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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
This was a very cutesy and demure read. Like honestly it was very adorable. Sometimes insta-love does not work out well for me but in this case it's like 'awww' and you grab your two Ken dolls and have them kiss. But then...there's a betrayal?? Your Ken dolls are fighting now. What happened? Yes, this is juicy. That's right - this had one of my favorite tropes: lovers -> enemies.
Prince Xian has been hunting for a white snake for years in hopes to heal his mother who was condemned to a slow, painful death. The only cure is a spirit pearl or an antidote created from a rare white snake itself. Seven years ago, Zhen, a white snake in the West Lake, consumed a coveted spirit pearl, which gave him special powers—including the ability to change into human form. When the two meet they are instantly drawn to one another but when Zhen discovers he is the snake Xian has been hunting for will this completely shatter their relationship?
As someone with no knowledge of the original folklore tale this was a very enjoyable read! This was easily digestible with not a lot of world-building so it focused mostly on the romance. I stayed up pretty late into the night reading this so the story was very addicting to be honest. There were times were I felt it to be cheesy but I'll take that over a non-normative queer world any day. I also really enjoyed the tidbits of knowledge and the time the author took within the story to explain Chinese phrases.
"The steady vibrations of Xian's heartbeat against his cheek suddenly reminded him of how, when coiled around his prey as a snake, he felt their faltering heartbeats until they faded to nothing."
!!! Give me more of this animalistic love!! When you have a character who is actually an animal I love love when authors don't just throw that away and so that's why I loved this quote.
As for my rating, while I really did enjoy this and loved the lovers to enemies tension I felt like the ending went way to fast for me. Suddenly we were tackling 3 different storylines and I had to watch twists happen while also dealing with Xian and Zhen being difficult (which is very valid) but we didn't have time to actually go into the forgiveness arc so I felt a bit out of sorts.
Overall it was a very nice read with emotional twists and endearing main characters. I really recommend this if you're in the mood for a fast-paced romance with some added tension, hidden identity trope and really cute moments.
"But out here on their own, Xian and Zhen weren't a prince and a snake spirit; they were two boys who would risk their lives for each other, again and again, without thinking twice."
Thank you so much to Epic Reads for sending this ARC over to me. Fantasy folklore retellings are just so *chefs kiss* and to have it be in a queer normative world?? In a YA?? Yes please!!
3.75/5
Prince Xian has been hunting for a white snake for years in hopes to heal his mother who was condemned to a slow, painful death. The only cure is a spirit pearl or an antidote created from a rare white snake itself. Seven years ago, Zhen, a white snake in the West Lake, consumed a coveted spirit pearl, which gave him special powers—including the ability to change into human form. When the two meet they are instantly drawn to one another but when Zhen discovers he is the snake Xian has been hunting for will this completely shatter their relationship?
As someone with no knowledge of the original folklore tale this was a very enjoyable read! This was easily digestible with not a lot of world-building so it focused mostly on the romance. I stayed up pretty late into the night reading this so the story was very addicting to be honest. There were times were I felt it to be cheesy but I'll take that over a non-normative queer world any day. I also really enjoyed the tidbits of knowledge and the time the author took within the story to explain Chinese phrases.
"The steady vibrations of Xian's heartbeat against his cheek suddenly reminded him of how, when coiled around his prey as a snake, he felt their faltering heartbeats until they faded to nothing."
!!! Give me more of this animalistic love!! When you have a character who is actually an animal I love love when authors don't just throw that away and so that's why I loved this quote.
As for my rating, while I really did enjoy this and loved the lovers to enemies tension I felt like the ending went way to fast for me. Suddenly we were tackling 3 different storylines and I had to watch twists happen while also dealing with Xian and Zhen being difficult (which is very valid) but we didn't have time to actually go into the forgiveness arc so I felt a bit out of sorts.
Overall it was a very nice read with emotional twists and endearing main characters. I really recommend this if you're in the mood for a fast-paced romance with some added tension, hidden identity trope and really cute moments.
"But out here on their own, Xian and Zhen weren't a prince and a snake spirit; they were two boys who would risk their lives for each other, again and again, without thinking twice."
Thank you so much to Epic Reads for sending this ARC over to me. Fantasy folklore retellings are just so *chefs kiss* and to have it be in a queer normative world?? In a YA?? Yes please!!
3.75/5
Thank you, NetGalley, and the publisher for the ARC. This is my honest review.
Sher Lee's sophomore novel, I was not disappointed in the least. She is a new leader in queer historical literature and brings such a fresh air of non-european, Singaporean stories to mainstream media.
I have read other tellings of the White Snake, and this one is by far my favorite. I also gave me some Heaven's Official Blessing alfon with the adventure and humor of The Princess Bride.
Please please Sher Lee, keep writing, I love reading your stories. Your characters make me so happy, and the world needs more Queer Singaporean literature
Sher Lee's sophomore novel, I was not disappointed in the least. She is a new leader in queer historical literature and brings such a fresh air of non-european, Singaporean stories to mainstream media.
I have read other tellings of the White Snake, and this one is by far my favorite. I also gave me some Heaven's Official Blessing alfon with the adventure and humor of The Princess Bride.
Please please Sher Lee, keep writing, I love reading your stories. Your characters make me so happy, and the world needs more Queer Singaporean literature
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
- Absolutely phenomenal; no notes no complaints.
- Obsessed with this book; will not stop yapping about it.
- Will recommend it to literally everyone.
- Will definitely read more from this author.
I cried from sadness, but also from happiness. Cute, funny, heartbreaking, and wonderful.
- Obsessed with this book; will not stop yapping about it.
- Will recommend it to literally everyone.
- Will definitely read more from this author.
I cried from sadness, but also from happiness. Cute, funny, heartbreaking, and wonderful.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for this E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
3.5⭐️
Sher Lee' debut Fake Dates and Mooncakes was one of my favourite reads of 2023, so I was super excited when she reached out to ask if I'd like an early copy of her fantasy debut! Whilst I did have a fun time reading this book, I admit it didn't quite live up to my expectations.
I think the concept of this book is really good and this could've easily been a 5⭐️ read, but I don't think it was executed as well as it could have been. I started very strong, with a hooking premise, interesting plot, and likeable protagonists, but from the moment Xian and Zhen meet, the plot seems to disappear and the focus is solely on their almost insta-love relationship. Whilst I did like their initial meeting, and could get behind their initial connection, I felt their romance rushed too suddenly into a relationship, and was based more on physical attraction than a deeper connection. Insta-love style relationships are an issue I have quite often with romantasy books (they're not a personal preference of mine), so that did hamper my enjoyment. I did like their relationship more towards the end, but I wish it had been developed more. The individual character development was stronger, but still not as developed as I would like. I did still really like Xian and Zhen as characters and became attached to them both (especially Zhen though, he was my favourite).
I think this book as a whole was quite underdeveloped. The plot got lost a bit and sidelined too much for the romance, and relationships with side characters felt less emotional as we didn't get to know said characters and their connections well enough. There were some interesting themes that I was hoping would be explored more - particularly the differing power dynamics between characters, which was touched on a few times but never in quite enough depth - which I think would've worked better if this book was a lot longer. This also impacted the ending reveals (though I do think these were quite well-crafted reveals and twists that made sense and were satisfying in the plotline) which made them feel somewhat sudden. Whilst this book is a standalone, I personally think it would've worked much better either as a much longer book, or as a duology. This would've, in my opinion, given more time to expand upon the world and magic-system (which were both very interesting, but underutilised) and develop and explore characters and their relationships. The second half of this book (after a big reveal) was quite rushed, but it felt much stronger to me in terms of plot and relationships (I enjoyed Xian and Zhen's romance much more in the second half. I admit to being nearly in tears by the ending chapters and the epilogue because I had become so much more invested and attached to the characters!
It sounds like I'm being really harsh on this book, but I did really enjoy my time reading it (it is most certainly hooking and exciting and I did not want to put it down!) and will probably be buying a physical copy when it releases next month, I just think there was a lot of potential that wasn't fully explored. I do still think this book is good, and do recommend checking it out! I think this was a promising start from Sher Lee in the world of fantasy, and I am excited to see what she will do next!
3.5⭐️
Sher Lee' debut Fake Dates and Mooncakes was one of my favourite reads of 2023, so I was super excited when she reached out to ask if I'd like an early copy of her fantasy debut! Whilst I did have a fun time reading this book, I admit it didn't quite live up to my expectations.
I think the concept of this book is really good and this could've easily been a 5⭐️ read, but I don't think it was executed as well as it could have been. I started very strong, with a hooking premise, interesting plot, and likeable protagonists, but from the moment Xian and Zhen meet, the plot seems to disappear and the focus is solely on their almost insta-love relationship. Whilst I did like their initial meeting, and could get behind their initial connection, I felt their romance rushed too suddenly into a relationship, and was based more on physical attraction than a deeper connection. Insta-love style relationships are an issue I have quite often with romantasy books (they're not a personal preference of mine), so that did hamper my enjoyment. I did like their relationship more towards the end, but I wish it had been developed more. The individual character development was stronger, but still not as developed as I would like. I did still really like Xian and Zhen as characters and became attached to them both (especially Zhen though, he was my favourite).
I think this book as a whole was quite underdeveloped. The plot got lost a bit and sidelined too much for the romance, and relationships with side characters felt less emotional as we didn't get to know said characters and their connections well enough. There were some interesting themes that I was hoping would be explored more - particularly the differing power dynamics between characters, which was touched on a few times but never in quite enough depth - which I think would've worked better if this book was a lot longer. This also impacted the ending reveals (though I do think these were quite well-crafted reveals and twists that made sense and were satisfying in the plotline) which made them feel somewhat sudden. Whilst this book is a standalone, I personally think it would've worked much better either as a much longer book, or as a duology. This would've, in my opinion, given more time to expand upon the world and magic-system (which were both very interesting, but underutilised) and develop and explore characters and their relationships. The second half of this book (after a big reveal) was quite rushed, but it felt much stronger to me in terms of plot and relationships (I enjoyed Xian and Zhen's romance much more in the second half. I admit to being nearly in tears by the ending chapters and the epilogue because I had become so much more invested and attached to the characters!
It sounds like I'm being really harsh on this book, but I did really enjoy my time reading it (it is most certainly hooking and exciting and I did not want to put it down!) and will probably be buying a physical copy when it releases next month, I just think there was a lot of potential that wasn't fully explored. I do still think this book is good, and do recommend checking it out! I think this was a promising start from Sher Lee in the world of fantasy, and I am excited to see what she will do next!
Enormous thank yous to Sher Lee and Harper Collins for sending me a digital arc!
This book had pretty much everything I could ask for! It made me laugh, it made me SOB, it made me kick my feet at adorable-ness, it made me consider what “soulmates” actually means, and it made me so incredibly joyous that these two men from entirely different worlds were so tightly bound together by fate and that nothing could stop them!
The writing is amazing, the characters are so well-developed, the explanations of cultural elements that otherwise may be misunderstood is clear whilst also not detracting from the narrative, and the plot is SO GOOD!
There were a few moments that I felt that the pacing was a little off, like I really wish that the last quarter had been expanded to explore the characters’ emotions more completely (that might just be me enjoying characters’ suffering though), but overall the pacing worked and was very effective.
But just. These babies have my heart. They’re so good and their relationship is so good and eeeeeeeeee!
This book had pretty much everything I could ask for! It made me laugh, it made me SOB, it made me kick my feet at adorable-ness, it made me consider what “soulmates” actually means, and it made me so incredibly joyous that these two men from entirely different worlds were so tightly bound together by fate and that nothing could stop them!
The writing is amazing, the characters are so well-developed, the explanations of cultural elements that otherwise may be misunderstood is clear whilst also not detracting from the narrative, and the plot is SO GOOD!
There were a few moments that I felt that the pacing was a little off, like I really wish that the last quarter had been expanded to explore the characters’ emotions more completely (that might just be me enjoying characters’ suffering though), but overall the pacing worked and was very effective.
But just. These babies have my heart. They’re so good and their relationship is so good and eeeeeeeeee!
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death
Moderate: Terminal illness, Torture, Violence
Minor: Death, Sexual content, Death of parent
Sher Lee invites us to a mesmerizing tale in Legend of the White Snake, blending Chinese folklore with a heartfelt M&M romance that is both tender and magical. The story follows Zhen, a white snake spirit who can take human form and Prince Xian, a determined royal hunting the very creature Zhen embodies.
The cultural aspect of the story shines brightly, paying homage to the traditional Chinese folktale. Sher Lee’s writing effortlessly brings Changle to life. Zhen’s gentle, introspective nature contrasts beautifully with Xian’s fiery determination, as he seeks for the unattainable pearl.
From the very first page, Legend of the White Snake turns out to be an easy read as we are offered dual POVs of Zhen and Xian and the seamless back-and-forth between them.
This is my second Sher Lee book, and once again, her effortless ability to draw the reader into an enchanting, emotional narrative is undeniable. Insta-love is one of my favorite tropes, and combined with their kindhearted, endearing personalities, it made me adore their story even more. Both Zhen and Xian are absolute cinnamon rolls, and seeing them in pain truly tugs at your heartstrings.
If you’re in the mood for a lighter, sweet fantasy that feels like a warm embrace and a cozy romance but still delivers moments of emotional weight, Legend of the White Snake is a must-read.
The cultural aspect of the story shines brightly, paying homage to the traditional Chinese folktale. Sher Lee’s writing effortlessly brings Changle to life. Zhen’s gentle, introspective nature contrasts beautifully with Xian’s fiery determination, as he seeks for the unattainable pearl.
From the very first page, Legend of the White Snake turns out to be an easy read as we are offered dual POVs of Zhen and Xian and the seamless back-and-forth between them.
This is my second Sher Lee book, and once again, her effortless ability to draw the reader into an enchanting, emotional narrative is undeniable. Insta-love is one of my favorite tropes, and combined with their kindhearted, endearing personalities, it made me adore their story even more. Both Zhen and Xian are absolute cinnamon rolls, and seeing them in pain truly tugs at your heartstrings.
If you’re in the mood for a lighter, sweet fantasy that feels like a warm embrace and a cozy romance but still delivers moments of emotional weight, Legend of the White Snake is a must-read.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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:
Complicated
Thank you, NetGalley and the publishers, for approving me for this ARC in exchange for my honest and genuine review.
Following the complicated love story of Xian and Zhen was an emotional roller coaster for me. I tend to enjoy retellings in historical settings, and this story did not disappoint. I loved the characters even though the dialog seemed modern, which did not fit the setting. That did not deter me from finishing this book; I'm glad I did. I typically don't gravitate toward YA stories, but this one pulled me in and did not let go.
I look forward to reading more from this author.
Following the complicated love story of Xian and Zhen was an emotional roller coaster for me. I tend to enjoy retellings in historical settings, and this story did not disappoint. I loved the characters even though the dialog seemed modern, which did not fit the setting. That did not deter me from finishing this book; I'm glad I did. I typically don't gravitate toward YA stories, but this one pulled me in and did not let go.
I look forward to reading more from this author.