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saphfics's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The world that Yangsze Choo has crafted was very colourful but I feel like at times, the story focused on less interesting things.
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Fatphobia and Misogyny
kappafrog's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Cons: The plot was really meandering. There was a lot of time spent with Li Lan wandering around aimlessly, and while it showed off the cool worldbuilding, it left her motivations often muddled. She was a very weepy character which was all right but sometimes got a bit repitive. It was sometimes frustrating as a reader how big the disconnect was between what she was thinking and how she acted - she was often very passive in her conversations compared to what she was thinking. It wasn't unrealistic, but it did make her grate on me a bit. I was also never fully sold on Er Lang as a love interest. He was quite misogynistic and while this is true of most of the male characters in the book, which is appropriate to their place and time, it didn't make him seem that appealing.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation
sarahb919's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Abortion, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Self harm, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Domestic abuse, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
tahsintries's review against another edition
3.5
Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, Misogyny, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Addiction, Suicide, and Abortion
coryyalva's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Nonetheless, I do recommend everyone read this book, especially women. This book was a deeply beautiful example of what it feels like to be a woman, the pressure that is put onto women, and it is a great reminder, in the midst of the story, that women have gone through so much to get where they are today.
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Misogyny and Violence
Minor: Abortion and Murder
nodogsonthemoon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Blood, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, and Colonisation
bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Misogyny, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abortion, and Murder
mermaidsherbet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Alcohol and Injury/Injury detail
n_asyikin_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
What I liked most about the story was the element of mystery;
This story was written from a first-person perspective, rooted more in the "telling" than "showing" what occurred. I wouldn't have any problem with that, but I felt that Li Lan's narration & attention tend to be flighty, disrupting the flow of the story. I found myself unable to enjoy the progress fully as just as I was about to delve into one of the story arc, the story diverted into another. And the prior story arc tends to re-appear at odd moments at times; the transition rather none smooth.
I also thought most of the side characters tend to be rather one-dimensional. Li Lan was verbose as a narrator (honestly, I thought she was too verbose at times). Often, I found a lot that was being said lacking in substance. So her descriptions over her interactions with others tend to be rather superficial. Not to say that her relationships with others weren't interesting, e.g., how could her interactions with Fan the stubborn spirit be boring, or her willingness to investigate the corruption in the afterlife with an "agent" of Heaven (& love interest, the loong Er Lang, be anything less than fascinating. But, I found that I don't really get the opportunity to know "know" them. Many of Li Lan's observations weren't insightful for me. Also, there was an inherent "she's not like other girls" theme which I don't really like. Some may argue that it reflected era-related misogyny, the superficiality of Li Lan's thinking made me feel its unnecessary; that it didn't really contribute much to the story. And I felt the same way about the romance, unfortunately; I just wasn't convinced, & thought it was kind of out-of-nowhere sort of situation. Although, the romance did have an air of lightness, or dreaminess to it. Maybe that was why I did not respond well to it; I tend to prefer greater emotional insights with romances.
That being said, I did quite enjoy the story. The elements of fantasy was suffice to make it interesting, though only little aspects of the characters were shown. If you like a simple read that doesn't delve too much into characterizations, that focus heavily on the external world & quick observations, you would enjoy this.
Moderate: Death and Misogyny