Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - Girls of Paper and Fire

Characters: 5/10
Enjoyment: 6.5/10
Plot: 6/10
Worldbuilding: 5/10
Writing: 8/10

This might as well have been a standalone. But it's not because of that extra page at the end. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm invested enough to read any further installments.

The idea was good, the execution not so much. The worldbuilding wasn't really explored. The plot and writing were simplistic. That's not a bad thing, but on one hand it read as a book for younger teens, on the other hand though it discussed mature themes. There's rape. It's not graphic, but there nonetheless. If there's anything that triggers me in books, its sexual assault. The girls are taken as mistresses and must have sex with the king against their will. Yes, they don't object, but it's either that or be killed.

The characters were underdeveloped. The king as a villain was just stupid. He's evil. OK, and? That's it? The paper girls were pretty indistinguishable. Aside from Aoki and Blue whose personality was being a bitch. The relationship between Lei and Wren didn't really have any foundation. It was pretty much just lusting and attraction.

Now, what I did like was what was done with Aoki's character. Not that I like what happened to her, but the book highlights how easy it is to fall victim to an abusive man. Aoki is the youngest out of the paper girls and naive. The king makes her feel special, so she starts having feelings for him. I like how it pointed out (although in a pretty juvenile way) that such a relationship is, in fact, not good (side-eyeing all the romance books that romanticize toxic relationships). Aoki is probably the most nuanced compared to the other two-dimensional characters.

Overall Girls of paper and fire wasn't a terrible book, just underwhelming.

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indiggrace's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful 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

3.5

overall i enjoyed this book.

i did have some problems with the pacing, world building and romance as they just fell flat and weren’t as strong as other parts of the story unfortunately.

however the magical writing and strong feminist messages (+ my love for wren <3) made me really like this book.

there are some very heavy topics and themes within the story which are portrayed in an honest way that doesn’t sugarcoat or romanticise it which shows the respect and care ngan puts towards her writing and audience.

the last couple of chapters/pages were some of the best parts of the book + the cliffhanger at the end has convinced me to read the 2nd book (which i’ve heard improves and is even better).

i look forward to reading the rest of the series :)

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kristakp's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

This book didn't draw me in as much as I thought it would, and I personally didn't find the plot to be all that interesting. The main romance didn't feel earned to me, I didn't get the full sense of yearning because I didn't feel like the characters were fleshed out enough for me to feel the yearning. (I did have a conversation with a friend about whether my feelings were the result of my lack of experience with sapphic books or if it truly is these characters, and I hadn't come to a conclusion about it.)

I understand why the author went there, but it was still a surprise

that the king brutally raped Lei after Lei initially ran away. I was unsure whether the author would fully take it there, and I'm not sure how I feel about the decision made. I think it was definitely the harder, more adult decision.

I knew from about 40% through the book that I probably wouldn't be continuing on with the series afterwards. The world didn't lure me in although the writing was good.

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erynpaige's review against another edition

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adventurous sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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karapillar's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

4.75

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books_of_calypso's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring 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? No

5.0

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andromeda_1998's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The girls of paper and fire is one of those books who have been hiding at the back of my bookcase for years…. And after reading it I have to apologize towards them. They didn’t deserve my silent treatment. The first book is in my opinion a good read. The book has a heavy theme but that’s to be expected.

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