Reviews

Celle qui devint le soleil by Shelley Parker-Chan

francescadececchi's review against another edition

5.0

Sarebbe stato il più grosso azzardo della sua vita. Ma se voleva l'eccellenza, avrebbe dovuto alzarsi e reclamarla.
.
La potenza che racchiude questo romanzo.
La risolutezza di questi personaggi.
La determinazione di restare in vita.
Il rancore della vendetta.
La sicurezza del motivo per cui si cammina su questa Terra.
Una ricetta che ha amalgamato tutti gli ingredienti che cerco in un romanzo di rivisitazione storica: complotti, intrighi, torture, colpi di scena, crudeltà, guerra, vendetta, odio, personaggi menomati e soprattutto (ma lo sapete) queer.
Quando ho girato l'ultima pagina, avevo la testa che girava, mentre cercavo di assorbire quanto era successo, tutti quegli eventi... E contemporaneamente così pochi, il libro era già finito. E io volevo il seguito. Subito.
E che altro possiamo desiderare quando leggiamo se non quella struggente sensazione di vuoto e quella fame di averne di più?

thechaotictbr's review against another edition

I put it down for too long. I will continue but I have to start again from the beginning.  

breejournals's review against another edition

4.0

4 ⭐

it's hard to put in words how i feel about this book. i found the beginning a little bit slow for my tastes and i can't say i was very much interested in the political intrigue part of it, yet overall i still ended up loving the book.

Spoiler

i loved ma and zhu's marriage, BUT it was ouyang and esen's relationship that ended up ripping out my heart. all the yearning and pain and AHHH

larrrn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

matt_f's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

ilishii's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

There were some tragic turns that make me want to take a break to gather strength before reading the next one. The pursuit of power isn't for the weak.
Also there was a fisting jumpscare - just an FYI

kayleenreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

maggiemaed25's review against another edition

5.0

An incredible book, truly. It was a slow burn for me, falling in love with this book. I was immediately drawn in by Zhu's complicated character, but it's not a fast-moving book. But I came to love it, and I can't wait to read the sequel. Of course, the characters are all pretty horrible people, but a lot of that is due to trauma--things done to them by others, their situation in the world, how others see or don't see them. Ma, though, is definitely friend material. This is truly a masterpiece of a novel. The fantastical elements are slowly built up in a wonderful way, and the fraught and complicated relationships between all the characters were really well done. And don't even get me started on the beautiful way the book portrays and struggles with gender. This is hovering between 4 and 5 stars for me, and I think it deserves for me to round up, so 5 stars it is!

heddas_bookgems's review against another edition

3.0

I had high hopes for this, as Chinese history always interested me. And I enjoyed reading it, but it didn’t need my expectations. As this is marketed as a fantasy retelling of Milan, I expected more magic, but honestly it lacked that in my opinion. Mainly the pacing and the elaborated explanation of war tactics in the chapters concerning Ouyang and Esen made it that I had to withhold me from dropping it all together. Strong point was the fierce character Zhu and the underlying gender related questions. Like, did Zhu always identify as man, did she behave like a man taking someones identity, or do we characterize strong behavior from cis gender females as male behavior? I also loved that this book showed the LGBTQ+ representation and its plot was a mere masterpiece. I still would recommend this for people who are interested in Chinese history, war politics or are in search for books with LGBTQ+ representation. But do not start it if you are anticipating a fantasy book.

boodragon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5