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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
I loved every single second of this story right down to how soft the pages of the book itself felt. It was incredible and the weaving of tales together kept me on my toes the entire time.
The relationships, betrayals, plot twists, and friendships were so great.
The relationships, betrayals, plot twists, and friendships were so great.
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-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
I enjoyed this book a lot more than I anticipated, based on the rather mixed reviews I‘ve seen, but I do have a few gripes with this book.
In it‘s nature this book is pretty much what one would expect of a Mulan retelling. My problem lies mostly with the characters and their connections.
The main character Meilin is a bit of a Mary Sue. It feels like she gets into a new situation that would kill anybody else in each chapter, which immediately gets resolved, without much of a detriment to her. It made her actions feel way less impactful because I felt like there weren‘t going to be true consequences. Any traveling she does is also passed over quite quickly, but I feel like those moments of calm before the storm - so to speak - could‘ve served well as moments of contemplation and inner turmoil about her actions.
Furthermore, the romance in this book didn‘t seem really natural and I also didn‘t like the introduction of a love triangle later in the book.
Aside from that, the worldbuilding was quite lackluster.
The prose and especially the dialogue felt a bit juvenile at times, unfortunately.
Nevertheless, I found the book to generally be pretty entertaining and I‘m curious to see how the duology will end.
In it‘s nature this book is pretty much what one would expect of a Mulan retelling. My problem lies mostly with the characters and their connections.
The main character Meilin is a bit of a Mary Sue. It feels like she gets into a new situation that would kill anybody else in each chapter, which immediately gets resolved, without much of a detriment to her. It made her actions feel way less impactful because I felt like there weren‘t going to be true consequences. Any traveling she does is also passed over quite quickly, but I feel like those moments of calm before the storm - so to speak - could‘ve served well as moments of contemplation and inner turmoil about her actions.
Furthermore, the romance in this book didn‘t seem really natural and I also didn‘t like the introduction of a love triangle later in the book.
Aside from that, the worldbuilding was quite lackluster.
The prose and especially the dialogue felt a bit juvenile at times, unfortunately.
Nevertheless, I found the book to generally be pretty entertaining and I‘m curious to see how the duology will end.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
inspiring
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
I'm not sold on the dragon or the jade or the black magic, but I'm not totally against them. The soulful commander and the ambivalent female solider/mage who doesn't want to be confined are interesting-ish, and I respect the somewhat realistic warfare and espionage, but I found it a bit difficult to get fully invested until about the last 3rd. It's purely coincidence that happens to be when the enemy prince made an appearance. You believe me, right? If there's another volume, I would definitely read it to find out how Meilin gets out of her current mess and into the next.
PS The decorative collectors' edition of this book is so pretty. So pretty.
PS The decorative collectors' edition of this book is so pretty. So pretty.
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
2nd read 7/18/25: 3 ⭐
Same vibes, nothing new to add to the narrative. I just wanted to remember the plot before book 2. Cared for the romance even less this time around though which, I guess makes sense. Hopefully book 2 is better.
Same vibes, nothing new to add to the narrative. I just wanted to remember the plot before book 2. Cared for the romance even less this time around though which, I guess makes sense. Hopefully book 2 is better.