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A review by evilcallie
Night Shine by Tessa Gratton
4.0
Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing for this ebook in exchange for an honest review.
This was a fascinating book that I had to read in bits and pieces. In a single sentence summary: it is a queer fantasy romance with demons, sorceresses, dragons, spirits, and a world that seems inspired by pre-20th century East Asian cultures.
The main character is Nothing, a girl with no past who we meet when she kills the heir to the throne of her kingdom, and the journey she undertakes afterwards. It's a book of questions: Who is Nothing? What is Nothing? Who is the Sorceress Who Eats Girls? Why did the Sorceress want Kirin Dark-Smile? What does Kirin really want? Luckily, over the course of the book, these questions are answered, though never in the ways the reader might expect, especially for a young adult fantasy book. It is more than a stereotypical coming-of-age story. I can't say more without significantly spoiling the mysteries of the book.
I do find, though, that the cover of this book is deceiving. I know that book covers are often inaccurate, but this one in particular is just... not great. Sure, it's pretty, but it doesn't fit the story in anyway.
This was a fascinating book that I had to read in bits and pieces. In a single sentence summary: it is a queer fantasy romance with demons, sorceresses, dragons, spirits, and a world that seems inspired by pre-20th century East Asian cultures.
The main character is Nothing, a girl with no past who we meet when she kills the heir to the throne of her kingdom, and the journey she undertakes afterwards. It's a book of questions: Who is Nothing? What is Nothing? Who is the Sorceress Who Eats Girls? Why did the Sorceress want Kirin Dark-Smile? What does Kirin really want? Luckily, over the course of the book, these questions are answered, though never in the ways the reader might expect, especially for a young adult fantasy book. It is more than a stereotypical coming-of-age story. I can't say more without significantly spoiling the mysteries of the book.
I do find, though, that the cover of this book is deceiving. I know that book covers are often inaccurate, but this one in particular is just... not great. Sure, it's pretty, but it doesn't fit the story in anyway.