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elee2013's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
Superb narration by Natalie Naudus! The print book has the Chinese characters written for the proverbs that Antony and Ruying quote, and they’re read very well by NN.
I love the feeling I got from this book — I was reminded of mythology, fables and sitting down to listen to my own family lore.
Ruying is young and naïve, and her journey will be an odyssey, but I think we’ll all come out better in the end. I am really looking forward to the continuation of the series!
I love the feeling I got from this book — I was reminded of mythology, fables and sitting down to listen to my own family lore.
Ruying is young and naïve, and her journey will be an odyssey, but I think we’ll all come out better in the end. I am really looking forward to the continuation of the series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Confinement, Blood, Colonisation, Addiction, and Murder
Minor: Police brutality
ztremohno's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
A beautifully sad book that grants us a look into the duality of trauma, loss, and survival. I would say the fantasy elements are overshadowed by the darker themes. Worthwhi
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation and Classism
Moderate: War and Violence
Minor: Kidnapping
eatallthestars's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
Good if you like a morally reprehensible, pro-colonisation, legitimately villainous main character. This isn't a romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation and Xenophobia
Moderate: War, Death, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Classism
acarballo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation and Death
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use
Minor: Death of parent
book_gremlin42's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, War, and Racism
Moderate: Police brutality, Sexism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Genocide, and Drug abuse
aelis_'s review against another edition
dark
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Torture, Colonisation, and War
monolid_library's review against another edition
I just couldnt get into it. The fantasy world building was confusing
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Death, Colonisation, and Racism
kmartbooks's review against another edition
1.5
My heart goes out to the author for the difficulties that she had with this book (and there were so many). However, I really recommend reading and watching BIPOC reviews/reviewers about this book. There is a lot of trauma associated with the historical events portrayed in this book.
This is a story that promised so much but unfortunately fell short of my expectations. This is set in a world that has been conquered by technologically advanced invaders. Ruying, one of the colonized people and our main character, possesses death magic—a power that both intrigues and terrifies her. When an enemy prince discovers her abilities, he imprisons her and demands that she become his assassin or he will harm her family.
Obviously, the romance was a HUGE problem. The anti-colonialism message (that I THINK was supposed to come through?) was completely overshadowed by the romance in this. The romance between Ruying and the prince feels forced and made me incredibly uncomfortable, especially given the author's note in the beginning. There were notes of romance between the two even when his actions were horrific. She kept thinking about how attractive he was even as he was threatening her and her family. Ruying's motivations and character development also feel inconsistent, as her actions often contradict her stated beliefs and desires. Another huge problem I had was the time skip. That portion could have been utilized to expand upon the feelings between the two characters and could have shown us how Ruying was being manipulated by Antony. It really only serves to confuse readers and disrupt the flow of the story. The world-building and character development suffer as a result, leaving the reader with more questions than answers.
I wish the author all the best and hope that she takes the criticism to heart in the continued series. I appreciate the copy from Netgalley and the publisher. This review is based on a complimentary pre-released copy and it is voluntary.
This is a story that promised so much but unfortunately fell short of my expectations. This is set in a world that has been conquered by technologically advanced invaders. Ruying, one of the colonized people and our main character, possesses death magic—a power that both intrigues and terrifies her. When an enemy prince discovers her abilities, he imprisons her and demands that she become his assassin or he will harm her family.
Obviously, the romance was a HUGE problem. The anti-colonialism message (that I THINK was supposed to come through?) was completely overshadowed by the romance in this. The romance between Ruying and the prince feels forced and made me incredibly uncomfortable, especially given the author's note in the beginning. There were notes of romance between the two even when his actions were horrific. She kept thinking about how attractive he was even as he was threatening her and her family. Ruying's motivations and character development also feel inconsistent, as her actions often contradict her stated beliefs and desires. Another huge problem I had was the time skip. That portion could have been utilized to expand upon the feelings between the two characters and could have shown us how Ruying was being manipulated by Antony. It really only serves to confuse readers and disrupt the flow of the story. The world-building and character development suffer as a result, leaving the reader with more questions than answers.
I wish the author all the best and hope that she takes the criticism to heart in the continued series. I appreciate the copy from Netgalley and the publisher. This review is based on a complimentary pre-released copy and it is voluntary.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
kylosten's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Gun violence, Colonisation, Genocide, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent
gaby_readsbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Well this book is hard to review, there were parts of this that I really thought were interesting. The magical abilities of the main characters and the Xialings were super interesting and I wish had been explored a bit more and that we had a little bit more world building on the magic system and Pangu. Ruying was so infuriating at times and at other times I definitely could see where she was making decisions from. The main problem I had was the supposed "romance" which was just sickening and I do not think that it was very believable for anyone to comprehend really. The ending I really liked and I am hoping it goes the way I hope this series goes but I am not sure yet if I want to continue yet.
This book was a very hard read for me, it was very dark and it really made me sad for all of my ancestors that were colonized by the Spanish in Chile. I really felt that pain while reading this book and I do not know how accurate or again believable some of the main characters actions were but how different people react in certain situations is so different that it could be accurate just not the way I would react. I really liked the slow reveal of some aspects of the plot, I thought it was well done and made me want to keep reading to find out how everything was tying together. I am not sure I would recommend this one or not, while there are some good elements there are also some very dark elements so I would just caution that this is not a light fantasy read at all.
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and Del Rey for providing me with an eArc in exchange for an honest review.
This book was a very hard read for me, it was very dark and it really made me sad for all of my ancestors that were colonized by the Spanish in Chile. I really felt that pain while reading this book and I do not know how accurate or again believable some of the main characters actions were but how different people react in certain situations is so different that it could be accurate just not the way I would react. I really liked the slow reveal of some aspects of the plot, I thought it was well done and made me want to keep reading to find out how everything was tying together. I am not sure I would recommend this one or not, while there are some good elements there are also some very dark elements so I would just caution that this is not a light fantasy read at all.
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and Del Rey for providing me with an eArc in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation and Child death
Moderate: Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Body horror