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st61826's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, War, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault
kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault
maren_hemsath's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Kidnapping, War, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Bullying and Grief
Minor: Death of parent, Classism, and Sexual assault
solenekeleroux's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Kidnapping, Violence, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault, Torture, Death of parent, and Grief
thereadingskeleton's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Thank you to B2Weird Book Club and Harper Voyager for an ARC in exchange for an honest review and promotion. All opinions are my own.
Rep: East Asian coded cast
I sat with my thoughts for a good while after I finished this book, and I’m still not sure that what I have to say is going to be helpful to anyone. First, let me say that I did not dislike this book. There’s nothing objectively wrong with it. But my overall opinion is, in this case, not particularly positive.
On the positive side, the writing is beautiful: lush and descriptive and often lyrical. The worldbuilding, too, is fantastic—extensive without being overbearing. I loved noting the different pieces of Chinese mythology woven into the story. I’d like to read more books set in this world (which is why I’ll probably check out the sequel) because there’s so much left to explore.
Unfortunately, despite those things, I found myself constantly bored. I never wanted to pick the book up, was never excited to read it. Perhaps it was a case of my mood being wrong for it, or perhaps this book simply wasn’t for me. I didn’t feel invested in the plot, and I had absolutely no interest in any of the romantic plotlines. Full disclosure, I despise love triangles (as defined by monogamous straight people), and that’s the situation in this book, which is undoubtedly a big reason why every little mention of the romances made me roll my eyes. I would have loved to see less focus on the romance aspects of the story and more on familial/familial-type relationships. Xingyin’s base mission is to save her mother, and while I saw familial love acting as a theme, I feel it could have been much more prominent.
Overall, I didn’t dislike the book; I just felt it was underwhelming. On paper, it should have been a story I loved, but I didn’t. I’m extremely disappointed that I didn’t, especially because many of my friends seemed to love it. Perhaps I’ll revisit it later.
PS: The audiobook narrator, Natalie Naudus, was amazing! Definitely a highlight of my reading experience.
Rep: East Asian coded cast
I sat with my thoughts for a good while after I finished this book, and I’m still not sure that what I have to say is going to be helpful to anyone. First, let me say that I did not dislike this book. There’s nothing objectively wrong with it. But my overall opinion is, in this case, not particularly positive.
On the positive side, the writing is beautiful: lush and descriptive and often lyrical. The worldbuilding, too, is fantastic—extensive without being overbearing. I loved noting the different pieces of Chinese mythology woven into the story. I’d like to read more books set in this world (which is why I’ll probably check out the sequel) because there’s so much left to explore.
Unfortunately, despite those things, I found myself constantly bored. I never wanted to pick the book up, was never excited to read it. Perhaps it was a case of my mood being wrong for it, or perhaps this book simply wasn’t for me. I didn’t feel invested in the plot, and I had absolutely no interest in any of the romantic plotlines. Full disclosure, I despise love triangles (as defined by monogamous straight people), and that’s the situation in this book, which is undoubtedly a big reason why every little mention of the romances made me roll my eyes. I would have loved to see less focus on the romance aspects of the story and more on familial/familial-type relationships. Xingyin’s base mission is to save her mother, and while I saw familial love acting as a theme, I feel it could have been much more prominent.
Overall, I didn’t dislike the book; I just felt it was underwhelming. On paper, it should have been a story I loved, but I didn’t. I’m extremely disappointed that I didn’t, especially because many of my friends seemed to love it. Perhaps I’ll revisit it later.
PS: The audiobook narrator, Natalie Naudus, was amazing! Definitely a highlight of my reading experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: War, Kidnapping, and Grief
Minor: Sexism, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Torture
rensreading's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
that was such a ride!! truly brilliant for a debut novel. i honestly can’t wait until i get my hands on the sequel coming out this year. whoever the illustrator is for these covers deserves a raise too. their artwork is absolutely stunning!
i really adored these characters. something aboutwenzhi gave me the heebie jeebies from the first instance where he and xingyin interact. i don’t really think he loves her like he claims to, he wants to possess her like she’s some sort of prize instead of a real person, yknow? now liwei , i had my reservations about but i was really rooting for them. their friendship was everything i wanted to see. their first parting left me as heartbroken as xingyin but i knew they weren’t truly over. and then wenzhi started acting super fcking weird and i just knew™️ he kept saying that he knew she was strong and could take care of herself, but also kept treating her like a damsel in distress too so i just immediately clocked him as a big old N-O, NO!
xingyin and liwei’s relationship really sold the deal for me. whether as friends or lovers, i adored them together. they would give up life and limb for one another bc they truly love each other. a kind of love where they give and do not expect anything back in return. when you’re both givers, taking also comes along for the ride which balances the relationship out. they absolutely are not a perfect couple but that’s exactly why i liked them so much. they were friends first(though im of the opinion that liwei was taken with xingyin from the moment they met) and lovers second. if one was in danger, there was no question about whether the other would come to their aid. even with liwei’s engagement to a princess and xingyin doing her best to forget they were lovers, their friendship was still intimate enough to raise brows. their chemistry was undeniable and the care they have for each other is heartwarming as well. i really hope they get their HEA once this duology is finished.
the descriptions were to die for. the plot was well thought out with only a few hiccups here and there. the characterization was a bit lacking, especially concerning xingyin, but it wasn’t horrendous either. she felt a bit like a mary sue, but not in a bad way, just a “gee-i-wish-she-didnt-have-an-unknown-hidden-talent” kind of way. she definitely struggled to make her way in certain areas but in others it just felt a bit too easy. tan’s voice was also constant throughout the novel with only a few instances where things felt off or bland for whatever reason. it’s very clear that tan spent a lot of time and effort on this novel and i truly cannot fault her in any way for that.
this novel wasnt perfect but i love it so much that i’ll give it it’s well deserved 4.5 stars anyway (:
i really adored these characters. something about
xingyin and liwei’s relationship really sold the deal for me. whether as friends or lovers, i adored them together. they would give up life and limb for one another bc they truly love each other. a kind of love where they give and do not expect anything back in return. when you’re both givers, taking also comes along for the ride which balances the relationship out. they absolutely are not a perfect couple but that’s exactly why i liked them so much. they were friends first
the descriptions were to die for. the plot was well thought out with only a few hiccups here and there. the characterization was a bit lacking, especially concerning xingyin, but it wasn’t horrendous either. she felt a bit like a mary sue, but not in a bad way, just a “gee-i-wish-she-didnt-have-an-unknown-hidden-talent” kind of way. she definitely struggled to make her way in certain areas but in others it just felt a bit too easy. tan’s voice was also constant throughout the novel with only a few instances where things felt off or bland for whatever reason. it’s very clear that tan spent a lot of time and effort on this novel and i truly cannot fault her in any way for that.
this novel wasnt perfect but i love it so much that i’ll give it it’s well deserved 4.5 stars anyway (:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Death, Violence, War, Alcohol, Confinement, Cursing, Grief, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, and Torture
Moderate: Sexual assault and Death of parent
Minor: Pregnancy, Infertility, and Vomit
the sexual assault is attempted in part three and never explicitly stated the assaulter had that intention, so it’s all in the context clues. the infertility concernsszuum's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-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? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Confinement, Violence, Bullying, Death, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Death of parent
library_rift's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault
isaaah's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Bullying, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture
Moderate: Classism and Violence
Minor: Death, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Rape, Sexism, and War
skeptic_robot's review against another edition
adventurous
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? No
1.0
Mediocre is the best way I can describe it. It starts out well, but soon turns into a cliche love triangle. The characters are shallow. The major supporting characters are more motivated by the MC's opinion than anything else and the rest are at best one dimensional. The plot is uninspired and every achievement feels unearned. Many scenes lack any purpose and the main character's back and forth feelings get repetitive very quickly. There's also an attempted rape or sexual assault scene that exists purely to show "see how bad this character is?" which isn't needed since he was already going to murder someone and the character serves no real purpose. It has no further impact on the story or the main character and really shouldn't exist. The prose is ok, but action scenes feel dull.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault