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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really wanted to love this book, but the feeling I got from it was that it wanted to be too edgy just for the sake of it. The main character felt very obnoxious from the start with little redeeming qualities or evolution throughout the book.
adventurous
challenging
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
I absolutely loved the way that Chinese history and myth was used to build this fictional sci fi world. It didn't shy away from the brutal parts of Chinese history such as feet binding and self sacrifice. I adore that we have a fmc who is fuelled by revenge and cannot be controlled via her family. So often characters are labelled morally grey but don't do anything on the morally wrong side to earn it. Not Wu Zetian. Finally an fmc who is fully allowed to give in to bloodlust. And the love story is polyamorous, which is so much more interesting then regular enemies to lovers. I almost dropped a quarter star because I'm not so keen on action scenes (despite picking up a book about giant mech suits) and because there weren't that many descriptions of the Chrysalises so I struggled with visualising them and their various forms. A bit more lore on the evolutions of their forms wouldn't have gone amiss. However, the ending brought it straight back up. I fuck so hard with Wu Zetian's decisions towards the end and the lore drop was exactly what I was expecting but genuinely perfect for propelling the story towards a sequel.
Giant robots. Throwing off the yoke of the oppressors. Setting boundaries. Love. Chaos. Destruction. Did I mention giant robots?
There was some parts that were excessive to get the point across but I enjoyed it enough that I’m looking forward to reading the next one.
There was some parts that were excessive to get the point across but I enjoyed it enough that I’m looking forward to reading the next one.
challenging
dark
emotional
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
So so good
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Murder, War
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Blood, Alcohol, Classism
Minor: Biphobia, Pandemic/Epidemic
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
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
um okay. i was wondering about when the ‘guilt’ and ‘pain’ that pilots felt during their attacks against the hunduns was gonna come to play but i’m completely satisfied with intergalactic colonialism that this has turned into? but like. oh.
also wow i didn’t know throuples got this serious. see i was a little sus on yizhi and shimin but i’m glad they committed. was admittedly a little off put by it but when i started thinking about them being zetian’s concubines i was all for it. also a lot of people in this universe are going to hell.
also this emperor thing is throwing me off a bit because he seems a little unhinged and idk about all that. but maybe zetian kills him probably not though bc she’ll need him for whatever she’s got brewing against the ultimate evil humans who are gods? misogyny really knows no bounds like it’s crazy. tbh wish there more of girls killing boys but i am anticipating that in the next book.
only negative thing ab this book is that the language throws me off at times. why are we using the word ‘skies’ as a swear and then the next sentence has fuck or shit in it.
one last thing is that zetian is really funny. like okay melodramatic evil queen
also wow i didn’t know throuples got this serious. see i was a little sus on yizhi and shimin but i’m glad they committed. was admittedly a little off put by it but when i started thinking about them being zetian’s concubines i was all for it. also a lot of people in this universe are going to hell.
also this emperor thing is throwing me off a bit because he seems a little unhinged and idk about all that. but maybe zetian kills him probably not though bc she’ll need him for whatever she’s got brewing against the ultimate evil humans who are gods? misogyny really knows no bounds like it’s crazy. tbh wish there more of girls killing boys but i am anticipating that in the next book.
only negative thing ab this book is that the language throws me off at times. why are we using the word ‘skies’ as a swear and then the next sentence has fuck or shit in it.
one last thing is that zetian is really funny. like okay melodramatic evil queen
Bookclub read: The beginning was kind of gory. I didn’t really understand the relationship between the MC and rich boy at the beginning, they knew each other in the forest and saw once a month and that’s how they know each other. I felt like that aspect was really like pushed because the mc didn’t have like any body around her except her family. throughout the book, she did her mission and then she killed her sister’s murderer and then she just like stayed in the system and she was like complacent or didn’t really have a goal or motivation or trajectory like she was just playing in their hand and like trying to become rich or famous. I felt like there wasn’t like a big goal that we were following. Also like the love triangle, the guys were really not that into each other like one had a crush and the other barely knew the other’s existence and then she like both, but I felt it was only because they were like the only ok men she ever met. Like there wasn’t really any chemistry. Then in the end, her becoming the Empress and killing her family like I was not suprised that she killed her family. But I found it like disappointed that like she was like fuck this system and then she became the same system. It’s just that like she was at the head. Also the plottwist was that they were the colonisers of that planet was a good one but a bit predictable.
For the writing I felt like it was really YA but like YA explained really basically and there was spots of like oh yes remember I’m a feminist and then the story continue. Also, I felt like her sister was really like a plot device that was brought up and like forgotten according to what was happening in the story.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i'm wondering if Zetian, Yizhi, and Simin would consider expanding their triangle into a square