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allisonsmith120's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Death of parent, and Colonisation
Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, Grief, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape
hellodebbies's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
PERFECTION
This was an incredible read, I enjoyed it so much. The characters were great and had backstory that was revelent to the plot. The whole demon god thing was well explained and developed. I was afraid that it will be hard to understand (especially with the whole clan history) but once you're in, it's very easy to understand. The chronology chapter is very important so do not skip it otherwise you'll have a hard time to understand.
The romance was so great (zen and lan have my heart), I enjoyed the friendship created between the characters but also the father/son relationship between the grandmaster and zen and it evolved.
A lot of people said that it was slow paced but I don't think, it kept on edge to not sleep for two nights. It's not fast paced but definitely not slow paced.
This was an incredible read, I enjoyed it so much. The characters were great and had backstory that was revelent to the plot. The whole demon god thing was well explained and developed. I was afraid that it will be hard to understand (especially with the whole clan history) but once you're in, it's very easy to understand. The chronology chapter is very important so do not skip it otherwise you'll have a hard time to understand.
The romance was so great (zen and lan have my heart), I enjoyed the friendship created between the characters but also the father/son relationship between the grandmaster and zen and it evolved.
A lot of people said that it was slow paced but I don't think, it kept on edge to not sleep for two nights. It's not fast paced but definitely not slow paced.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Death of parent, Murder, and Colonisation
Minor: Torture
scrubsandbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
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? Yes
3.5
I got super into it in the beginning, got slightly bored midway, then it picked up the rest of the way. But generally, it is a magical story based on Chinese folklore, and the main couple is worth getting invested in. Despite my slightly low rating, I will be giving the sequel a chance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Death of parent
gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was a pretty good YA romance fantasy. Not groundbreaking but it was very fun, with snappy dialogue and action.
it had lots of lore based on qi, The Tao, as well as the European stand ins the Elantians that are colonizing the Hin. It was fairly standard wuxia genre, and the main girl Lan is working to discover herself and her pst, as well as become stronger so she can right justices.
I think it did a good job of weaving in the history, magic, and politics of the world that Lan and Zen are in, with the emotional struggles they are going through. It has some great moments of chemistry between the two, a grumpy-sunshine romance.
it had lots of lore based on qi, The Tao, as well as the European stand ins the Elantians that are colonizing the Hin. It was fairly standard wuxia genre, and the main girl Lan is working to discover herself and her pst, as well as become stronger so she can right justices.
I think it did a good job of weaving in the history, magic, and politics of the world that Lan and Zen are in, with the emotional struggles they are going through. It has some great moments of chemistry between the two, a grumpy-sunshine romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Colonisation
Moderate: Death of parent and Sexual harassment
crochetcatking's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The first half of the book is pretty slow. Everything and yet nothing seems to happen. Amelie does a great job setting up the world in this time. The second half of the book is amazing. The last 8 chapters or so make the whole thing worth reading. It gets so exciting right at the end that you easily forgive how fast some of the other plot came and went. Can't wait to read the 2nd book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, and Colonisation
Moderate: Violence, Blood, and War
Minor: Genocide and Torture
takarakei's review against another edition
Initially I was intrigued by the beginning of the book, it was relatively fast-paced and the world was interesting. However by 25% in the pacing really slowed down and got very info dumpy. It really lost me in distinguishing itself from other Chinese mythology based books I've read, which is a shame because I think there was a lot of potential for this to be something unique.
Really it was reading so much like a YA version of The Poppy War that it was a bit jarring to me the amount of similarities. That's fine if you're looking for a YA TPW, but personally I am not.
Really it was reading so much like a YA version of The Poppy War that it was a bit jarring to me the amount of similarities. That's fine if you're looking for a YA TPW, but personally I am not.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
bellebookcorner's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- 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
2.5
I’ve seen a lot of positive reviews about this book which had me feeling even more excited to read this one. Sadly, I couldn’t say the same about this book.
The plot idea is really good, the first time I read the blurb I was intrigued and it caught my interest for the first few chapters.
But somewhere in the middle, the pacing took a slow turn and I started to lose interest in following this story.
I finally got interested again in the last 30%, where the puzzle pieces start to come together and the secrets are revealed.
I had difficulties with understanding the magic system and the world building.
I appreciate the history of the world at the beginning of the story but somehow it doesn’t make it easier for me to follow the plot. At times, I would get confused and also feel bored with the repeated information provided throughout the story.
As for the characters, it’s hard for me to connect with them and I can’t even feel the spark of romance between the main characters. When they’re trying to speak out their feelings, they’ll got cut off with something else happening.
Overall, this book has a lot of amazing elements but the slow pacing and the info dumping makes it really hard for me to fully enjoy it.
I was really closed to stop reading it altogether but the last few chapters and the epilogue change my mind. I’m curious to see what’s gonna happen in the next book.
While this one didn't really work for me, you can still give this one a try if you love reading about detailed world building and a fantasy story without much romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Sexual harassment
yyooh17's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
I am struggling over what to say about this book. My thoughts are conflicting.
The premise of this book is cool, the aspects of colonialism were profound. The magic and wuxia elements I enjoyed.
The premise of this book is cool, the aspects of colonialism were profound. The magic and wuxia elements I enjoyed.
The main character (Lan) was really frustrating though?She changes her mind constantly. She just seems kinda childish when compared to other characters, especially Zen.
See spoilers for more details.
Major Spoilers??
Tell me why she stabs Zen and then asks for him to be saved moments later. Or why minutes after learning that her mother sacrificed her soul to protect her, she decides to exchange her own soul instead. No thought process was explained at all.
In addition, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the dialogue. The characters revealed so much information through dialogue that it seemed unrealistic. It did however improve as the novel progressed.
On the other hand, I loved the descriptive writing. It was really beautiful. Zens perspective was also really enjoyable, I loved reading his side.
I’m really not sure, I think this series and author has so much potential but I find it difficult to connect with Lan compared to the others. We’ll see how it goes next time it might be a personal issue.
See spoilers for more details.
Major Spoilers??
In addition, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the dialogue. The characters revealed so much information through dialogue that it seemed unrealistic. It did however improve as the novel progressed.
On the other hand, I loved the descriptive writing. It was really beautiful. Zens perspective was also really enjoyable, I loved reading his side.
I’m really not sure, I think this series and author has so much potential but I find it difficult to connect with Lan compared to the others. We’ll see how it goes next time it might be a personal issue.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: Sexual assault
honuzbubbles's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Racial slurs, Torture, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment
bloodbrooxv's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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? Yes
4.0
I really liked this book, I would suggest it to anyone who doesn't feel comfortable enough to read the poppy war. Colonialism, as a theme, is very prominent, and although it's analized in a YA-ish way, it's still very impactful. The romance was very cute, and i'm interested in how it'll develop in the sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Violence, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Genocide and Gore
Minor: Body horror, Child abuse, Fatphobia, and Sexual assault
Representation: chinese main characters