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challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am sadly putting this on indefinite hold. This book is just too long. I've been reading this for forever and there's still so many chapters left and I am not a slow reader. Long review ahead, skip using the headers.
The plot:
First arc - The novel starts off when Qiyan was just born to the people of the plains. Due to political reasons, she is brought up as a boy. When she's five or so, the Wei kingdom (the Han Chinese), exterminated Qiyan's tribe. She escaped and was taken in by a masked woman, who teaches her everything about the Wei kingdom for the sake of vengeance. Qiyan is brought up and moulded into a tool of the masked woman, meant to take down the Wei kingdom because the masked woman also hates the Wei kingdom.
Qiyan, now able to pass off as a Han Chinese person, enters the capital as a scholar. Through a series of schemes, both her own and others', she ends up entering the palace, but as the husband of Princess Nangong Jingnu, most beloved daughter of the emperor.
Second arc: Qiyan puts on a performance as a studious and devoted husband to Nangong Jingnu. Nangong Jingnu falls in love with her and Qiyan also starts to develop feelings, even though she had originally faked everything. This arc mainly focuses on Qiyan's increasingly conflicted feelings - vengeance says that Nangong Jingnu is part of the group that caused the genocide of her people (she's part of the royal family) but her personal feelings say that she loves Nangong Jingnu and being with her is probably Qiyan's only shot at happiness.
Meanwhile, Nangong Jingnu undergoes quite an intense growth arc. She starts out very impulsive, innocent/naïve and good-hearted; she becomes more mature, thoughtful and thinks before she acts. She learns about political maneuvers and learns that what you see is not always all there is. There are also a bunch of political sideplots that show the kind of person Qiyan is - very intelligent, calculating and a little ruthless. Although not totally a bad person, she does a lot of amoral things.
Third arc: I stopped halfway through here. More players come into the field - the masked person, some people from the plains who survived, Nangong Jingnu (who is now on the path to becoming a female Emperor), other political heavyweights, etc. Qiyan is also beginning to want to protect Nangong Jingnu's life no matter what happens. A lot of moves by various players to get power; Qiyan and the masked person are trying to topple the Wei kingdom.
The good:
- huuuge improvement from [b:女将军和长公主 Female General and Eldest Princess|48752565|女将军和长公主 Female General and Eldest Princess|请君莫笑|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1573480864l/48752565._SX50_.jpg|74124005]; the main couple is much more interesting and dynamic and you actually know what they are like together
- qiyan and nangong jingnu are very well-written characters with very compelling arcs. it is really a pity that the novel was so long and there was so much info-dumping. qiyan is an anti-heroine and i was actually quite uncomfortable with some of the things she did
- female characters are all awesome!!
The bad:
- way too much info-dumping. the pace is really, really slow. there were too many side-plots that were unmemorable and side characters who are basically like NPC characters in a game, where i barely remember them after they're gone. this book reads like a whole series of novels stuffed into one. it's 4000+ pages on my kindle.
The plot:
First arc - The novel starts off when Qiyan was just born to the people of the plains. Due to political reasons, she is brought up as a boy. When she's five or so, the Wei kingdom (the Han Chinese), exterminated Qiyan's tribe. She escaped and was taken in by a masked woman, who teaches her everything about the Wei kingdom for the sake of vengeance. Qiyan is brought up and moulded into a tool of the masked woman, meant to take down the Wei kingdom because the masked woman also hates the Wei kingdom.
Qiyan, now able to pass off as a Han Chinese person, enters the capital as a scholar. Through a series of schemes, both her own and others', she ends up entering the palace, but as the husband of Princess Nangong Jingnu, most beloved daughter of the emperor.
Second arc: Qiyan puts on a performance as a studious and devoted husband to Nangong Jingnu. Nangong Jingnu falls in love with her and Qiyan also starts to develop feelings, even though she had originally faked everything. This arc mainly focuses on Qiyan's increasingly conflicted feelings - vengeance says that Nangong Jingnu is part of the group that caused the genocide of her people (she's part of the royal family) but her personal feelings say that she loves Nangong Jingnu and being with her is probably Qiyan's only shot at happiness.
Meanwhile, Nangong Jingnu undergoes quite an intense growth arc. She starts out very impulsive, innocent/naïve and good-hearted; she becomes more mature, thoughtful and thinks before she acts. She learns about political maneuvers and learns that what you see is not always all there is. There are also a bunch of political sideplots that show the kind of person Qiyan is - very intelligent, calculating and a little ruthless. Although not totally a bad person, she does a lot of amoral things.
Third arc: I stopped halfway through here. More players come into the field - the masked person, some people from the plains who survived, Nangong Jingnu (who is now on the path to becoming a female Emperor), other political heavyweights, etc. Qiyan is also beginning to want to protect Nangong Jingnu's life no matter what happens. A lot of moves by various players to get power; Qiyan and the masked person are trying to topple the Wei kingdom.
The good:
- huuuge improvement from [b:女将军和长公主 Female General and Eldest Princess|48752565|女将军和长公主 Female General and Eldest Princess|请君莫笑|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1573480864l/48752565._SX50_.jpg|74124005]; the main couple is much more interesting and dynamic and you actually know what they are like together
- qiyan and nangong jingnu are very well-written characters with very compelling arcs. it is really a pity that the novel was so long and there was so much info-dumping. qiyan is an anti-heroine and i was actually quite uncomfortable with some of the things she did
- female characters are all awesome!!
The bad:
- way too much info-dumping. the pace is really, really slow. there were too many side-plots that were unmemorable and side characters who are basically like NPC characters in a game, where i barely remember them after they're gone. this book reads like a whole series of novels stuffed into one. it's 4000+ pages on my kindle.
dark
emotional
slow-paced
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-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
Despite its never-ending angst, this has been an immensely enjoyable read. While the plot doesn't make sense sometimes and the later parts decline in quality, the characters are the strongest points in this story. They just feel so real. Qi Yan is a fucking horrible human being, especially when she fakes her death in the end, disregarding Jingnu's feelings . But, I couldn't help but care for her. She's supremely intelligent and her plans made my jaw drop multiple times throughout the story. This may make her look invincible, but no. Qi Yan is a fucking mess. Scenes where she breaks down and cry hurt my soul every time. She suffered so, so much from start to end. I actually got a headache from worrying about this fictional character too much.
Nangong Jingnu is wonderful too. She's my favorite character and I love her so much (even more than Qi Yan). Her character growth is one of the book's highlights for me. Her transition from an impatient, spoiled princess to afirm and intelligent Emperor is done so well. Jingnu's devotion towards her wife made me cry because of how profound it is. Even when Qi Yan does some horrible things toward her, Jingnu just won't give up on her. But she isn't perfect either, and that's okay. I'm honestly glad her temper wasn't completely erased from her personality because, goddamn, that flaw of hers made for some of the best scenes.
Their love for each other makes up for the amount of angst in this story. What I appreciate about this author is that she doesn't simply make the characters say "I love you" to each other. She actually shows them loving each other, like when Jingnu never fails to remember Qi Yan's fake disability and accommodate her, and when Qi Yan carves those little wooden pigs. Their marriage is so precious, even with Qi Yan's many layers of deception.
I'm really tempted to give this a 5 despite its flaws, but that ending sucked. This is an issue with "Female General and Eldest Princess" as well, so I guess the author just doesn't really know how to give her stories satisfying endings. There were a lot of plot holes, likewhat happened to the masked person in the end? . Also, I feel bad for Qiyan's nephew. I thought there will be extra chapters about them but I guess he won't see his father again. There's also too much angst that some of them feels forced, and the protagonists just can't catch a break.
Still, this has been a very enjoyable week for me. I'll probably reread it in the future when I'm craving for romance and heavy angst. I love PDL's characters/political intrigue so I'm going to read "Matrilocal Marriage" next.
Nangong Jingnu is wonderful too. She's my favorite character and I love her so much (even more than Qi Yan). Her character growth is one of the book's highlights for me. Her transition from an impatient, spoiled princess to a
Their love for each other makes up for the amount of angst in this story. What I appreciate about this author is that she doesn't simply make the characters say "I love you" to each other. She actually shows them loving each other, like when Jingnu never fails to remember Qi Yan's fake disability and accommodate her, and when Qi Yan carves those little wooden pigs. Their marriage is so precious, even with Qi Yan's many layers of deception.
I'm really tempted to give this a 5 despite its flaws, but that ending sucked. This is an issue with "Female General and Eldest Princess" as well, so I guess the author just doesn't really know how to give her stories satisfying endings. There were a lot of plot holes, like
Still, this has been a very enjoyable week for me. I'll probably reread it in the future when I'm craving for romance and heavy angst. I love PDL's characters/political intrigue so I'm going to read "Matrilocal Marriage" next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence
Moderate: Genocide, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Murder, Classism
Minor: Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Toxic friendship
adventurous
emotional
sad
slow-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