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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this book was so interesting to read.
it gave an insight into military structures and how a royal court worked in ancient China. the author clarified that it's of course not completely accurate but that she did her research and did her best to implement it in the story in a way that interesting and relevant.
❤️ : the main characters are really interesting and it was a joy to get to know them because they're really complex !!
💔 : the pacing of the first half of the story was a bit slow and I found the sheer amount of relevant side characters on the court side of things a little overwhelming at first.
it gave an insight into military structures and how a royal court worked in ancient China. the author clarified that it's of course not completely accurate but that she did her research and did her best to implement it in the story in a way that interesting and relevant.
❤️ : the main characters are really interesting and it was a joy to get to know them because they're really complex !!
💔 : the pacing of the first half of the story was a bit slow and I found the sheer amount of relevant side characters on the court side of things a little overwhelming at first.
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
mysterious
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
the sheer abundance of sapphics.
the slowest of all burns.
the intense yearning.
the court intrigue.
the battles and battle strategy.
the shadows.
the tropes.
such props to the writer and the translators.
it's very long but it's oh so worth it.
the slowest of all burns.
the intense yearning.
the court intrigue.
the battles and battle strategy.
the shadows.
the tropes.
such props to the writer and the translators.
it's very long but it's oh so worth it.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's a really interesting sapphic book, I've described it to my friends as Mulan but gay and with way more angst. I like how the author decided that all major female characters will be wlw, I appreciate that greatly.
The book didn't bring me to tears but it has very tragic undertones; maybe they could've been explored with more emotion as to bring out the feeling in the reader.
I had some problems with the writing itself at the start, though I'm not sure if that was the problem with the author or the English translation itself- I got used to it fairly quickly (or maybe the writing got better further into the book) so it didn't bother me.
I appreciate the lack of explicit sex scenes, as that is something i was burnt with before. The scenes were sweet and tender.
There are some sexist things in the meta narration that were truly the only thing that annoyed me with this book. I'm not sure if those are the views of the author, but I think it's more plausible that they were going for the "appropriate for the time view of the genders" but they weren't done that well.
The polarisation between the two main characters' approaches to power and the way they learn from each other is truly the defining motif of this book!
It's quite a good and poetic slowburn book about sapphic love with loads of pining that has a happy ending!!!
The book didn't bring me to tears but it has very tragic undertones; maybe they could've been explored with more emotion as to bring out the feeling in the reader.
I had some problems with the writing itself at the start, though I'm not sure if that was the problem with the author or the English translation itself- I got used to it fairly quickly (or maybe the writing got better further into the book) so it didn't bother me.
I appreciate the lack of explicit sex scenes, as that is something i was burnt with before. The scenes were sweet and tender.
There are some sexist things in the meta narration that were truly the only thing that annoyed me with this book. I'm not sure if those are the views of the author, but I think it's more plausible that they were going for the "appropriate for the time view of the genders" but they weren't done that well.
The polarisation between the two main characters' approaches to power and the way they learn from each other is truly the defining motif of this book!
It's quite a good and poetic slowburn book about sapphic love with loads of pining that has a happy ending!!!
This book starts with the slaughter of Lin Wanyue's village, which leads her to take on her brother's identity in order to join the army and take revenge against the Huns. What follows is an amazing journey featuring war, political scheming, betrayal, and two unlikely people finding love and comfort with each other.
Lin Wanyue is an intelligent military strategist who gets pulled into Li Xian's schemes, and has to quickly learn to navigate the murky waters of politics. The secrets both people keep (Lin Wanyue's true identity as a woman vs the underhanded, immoral things Li Xian has done in order to gain power) were a very compelling source of conflict between two characters who fall in love in their own ways. Lin Wanyue, in her straight-forward, open way, wishing for nothing more than Li Xian's love and company. Li Xian, first in denial about seeing Lin Wanyue as anything more than a chess piece, then terrified that Lin Wanyue could not love the real her, who has done such terrible things.
This is a ridiculously fun and compelling book that I'd recommend to anyone who likes their romance with a side of political scheming and war.
Lin Wanyue is an intelligent military strategist who gets pulled into Li Xian's schemes, and has to quickly learn to navigate the murky waters of politics. The secrets both people keep (Lin Wanyue's true identity as a woman vs the underhanded, immoral things Li Xian has done in order to gain power) were a very compelling source of conflict between two characters who fall in love in their own ways. Lin Wanyue, in her straight-forward, open way, wishing for nothing more than Li Xian's love and company. Li Xian, first in denial about seeing Lin Wanyue as anything more than a chess piece, then terrified that Lin Wanyue could not love the real her, who has done such terrible things.
This is a ridiculously fun and compelling book that I'd recommend to anyone who likes their romance with a side of political scheming and war.
The ending let me down a bit but!!!! Lesbians in power
damn i really took my time with this one! which is okay, i think, because even without rushing, there are still a lot that i did not understand. what i read was a translation work, and me not being entirely familiar with chinese culture much less Ancient chinese culture, there must be a lot of context that i missed. really appreciate the translators' hard work for making this available for non-chinese speakers to read!!
how i judge books is how memorable it is to me! not just the plot, but the experience of reading the book itself. and sadly, i knew fgep is gonna be one of those unmemorable books to me. thing is, i cry and get touched easily, so even though i cried TONS while reading this, it's not anything significant. i enjoyed it mostly because of how attached i am to lin wanyue.
i am a sucker for loves that surpass the mortal world, lin wanyue & li xian fortunately had that! so that's a +1 for me. their relationship was.. Stormy, to say the least, and their ending was much well deserved after the exhaustion they've been through.
somehow im more interested in shiyi & yu xian... because the concept of secret imperial spies/assassins dating each other and being the princess' gay awakening... that is so big brained of them. speaking about gay awakening, li xian's experience with her own lesbianism resonated with me. that's when i started to become even more invested in li xian's character. her constant but growing protectiveness for lin wanyue was also admirable.
most of the story was predictable, and im not the impatient kind to hurriedly want explanation handed to me, so when most things were presented to me, i just nod and read along. but! what shocked me the most is qi wang and chu wang! i did not see that coming from any angle, that genuinely surprised me, and im not sure if it's the pleasant kind.
anyway! this could've been 3/3.5 stars if it weren't for the last extra. an enjoyable read with strong political intrigue & military strategy, lovable main character and interesting love interest. both are complex and as human as they can be.
how i judge books is how memorable it is to me! not just the plot, but the experience of reading the book itself. and sadly, i knew fgep is gonna be one of those unmemorable books to me. thing is, i cry and get touched easily, so even though i cried TONS while reading this, it's not anything significant. i enjoyed it mostly because of how attached i am to lin wanyue.
i am a sucker for loves that surpass the mortal world, lin wanyue & li xian fortunately had that! so that's a +1 for me. their relationship was.. Stormy, to say the least, and their ending was much well deserved after the exhaustion they've been through.
somehow im more interested in shiyi & yu xian... because the concept of secret imperial spies/assassins dating each other and being the princess' gay awakening... that is so big brained of them. speaking about gay awakening, li xian's experience with her own lesbianism resonated with me. that's when i started to become even more invested in li xian's character. her constant but growing protectiveness for lin wanyue was also admirable.
most of the story was predictable, and im not the impatient kind to hurriedly want explanation handed to me, so when most things were presented to me, i just nod and read along. but! what shocked me the most is qi wang and chu wang! i did not see that coming from any angle, that genuinely surprised me, and im not sure if it's the pleasant kind.
anyway! this could've been 3/3.5 stars if it weren't for the last extra. an enjoyable read with strong political intrigue & military strategy, lovable main character and interesting love interest. both are complex and as human as they can be.