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itzakmu's Reviews (159)
Oh Caraval? Is that like, an actual thing? What happened to the original plot?
Tella and Legend are perfect for each other, two boring and insufferable characters.
Anyway, time to reread ouabh
Tella and Legend are perfect for each other, two boring and insufferable characters.
Anyway, time to reread ouabh
DNF @ 50% idk sorry I just couldn’t read on
Wasn’t very slow burn and I couldn’t care for any of the characters. The world building was underwhelming too
Wasn’t very slow burn and I couldn’t care for any of the characters. The world building was underwhelming too
TW mentions of sexual violence & violence against children
This was so mediocre, especially coming from Chloe Gong?? Everything felt so predictable and there were so many plot holes that could’ve been easily solved. For example, if Calla doesn’t want to kill why doesn’t she deactivate the chips? Instead of.. idk, beheading a literal kid in front of his peers? That’s not morally grey, that’s plain evil, especially considering the kid did NOTHING—he is the very person she’s trying to save!
Ultimately this plot hole was the reason I didn’t feel any tension or felt the need to care about any of the characters. Because to me it looks like they’re dying for no reason. Eno’s death wasn’t as sad as it could’ve been (even though he was by far the most interesting character imo, and I wish we knew more about him and his background.) Enobarbus was, according to Google, Antony’s most devoted friend but we never got that here.
I wish all characters were more fleshed out, but especially Anton. Literally all we know is that he’s in exile, his old lover Otta is in a coma, and he was friends with August and Leida (who somehow turns out to be a backstabbing bitch? We didn’t even get to know her!)
The romance was so lacking that I can’t believe the same author wrote Romajuliette and Benmars. They went from 0 to 100 so quick it gave me whiplash, and then two chapters later they were declaring their love for each other? They didn’t even spend that much time together and the betrayal didn’t even make be bat an eyelash. I get that Antony and Cleopatra were obsessive from the beginning, but I failed to see why exactly Calla and Anton became obsessed. They had like, max two scenes together.
Also, you can tell the author has only a surface level understanding of poverty, because apart from starving there is no other commentary on the citizens. And it’s crazy that she thinks putting another monarch in place of King Kasa is going to solve everything, as if August himself isn’t questionable and tacky enough already. I can’t believe Calla thought that was the best option, after living in exile for five years.
I guess the most controversial part of this book is how she handled body-jumping and consent—aka she doesn’t. The justifications for why the two of them could casually have sex in other people’s bodies was so stupid I had to put the book down.
“This is someone else’s body, but in San-Er, that detail is as normal as jumping. When it comes to this sort of use, bodies are only accessories, discardable, and utilized based on need.”
Are you kidding me? Does that not sound like sexual violence? If someone could literally jump into your body and use it for their own sick sexual gratification, how would you just move past that? The fact that the citizens are just “okay with it” and look away despite the ban on it… Why? Where do politics come in play? Why are royals, except for August I guess, above body hopping when they could use it to their advantage? How does making it illegal even prevent people from doing it? I have so many questions that remain unanswered.
It’s not that the book is bad but it reads like a second draft—the language is amazing, the structure is not. I think all of these issues could’ve resolved if Chloe Gong didn’t churn out so many books all at once, because the book just came across as careless tbh. If she spent more time on it, it really would’ve been a lot better. And in my opinion, I think it would’ve been better comped as Squid Game than Hunger Games.
I will say apart from the info dumping in the beginning—which wasn’t that bad, it didn’t put me off as much as other people —it was quite fast-paced imo and a very quick read. And I’m still going to read book two because I want to see Otta, and whether the real Calla is alive or not.
This was so mediocre, especially coming from Chloe Gong?? Everything felt so predictable and there were so many plot holes that could’ve been easily solved. For example, if Calla doesn’t want to kill why doesn’t she deactivate the chips? Instead of.. idk, beheading a literal kid in front of his peers? That’s not morally grey, that’s plain evil, especially considering the kid did NOTHING—he is the very person she’s trying to save!
Ultimately this plot hole was the reason I didn’t feel any tension or felt the need to care about any of the characters. Because to me it looks like they’re dying for no reason. Eno’s death wasn’t as sad as it could’ve been (even though he was by far the most interesting character imo, and I wish we knew more about him and his background.) Enobarbus was, according to Google, Antony’s most devoted friend but we never got that here.
I wish all characters were more fleshed out, but especially Anton. Literally all we know is that he’s in exile, his old lover Otta is in a coma, and he was friends with August and Leida (who somehow turns out to be a backstabbing bitch? We didn’t even get to know her!)
The romance was so lacking that I can’t believe the same author wrote Romajuliette and Benmars. They went from 0 to 100 so quick it gave me whiplash, and then two chapters later they were declaring their love for each other? They didn’t even spend that much time together and the betrayal didn’t even make be bat an eyelash. I get that Antony and Cleopatra were obsessive from the beginning, but I failed to see why exactly Calla and Anton became obsessed. They had like, max two scenes together.
Also, you can tell the author has only a surface level understanding of poverty, because apart from starving there is no other commentary on the citizens. And it’s crazy that she thinks putting another monarch in place of King Kasa is going to solve everything, as if August himself isn’t questionable and tacky enough already. I can’t believe Calla thought that was the best option, after living in exile for five years.
I guess the most controversial part of this book is how she handled body-jumping and consent—aka she doesn’t. The justifications for why the two of them could casually have sex in other people’s bodies was so stupid I had to put the book down.
“This is someone else’s body, but in San-Er, that detail is as normal as jumping. When it comes to this sort of use, bodies are only accessories, discardable, and utilized based on need.”
Are you kidding me? Does that not sound like sexual violence? If someone could literally jump into your body and use it for their own sick sexual gratification, how would you just move past that? The fact that the citizens are just “okay with it” and look away despite the ban on it… Why? Where do politics come in play? Why are royals, except for August I guess, above body hopping when they could use it to their advantage? How does making it illegal even prevent people from doing it? I have so many questions that remain unanswered.
It’s not that the book is bad but it reads like a second draft—the language is amazing, the structure is not. I think all of these issues could’ve resolved if Chloe Gong didn’t churn out so many books all at once, because the book just came across as careless tbh. If she spent more time on it, it really would’ve been a lot better. And in my opinion, I think it would’ve been better comped as Squid Game than Hunger Games.
I will say apart from the info dumping in the beginning—which wasn’t that bad, it didn’t put me off as much as other people —it was quite fast-paced imo and a very quick read. And I’m still going to read book two because I want to see Otta, and whether the real Calla is alive or not.
The fact that Rhaz was able to pass as Evan—a white frat boy—for months, while Sel immediately targeted Bree—the only black kid in that entire society—makes my stance on his character very clear. I will be very disappointed if she ends up with him lol #NickFtw
All in all I think it’s an amazing book with good writing and a strong main character! It had a little too many cliché tropes but I didn’t mind it because I thought the plot with Bree and her ancestors and their form of magic (Root) was so intriguing and outweighed my annoyance with the tropes. I think the book could’ve been a lot shorter, and maybe the time could span out a couple of more weeks just so that the relationship between Nick and Bree wouldn’t feel so insta-lovey. There was also a lot of info-dumping and so many names and titles dropped that I still don’t quite understand. It was hard to keep track, and it was weird how Bree understood everything from the beginning, but it wasn’t the worst.
Another thing I didn’t like: the random pronunciation guides in the middle of a passage. For example;
“What is that? Another demon? They say the new word with a short “i” sound at the beginning, then the throaty “ch” from “loch.””
“… he corrects my pronunciation. “The Welsh ‘dd’ is the soft ‘th’ in leather …”
Sounds so unnatural, especially in Bree’s thoughts.
As a Black person in a predominantly white continent, I could relate to Bree a lot and I really love the portrayal of her grief—and the generational grief of mothers dying young—and how she coped with it in the end. The ending was also so exciting to read, even though she’s The Chosen One and Overpowered I think I love that she has all the power while everyone was underestimating her. I love it so much.
I’m so excited to read the second book!
All in all I think it’s an amazing book with good writing and a strong main character! It had a little too many cliché tropes but I didn’t mind it because I thought the plot with Bree and her ancestors and their form of magic (Root) was so intriguing and outweighed my annoyance with the tropes. I think the book could’ve been a lot shorter, and maybe the time could span out a couple of more weeks just so that the relationship between Nick and Bree wouldn’t feel so insta-lovey. There was also a lot of info-dumping and so many names and titles dropped that I still don’t quite understand. It was hard to keep track, and it was weird how Bree understood everything from the beginning, but it wasn’t the worst.
Another thing I didn’t like: the random pronunciation guides in the middle of a passage. For example;
“What is that? Another demon? They say the new word with a short “i” sound at the beginning, then the throaty “ch” from “loch.””
“… he corrects my pronunciation. “The Welsh ‘dd’ is the soft ‘th’ in leather …”
Sounds so unnatural, especially in Bree’s thoughts.
As a Black person in a predominantly white continent, I could relate to Bree a lot and I really love the portrayal of her grief—and the generational grief of mothers dying young—and how she coped with it in the end. The ending was also so exciting to read, even though she’s The Chosen One and Overpowered I think I love that she has all the power while everyone was underestimating her. I love it so much.
I’m so excited to read the second book!
Despite the intriguing premise and good hook, I found myself unable to engage in the book because Ning, the main character, was just so . . . passive. It felt like things were just happening to her, and it was so convenient. I liked the cover and the premise so much though that I was willing to pick it up a year after I dnf at 52% to finish it, but I almost got into another reading slump not even halfway there. But I am glad I finished it because it got a lot better towards the end. I don’t like that it was a cliffhanger but it’s whatever.
Judy Lin’s writing is beautiful but there was way too many descriptions—about food, places, buildings, and other things that really don’t matter. Way too much focus on food that it actually put me off reading for a while, because I’m here for the tea magic plot, not to read about Ning’s breakfast.
I never got to understand Ning as a character, nor any other character to be honest, and I wish the characters were a bit more fleshed out. Also, the romance was lacking because it was so . . . Insta-lovey? Ning just sees this smiling boy and suddenly they’re all over each other? I can’t fathom why he would be interested in her in the first place tbh. Like I literally laughed out loud at the scene in the tea house in the beginning. It actually annoyed me so bad now that I think about it.
I think the most interesting characters were the princess and her body guard Ruyi. I actually think any of them could’ve made a better main character. But it could’ve been more fleshed out there too, and honestly a lot of things could’ve been better, and Judy Lin could’ve cut out so many of the fluff and purple prose that got annoying after a while.
TLDR: The cover was the best part of this book, could’ve been more fleshed out and relied less on tropes and purple prose.
Will I read the sequel? Sure will! I need to know how this ends, and maybe the sequel is much better since this is only a debut.
Judy Lin’s writing is beautiful but there was way too many descriptions—about food, places, buildings, and other things that really don’t matter. Way too much focus on food that it actually put me off reading for a while, because I’m here for the tea magic plot, not to read about Ning’s breakfast.
I never got to understand Ning as a character, nor any other character to be honest, and I wish the characters were a bit more fleshed out. Also, the romance was lacking because it was so . . . Insta-lovey? Ning just sees this smiling boy and suddenly they’re all over each other? I can’t fathom why he would be interested in her in the first place tbh. Like I literally laughed out loud at the scene in the tea house in the beginning. It actually annoyed me so bad now that I think about it.
I think the most interesting characters were the princess and her body guard Ruyi. I actually think any of them could’ve made a better main character. But it could’ve been more fleshed out there too, and honestly a lot of things could’ve been better, and Judy Lin could’ve cut out so many of the fluff and purple prose that got annoying after a while.
TLDR: The cover was the best part of this book, could’ve been more fleshed out and relied less on tropes and purple prose.
Will I read the sequel? Sure will! I need to know how this ends, and maybe the sequel is much better since this is only a debut.
