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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
TW: violence, gore, death, blood magic, necromancy, assassinations, self-harm, swearing
The Red Palace meets Sabriel set in an alt-historical East Asian fantasy where Zilan, a girl who lives with her relatives in an impoverished part of southern China, makes a living by bringing people back from the dead to leave the life she has for a better one as a royal alchemist.
This story is very dark (darker than The Red Palace, and that one's a murder mystery!), with death and murder, corpses, and necromantic alchemy, to the point that it seemed like it was for an older audience (the author says in the acknowledgments page that it was supposed to be an adult fantasy like The Poppy War, but she changed it to YA because there's a prince the MC could hook up with, which is saying something about YA). I would've liked it if this book was adult, without the need for ticking YA boxes. The romance was unnecessary (could've been a slow-burn and saved for later in the series), and the last half of the book was rushed to hint at the next book (this ending will upset some readers). I would've preferred to have some of the characters remain dead because it was underwhelming despite the unique magic system and how creating life would also create something evil (looking at you,).
Took off stars for swearing as it didn't fit the fantastical nature of the story, including the modern jargon and English-centered phrasing (e.g., "the coast is clear" when there is no sea), which is my pet peeve in fantasy. Another thing I didn't like is how Zilan kept hammering a feminist mindset, which wouldn't have existed at the time. Also, Uyghurs are Muslim, so they wouldn't be practicing magic unless this form of alchemy isn't magic (but the way it's written in this story is more akin to magic and lacks the belief in a monotheistic high power). Just wish this story was written for the Adult category as initially intended rather than YA (or maybe just say it's New Adult?).
I did like the plot twists and how they all seamlessly worked in the story, the world-building, and the many metaphors for death strewn through the story.
If you're not squeamish in the slightest and enjoy East Asian-inspired fantasy or books like The Red Palace and Six Crimson Cranes, then you might like this book. Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend it.
Thanks to BookishFirst & HarperCollins for the ARC.
The Red Palace meets Sabriel set in an alt-historical East Asian fantasy where Zilan, a girl who lives with her relatives in an impoverished part of southern China, makes a living by bringing people back from the dead to leave the life she has for a better one as a royal alchemist.
This story is very dark (darker than The Red Palace, and that one's a murder mystery!), with death and murder, corpses, and necromantic alchemy, to the point that it seemed like it was for an older audience (the author says in the acknowledgments page that it was supposed to be an adult fantasy like The Poppy War, but she changed it to YA because there's a prince the MC could hook up with, which is saying something about YA). I would've liked it if this book was adult, without the need for ticking YA boxes. The romance was unnecessary (could've been a slow-burn and saved for later in the series), and the last half of the book was rushed to hint at the next book (this ending will upset some readers). I would've preferred to have some of the characters remain dead because it was underwhelming despite the unique magic system and how creating life would also create something evil (looking at you,
Spoiler
DurianTook off stars for swearing as it didn't fit the fantastical nature of the story, including the modern jargon and English-centered phrasing (e.g., "the coast is clear" when there is no sea), which is my pet peeve in fantasy. Another thing I didn't like is how Zilan kept hammering a feminist mindset, which wouldn't have existed at the time. Also, Uyghurs are Muslim, so they wouldn't be practicing magic unless this form of alchemy isn't magic (but the way it's written in this story is more akin to magic and lacks the belief in a monotheistic high power). Just wish this story was written for the Adult category as initially intended rather than YA (or maybe just say it's New Adult?).
I did like the plot twists and how they all seamlessly worked in the story, the world-building, and the many metaphors for death strewn through the story.
If you're not squeamish in the slightest and enjoy East Asian-inspired fantasy or books like The Red Palace and Six Crimson Cranes, then you might like this book. Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend it.
Thanks to BookishFirst & HarperCollins for the ARC.
adventurous
dark
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:
No
this was better than i thought it would be. zilan is mildly annoying, but she's trying to fight against rich people so-- but the slight romance between her and hong felt sorta outta left field. some of the prose in regards to the romance was really......stark? it kept pulling me out of the story. do i still want them together tho? ya. idk if i'll get around to book 2 anytime soon, but i do wanna know what shenanigans zilan goes thru.
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
adventurous
mysterious
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:
No
I was rlly intrigued by the 1st 10% of this book.. but between 10%-33% I was struggling to remain interested. It felt very much like there was too much backstory happening to help set up the rest of the book but it wasn’t interesting (IMO). Once I reached 33% the book started picking up and I LOVEEEED the rest of it.
So glad I did not DNF. The author has a true penchant for writing so vividly. Also; there is a bit of slow burn (like the tiniest amount). The male love interest was a side character and didn’t become the main characters plot which I loved.
So glad I did not DNF. The author has a true penchant for writing so vividly. Also; there is a bit of slow burn (like the tiniest amount). The male love interest was a side character and didn’t become the main characters plot which I loved.
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes