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o_romeo's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Death, Abandonment, and Infertility
Minor: Medical trauma, War, Xenophobia, Infidelity, Fatphobia, Violence, and Sexual content
green_amaryllis's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Murder, Death, Violence, Pregnancy, Grief, and War
Minor: Death of parent
anaisqsn's review against another edition
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
To be honest, I picked this book up solely because of its short length. I had never even heard of it before. And boy did it not disappoint!
It demanded a lot of focus for me to fully understand the storyline—probably because I listened to the audiobook. I read another review mentioning that the names of characters or places could be misleading with only the audio, such as Almost Brilliant the bird or the palace Thriving Fortune, and I fully agree with this. This feeling of disorientation in the first ~30% slightly lowered my rating.
However, once I got to understand the settings and the name of each place and character, the plot unfurled into a brilliant story of vengeance and sisterhood.
Each character felt real, making the story even more fascinating. I love how the story of In-yo’s rise to power and rebellion is told by Rabbit, her handmaiden, to Chih several decades later. The diversity of objects Chih finds in the palace adds a new piece of the story, further enhancing the experience of the reader.
Vo's writing is phenomenal. Even though I finished this book yesterday, I am still fascinated by how effective the storytelling was. Are you really telling me this was only 121 pages? Barely more than two hours? Dude. Weaving the threads of such a complex story in such an effective way is incredible. Every word is precisely chosen by the author and has a full impact on the reader.
This ended up being a 4 out of 5 stars for me. I will surely read this again, and probably purchase a copy of the novella to read along. I might even check out the sequels :).
If you’re looking for a short read, with strong-willed women (and a non-binary cleric?), set in what seems like Imperial China, I highly recommend it!
It demanded a lot of focus for me to fully understand the storyline—probably because I listened to the audiobook. I read another review mentioning that the names of characters or places could be misleading with only the audio, such as Almost Brilliant the bird or the palace Thriving Fortune, and I fully agree with this. This feeling of disorientation in the first ~30% slightly lowered my rating.
However, once I got to understand the settings and the name of each place and character, the plot unfurled into a brilliant story of vengeance and sisterhood.
Each character felt real, making the story even more fascinating. I love how the story of In-yo’s rise to power and rebellion is told by Rabbit, her handmaiden, to Chih several decades later. The diversity of objects Chih finds in the palace adds a new piece of the story, further enhancing the experience of the reader.
Vo's writing is phenomenal. Even though I finished this book yesterday, I am still fascinated by how effective the storytelling was. Are you really telling me this was only 121 pages? Barely more than two hours? Dude. Weaving the threads of such a complex story in such an effective way is incredible. Every word is precisely chosen by the author and has a full impact on the reader.
This ended up being a 4 out of 5 stars for me. I will surely read this again, and probably purchase a copy of the novella to read along. I might even check out the sequels :).
If you’re looking for a short read, with strong-willed women (and a non-binary cleric?), set in what seems like Imperial China, I highly recommend it!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: War and Death
legs_n_chins's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I will read anything Nghi Vo writes for the rest of time forever.
There is so much packed into so few pages, it’s honestly sort of breathtaking. I couldn't put it down. The story itself was beautiful and stunning. I found myself emotional over characters I had really only just been introduced to simply because of the modest length of the novella. Which I think speaks highly to the writing craft and how much skill the author has when it comes to writing characters with a lot of depth and care. The way plans fell into place was absolutely incredible and so fascinating. So much thought was put into the entire plot from start to finish, and I loved the tangible pieces that Chih picked up along the way that tied into the overall narrative. Everything was just so neatly pulled together and laid out, I honestly wasn’t certain I understood at the very beginning, but by the end it all felt so obvious. It was such an enjoyable journey.
I also really liked the craft of the book. I loved how the shape of the story started to appear and the way it gained clarity as it went along. And I think that was helped immensely by the way it was told, through the mouth of a character recounting events to an objective party. It felt like sitting by a campfire the whole way through, but the added trinkets discovered by Chih enhanced the experience. I think it also added to the mystery to have this reminiscing storyteller voice rather than take the reader on a more active path through the events — none of the information was fed to us and the narrative was given with the assumption that we already know the ending. This way, it felt like there was more opportunity to figure it out myself. If that makes sense. I just really loved the contrasting POVs and story set-up.
Also I just really liked the feminist narrative and that clerics, as I understand it, use they/them pronouns. I was expecting a feminist story and this delivered, but the non-gendered pronouns was just a nice little surprise :)
Angry mothers raise daughters fierce enough to fight wolves.
There is so much packed into so few pages, it’s honestly sort of breathtaking. I couldn't put it down. The story itself was beautiful and stunning. I found myself emotional over characters I had really only just been introduced to simply because of the modest length of the novella. Which I think speaks highly to the writing craft and how much skill the author has when it comes to writing characters with a lot of depth and care. The way plans fell into place was absolutely incredible and so fascinating. So much thought was put into the entire plot from start to finish, and I loved the tangible pieces that Chih picked up along the way that tied into the overall narrative. Everything was just so neatly pulled together and laid out, I honestly wasn’t certain I understood at the very beginning, but by the end it all felt so obvious. It was such an enjoyable journey.
I also really liked the craft of the book. I loved how the shape of the story started to appear and the way it gained clarity as it went along. And I think that was helped immensely by the way it was told, through the mouth of a character recounting events to an objective party. It felt like sitting by a campfire the whole way through, but the added trinkets discovered by Chih enhanced the experience. I think it also added to the mystery to have this reminiscing storyteller voice rather than take the reader on a more active path through the events — none of the information was fed to us and the narrative was given with the assumption that we already know the ending. This way, it felt like there was more opportunity to figure it out myself. If that makes sense. I just really loved the contrasting POVs and story set-up.
Also I just really liked the feminist narrative and that clerics, as I understand it, use they/them pronouns. I was expecting a feminist story and this delivered, but the non-gendered pronouns was just a nice little surprise :)
Angry mothers raise daughters fierce enough to fight wolves.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Death and Murder
avacadosocks's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Confinement, and Misogyny
Minor: Infertility, War, and Suicide
quinnyquinnquinn's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Confinement, and Misogyny
Moderate: Pregnancy and Grief
Minor: Trafficking
spootilious's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Read: December 12, 2023
Title: The Empress of Salt and Fortune
Title: The Empress of Salt and Fortune
Series: The Singing Hills Cycle #1
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 3 / 5
Review:
Review:
This was a very beautiful read. It wasn’t exciting or thrilling. It was a simple and beautiful story with a wonderful aesthetic and a folklore feel. The writing was soft and the imagery stunning. No real twists or turns but a story that is meant to be admired like a painting rather than devoured like a meal.
QUOTES:
“Angry mothers raise daughters fierce enough to fight wolves.”
“Honor is a light that brings trouble. Shadows are safer by far.”
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Grief, Classism, and Pregnancy
auudrey's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Violence
indeedithappens's review
mysterious
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Child death, Infidelity, Suicide, Abandonment, Infertility, Violence, Classism, Death, Grief, Pregnancy, War, Colonisation, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Murder
readsbymoonlight's review
emotional
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Minor: War, Violence, and Death