Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this Mulan retelling! It has strong characters and a gripping plot, even if some elements felt a bit uneven along the way.
The beginning of the book leaned maybe a little too heavily into its Mulan parallels, which at times felt forced. The narration also over-explained at points, especially early on, which pulled me out of the story a bit.
I really enjoyed the characters, especially Lei - I hope we'll see more of him in book 2. I struggled a big with Meilin's moral compass. She seemed to be haunted by the deaths of fellow soldiers that she didn't even know personally, while she was oddly unbothered by the people she herself killed.
I was a big confused about the magic system. Qi seems to be widely accepted in Anlai, but there are no clear restrictions of it described, even though Meilin seems to be able to use it for battle. Meanwhile "dark magic" is completely forbidden.
The romance was a bit insta-lovebut I'm hoping for another outcome anyways so maybe it's alright . Overall, though, this was a fun and worthwhile read. It was a story with a strong heroine who is driven not by honour, but by ambition and greed. I will be looking forward to the next book in this series that will be published some time next month.
The beginning of the book leaned maybe a little too heavily into its Mulan parallels, which at times felt forced. The narration also over-explained at points, especially early on, which pulled me out of the story a bit.
I really enjoyed the characters, especially Lei - I hope we'll see more of him in book 2. I struggled a big with Meilin's moral compass. She seemed to be haunted by the deaths of fellow soldiers that she didn't even know personally, while she was oddly unbothered by the people she herself killed.
I was a big confused about the magic system. Qi seems to be widely accepted in Anlai, but there are no clear restrictions of it described, even though Meilin seems to be able to use it for battle. Meanwhile "dark magic" is completely forbidden.
The romance was a bit insta-love
3 stars - I loved the inversion of the usual evil stepmother trope, and I wish there had been an opportunity to see a little more of Meilin's relationship with Xiuying. I enjoyed the quotes included at the beginning of each chapter and how they helped to give a bigger picture of the world and magic system. The plot was engaging and I loved Meilin's resilience and drive, as well as her acknowledgement of her wants and her greed without feeling ashamed. The ending was realistic to the world the author had created, and leaves the book in an interesting place for the next one to pick up from. The author's note was a lovely addition - it was so interesting to read about the author's intentions with the book!
I really struggled with the writing style in this book, as despite being written in first person, I felt so disconnected from Meilin. The love interests seemed like interesting characters, but their relationships with Meilin felt underdeveloped, and many of the side characters also felt shallow. The dialogue, writing and characters seemed more YA than Adult to me, and I would have loved some more details about the worldbuilding and magic system.
Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the arc!
I really struggled with the writing style in this book, as despite being written in first person, I felt so disconnected from Meilin. The love interests seemed like interesting characters, but their relationships with Meilin felt underdeveloped, and many of the side characters also felt shallow. The dialogue, writing and characters seemed more YA than Adult to me, and I would have loved some more details about the worldbuilding and magic system.
Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the arc!
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Excellent retelling of Mulan, with supernatural elements to help really investigate human emotions and tendencies. Ended in an uncomfortable space that is more in line with traditional telling of Mulan. Curious to see where this goes!
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thank you to the publisher for sharing an arc with me.
This was an okay read for me. I was excited for the Mulan-like retelling, but the charcatwra never fully landed for me. Mielin leaves home to join the army and make a difference in the trajectory of her life. Her father was not the best to her and we're told throughout the novel that she was being selfish for not staying in a woman's place and finding fulfillment in service to man and country. She also spent her journey to carve out a space for herself, seeking more and more power, but it all felt somewhat surface-level. I really would have loved to have gotten further into her psyche to get to the kitty gritty of why she thinks of herself as selfish, and maybe get some action to back up that claim.
On another note, there are powerful beings in this world whose aim is to use human to restore and destroy a great power source. If you enjoy stories where the MC must go on a journey for hidden power, and make unexpected discoveries along the way, then this novel.migjt be up your alley.
This was an okay read for me. I was excited for the Mulan-like retelling, but the charcatwra never fully landed for me. Mielin leaves home to join the army and make a difference in the trajectory of her life. Her father was not the best to her and we're told throughout the novel that she was being selfish for not staying in a woman's place and finding fulfillment in service to man and country. She also spent her journey to carve out a space for herself, seeking more and more power, but it all felt somewhat surface-level. I really would have loved to have gotten further into her psyche to get to the kitty gritty of why she thinks of herself as selfish, and maybe get some action to back up that claim.
On another note, there are powerful beings in this world whose aim is to use human to restore and destroy a great power source. If you enjoy stories where the MC must go on a journey for hidden power, and make unexpected discoveries along the way, then this novel.migjt be up your alley.
adventurous
dark
tense