A review by woolerys
Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee

adventurous medium-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

3.5

Writing -  4/5
Plot -  3/5
Characters -  3/5
World-building -  4/5
Personal tastes -  4/5
TOTAL: 3.6

The main character and the dragon (it’s not a spoiler to say there’s a dragon, right? it’s on the cover) are the highlights. I found the MC very relatable—wanting to ignore the political tensions they are enmeshed in, not wanting to truly hurt anybody, just wanting to paint! 

I wish there had been as much deeply-felt emotional angst around the love interest as there was for the sibling relationship. Not that I minded the sibling relationship getting higher priority, it just felt like for the romantic relationship, a lot of emotion was implied rather than described.

The world-building was also cool, with a focus on visual arts and their underlying philosophies. The magic felt a bit runaway as the story went on but the concept was original and intriguing. 
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