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A review by smartinez9
The Bird and the Blade by Megan Bannen
1.0
Tw: suicide
I am so angry. Though I initially thought this was a fantasy, I appreciated the historical detail and rarely-seen-in-YA-setting. I liked Jinghua and expected her to cleverly use her identity to rescue the prince and survive—in short, I was all set to give this book 4-5 stars.
That is not what happened. Instead, our POC heroine commits suicide in order to save him, an action that is ultimately worthless because 1. his name is revealed a second later, and 2. he proceeds to marry the empress who had Jinghua killed, despite his so-called “love” for her. It’s also implied that what her ancestors were calling for was not her triumph but her death, which, why even include that? The paranormal aspects could have been used to empower and save her, not condemn her.
Regardless, how having a woman of color kill herself for a man is any kind of acceptable ending, I do not know and did not need.
I am so angry. Though I initially thought this was a fantasy, I appreciated the historical detail and rarely-seen-in-YA-setting. I liked Jinghua and expected her to cleverly use her identity to rescue the prince and survive—in short, I was all set to give this book 4-5 stars.
That is not what happened. Instead, our POC heroine commits suicide in order to save him, an action that is ultimately worthless because 1. his name is revealed a second later, and 2. he proceeds to marry the empress who had Jinghua killed, despite his so-called “love” for her. It’s also implied that what her ancestors were calling for was not her triumph but her death, which, why even include that? The paranormal aspects could have been used to empower and save her, not condemn her.
Regardless, how having a woman of color kill herself for a man is any kind of acceptable ending, I do not know and did not need.