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adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ouyang deserved better.... I felt so bad for him by the end of this story. The Third Prince also deserved better. I didn't expect that kind of betrayal from Baoxiang at all. Ma ALSO deserved better too instead of doing what Zhu asked of her!! It sounded like she chose to do it in the end but that's... it's still very sad. The one who DESERVED BETTER MOST OF ALL THOUGH IS XU DA. I'M GOING TO BE SAD ABOUT HIM FOREVER. Also go Zhu!! I support women's rights and women's wrongs!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, War
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, War
Minor: Ableism, Homophobia, Transphobia
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don’t know if I’ve read a book with so many complex and tortured relationships to gender. Ambition, sacrifice, autonomy, revenge, regret, grief, sadism and masochism, spirits destroyed and indestructible, actual spirits both benign and lethal… plus conquest and war strategy- a lot happening here. Some parts dragged a little for me but all in all a compelling and thought provoking read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
emotional
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Props to Parker-Chan for being brave enough to write this book and get it published. All characters are deliciously messed up while fighting for the Imperial throne of China. Each of them has to deal with being outside of the gender and sexuality norms of the time and place and be warned - it's not pretty. Marginalisation does not a hero make. It is however well-written and dares to explore these questions in ways I have rarely seen. I only had to deduct some points because my fave my bestie my love Ma Xiuying is weirdly absent for the vast middle.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Toxic friendship, War
Minor: Child death
drowning
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Such an engaging story with so many twists and turns. I loved being able to see so many different POV characters throughout this book and Parker-Chan has such a way with words. It wasn’t perfect but it was exactly what I have been searching for in a book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, War
Moderate: Colonisation
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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
An excellent conclusion to Zhu’s story! Unabashedly queer, unabashedly heartbreaking at times. Parker-Chan is someone to keep an eye on!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War
Moderate: Sexism, Transphobia
Minor: Sexual content, Sexual violence
I do not love how Zhu’s pronouns are changed based on perspective. Perhaps Parker-Chan intended a more fluid reading of Zhu’s gender, but I always read them as transmasculine and felt a little weird seeing them referred to with feminine pronouns when the writing takes their perspective. Didn’t ruin the book for me, just an odd choice.
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As I’ll mention in the content warnings section below, this book is much more triggering and more violent in specific ways than the first book (She Who Became the Sun) in this duology.
That being said, I couldn’t put it down. I finished this one much more quickly than the first. It was very gripping. The reason I gave it 1/2 star less than its predecessor is just because of the r*pe scenes honestly.
Re: the titleI wondered if the title of the second book referred to the main character of the first book just with a different pronoun but this book focuses more on a different character, who was in the first book but didn’t play such a major role. He sort of comes from behind unexpectedly and becomes a major player in this installment.
The backstabbing really gets kicked up a notch in this book too.
I kind of thought at one point that the book was getting a bit predictable/tired and then OPE THERE’S A TWIST and then WHOOPS ANOTHER ONE. Hang in there.
The protagonist of the first book continues to beat the odds in unexpected ways as she did before and again it’s spectacular. Also as before, I found myself rooting for and even loving really cruel, dark, awful characters. The author has a talent for coaxing out empathy for the worst baddies.
That being said, I couldn’t put it down. I finished this one much more quickly than the first. It was very gripping. The reason I gave it 1/2 star less than its predecessor is just because of the r*pe scenes honestly.
Re: the title
The backstabbing really gets kicked up a notch in this book too.
I kind of thought at one point that the book was getting a bit predictable/tired and then OPE THERE’S A TWIST and then WHOOPS ANOTHER ONE. Hang in there.
The protagonist of the first book continues to beat the odds in unexpected ways as she did before and again it’s spectacular. Also as before, I found myself rooting for and even loving really cruel, dark, awful characters. The author has a talent for coaxing out empathy for the worst baddies.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit
There is a lot more triggering content in this book than in the first installment of the duology, She Who Became the Sun.
Specifically there are multiple rape scenes:
- one is marital as a punishment visited on a wife by her husband
- one is sort of in the context of a gay relationship but first of all the “relationship” starts off as a manipulation tactic and is coercive and abusive and secondly the specific rape scene itself is forcible and in anger.
- another is in the context of a king/consort relationship, which already means consent can’t apply because of the power dynamic, and then he is purposely trying to hurt her emotionally with the specific rape.
There are also numerous incidents of self harm (many of them are actually perpetrated by someone else, but still falls solidly in the “self harm” category in this context).
Like the last book, there is a child who dies - murdered by a soldier. He also has his blood let as proof of life to send to his father to gain his army’s compliance.
I marked both miscarriage and abortion but really it’s neither of those exactly. A woman is happy about her pregnancy and then another woman gives her poison that ends it without her knowledge or consent.
There’s also someone who has been mutilated. A servant has her eyes and tongue removed so that she can be used in a specific way to test someone’s magical powers.
There’s also a man who is executed by being cooked alive in a bamboo steamer.
Yes, the first book was violent and about war and cruelty. But I think this book takes it to another level in several ways. Read with caution.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Infidelity, Slavery, Suicide, Grief
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-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
This book was absolutely everything I could've wanted and more from the sequel. The author described this as "murderous queers" and they couldn't be more right. This book really truly gave me insight to the characters, not just Zhu. This book did not shy away from the pain and suffering it is to be human, and how ambition is a slippery slope. I couldn't believe how emotionally attached I got to a lot of them haha. This is one of THE BEST historical fantasies I've read (maybe ever)!! I can't say enough good things about it. The characters (especially Ma, my absolute fave!!) and their stories, joys, dreams, and pains will be something I carry with me for a long time, I just know it. If I had to sum it up in a word: "mesmerizing" :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Grief, War
Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Outing
Minor: Miscarriage, Abortion