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I'm pleased I did continue. The conclusions for Ouyang and Zhu were satisfying, although it all felt a bit rushed in the last 100 pages or so. Definitely a step down from the previous book.
Graphic: Rape
I really liked how this book had more villains, and more queer people, and more intense moments of wondering if the ones we’re rooting for are really doing the right thing after all. Can fate can be ours to make, or does Heaven have it all planned out from the start?
Ouyang was my favorite character in this book. I loved how trans the book felt when it was told from his point of view, and how he always awarded Zhu he/him pronouns. He’s problematic as heck but I sure love him. And I also loved the very deeply uncomfortable moments of masochism, where Zhu needed to help him ground himself. I was really rooting for these two to get along, and I felt so betrayed when Ouyang left because he didn’t believe Zhu could become Emperor!
The ending tied it all together nicely but I still hurt for the things we lost when Ouyang lost faith in her.
Graphic: Death, Violence, War
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence
Minor: Slavery, Suicide, Torture
Graphic: Body shaming, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Infertility
Graphic: Body horror, Rape
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail
Take a shot every time you read:
- "Hungry ghosts"
- "Trotted"
- "Behatted"
- "Curious"
Also: I think I would have liked this more if the absolute psychological torment undergone by the characters wasn't described so lushly. The prose got a little purple at times, describing people's internal suffering. It was a bit much.
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body horror
Graphic: Rape
An incredible conclusion to this gruesome, heartbreaking story of resilience, determination, and revenge against all odds (especially when the odds are definitely *not* in your favor).
This sequel hit all of the best notes in character development and continuation of the plot. The interpersonal relationships grew significantly and the action scenes where even better (and more gruesome) than the first book. I really enjoyed adding more POVs and really getting into the heads of our main characters.
The "mandate of heaven" was still not super well explained, which I think was probably intentional. Also Shelley did us dirty with the deaths in this one, and I'll leave it at that.
Graphic: Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Sexual harassment, War
Minor: Pregnancy
Moderate: Death, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Misogyny, Slavery, Pregnancy, War
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Grief, Murder, Outing, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Genocide, Homophobia, Misogyny, Xenophobia
Minor: Animal cruelty