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A review by plottrysts
The Night Ends with Fire by K.X. Song
4.0
In this Mulan-inspired fantasy, Meilin runs away from an arranged marriage to join the army, dressed as a man. Like in Mulan, she trains as a soldier, pushing herself to be one of the best in her company. This is in part to make sure she's not /the worst,/ since she thinks that would bring attention to the fact that she is a woman, but also partly because she has a well of ambition. I mentioned that this is a fantasy, and that's for sure here: Meilin has trained in qi gong and kung fu, and can partially control her qi. She also just might have spirit powers, lixia, that she inherited from her mother.
This is a sweeping fantasy that feels a little YA-inspired, although not YA in scope or feel. For example, Meilin is involved in a love triangle with two different men (who both happen to be princes!), each of whom speaks to a different part of her psyche: Sky is her commanding officer who inspires her patriotism and loyalty, while Lei is a prince of the faction they are fighting, and who speaks to her "unwomanly" ambition. (I have my thoughts about who she will eventually end up picking, and I may be surprising myself with my personal ship...)
There is also a nice critique of gender and gender roles: Meilin never thinks of herself as a man, but she also recognizes that she never wants to go back to living as a woman. Her driving personality traits are, as I mentioned before, "unwomanly": she is ambitious, proud, outspoken, and can be self-centered. At the same time, her greatest blunders are when she trusts the wrong people; and she directly relates this to the way she was raised, as a woman, never to question authority.
Do note that this one ends in a cliffhanger before you dive in! I personally will definitely be picking up the next one in the series.
This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.
This is a sweeping fantasy that feels a little YA-inspired, although not YA in scope or feel. For example, Meilin is involved in a love triangle with two different men (who both happen to be princes!), each of whom speaks to a different part of her psyche: Sky is her commanding officer who inspires her patriotism and loyalty, while Lei is a prince of the faction they are fighting, and who speaks to her "unwomanly" ambition. (I have my thoughts about who she will eventually end up picking, and I may be surprising myself with my personal ship...)
There is also a nice critique of gender and gender roles: Meilin never thinks of herself as a man, but she also recognizes that she never wants to go back to living as a woman. Her driving personality traits are, as I mentioned before, "unwomanly": she is ambitious, proud, outspoken, and can be self-centered. At the same time, her greatest blunders are when she trusts the wrong people; and she directly relates this to the way she was raised, as a woman, never to question authority.
Do note that this one ends in a cliffhanger before you dive in! I personally will definitely be picking up the next one in the series.
This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.