4.5

Such an excellent read! I loved the characters and the story, and the steampunk setting is so badass. The political intrigue was also very intriguing.

I did find it a tad off-putting that the main ship seems to be between the MC (Cheng Geng) and his godfather, which is a bit weird. And Cheng Geng was underage this whole book (altho nothing inappropriate happened). But I must admit that I enjoyed Cheng Geng's pining and longing for someone he shouldn't want, that shit is 👌

There is also some fatphobia and transphobia towards a side character who is chubby and a side character who was raised as a girl. Both characters are iconic tho and do play a positive role in the plot.

Anyways, I'm excited to dive into Vol. 2 and see what happens next!