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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
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
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Lesbophobia
Build Your Library 2022: a story about immigrants
Popsugar 2022: a book about the afterlife
Spells and Space Ships 2022: Asian Inspiration
I really loved Sorcerer to the Crown, the first book I read by Zen Cho. I knew that this book was modern urban fantasy going in, but I was looking for the same sort of cleverness that I'd found in her first series. This book was not quite what I expected.
For one thing, the book wasn't as funny. There were some humorous bits here and there, but the tone of the book was actually pretty dark. It also didn't have a protagonist quite as appealing as the other Zen Cho books I've read. A lot of this book was about a young woman finding herself and learning to fight for herself too. It might just be that I'm long enough past that part of my life that I didn't relate quite as much to Jess. But Jess, frankly, wasn't a great girlfriend to her wonderful partner Sharanya. Jess dodged all of her girlfriend's questions, wouldn't open up to her, wouldn't put any work into finding a job in Singapore so the two of them could be together, wouldn't admit that Sharanya existed to her parents.
Really, Jess was caught between a lot of worlds. She had grown up in the USA feeling like an outsider but she didn't fit in when her family moved to Malaysia either- she was obviously a foreigner. Jess was gay but closeted to her family, not her friends. Jess had earned a degree but had not figured out how to use it. And finally, Jess ends up being a conduit for her grandmother to come back to the world of the living to resolve some unfinished business.
The family dynamics were one of the most interesting and complicated parts of the story. Everyone is trying to emotionally manage everyone else, everyone is keeping secrets supposedly to prevent other family members from getting hurt, no one can communicate honestly, everyone is keeping track of years-worth of resentments and slights. Felt pretty real.
Jess's grandmother was a monster by any standards, though. She lied to Jess, put Jess in great danger, wouldn't give her information, expressed nothing but disappointment in her- she was really the grandmother from hell! One of the less realistic parts of the book, I thought, was that Jess continued to trust her and called upon her for help (although I suppose that Jess was pretty desperate by the end of the book).
The book is really about cycles of pain and revenge and how it's easy to get stuck in them and how continuing those cycles will never allow you to be free. It's a powerful theme and Zen Cho is really good at tapping into the darkness in our world. I wished that I'd felt more transported to Malaysia and that Jess hadn't been so frustrating, though, which is why the book doesn't get a higher rating from me.
Popsugar 2022: a book about the afterlife
Spells and Space Ships 2022: Asian Inspiration
I really loved Sorcerer to the Crown, the first book I read by Zen Cho. I knew that this book was modern urban fantasy going in, but I was looking for the same sort of cleverness that I'd found in her first series. This book was not quite what I expected.
For one thing, the book wasn't as funny. There were some humorous bits here and there, but the tone of the book was actually pretty dark. It also didn't have a protagonist quite as appealing as the other Zen Cho books I've read. A lot of this book was about a young woman finding herself and learning to fight for herself too. It might just be that I'm long enough past that part of my life that I didn't relate quite as much to Jess. But Jess, frankly, wasn't a great girlfriend to her wonderful partner Sharanya. Jess dodged all of her girlfriend's questions, wouldn't open up to her, wouldn't put any work into finding a job in Singapore so the two of them could be together, wouldn't admit that Sharanya existed to her parents.
Really, Jess was caught between a lot of worlds. She had grown up in the USA feeling like an outsider but she didn't fit in when her family moved to Malaysia either- she was obviously a foreigner. Jess was gay but closeted to her family, not her friends. Jess had earned a degree but had not figured out how to use it. And finally, Jess ends up being a conduit for her grandmother to come back to the world of the living to resolve some unfinished business.
The family dynamics were one of the most interesting and complicated parts of the story. Everyone is trying to emotionally manage everyone else, everyone is keeping secrets supposedly to prevent other family members from getting hurt, no one can communicate honestly, everyone is keeping track of years-worth of resentments and slights. Felt pretty real.
Jess's grandmother was a monster by any standards, though. She lied to Jess, put Jess in great danger, wouldn't give her information, expressed nothing but disappointment in her- she was really the grandmother from hell! One of the less realistic parts of the book, I thought, was that Jess continued to trust her and called upon her for help (although I suppose that Jess was pretty desperate by the end of the book).
The book is really about cycles of pain and revenge and how it's easy to get stuck in them and how continuing those cycles will never allow you to be free. It's a powerful theme and Zen Cho is really good at tapping into the darkness in our world. I wished that I'd felt more transported to Malaysia and that Jess hadn't been so frustrating, though, which is why the book doesn't get a higher rating from me.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Enjoyed the insight into the culture but not much else. The plot was interesting but the pacing felt off. Didn't really connect to the characters.
The audiobook experience wasn't very enjoyable. Felt like I could hear the mic being bumped nearly constantly (and loud enough that at one point I thought they had purposefully added in heartbeats as ambiance..). It was incredibly distracting and kept drawing me out of the story.
The audiobook experience wasn't very enjoyable. Felt like I could hear the mic being bumped nearly constantly (and loud enough that at one point I thought they had purposefully added in heartbeats as ambiance..). It was incredibly distracting and kept drawing me out of the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Lesbophobia
Moderate: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Rape
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
medium-paced
I honestly just didn't enjoy this. I thought the story idea was creative, but I just wanted this book to be over the whole time. I thought the main character was a bit insufferable and did not like the way she interacted with other people like she was the only person in the universe who could experience nuance. It also was pretty slow, and I think it was built up to have a lot of action, and it just dragged on.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced