earthtotess 's review for:

Legend of the White Snake by Sher Lee

3.25

fast-paced

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okay listen i know the publishing industry has specific genre standards in terms of word count but i genuinely feel as though this book would’ve been improved greatly by the addition of another 50-80 pages of pure relationship development between zhen & xiao prior to the reveal

give me more yearning, more longing, more angst regarding their respective stations & zhen hiding such a large secret from xiao
more snake hunts & moments of them learning more about each other & their pasts

make the reveal feel more earned

also

i feel personally cheated that we never got to see zhen & xian’s mother meet

and ???? that we never find out who the white snake is that bit the mom? i was fully expecting it to be a whole plot point of sabotage from fahai and/or wang’s family or at least have greater plot relevance with xian thinking that zhen was the one who bit her in the first place but it was never brought up in the narrative again after informing the audience that zhen wasn’t the same snake

it was a cute story though & i genuinely did enjoy zhen/xiao’s dynamic

post-wang reveal

i just wish that it was all expanded upon more
like if it’s meant to be a romance story at its core; give me more romance development
if it’s meant to be twisty & turny & have political intrigue, give me more political intrigue 
just give me more!