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lukekono 's review for:
An Arrow to the Moon
by Emily X.R. Pan
3.5 stars
I'm a little conflicted with this book, but I do have to say that the cover is absolutely gorgeous.
I have never read the story of Chang'e and Houyi so I loved reading this reimagined, modern version of that myth. I loved the writing in this book. For me, it improved upon from "An Astonishing Color of After". I found the prose much more enjoyable and the story was beautiful.
What I wasn't a fan of was how little I felt I actually knew the main characters. I liked their romance and stories, yes, but I didn't leave the book knowing a lot about their personalities and such; they were sort of one-dimensional. The book was quite long too and the plot didn't seem to do much in those pages. I'm fine with a slow-building plot, but this didn't build. Couple that with the characters who barely developed and had little to no personalities, and you find yourself missing where the story is even going. If it wasn't for the lovely writing, I think I might have had a much worse experience with this book. The additional POVs didn't seem all that necessary either, and took away from the main characters. I didn't dislike them per-say, but again they were not developed very well. They were thrown in to explain little tidbits of the story and that was it. Also, I expected the big reveal of why the families were feuding to be WAY more extreme than what it was. That was just... anti-climatic.
The book accomplished what it said out to do; re-tell ancient Chinese mythology. It would've been five stars if the plot and characters felt more flushed out. Worth the read? Yes, but bear in mind where it is lacking (for me anyway).
I'm a little conflicted with this book, but I do have to say that the cover is absolutely gorgeous.
I have never read the story of Chang'e and Houyi so I loved reading this reimagined, modern version of that myth. I loved the writing in this book. For me, it improved upon from "An Astonishing Color of After". I found the prose much more enjoyable and the story was beautiful.
What I wasn't a fan of was how little I felt I actually knew the main characters. I liked their romance and stories, yes, but I didn't leave the book knowing a lot about their personalities and such; they were sort of one-dimensional. The book was quite long too and the plot didn't seem to do much in those pages. I'm fine with a slow-building plot, but this didn't build. Couple that with the characters who barely developed and had little to no personalities, and you find yourself missing where the story is even going. If it wasn't for the lovely writing, I think I might have had a much worse experience with this book. The additional POVs didn't seem all that necessary either, and took away from the main characters. I didn't dislike them per-say, but again they were not developed very well. They were thrown in to explain little tidbits of the story and that was it. Also, I expected the big reveal of why the families were feuding to be WAY more extreme than what it was. That was just... anti-climatic.
The book accomplished what it said out to do; re-tell ancient Chinese mythology. It would've been five stars if the plot and characters felt more flushed out. Worth the read? Yes, but bear in mind where it is lacking (for me anyway).