A review by bluejayreads
The Consorts by Melissa Addey

slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

I'm not normally much of a historical fiction person, but this was short (a novella, not a full novel), a historical period (1700s China) that I find interesting but know very little about, features women whose stories are not often told from this period of history, and hinted that it might be a little queer. And I'm glad I gave it a chance. Being a novella, it skips over huge chunks of time, and that makes the pacing seem kind of weird. And though it does contain quite a bit of angst, most of that is because of the protagonist's overthinking (although, honestly, I probably would have done exactly the same thing in her situation, and because of the book's short length, it didn't have enough time to get annoying). The setting is interesting, and though details are fairly sparse - again, only so much space in a novella - it still creates a rich enough world for these women of the Emperor to have their dramas and power games. It's interesting, it's engaging, it has a happy ending, and though I don't have any plans to read the rest of the series, this was a good read. 
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