatly, so I guess that makes sense. Even before she was revealed to be more than she seemed I could already sort of tell- which, trust me, it was a good thing and it felt soooo rewarding when my guesses turned out right!! Made me feel like I'd have loved to see a few more scenes with her before she left the story.
One of the things I loved best was how much agency was given to Shiori as a character. The blurb on the back of the book suggested to me that she would be getting a lot more help from Seryu, but as I read the book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Bullying, Animal death, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Murder, War, Misogyny, Violence, Classism, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Alcohol
julierambaeck's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I loved this! It was so atmospheric, and the characters were soo lovable. I loved the relationsships between the characters, and the dragon element. I thought the magic system was great, and easy to understand.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
meecespieces's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Blood
kiwij96's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A very cozy and simple read, beautifully written and full of adventure, twists, and magic. Lacking in description at times which made me feel like I missed information. I was in love with the writing and adventure for 35 out of the 40 chapters. After that I felt like some things were both a bit rushed and strung out longer than necessary.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Blood, and Bullying
Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent, Violence, Torture, and War
jj_tj's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Violence
Minor: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War
broccoli_j's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I think this book has to grow on you! It has a relatively slow start, but I have never read a book with such an original take on the „chosen one“ Trope.
The worldbuilding, the characterarcs and the magic system are just insane and the story uses the found family trope in such a unique way!
This was a great first book and I’m excited for the rest of the series!!!
The worldbuilding, the characterarcs and the magic system are just insane and the story uses the found family trope in such a unique way!
This was a great first book and I’m excited for the rest of the series!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
Moderate: War, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Child abuse
notapenguin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
5.0
i cried.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence, Grief, and Animal death
Minor: War