mattiedancer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Writing: 5⭐️/5
I love Chloe Gong’s writing. I think she has immaculate control over her language. I love her descriptions, even when they’re dark or gory. In this novel, her writing really brought the world to life. I felt like I could see the city, see the participants running about, could smell the food and the stink in the alley. I enjoyed reading this novel thoroughly.
Characters: 4.75⭐️/5
Now again, I’m a big Chloe Gong fan, so maybe there’s a bit of bias here, but Gong writes characters incredibly well. Specifically, she writes morally grey characters with pure ease, crafting their motives, their situations, and their desires into the story with ease. I would’ve loved a touch more from our side characters – as well as to not have our background characters feel so background – but these are small gripes.
Plot: 4.5⭐️/5
Alright, Antony and Cleopatra retelling. How does Chloe Gong just reimagine Shakespearean tales in the most interesting way possible? I don’t know, but I do love. The longing, the love, the competition, the forced trust, the game: all of it is so brilliantly written, you can’t help but love it. My only gripe is with the ending, with her twist which leaves us wondering how are two main characters will move forward in love (because they will, right?). I felt like it didn’t need to happen in the way that it happened, strictly for the sense that I knew exactly what had happened to Anton, and I don’t know why that wasn’t a plan Calla and him created, instead of it being a betrayal. I understand that it echoes the betrayal Antony goes through at Cleopatra’s hands, but it felt forced the way it happened – and a little obvious. All in all though, this is a small complaint for a brilliant plot.
Who Should Read This Book?
- Fans of Chloe Gong
- Fans of Shakespeare and fantasy novels
- Fans of enemies to lovers
- Fans of Hunger Games, but want it magic
Content Warnings?
- Death, murder, blood, injury, injury detail, gore, child death, sexual content, death of parent, cursing, suicidal thoughts, toxic relationship
Post-Reading Rating: 5⭐️/5
Hi, Chloe. Um, I need the next one pretty, pretty please.
Final Rating: 4.75⭐️/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, War, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Cursing, Grief, Gaslighting, Genocide, Body horror, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Vomit, and Toxic relationship
shellbell_04's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual content
timelord10's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was my first Chloe Gong book, and sadly, I was kind of disappointed. The story was slow a lot where it felt like nothing relevant was really happening, and the world building was repetitive, info dumpy and confusing. Honestly, the only reason I'm probably going to continue the series is because of the twist at the end of the book. The book still got 3 stars because outside of the world building, I liked the language and writing style. There are a lot of good quotes in the book. I also didn't hate the character work. I definitely want to try out Chloe Gong's YA novels to see if I like them better than this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Sexual content, Cursing, and Vomit
vagorsol's review against another edition
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Suicide, Sexual content, and Child death
sofiadanielle's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Okay. So I don’t really get the hate this book gets, nor the resemblance to the Hunger Games series, other than a game to the death taking place, in which people watch? I feel like that comparison alone makes people dislike the book, when, if you’re not comparing the series, you’re much more open to enjoying the story.
That being said, I do understand the qualms people have with the narration and some plot holes. I agree that there’s a lot of times where the world building just felt a bit info-dump-like, instead of immersive. And yes, sometimes I wish the characters were more fleshed out. I also see that the romance aspect seems out of nowhere, and while I somewhat agree, it sort of reminds me of Alice in Borderland type of romance. where it’s sort of out of left field and feels funny, but when put in a life or death situation.. I guess it makes sense.
Anyway! All that out of the way, I did still enjoy the story. I found that I basically read half the book in one day, unable to put it down. I feel that once you get the rhythm of action going, especially by the end, it’s easy to want to keep going. The story was genuinely interesting to me, even if some mechanics of the fantasy element are still somewhat confusing and needing clarification. I found this use of qi much more enthralling and interesting, than say, Jade City..!
Overall a good read despite the flaws I’ve seen acknowledged. I’ll definitely be reading the rest of the trilogy when they release.
That being said, I do understand the qualms people have with the narration and some plot holes. I agree that there’s a lot of times where the world building just felt a bit info-dump-like, instead of immersive. And yes, sometimes I wish the characters were more fleshed out. I also see that the romance aspect seems out of nowhere, and while I somewhat agree, it sort of reminds me of Alice in Borderland type of romance. where it’s sort of out of left field and feels funny, but when put in a life or death situation.. I guess it makes sense.
Anyway! All that out of the way, I did still enjoy the story. I found that I basically read half the book in one day, unable to put it down. I feel that once you get the rhythm of action going, especially by the end, it’s easy to want to keep going. The story was genuinely interesting to me, even if some mechanics of the fantasy element are still somewhat confusing and needing clarification. I found this use of qi much more enthralling and interesting, than say, Jade City..!
Overall a good read despite the flaws I’ve seen acknowledged. I’ll definitely be reading the rest of the trilogy when they release.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death, Murder, Violence, and Blood
caitlin033's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Kidnapping and Suicidal thoughts
happytaxday's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- 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
4.25
Enjoyed the book, but definitely violent. I couldn’t help but think of the Hunger Games novels as I was reading this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
honuzbubbles's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Murder, Child death, Colonisation, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Terminal illness and Suicidal thoughts
yilliun's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The COPIOUS plot twists at the end gave me whiplash. Everything felt wholly original and completely unlike anything else I’ve read this year. I’m not interested in Fae type fantasy worlds right now so this was a perfect solution.
There are certainly plot holes that I hope Gong will address in later books, but for me nothing really detracted from the story enough. The beginning 100 pages were certainly a drag and difficult to understand, however, I see that as a necessary step when getting into a new fantasy series. I think once the games begin in earnest the plot really picks up.
There are certainly plot holes that I hope Gong will address in later books, but for me nothing really detracted from the story enough. The beginning 100 pages were certainly a drag and difficult to understand, however, I see that as a necessary step when getting into a new fantasy series. I think once the games begin in earnest the plot really picks up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Sexual content
mindsplinters's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
You know you're in for one hell of a ride when a book is mentioned in the same breath as Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra and Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games. It's going to be bloody and full of paranoia and alliances and betrayals and just because you can't see them doesn't mean they're not out to get you and... Well, Chloe Gong is going to give that to you with this first installment of her new trilogy. The world of San-Er is gritty and crowded and assaults the senses fully through her words and you cringe away at anybody living the way the citizens do. You also wonder why anyone would leave the country and deliberately move to the walled city. Then you remember that, throughout history, people have done an awful lot of things that go against their well-being and interests. Suddenly, the poverty and grind and docile acceptance of a never-seen tyrant and his deadly games makes perfect sense.
The facts of this world also go a long way to explain how there really aren't many "nice" people in this book. Fascinating, conflicted, determined, Machiavellian? Oh, sure. But nice? Maybe Yilas and Chami. But the rest, oh no. Not even amiable bodyguard Galipei can fit the word because he sure as hell does what his prince tells him do to - even if he feels a bit queasy about it. The main three - Calla and Anton and (to a slightly lesser extent) August - are outright messes who have long since given up more tender ideals for cold practicality with 95% of their empathy surgically removed (by both nature and nuture, I suppose). They each have their own Higher Purpose that they hold as justifiable and "good" but they don't shy away at the cost in lives, trust, and love to get there - Save the kingdom, save the lost love, save the monarchy. Whatever it is, they are all very very focused.
And downright obsessive. When Calla and Anton transfer a portion of that obsessiveness onto each other, you know things are going to get even messier. After all, only one victor can emerge from the games and, as a reader, I was not quite sure who I wanted in that spot because they were both deeply flawed and neither saw the bigger picture or the "afterwards, now what"
Overall, I really enjoyed the book and the two nasty cases of whiplash the author gave me towards the end. Really, Ms Gong, how could you? (Please do it some more) However, I did err on the side of high when rating based on her previous work, her skill with words, and the layered characters. I hope the next two books build on this and add to the weaker spots - the occasional info-dump that threw you from the story, the abbreviated arc from grudging allies to obssessed lovers for Calla and Anton (I could have done with a bit more there to make it feel more organic), and the loose ends (what, how, light-less jumping, what was Crescent Society doing?).
The facts of this world also go a long way to explain how there really aren't many "nice" people in this book. Fascinating, conflicted, determined, Machiavellian? Oh, sure. But nice? Maybe Yilas and Chami. But the rest, oh no. Not even amiable bodyguard Galipei can fit the word because he sure as hell does what his prince tells him do to - even if he feels a bit queasy about it. The main three - Calla and Anton and (to a slightly lesser extent) August - are outright messes who have long since given up more tender ideals for cold practicality with 95% of their empathy surgically removed (by both nature and nuture, I suppose). They each have their own Higher Purpose that they hold as justifiable and "good" but they don't shy away at the cost in lives, trust, and love to get there - Save the kingdom, save the lost love, save the monarchy. Whatever it is, they are all very very focused.
And downright obsessive. When Calla and Anton transfer a portion of that obsessiveness onto each other, you know things are going to get even messier. After all, only one victor can emerge from the games and, as a reader, I was not quite sure who I wanted in that spot because they were both deeply flawed and neither saw the bigger picture or the "afterwards, now what"
Overall, I really enjoyed the book and the two nasty cases of whiplash the author gave me towards the end. Really, Ms Gong, how could you? (Please do it some more) However, I did err on the side of high when rating based on her previous work, her skill with words, and the layered characters. I hope the next two books build on this and add to the weaker spots - the occasional info-dump that threw you from the story, the abbreviated arc from grudging allies to obssessed lovers for Calla and Anton (I could have done with a bit more there to make it feel more organic), and the loose ends (what, how, light-less jumping, what was Crescent Society doing?).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Violence
Minor: Sexual content