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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
adventurous
funny
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
fast-paced
adventurous
emotional
tense
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:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
If you're at all intrigued by the teaser for this book then ignore the other reviews and read it. I did and I'm glad I did. At first the writing feels a bit stiff and it's a little slow such you in but once you're in, you don't want to stop reading. I'm excited for the sequel!
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is a hard one to review, honestly, because I'm not sure how I feel about it.
Undeniably, I found it extremely compelling - I flew through the book in less than two days. There were moments where I was so intensely impatient to find out what happened that it was causing me anxiety, and I had to actually put the book down for a while to chill out. And yet, I hesitate to say that I liked it.
It gave me some of the same vibes as She Who Became the Sun, in the main characters' relentless pursuit of their ambition, and their rebellion against the confines of their gender. But where in She Who Became the Sun, there was a cold practicality to Zhu that was stabilizing, Meiling has a wildness, an insatiability, that I find off-putting in a protagonist. She burns like a wildfire, such that I fear for those in her wake. It's hard to articulate. It's not her ambition that I dislike, nor her willingness for violence. I think what I struggle with is that she lacks any grounding factor, and her isolation and trauma drive her towards madness in what feels less like the story of any kind of hero, and more the origin story of a villain. And I'm not interested in that kind of story.
Originally I had rated it as four stars, mostly on account of my strong reaction and the compelling reading experience, but having sat with it for a bit, I think it moves down to a three star. I put my finger on what bothered me about the book, and that's hope. Or rather, a lack of it.
I read to be swept away into another world, and what I love most about books is the enduring persistence of hope in the face of tragedy. It's why I hate horror books. Because I need some semblance of a happy ending. Or at least a hopeful one. But in The Night Ends With Fire, even the moments of triumph feel empty of hope. There is ferocity, and tenacity, and ambition, and spite, but it feels like a hopeless spiral towards darkness. And that kind of reading leaves me with a heavy ache in my chest. I have enough of hopelessness in my struggles with depression. I read to get away from that.
Undeniably, I found it extremely compelling - I flew through the book in less than two days. There were moments where I was so intensely impatient to find out what happened that it was causing me anxiety, and I had to actually put the book down for a while to chill out. And yet, I hesitate to say that I liked it.
It gave me some of the same vibes as She Who Became the Sun, in the main characters' relentless pursuit of their ambition, and their rebellion against the confines of their gender. But where in She Who Became the Sun, there was a cold practicality to Zhu that was stabilizing, Meiling has a wildness, an insatiability, that I find off-putting in a protagonist. She burns like a wildfire, such that I fear for those in her wake. It's hard to articulate. It's not her ambition that I dislike, nor her willingness for violence. I think what I struggle with is that she lacks any grounding factor, and her isolation and trauma drive her towards madness in what feels less like the story of any kind of hero, and more the origin story of a villain. And I'm not interested in that kind of story.
Originally I had rated it as four stars, mostly on account of my strong reaction and the compelling reading experience, but having sat with it for a bit, I think it moves down to a three star. I put my finger on what bothered me about the book, and that's hope. Or rather, a lack of it.
I read to be swept away into another world, and what I love most about books is the enduring persistence of hope in the face of tragedy. It's why I hate horror books. Because I need some semblance of a happy ending. Or at least a hopeful one. But in The Night Ends With Fire, even the moments of triumph feel empty of hope. There is ferocity, and tenacity, and ambition, and spite, but it feels like a hopeless spiral towards darkness. And that kind of reading leaves me with a heavy ache in my chest. I have enough of hopelessness in my struggles with depression. I read to get away from that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death of parent
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
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
adventurous
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
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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:
Yes
I love a great Mulan retelling.