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stralins's review
3.0
I really liked the plot and characters - and truly enjoyed the mini stories and adventure - but it was just such a clean ending. It was too neat for me - and missed some of the fun side stuff, like the politics Xifeng was dealing with or more details that would have made it that much more mysterious, leaving things behind.
moreprose's review
5.0
Dao pulls off a seamless end. This book was a lot less dark than the first book. The pacing is a bit slow, but still entertaining and meaningful.
The ending was great! I am so glad everything mentioned in the first book came first circle.
I loved the mixing of the different stories throughout the book. In her quest, Jade relies on these stories to help her defeat the serpent.
I really liked the side characters and I think younger readers might really enjoy the book. There were not many surprises in the book, but it still hurt when Wei had to give up the loss of his life. I really longed for their love story, but Xifeng chose darkness. It hurt so much.
The ending was great! I am so glad everything mentioned in the first book came first circle.
I loved the mixing of the different stories throughout the book. In her quest, Jade relies on these stories to help her defeat the serpent.
I really liked the side characters and I think younger readers might really enjoy the book. There were not many surprises in the book, but it still hurt when Wei had to give up the loss of his life. I really longed for their love story, but Xifeng chose darkness. It hurt so much.
ambledsoe's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this sequel to Forest of a Thousand Lanterns! The juxtaposition between the two books was so refreshing in the way the duology was written. While I really enjoyed Xifeng's descent into nefarious dealings to claim what she thought was hers, I loved Jade's journey to finding herself and her destiny.
lsmith36's review
1.0
Everything I liked about the Forest of a Thousand Lanterns was torn from my cold, dead hands.
-cool, complex , dark protagonist is ignored/cheapened in sequel
-good characters are good and can only ever be good
-good characters are BORING and have no character development besides being reminded that they're good and can be good together
-good guys win even though??? they are ??? not nearly as interesting as the antagonists???? or as cunning???
-magic and characters and concepts that had no buildup to in the first book or this one until you suddenly had to just roll with it
-the cast list at the beginning of the book? yet no emotional attachment to the characters?
Essentially, villains are super cool but the heroes suck tbh.
-cool, complex , dark protagonist is ignored/cheapened in sequel
-good characters are good and can only ever be good
-good characters are BORING and have no character development besides being reminded that they're good and can be good together
-good guys win even though??? they are ??? not nearly as interesting as the antagonists???? or as cunning???
-magic and characters and concepts that had no buildup to in the first book or this one until you suddenly had to just roll with it
-the cast list at the beginning of the book? yet no emotional attachment to the characters?
Essentially, villains are super cool but the heroes suck tbh.
ninetalevixen's review
3.0
I like retellings and stories-within-stories, but to be quite honest I found this one disappointing.
Don't get me wrong, this was an entertaining read that kept me turning the pages. Its greatest strength was probably the rich worldbuilding: geography and politics, magic and belief systems, folklore.
However, I just couldn't really get into it — the pacing kept me feeling disoriented, the dialogue seemed a bit contrived (the kind of inspirational but no one really asked monologues and one-liners you'd hear in Disney movies rather than in real life), and the characters/relationships didn't resonate with me.
The plot hits a lot of the notes you'd expect, but I just didn't feel any tension or relief thereof. I'd say it's more inspired by Snow White than retelling of Snow White since it's very different in themes and details, which isn't inherently a bad thing but added to my disappointment. The other folktales are just barely mentioned — understandable since, but unsatisfying.
Part of Snow White's/Jade's appeal should be her kind heart and innocence, but honestly I didn't think that came through. (Naivete isn't the same thing as compassion.) Although there's a lot of dialogue regarding being good and brave and responsible, in a lot of scenes it felt more demonstrative than genuine as she expresses "disgust" or judgment towards others for their choices. It's not uncommon for a YA character, or even especially off-putting in and of itself, but it doesn't fit with the image I think we're supposed to have of her. Her relationships with other characters, from Koichi to Wren to Xifeng to Amah, didn't add as much dimension to her character as I'd hoped.
content warnings:
rep:
-----------
CONVERSION: 8.9 / 15 = 3 stars
Prose: 6 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 7 / 10
Emotional Impact: 4 / 10
Development / Flow: 7 / 10
Setting: 9 / 10
Diversity & Social Themes: 3 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: N/A
Originality / Trope Execution: 2 / 5
Rereadability: N/A
Memorability: 2 / 5
Don't get me wrong, this was an entertaining read that kept me turning the pages. Its greatest strength was probably the rich worldbuilding: geography and politics, magic and belief systems, folklore.
However, I just couldn't really get into it — the pacing kept me feeling disoriented, the dialogue seemed a bit contrived (the kind of inspirational but no one really asked monologues and one-liners you'd hear in Disney movies rather than in real life), and the characters/relationships didn't resonate with me.
The plot hits a lot of the notes you'd expect, but I just didn't feel any tension or relief thereof. I'd say it's more inspired by Snow White than retelling of Snow White since it's very different in themes and details, which isn't inherently a bad thing but added to my disappointment. The other folktales are just barely mentioned — understandable since
Spoiler
there are relatively many of them, and none of them are the focusPart of Snow White's/Jade's appeal should be her kind heart and innocence, but honestly I didn't think that came through. (Naivete isn't the same thing as compassion.) Although there's a lot of dialogue regarding being good and brave and responsible, in a lot of scenes it felt more demonstrative than genuine as she expresses "disgust" or judgment towards others for their choices. It's not uncommon for a YA character, or even especially off-putting in and of itself, but it doesn't fit with the image I think we're supposed to have of her. Her relationships with other characters, from Koichi to Wren to Xifeng to Amah, didn't add as much dimension to her character as I'd hoped.
content warnings:
Spoiler
blood magic, loss of loved ones, major character death(s), on-page graphic murderrep:
Spoiler
major character with dwarfism-----------
CONVERSION: 8.9 / 15 = 3 stars
Prose: 6 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 7 / 10
Emotional Impact: 4 / 10
Development / Flow: 7 / 10
Setting: 9 / 10
Diversity & Social Themes: 3 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: N/A
Originality / Trope Execution: 2 / 5
Rereadability: N/A
Memorability: 2 / 5
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