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roboroo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
chaithra's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
i see why this is a popular booktok book. parker-chan defintely utilizes showing over telling in this book which i greatly appreciated, even when it took me some time to understand what was being hinted at. zhu is a protagonist you love to dislike, you aren't reading this story because you love zhu, you're reading it because you love zhu's drive and will power. theres romance/affection shown in this book that reminds me of what we saw in the poppy war in terms of "romance" which was very intriguing for the character and what it meant for their growth. i am very excited to see what's in store for everyone in he who drowned the world
gillian0231's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I saw one reviewer that said the first 25% they were hooked, the middle 50% was slow and boring, and the last 25% was amazing, and I couldn't agree more.
First 25%: Great set-up. The Disney Mulan movie was always one of my favorites as a child, so it was so great to find an adult version a little more grounded in reality. I will always love books where young girls in shitty situations find a way to survive and better their lives, even when it seems that everything is against them. It was a great foundation to the rest of the story where we see not only the beginnings of the world's story, but also Zhu's inner adventure and how she's going to deal with needing to face the world as a man.
Middle 50%: There were definitely some highlights, specifically the relationships between many characters on both sides of the war, but most of it was very much bogged down with the military aspects. If that's your thing, you'll obviously enjoy it, but there were so many characters, alliances, and factions that it all got kind of confusing. This part of the book was at its best when it was primarily focused on Zhu and her closest circle and Ouyang and his closest circle. Their mirroring inner battles were so compelling and such a good backdrop to the physical battles happening. While I wish it was overall more focused on Zhu and her inner journey, it was actually kind of weird that we never really saw any of the battle happening on page. It's not like the author wanted to shy away from violence (because that one scene made it obvious they're not opposed to that kind of stuff), but it was almost like they were avoiding writing battle scenes. We would get this whole build-up to something happening and then all of a sudden it was over and we saw little to no fighting. I think long, drawn out battle scenes can get a little tedious, especially if there are multiple scenes like that, but I think we probably should have seen at least one. It was also weird how this was advertised as a fantasy novel, when there was very little fantasy elements. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing to me, but it just felt like I was waiting for something fantastical to happen the entire book that never came.
Last 25%: Amazing, beautiful, exciting, nerve-wracking. I think once that one scene happenedZhu's hand being cut off during her duel with Ouyang , we really hit the ground running. I think this was the point when Zhu was really like "Okay this is real and insane and I need to do whatever it takes to prove myself", and we really saw that reflecting in the writing and the plot. Zhu and Ma's relationship gets stronger and then gets tested by some horrible decisions that Zhu had to make. Seeing her rise to power was at the same time so much fun but also hard to support. I love these morally grey characters that are fighting for a just cause, but the means always leave you wondering if you really should be rooting for them. It was also so interesting to see Ouyang's plotting, because while you can definitely empathize with his feelings of torment and anger, he is also using some incredibly questionable tactics to reach a goal that is inherently opposed to the goal of the main character we should be rooting for.
Honestly, I just really wish this book was more focused on the inner journeys of its characters over the military aspects. I loved the scenes were Zhu was struggling with her gender identity and what it means for her life going forward and relationships with her closest friends. I don't think that journey is quite over, but the conclusion she came to at the end about what she wanted was so beautiful and I think fit so well into the story. And then on the other hand we see Ouyang, an eunuch, who is also desperately try to prove himself as a man, and not quite reach the same peace that Zhu did. I can't wait to see where both of their storylines go in the next book.
First 25%: Great set-up. The Disney Mulan movie was always one of my favorites as a child, so it was so great to find an adult version a little more grounded in reality. I will always love books where young girls in shitty situations find a way to survive and better their lives, even when it seems that everything is against them. It was a great foundation to the rest of the story where we see not only the beginnings of the world's story, but also Zhu's inner adventure and how she's going to deal with needing to face the world as a man.
Middle 50%: There were definitely some highlights, specifically the relationships between many characters on both sides of the war, but most of it was very much bogged down with the military aspects. If that's your thing, you'll obviously enjoy it, but there were so many characters, alliances, and factions that it all got kind of confusing. This part of the book was at its best when it was primarily focused on Zhu and her closest circle and Ouyang and his closest circle. Their mirroring inner battles were so compelling and such a good backdrop to the physical battles happening. While I wish it was overall more focused on Zhu and her inner journey, it was actually kind of weird that we never really saw any of the battle happening on page. It's not like the author wanted to shy away from violence (because that one scene made it obvious they're not opposed to that kind of stuff), but it was almost like they were avoiding writing battle scenes. We would get this whole build-up to something happening and then all of a sudden it was over and we saw little to no fighting. I think long, drawn out battle scenes can get a little tedious, especially if there are multiple scenes like that, but I think we probably should have seen at least one. It was also weird how this was advertised as a fantasy novel, when there was very little fantasy elements. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing to me, but it just felt like I was waiting for something fantastical to happen the entire book that never came.
Last 25%: Amazing, beautiful, exciting, nerve-wracking. I think once that one scene happened
Honestly, I just really wish this book was more focused on the inner journeys of its characters over the military aspects. I loved the scenes were Zhu was struggling with her gender identity and what it means for her life going forward and relationships with her closest friends. I don't think that journey is quite over, but the conclusion she came to at the end about what she wanted was so beautiful and I think fit so well into the story. And then on the other hand we see Ouyang, an eunuch, who is also desperately try to prove himself as a man, and not quite reach the same peace that Zhu did. I can't wait to see where both of their storylines go in the next book.
ella_harris's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
belles9's review
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
yars_reading_corner's review against another edition
5.0
Not sure what I expected from this but it was definitely not a historical fiction too much into details about things I have no interest in, it was torture!!
alexreadsnstuff's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0
cobaltbookshelf's review
3.0
3.5 stars
Parallels between Zhu Chongba and Ouyang, while they are being rivals, were amazing. Anyway, this is a grand queer historical. I just wish pacing was done better.
Parallels between Zhu Chongba and Ouyang, while they are being rivals, were amazing. Anyway, this is a grand queer historical. I just wish pacing was done better.
untimelysteph's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0