A review by leweylibrary
Strike the Zither by Joan He

adventurous challenging dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Reading this immediately after finishing Fire Becomes Her was rough lol the pace is much slower and the writing is much more staccato, sharp, and intense. The characters are more intense too, especially Zephyr. It's also obvious that this is meant to be a series because there was a lot of setting things up for the next book. Including what seems like it'll be an enemies to lovers romance, but all we get is one [manipulative] kiss, and I was okay with that lol. After reading a book with so many queer relationships, especially ace and aro ones, I was hoping for something not hetero but hey lol.

My favorite thing about this book was the shift when Zephyr
dies and realizes she's actually a god and then ends up in Lotus's body
. That really took the story to a whole new level for me and helped keep my interest when the battle stuff was making me nod off a bit.

The thing I like the most about this book is how many freaking female characters there are, especially badass ones! There are honestly very few male characters, and none of them are in positions of power really (except Xin Ten's uncle and well 😂). I love that they're all strong and badasses in different ways. Like Zephyr of literally a god but she's not a physical warrior but super smart and intuitive. Xin Ren is a great leader and compassionate towards her people. Lotus and Cloud are warriors. And the list goes on and on.

Overall, I do think it was good enough that I'll read the next book!
Expand filter menu Content Warnings