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A review by isc
Strike the Zither by Joan He
2.0
WARNING: spoiler-filled rant below
Ok, so I really wanted to like this book. I’ve been getting into Chinese literature/mythology over the last couple of years and have consumed my fair share of Xianxia novels, so when I heard this was a genderbent version of the Three Kingdoms, I was instantly intrigued. However, the story itself was just so aggressively YA at times it felt like it detracted from the material, Iike: “Bet you’ve never been fan-slapped.” Hello?? That’s the sentence that almost made me DNF after only 4 chaps…But I stuck with it…so please enjoy my numbered list of nitpicks.
1. I didn’t understand why some names were translated and some not…like we have characters like Xin Ren and Xin Bao and then everyone else is Lotus, Cloud, Crow, etc?? It just added to the aggressive YA vibe I was not jiving with. Would have vastly preferred “Huang Lianzi” over Lotus.
2. The pacing is sooo fast, like we barely get to see Xin Ren and her sworn sisters before ohhh Zephyr is defecting. And then we barely spend any time on that before she’s back with them. Like I’m not seeing how Zephyr has any emotional connection with these people?? ESP BC SHE’S SUPPOSED TO BUILD A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP WITH CROW during her time with Miasma?? I think this story would have benefited from being significantly longer so these different settings and characters have time to breathe, and when Zephyr has these moments of conflict, they hold more emotional weight.
3. The thing with Crow needs its own bullet point. Like they barely interact… HE POISONS HER, and she legit has feelings for him?? Listen, I love a good enemies to lovers—him poisoning her (even though it came out of nowhere) was honestly a point in their favor because part of the appeal of the trope for me is seeing how two characters can go from borderline murderous to unwaveringly devoted, but something like that requires multiple books…not 100 pgs?? There were some sweet moments in the latter half, but they didn't feel earned. The whole thing was so quick that I thought one of them/both of them were faking their attraction bc Strategy but nope?? Ok whatever.
I have other things I could rant about (the whole bodyswap thing, the confusing worldbuilding, etc.) but this review is already too long. Suffice to say, I won't be picking up the sequel.
Ok, so I really wanted to like this book. I’ve been getting into Chinese literature/mythology over the last couple of years and have consumed my fair share of Xianxia novels, so when I heard this was a genderbent version of the Three Kingdoms, I was instantly intrigued. However, the story itself was just so aggressively YA at times it felt like it detracted from the material, Iike: “Bet you’ve never been fan-slapped.” Hello?? That’s the sentence that almost made me DNF after only 4 chaps…But I stuck with it…so please enjoy my numbered list of nitpicks.
1. I didn’t understand why some names were translated and some not…like we have characters like Xin Ren and Xin Bao and then everyone else is Lotus, Cloud, Crow, etc?? It just added to the aggressive YA vibe I was not jiving with. Would have vastly preferred “Huang Lianzi” over Lotus.
2. The pacing is sooo fast, like we barely get to see Xin Ren and her sworn sisters before ohhh Zephyr is defecting. And then we barely spend any time on that before she’s back with them. Like I’m not seeing how Zephyr has any emotional connection with these people?? ESP BC SHE’S SUPPOSED TO BUILD A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP WITH CROW during her time with Miasma?? I think this story would have benefited from being significantly longer so these different settings and characters have time to breathe, and when Zephyr has these moments of conflict, they hold more emotional weight.
3. The thing with Crow needs its own bullet point. Like they barely interact… HE POISONS HER, and she legit has feelings for him?? Listen, I love a good enemies to lovers—him poisoning her (even though it came out of nowhere) was honestly a point in their favor because part of the appeal of the trope for me is seeing how two characters can go from borderline murderous to unwaveringly devoted, but something like that requires multiple books…not 100 pgs?? There were some sweet moments in the latter half, but they didn't feel earned. The whole thing was so quick that I thought one of them/both of them were faking their attraction bc Strategy but nope?? Ok whatever.
I have other things I could rant about (the whole bodyswap thing, the confusing worldbuilding, etc.) but this review is already too long. Suffice to say, I won't be picking up the sequel.