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A review by icedpinecones
Strike the Zither by Joan He
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
⭐2024 REREAD⭐ scroll for 2022 Jessie review!
CHARACTERS
The characters in STZ are second to none. Zephyr is arrogant yet endearing, Crow is an enigma wrapped in a snarky package, Lotus is as brave and kind as they come, Cloud is overbearing and overprotective to a fault, Ren is dutiful yet elegant, Miasma is violent but such a great villain & every character in this story is interesting to learn about. You'd think with them having basic roles (warrior, strategist, warlord) they'd all fall into pretty stereotypical roles, and at first it appears they do; but Joan has a way of trickling new information about the characters down to you in a way that makes them all the more real (and all the more devastating when she rips them away from you).
ATMOSPHERE
This book moves quick, and you do feel as though you're in Rens camp moving place to place with her alongside Zephyr. It is desperate, scenes are as tense as they feel for the characters, and I found myself turning page after page with ease immersed in the world that Joan has so lovingly crafted.
WRITING STYLE
I am a sucker for Joan's books, so I can confirm her writing style is great for me! It moves quickly, and you're in the characters heads, but you move with them and it almost reads like a movie at times. The world is built on in such a way that you're not spending page after pages waning on the layout of camps or the stench of rot, but they're stated to set the scene and you get a move on into the good stuff.
PLOT
The plot in this book is impeccable, a retelling of three kingdoms but with enough twists and turns to make it a story of He's own. The twists that come throughout this book, layering onto the plot, can be a bit to get your head around for sure (especially if you're not expecting them) but they make for an amazing reread. This review comes of my first reread of this book and there was so many hints and winks I missed, which to me is just indicative of a book well thought out and pained over to be perfection.
INTRIGUE
So the basic hook of this book is we've got three main factions at war. North, South and West. North is very violent, West is who we're allied with, South is grieving loss so not super in the war as far as we know when the book starts! Our main character, Zephyr, works under Ren (Xin Ren of the west) and at the beginning our girl Zephyr pulls a sneaky and is working from inside enemy lines (with our favourite rival Crow where there's a not quite romance not quite normal relationship there. Infatuated with eachother & working out what the other is upto).
LOGIC
The book makes sense! The midway point took me a bit off guard, and you may flag some points before that on your first read of 'well she shouldn't be doing this' or 'she shouldn't have survived that' & questioning Crows motives for sure. But by the end it ALL makes sense! Trust in Joan & her schemes, because the twists explain everything; stuff that doesn't make sense at first will make perfect sense on a reread! And it'll all come clear at the end too, you'll be fine!
ENJOYMENT
I would've read 600 more pages of this. I am so excited for the sequel ('Sound the Gong' Releasing April 30th 2024 😉) and you should be too! This book is intended as a read one after the other type deal, think of them as one book divided, and I'm lucky enough to have an ARC in order to dig right into STG too! Stay tuned
Instagram : @icedpinecones
Email for PR : [email protected]
⭐2022⭐
Strike the Zither is my favourite read of 2022.
When I was accepted for the ARC I was ecstatic, and that usually lends me to have a lesser enjoyment of the book purely because I set my standards so high. This was one of those rare few books that lived upto my expectations and exceeded them.
Its no secret I'm a fan of Joan He, my constant spamming about her other works (and her adorable cat nubbs) makes me somewhat biased, but I was blown away outside of my admiration for her. If I had never heard of her before and this was my first book, I wholeheartedly believe I'd of still thoroughly enjoyed it.
Our book here follows Zephyr, a strategist in a war fighting for the underdog. The book opens with her unravelling her newest plan that puts her right in enemy territory alongside a mysterious strategist for the enemy who leads into an enemies to lovers plotline! Romance isn't the sole focus of this novel by a long shot, often second to the plot itself and completely sidelined when a signature Joan He plot twist throws the whole story on its head.
Joan subverts expectations time and time again to deliver impactful stories, compelling character arcs and gut wrenching plot twists. If you're a fan of enemies to lovers, political intrigue, three kingdoms, c-drama or strong women who can and will beat you up? This book is for you. If I add on that the book has an amazing map, character guide with affiliations and character illustrations will you get it? I certainly hope anyone reading this picks up the book because I have never read a book so fast in my life!
CHARACTERS
The characters in STZ are second to none. Zephyr is arrogant yet endearing, Crow is an enigma wrapped in a snarky package, Lotus is as brave and kind as they come, Cloud is overbearing and overprotective to a fault, Ren is dutiful yet elegant, Miasma is violent but such a great villain & every character in this story is interesting to learn about. You'd think with them having basic roles (warrior, strategist, warlord) they'd all fall into pretty stereotypical roles, and at first it appears they do; but Joan has a way of trickling new information about the characters down to you in a way that makes them all the more real (and all the more devastating when she rips them away from you).
ATMOSPHERE
This book moves quick, and you do feel as though you're in Rens camp moving place to place with her alongside Zephyr. It is desperate, scenes are as tense as they feel for the characters, and I found myself turning page after page with ease immersed in the world that Joan has so lovingly crafted.
WRITING STYLE
I am a sucker for Joan's books, so I can confirm her writing style is great for me! It moves quickly, and you're in the characters heads, but you move with them and it almost reads like a movie at times. The world is built on in such a way that you're not spending page after pages waning on the layout of camps or the stench of rot, but they're stated to set the scene and you get a move on into the good stuff.
PLOT
The plot in this book is impeccable, a retelling of three kingdoms but with enough twists and turns to make it a story of He's own. The twists that come throughout this book, layering onto the plot, can be a bit to get your head around for sure (especially if you're not expecting them) but they make for an amazing reread. This review comes of my first reread of this book and there was so many hints and winks I missed, which to me is just indicative of a book well thought out and pained over to be perfection.
INTRIGUE
So the basic hook of this book is we've got three main factions at war. North, South and West. North is very violent, West is who we're allied with, South is grieving loss so not super in the war as far as we know when the book starts! Our main character, Zephyr, works under Ren (Xin Ren of the west) and at the beginning our girl Zephyr pulls a sneaky and is working from inside enemy lines (with our favourite rival Crow where there's a not quite romance not quite normal relationship there. Infatuated with eachother & working out what the other is upto).
LOGIC
The book makes sense! The midway point took me a bit off guard, and you may flag some points before that on your first read of 'well she shouldn't be doing this' or 'she shouldn't have survived that' & questioning Crows motives for sure. But by the end it ALL makes sense! Trust in Joan & her schemes, because the twists explain everything; stuff that doesn't make sense at first will make perfect sense on a reread! And it'll all come clear at the end too, you'll be fine!
ENJOYMENT
I would've read 600 more pages of this. I am so excited for the sequel ('Sound the Gong' Releasing April 30th 2024 😉) and you should be too! This book is intended as a read one after the other type deal, think of them as one book divided, and I'm lucky enough to have an ARC in order to dig right into STG too! Stay tuned
Instagram : @icedpinecones
Email for PR : [email protected]
⭐2022⭐
Strike the Zither is my favourite read of 2022.
When I was accepted for the ARC I was ecstatic, and that usually lends me to have a lesser enjoyment of the book purely because I set my standards so high. This was one of those rare few books that lived upto my expectations and exceeded them.
Its no secret I'm a fan of Joan He, my constant spamming about her other works (and her adorable cat nubbs) makes me somewhat biased, but I was blown away outside of my admiration for her. If I had never heard of her before and this was my first book, I wholeheartedly believe I'd of still thoroughly enjoyed it.
Our book here follows Zephyr, a strategist in a war fighting for the underdog. The book opens with her unravelling her newest plan that puts her right in enemy territory alongside a mysterious strategist for the enemy who leads into an enemies to lovers plotline! Romance isn't the sole focus of this novel by a long shot, often second to the plot itself and completely sidelined when a signature Joan He plot twist throws the whole story on its head.
Joan subverts expectations time and time again to deliver impactful stories, compelling character arcs and gut wrenching plot twists. If you're a fan of enemies to lovers, political intrigue, three kingdoms, c-drama or strong women who can and will beat you up? This book is for you. If I add on that the book has an amazing map, character guide with affiliations and character illustrations will you get it? I certainly hope anyone reading this picks up the book because I have never read a book so fast in my life!