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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-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
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this retelling. I think it took an interesting take on the Mulan legend but I also got lost at a few parts. I’m also very confused as to what will happen in the second book of the duology with how this ended. Felt very girl power forward obviously but I loved how she was still able to have a romance but also had such a strong spirit and voice. The war tactics often confused me as well as some of the names being similar throwing me off. But overall I had a good time!
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
tense
fast-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:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don’t think readers should go into this book expecting a Disney like fairytale. Yes, we are getting a Mulan retelling but K. X. Song is telling this story her way and I can respect that. This book gave me as a reader what I wanted in a high fantasy book. I did have some issues though, let’s discuss.
Hai Meilin becomes Hai Ren when she pretends to be her father’s bastard son. Two things makes this happen, her father refuses to go war because of his addiction and Meilin is tired of the trappings of womanhood, she wants more for her life than to be told to stay quiet and marry. This leads her to training, war, betrayal and romance.
I liked the relationship that developed between Meilin and Prince Sky. I think they had good chemistry on page. I liked most that it started off as a Sky training Meilin (cause that girl was struggling bad y’all) and then gradually morphed into something more. Meilin’s growth as a character in this book is pretty well done. She is young and never been outside her family’s home so I expected her to make some not very good decisions along the way.
I do wish we had gotten more romance on page. I mean yeah, I was here for the fantasy but I was there for romance too and that was severely lacking.
The magic elements were well done and another exciting part of this story.
The ending was not what I was expecting but I don’t know, I kinda liked it. It’s certainly not a HEA. It will be interesting to see how Meilin find her way out of this latest dilemma. But listen, I don’t fault the girl. Going back to the trappings of her past life…nah, hoe lock me up, lols. Will Sky be able to help though ? Is Lei truly gonna get away with his crimes?
All and all, I liked this and am looking forward to the next book.
Hai Meilin becomes Hai Ren when she pretends to be her father’s bastard son. Two things makes this happen, her father refuses to go war because of his addiction and Meilin is tired of the trappings of womanhood, she wants more for her life than to be told to stay quiet and marry. This leads her to training, war, betrayal and romance.
I liked the relationship that developed between Meilin and Prince Sky. I think they had good chemistry on page. I liked most that it started off as a Sky training Meilin (cause that girl was struggling bad y’all) and then gradually morphed into something more. Meilin’s growth as a character in this book is pretty well done. She is young and never been outside her family’s home so I expected her to make some not very good decisions along the way.
I do wish we had gotten more romance on page. I mean yeah, I was here for the fantasy but I was there for romance too and that was severely lacking.
The magic elements were well done and another exciting part of this story.
The ending was not what I was expecting but I don’t know, I kinda liked it. It’s certainly not a HEA. It will be interesting to see how Meilin find her way out of this latest dilemma. But listen, I don’t fault the girl. Going back to the trappings of her past life…nah, hoe lock me up, lols. Will Sky be able to help though ? Is Lei truly gonna get away with his crimes?
All and all, I liked this and am looking forward to the next book.
I hope her “friends” are viciously punished in the next book lol. I’m dying for the second one to get more info on Lei and what the vision with sky was, them actually fighting. Also curious to find out if the tiger or tortoise spirits will make an appearance cause they haven’t yet, and now the phoenix is gone. I can’t imagine only the dragon is alive. Hope the next book is in the near future!
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes