verinvaldez's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Torture, Violence, and Sexism
Moderate: Death
Minor: War
guessgreenleaf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, War, and Blood
Minor: Death of parent, Confinement, Sexism, and Grief
bea_reads_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Kidnapping, and Violence
Minor: Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Animal death, War, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
killeenm18'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Sexism, Torture, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual harassment
luverbyrd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Violence and War
Minor: Sexism
modernmatilda'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
5.0
Definitely one of those emotional damage kinds of books, but in the best way. So glad my book club read this book.
Moderate: Violence, Death, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexism
clarabooksit's review
Graphic: Grief, Classism, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Blood, and Sexism
emzhay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
The characters were one dimensional with fairly black and white morality. They had no little to no chemistry which really dragged out the love triangle to the point of fatigue. Neither love interest or Xingyin really brought anything to the table in terms of personality or redeemable qualities other than status or combat ability.
Spoiler
Also almost every man with a name Xingyin encounters is immediately enamored with her leading to weird jealously from other characters. She, of course, is completely oblivious to all of this and is confused by the emotions of the men around her. A trope I’m sick of seeing.There was a lot of potential here. The writing itself was decently enjoyable. It wasn’t difficult to read and didn’t feel like a chore to get through. I enjoyed the descriptions of clothing particularly.
The plot wrapped itself fairly cleanly to the point where I don’t really feel a the need to complete the duology.
Graphic: Kidnapping and Violence
Moderate: War, Blood, and Sexism
Minor: Death of parent
txikimandy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The plot of this story was a more complex plot than I was expecting. Every new obstacle was a surprise, but each one contributed to Xingyin’s journey and her growth. I really enjoyed reading each adventure she took!
I’m not someone who is overly familiar with Chinese mythology, though I am aquatinted with a few deities and legends. Tan did a fantastic job with the world-building— she never sounded like she was taking time away from the narrative to explain the mythological roots of the story like the readers were children; instead, she wove the lore of the world into the narrative with the skill of an expert.
The characters were all likeable (and the villains, you liked to hate). Xingyin experiences many traumas and tragedies, and her flaws are apparent, which all lend a wonderful depth and realism to her character. The male leads are interesting and have enough differences to evoke the “pick a side” attitude of the Hunger Games and Twilight franchises. The nostalgia attached to that feeling wasn’t something I necessarily loved, but it added to the complexity of Xingyin’s emotional growth in a respectable way.
My two complaints keeping me from giving the book 5 stars lie with the supporting characters and Tan’s prose. All of the other women in this story are supporting characters, which didn’t sit extremely well with me. I wanted some of Xingyin’s female friends to have a larger role and was left extremely wanting. The supporting characters are also static; even when they have a deep conversation with Xingyin about their lives and futures, nothing changes for them.
While she’s an amazing story-teller, Tan’s prose is lacking. There are many instances of sentence fragments that do not work as fragments, and caused me to read the passage once or twice more. She uses a lot of chiches, including frequently calling eyes “orbs”, which is one of my personal pet peeves.
Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Grief, and Blood
Moderate: Sexism, Classism, Confinement, and Death
chrisljm'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? Yes
2.0
Spoiler
And you know what. You know how ridiculous it felt, reading about how hurt Xingyin was that Lingwei chose another woman, only for her to tell Wenzhi she wants to leave the army with him and be with him in the next fucking line. And then for Lingwei to come back in the next scene and have her be depressed over him again. Girl stfu.Graphic: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Violence, and War
Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Death, Torture, Body horror, Kidnapping, and Sexism
Minor: Stalking and Pregnancy