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A review by zober
The Tiger's Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera
adventurous
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Queer semi-historical fantasy is my jam. Setting is fun; would love more world-building though. I can't tell how much of the world is supposed to be original vs based on specific parts of historical East Asia, but I'm hoping the former because if it's the latter, there were a loooot of stereotypes here. This book felt like it was mostly character-focused, coming-of-age set-up for the series. I'm hoping the next book(s) will have more plot and less purple prose (second person) love letters.
Things that didn't work for me:
- The relationship almost had the 'fated relationship' trope, which is not my favorite. But it mostly works here because the relationship is queer which wasn't the norm/particularly accepted in the predominant culture of this empire. But the declarations of love still felt over-the-top.
- The format/writing style. The flashback letters to recap a bunch of things that the addressee already knows felt really weird. There shouldn't be multiple sentences that start with "you already know this, but" [let me tell the reader]. It would have made more sense if it were structured as "I've been away so long, I need to remind myself why I love you/what we've been through". But so it goes.
- Shefali's mother takes a vow of silence and doesn't speak for most of Shefali's life - why doesn't Shefali learn sign language?! Her cousin does, but she doesn't.
Things that didn't work for me:
- The relationship almost had the 'fated relationship' trope, which is not my favorite. But it mostly works here because the relationship is queer which wasn't the norm/particularly accepted in the predominant culture of this empire. But the declarations of love still felt over-the-top.
- The format/writing style. The flashback letters to recap a bunch of things that the addressee already knows felt really weird. There shouldn't be multiple sentences that start with "you already know this, but" [let me tell the reader]. It would have made more sense if it were structured as "I've been away so long, I need to remind myself why I love you/what we've been through". But so it goes.
- Shefali's mother takes a vow of silence and doesn't speak for most of Shefali's life - why doesn't Shefali learn sign language?! Her cousin does, but she doesn't.