pagesofpins's review against another edition
4.0
"'Her Glorious Majesty the Fairy Queen desired me to send you her best compliments,' said the Duke, 'and explain that she means to kill all English magicians, burn your spell books and sack your miserable country. Her hunger for revenge will only be sated by the wholesale destruction of English thaumaturgy....May I take a message back to my mistress, madam?'"
Muna is unnecessarily dense about her identity, but otherwise this is a fun mashup of regency England, Malaysian magic, Edmund Spenser and Harry Potter.
Muna is unnecessarily dense about her identity, but otherwise this is a fun mashup of regency England, Malaysian magic, Edmund Spenser and Harry Potter.
nanceoir's review against another edition
4.0
This is another delightful book in the series. I love how it really opens up the world, which was already pretty open. I love getting to see beyond England and the magicians and thaumaturges of the first book, expanding our viewpoints. And the characters continue to be wonderful; I like that we start getting to know more of them.
katieprime's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
aquietglow's review against another edition
4.0
Oh, this was so delightful! There's a certain rhythm I had to be in to read it; it was great but this wasn't something that could be read in quick bursts. It reminds me of what I've read from N.K. Jemisin, so a fan of one might like the other.
The twists and surprises were pretty clear throughout the book, but they're still welcome and fun (really, really, is she...? are we going to get...?). What a lovely surprise!
The twists and surprises were pretty clear throughout the book, but they're still welcome and fun (really, really, is she...? are we going to get...?). What a lovely surprise!
labocat's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 but I'm rounding down for once.
Mostly for that while the main characters are all great and I enjoyed getting to see more of some of the side characters in Sorcerer to the Crown, the plot is...lacking. This isn't a huge problem when you've got a good cast and when the plot very well could just be "on route to England through the Fairy realms, Muna's sister Sakti goes missing, during rescuing hijinks happen", but the book also keeps trying to make the mystery of their curse a larger deal than it should be when it is telegraphed incredibly blatantly. Either telegraph it blatantly and let the true character struggles and determination be the point of the book and the journey, or let it be an actual mystery. You can't have it both ways. And it really does try to have it both ways, to the point that Muna is almost obtusely dense about all the clues in front of her, of which there are many.
There are also plotlines and character lines that feel like they should have had more time dedicated to them to have the impact the book seems to want them to have, but instead we get large dumps of exposition and a lot of telling instead of showing, which is a shame because Cho is incredibly good at showing when she wants to. There's a rich world with great characters, and honestly I'd be perfectly happy if the plot were a bit more general, but I think it just got bogged down in trying to be of service to a plotline and "twists" that were clear from about 16% of the book in.
Though we do get to see a lot more of Rollo and Damerell, and there is endgame f/f, but both are given Cho's usual weight on relationship plots, which is to say minimal, so it's more fun to just see inclusion.
Mostly for that while the main characters are all great and I enjoyed getting to see more of some of the side characters in Sorcerer to the Crown, the plot is...lacking. This isn't a huge problem when you've got a good cast and when the plot very well could just be "on route to England through the Fairy realms, Muna's sister Sakti goes missing, during rescuing hijinks happen", but the book also keeps trying to make the mystery of their curse a larger deal than it should be when it is telegraphed incredibly blatantly. Either telegraph it blatantly and let the true character struggles and determination be the point of the book and the journey, or let it be an actual mystery. You can't have it both ways. And it really does try to have it both ways, to the point that Muna is almost obtusely dense about all the clues in front of her, of which there are many.
There are also plotlines and character lines that feel like they should have had more time dedicated to them to have the impact the book seems to want them to have, but instead we get large dumps of exposition and a lot of telling instead of showing, which is a shame because Cho is incredibly good at showing when she wants to. There's a rich world with great characters, and honestly I'd be perfectly happy if the plot were a bit more general, but I think it just got bogged down in trying to be of service to a plotline and "twists" that were clear from about 16% of the book in.
Though we do get to see a lot more of Rollo and Damerell, and there is endgame f/f, but both are given Cho's usual weight on relationship plots, which is to say minimal, so it's more fun to just see inclusion.
foggy_rosamund's review against another edition
3.0
Sakti and Muna have no memories, and are taken into the care of Mak Genggang when they wake up on the island of Janda Baik off the coast of Malaysia. Sakti has considerable magical power, and a tendency to get into trouble. The narrative propels Muna to Fairyland, and then to the English Sorceress Royal, Prunella, beloved character of Zen Cho's first novel. This story is uneven -- sprawling where it should be tight, brief where it should be expansive, contains to many characters -- but it's a brisk and enjoyable read. I really liked getting Muna's perspective on the Unseen Realm, which the English call Fairyland, and on the Djinns. Using Malaysian characters allowed Cho to highlight and subvert various staples of English fantasy. This wasn't a totally satisfying narrative, but I'll definitely read more by Cho.
linaria's review against another edition
5.0
Muna and Sakti are sisters (they think) that can't remember anything. Waking up on the shores of Janda Baik, they have no idea where they came from or how they got there. Taken in by a magician, Sakti trains her magical skills while powerless Muna works in the kitchens. Shenanigans ensue, and Muna has to pretend to be the magically gifted sister while being introduced to English society. This means we see more of our protagonists from the first book, though they are not the main characters here.
What did surprise me, is how much I really enjoyed Henrietta and Muna's adventures. The two of them were so wonderful together, and I really enjoyed all the trouble that they got into. Henrietta really got a much larger role in this book and her character really got a ton of character development.
There were a few things near the end that bothered me a bit, but not enough to detract from my overall enjoyment of the book. Anything that is fantasy + historical is a bit of a niche favourite genre, so it's no surprise that I loved this so much.
What did surprise me, is how much I really enjoyed Henrietta and Muna's adventures. The two of them were so wonderful together, and I really enjoyed all the trouble that they got into. Henrietta really got a much larger role in this book and her character really got a ton of character development.
There were a few things near the end that bothered me a bit, but not enough to detract from my overall enjoyment of the book. Anything that is fantasy + historical is a bit of a niche favourite genre, so it's no surprise that I loved this so much.
karinacheah17's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.0
ielerol's review against another edition
4.0
Every bit as charming and thoughtful as Sorcerer to the Crown. I particularly enjoyed getting more time to learn about Janda Baik and Mak Genggang, and getting an outsider's perspective on Prunella, who, while I liked her well enough, I found a little overbearing in the first book. Muna, being the quiet and obedient sister, could easily have been overshadowed by Sakti, but I'm very glad she wasn't, and I quite liked the way Mak Genggang points out toward the end the important way Muna's personality balances Sakti's. The plot revelations were mostly easy to anticipate, but it's not the sort of book I feel much need to be surprised by in order to enjoy.