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A review by sweetearlgrey
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
3.0
While I had high hopes for "She Who Became the Sun" based on the promising blurb, I ultimately found myself unable to rate it higher. The plot often felt convoluted, making it challenging to fully engage with the narrative, and the side characters failed to capture my interest.
I longed for a more intimate exploration of Zhu and Ma's relationship, yet their interactions felt distant and lacked emotional depth, leaving much to be desired.
Rather than delving into the intricacies of battle plans and political maneuvers, I craved a richer focus on personal connections. Also, injecting more wuxia-inspired romantic and magical elements could have enlivened the story and made it more captivating. It felt like this book wanted to be historical-fantasy, but ended up just being historical. That may very well be marketing's fault.
While I may consider picking up the sequel in hopes of a fresh direction for the plot, I can't help but wish for a more vibrant and emotionally resonant storytelling approach.
I longed for a more intimate exploration of Zhu and Ma's relationship, yet their interactions felt distant and lacked emotional depth, leaving much to be desired.
Rather than delving into the intricacies of battle plans and political maneuvers, I craved a richer focus on personal connections. Also, injecting more wuxia-inspired romantic and magical elements could have enlivened the story and made it more captivating. It felt like this book wanted to be historical-fantasy, but ended up just being historical. That may very well be marketing's fault.
While I may consider picking up the sequel in hopes of a fresh direction for the plot, I can't help but wish for a more vibrant and emotionally resonant storytelling approach.