A review by omnombailey
Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I  had tremendously high expectations for this book after reading the first one, Girls of Paper and Fire. While it was a great book on its own, it still struggles with the pesky "middle of the series" syndrome.

Most of the narrative is the main characters going from place to place, either trying to recruit help for the rebellion or run away from the king's forces. In between are some delightful moments between characters that I adored, especially with
the growing tension between Lei and Wren. I was happy to see them in situations that made them question each other (mostly Lei with Wren) instead of being stuck in a honeymoon phase. Don't get me wrong - I do want them happy together, but they definitely have a lot to talk about.


Seeing Lei mature from the previous book is extremely bittersweet; it's great to see her less whiny, but also knowing why and how she got to that point (via sexual trauma) just breaks my heart every time. Her coping is extremely authentic and relatable and thus makes me root for her even more.


I also grew to love the shift in perspectives to those back at the palace. I wondered what happened in the wake of the assassination attempt and seeing the lives of those Lei and Wren left behind was an absolute treat. Though the tense shift was always jarring (going from first person present to third person past :\ bleh).


Sadly, a bunch of points fell short for me.
I was never a fan of Bo; he felt too forced and I was constantly annoyed he was never taking anything even half seriously. I feel he was written to make the reader laugh and find him enjoyable, but it didn't work for me. I did enjoy his brief relationship with Merrin, because their obvious flirting since the beginning felt like a freaking neon sign to me, so it was great to see some more queer characters. Bo's death only worked for me because I was far more invested in Merrin than Bo and seeing Merrin devestated was heartwrenching, but I don't think that was the intention behind all of that :\


And Lova.... *sigh* I think if Lova had zero backstory with Wren and didn't show up as a deus ex machina 75% into the story without ever being mentioned I might have enjoyed her more. On paper, she's character I'd be into, but her feeling entitled to Wren despite Wren being Lei left an awful taste in my mouth. I want to say Wren did mention Lova in the first book when it came to her previous lovers, but that still doesn't excuse her randomly showing up to save the gang from death. Oh what's that? She's been following them the whole time and there's been zero foreshadowing? Uh-huh, alright. Sure ಠ_ಠ I struggled with finishing the book because of her waltzing in and stealing the spotlight. I hated it and didn't want it and thus it made the last quarter of the book feel ridiculously forced. I probably would've given this 4 stars if Lova was never a thing because I despised anything in a twenty foot radius of her so much.


For the most part, this was an enjoyable read. Not as brilliant as the first book, but a good addition. Well-written with lovely prose and equally lovely characters not you, Lova or Bo. It's definitely hooked me for the next book. 
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