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A review by queer_bookwyrm
Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
5 ⭐ CW (provided by author): violence, self-harm, references to sexual abuse and trauma recovery; CW (by me): descriptions of blood and gore, descriptions of corpses
"Fear is good. It means you care. And caring is its own kind of magic."
Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan is the second book in the Girls of Paper and Fire trilogy. I loved this book just as much as the first one if not more! This book made me laugh and also destroyed my heart. It has been a while since a book made me cry, so it was time.
We pick up with Lei, Wren, and the gang after their escape from the Moon Ball. They are on a mission for the Hannos to get each of the Moon clans to ally with them against the King to take down the court. Shenanigans, adventure, and heartache ensue.
I loved the characters so much in this novel! They were fully realized people/demons with hopes, dreams, fears, and flaws. Bo and Nitta we're hilarious and had me laughing out loud, which was much needed for the seriousness of the material. Bo has my whole heart. He is my sweet boy kitty and no one can change my mind.
We see Lei struggling through her trauma recovery and Wren trying to pretend hers doesn't exist. We get some conflict between Wren and Lei this time, and it has definitely changed the way I see them (and not for the better). Wren has a "by any means necessary" attitude that is problematic.
This book broke me. I seriously cried for a good five minutes. As always Ngan does a great job of depicted trauma and trauma recovery. She's great at writing complex characters, so there isn't really solid 'bad' or 'good', except for the king. He all bad. I'm just glad the next book comes out next month, so I can't wait to see how Ngan rips my heart out in that one! 😂
"Fear is good. It means you care. And caring is its own kind of magic."
Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan is the second book in the Girls of Paper and Fire trilogy. I loved this book just as much as the first one if not more! This book made me laugh and also destroyed my heart. It has been a while since a book made me cry, so it was time.
We pick up with Lei, Wren, and the gang after their escape from the Moon Ball. They are on a mission for the Hannos to get each of the Moon clans to ally with them against the King to take down the court. Shenanigans, adventure, and heartache ensue.
I loved the characters so much in this novel! They were fully realized people/demons with hopes, dreams, fears, and flaws. Bo and Nitta we're hilarious and had me laughing out loud, which was much needed for the seriousness of the material. Bo has my whole heart. He is my sweet boy kitty and no one can change my mind.
We see Lei struggling through her trauma recovery and Wren trying to pretend hers doesn't exist. We get some conflict between Wren and Lei this time, and it has definitely changed the way I see them (and not for the better). Wren has a "by any means necessary" attitude that is problematic.
This book broke me. I seriously cried for a good five minutes. As always Ngan does a great job of depicted trauma and trauma recovery. She's great at writing complex characters, so there isn't really solid 'bad' or 'good', except for the king. He all bad. I'm just glad the next book comes out next month, so I can't wait to see how Ngan rips my heart out in that one! 😂
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Self harm, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Blood