Scan barcode
gperna01's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you thank you thank you to Tor and Julia Vee and Ken Bebelle for giving me the greatest honor to read their book early in exchange for an honest review!
This book was an ENIGMA! I loved every moment of it. If you want a high Asian fantasy with complex characters and a unique magic system this is the series for you! The first installment of this series follows the POV of Emiko Soong. Emiko is a walking paradox, she is a no bullshit bad ass who is prickly but yet deeply emotional. Once the Blade of her clan, one of the eight most powerful clans, she fled her old live to start over in San Francisco. After a year of order and calmness, Emiko is called on to payback a favor to the Death God himself in place of her mother and brother. On this journey, she is made to confront old wounds and find out who she truly is and her mother has been hiding from her all along.
THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING! So incredibly well written. Emiko had me in a chokehold and I love how prickly she is but yet she cares so much.
This book has:
-found family
-bad ass FMC
-unique magic system
-dragon lore
-unrequited love
-himbo kings aka Freddy
I highly recommend this book so much and I cannot wait for book two! This took me for a wild ride and was brilliant written. Asian fantasy is always my fave but this one has really captured my heart. The characters come alive on the page and you can truly feel them especially with Emiko’s description of everyone. I cannot wait to see where they go with this and to read the rest of Emiko’s journey.
This book was an ENIGMA! I loved every moment of it. If you want a high Asian fantasy with complex characters and a unique magic system this is the series for you! The first installment of this series follows the POV of Emiko Soong. Emiko is a walking paradox, she is a no bullshit bad ass who is prickly but yet deeply emotional. Once the Blade of her clan, one of the eight most powerful clans, she fled her old live to start over in San Francisco. After a year of order and calmness, Emiko is called on to payback a favor to the Death God himself in place of her mother and brother. On this journey, she is made to confront old wounds and find out who she truly is and her mother has been hiding from her all along.
THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING! So incredibly well written. Emiko had me in a chokehold and I love how prickly she is but yet she cares so much.
This book has:
-found family
-bad ass FMC
-unique magic system
-dragon lore
-unrequited love
-himbo kings aka Freddy
I highly recommend this book so much and I cannot wait for book two! This took me for a wild ride and was brilliant written. Asian fantasy is always my fave but this one has really captured my heart. The characters come alive on the page and you can truly feel them especially with Emiko’s description of everyone. I cannot wait to see where they go with this and to read the rest of Emiko’s journey.
faerietalebooks's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
lnoronha's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
4.75
temi0's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
4.75
verydistinctive's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-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
4.5
imagimental's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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
4.0
ursulaslayleguin's review against another edition
Ugh. Everything about this book is too much. Too much detail about the magic system crammed in everywhere. Too much explanation all the fucking time. There is no room for the reader to imagine anything when the author is constantly explaining every meaningless detail. what’s that adage about show not tell? This author needs to hear that. Stop telling me about eberythinG!! And don’t get me started on the romance between Emiko and that dumb investor guy. I only made it a quarter of the way though because this book reads so amateurish. Go publish this on fanfic.net.
nicoledrabek's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
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
4.5
thanks to tor for providing me with a copy of this book!!
this one was a slow start for me, lots of worldbuilding needed to be done and i get that but it took me a good third of the book to get invested. emiko, kamon, and freddy were standout characters for me. emiko's journey toward getting away from her violent past was heartbreaking and made even worse when she was inevitably sucked back in. kamon was LOVELY as a potential romantic lead for emiko, and i really hope that this book is laying the groundwork for them to get back together in the future. the finale of this book was really really exciting and i'm glad i stuck around for it. i'm looking forward to the next book in the series.
this book to me had similar vibes to jade city with a little more fantasy elements, and i would recommend this one to anyone who enjoys urban fantasy and/or asian mythology-based magic systems.
this one was a slow start for me, lots of worldbuilding needed to be done and i get that but it took me a good third of the book to get invested. emiko, kamon, and freddy were standout characters for me. emiko's journey toward getting away from her violent past was heartbreaking and made even worse when she was inevitably sucked back in. kamon was LOVELY as a potential romantic lead for emiko, and i really hope that this book is laying the groundwork for them to get back together in the future. the finale of this book was really really exciting and i'm glad i stuck around for it. i'm looking forward to the next book in the series.
this book to me had similar vibes to jade city with a little more fantasy elements, and i would recommend this one to anyone who enjoys urban fantasy and/or asian mythology-based magic systems.
literary_rose's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
austinluttrell's review against another edition
Within just the first few pages I could tell the prose was just not my style.