A review by corgimuffins
女将军和长公主 [Nǚ Jiāngjūn Hé Zhǎng Gōngzhǔ] by Qing Jun Mo Xiao

5.0

i didn’t think any book would come close to jwqs, which has been my best read of this year, but the author has outdone herself. this was actually her first book but holy shit is it a masterpiece.

the political intrigue, the schemes, the plans, the depth of the main and side characters, the plot, just everything about this was gorgeous.

“in this life of mine, i’m so glad that i could have you as my wife.”

i cannot describe the love i have for lin wanyue and li xian. both were such good main characters. just them.

the second to last and last chapters (technically the extras) made me cry. i cry kinda easily at books but oh my god. i was sobbing.

okay now to try to make this somewhat of an actual review.

the amount of foreshadowing that was later revealed was amazing. it was so amazing i got mad i didn’t notice sooner. but just the amount of thinking and care that was put into the plot and characters was breathtaking. some of it i only comprehended after reading the author’s notes but once explained it was that much better. speaking of the author’s notes, they added so much to the story. i loved reading them.

now for the one thing i didn’t really like. the author did the same thing as jwqs. she tried to put too much plot in the last ten chapters or so (of the main story, not the extras). she just tried to do too much in 70 pages. it should’ve been fleshed out more. this also happened with jwqs, like i said. i do like how she ended both stories, though. with a happy ending and a peaceful, quiet life for both main characters. honestly she puts her characters through a lot.

but other than that this book was an absolute masterpiece. i would definitely reread all 1500 pages again just to experience the story once more and to catch the foreshadowing.