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bluejayreads's review
3.25
Graphic: Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and War
Moderate: Blood and Terminal illness
Minor: Alcohol, Vomit, Death of parent, Child death, and Animal death
olive_lol's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Overall, a fun book with a lot of personality and a divisive protagonist.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol, Grief, Chronic illness, and Child death
Minor: Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, and Vomit
azrah786's review against another edition
3.25
CW: violence, blood, injury, war, death, animal death, death of parents (off page), vomiting, physical abuse, terminal illness, grief
It breaks my heart to say this but I did not enjoy this book as much as I had hoped to :(
I absolutely loved both of Joan He’s previous books, I just felt like there was something missing for me in this one that I can’t entirely put my finger on.
Strike the Zither is a reimagining of the Chinese epic Three Kingdoms with the twist that the leading characters are predominantly female – it has such an noteworthy and unique premise but I just couldn’t click with the story.
Don’t get me wrong He’s writing and twisty storytelling is as brilliant as ever here and the characters were interesting and well established enough. However, the fast pacing with not much action was reminiscent of She Who Became the Sun and Daughter of the Moon Goddess, two other reads that I didn’t vibe with this year for similar reasons.
Everything was happening too fast for me, relationships and alliances included, and then the big plot twist didn’t shock me at all, I just skimmed over it and continued reading without much other thought.
Maybe being more familiar with the original story that this was inspired by would have given me a better understanding and appreciation for the nuances and links but unfortunately this wasn’t my cup of tea so I doubt I will be picking up the sequel.
If you’re a fan of historical c-dramas and Wuxia then I’d definitely recommend checking it out though!
Final Rating – 3.25/5 Stars
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, War, and Death
Moderate: Grief, Terminal illness, and Physical abuse
Minor: Death of parent, Animal death, and Vomit
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Vomit, Death, Gore, Murder, Alcohol, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Violence, and War
marywahlmeierbracciano's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Violence, War, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Gaslighting, Gore, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Child death, Blood, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Torture, Stalking, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury