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A review by flybybooks
Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
5.0
Girls of Paper and Fire is an asian-inspired high fantasy set in a world ruled by a divide in the population: the castes. What caste you are in is not something you can change, it is what you are. The Main Character, Lei is a member of the lowest, the paper caste: she is fully human. Her golden eyes make her stand out though, and so she is chosen to become a paper girl, a Concubine.to the Demon King. This is not something she wants or chooses, but with a threat to her family hanging over her head, it is her lot. Or is it?
This is the beginning of a fast-paced story about injustice and rebellion and what these can look like.
The pacing of the story felt fitting, not so slow as to be boring, but not too fast either. The writing was thought-provoking and immersive, making it very easy to empathize with the characters. I cried within the first 50 pages. The world-building was exquisite, a concept that felt new and fresh. Discriptions and history were given when fitting and in intervals, avoiding any infodumps.
The ending kept me on my toes and I am very excited to find out what happens next!
The characters were multidimensional and well-written, highlighting how much grey there is in the world and how little black and white.
Cultural representation is generally well done as far as I can tell, though the own-voices author and reviewers will know more, so be sure to look for their reviews.
There is also a beautifully described wlw relationship that hints at explicit scenes without fetishization and focuses on the feeling of love and affection and softness.
Due to the nature of the story, there are scenes that depict sexual assault. This is well Handled with a Trigger Warning in the beginning of the book. Exact descriptions are generally not given, everything is relatively vague. Still, it is in no way romanticized or made to seem any less horrific than it is.
I was very happy and enthralled with this book (its plot and its cover, I mean LOOK AT IT), swept away by the author's beautiful written word and Characters I could see in my mind's eye.
This is the beginning of a fast-paced story about injustice and rebellion and what these can look like.
The pacing of the story felt fitting, not so slow as to be boring, but not too fast either. The writing was thought-provoking and immersive, making it very easy to empathize with the characters. I cried within the first 50 pages. The world-building was exquisite, a concept that felt new and fresh. Discriptions and history were given when fitting and in intervals, avoiding any infodumps.
The ending kept me on my toes and I am very excited to find out what happens next!
The characters were multidimensional and well-written, highlighting how much grey there is in the world and how little black and white.
Cultural representation is generally well done as far as I can tell, though the own-voices author and reviewers will know more, so be sure to look for their reviews.
There is also a beautifully described wlw relationship that hints at explicit scenes without fetishization and focuses on the feeling of love and affection and softness.
Due to the nature of the story, there are scenes that depict sexual assault. This is well Handled with a Trigger Warning in the beginning of the book. Exact descriptions are generally not given, everything is relatively vague. Still, it is in no way romanticized or made to seem any less horrific than it is.
I was very happy and enthralled with this book (its plot and its cover, I mean LOOK AT IT), swept away by the author's beautiful written word and Characters I could see in my mind's eye.