A review by hollandjacobs
Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

adventurous inspiring tense fast-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
I wasn’t sure about this book since it had a sexual assault warning on one of the first pages. However, nothing ever got too graphic, and really I think all books should have content warnings like that. Tv shows and movies do, comic books have ratings, and some of the online comics I’ve read have had content warnings - I can think of quite a few books I’ve read over the years where I really would have appreciated a few content warnings. So please, book publishers, follow the example of Girls of Paper and Fire, and start using them!

With that out of the way, I really enjoyed this book. It’s a poor girl being forced into a royal court but never loving it. So many books have girls quickly swooning over dresses and pastries. Not Lei. The world is really interesting, the characters complex, the stakes high - it’s a pretty intense book. It didn’t have a super strong chosen one troupe, really just a girl fighting for her own autonomy. Abuse is rampant, but never fetishized. Really I just feel like the author held the balance of all these complex issues really well, it was well written, and I’m definitely looking forward to the rest of the series! 
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