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alexinitalics's review against another edition
4.5
With the book being set at seemingly the start of a revolution, it took me a while to figure out Ning's view, even with the first person perspective. She seems to go from very unaware and neutral to very passionate quite suddenly and I'm not sure if I just missed something in the first half of the book.
Also, my favourite character was probably Lian. We love Lian.
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit
kirstenf'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
4.75
Moderate: Violence, Medical content, and Classism
Minor: Confinement, Death, Sexism, Terminal illness, Torture, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
monicalaurette's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
“Strangling me with continuous thoughts of my own inferiority and doubt.”
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and War
emma_lynn_writes's review against another edition
3.0
Moderate: Torture and Death of parent
onlyvitro'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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Torture and War
oakairi'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
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Torture, Vomit, and War
hello_lovely13'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
3.0
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Sexism, Torture, and Violence
amberinpieces's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Sexism, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Classism
Minor: Animal death, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
morininung's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
despite its flaws (namely some meandering descriptions and stilted dialogues), AMSIP manages to captivate its audience through soulful narratives and eloquent explorations of the lengths one will go to in order to protect their loved ones. at its core, it is a tale of family and sacrifice, displayed before a royal court too wrapped up in the maintaining of its own image to care. ning's desire to both burn and be a part of said court provides a fresh perspective, one i don't see much in east-asian fantasy but which i can deeply relate to.
on paper, this should have been my favorite book this year, and i'm incredibly sad that i didn't get to fully enjoy it. here's hoping AVDAS will be my saving grace.
quotes that scratched that weird itch in my brain
Grief has a taste, bitter and lingering, but so soft it sometimes disguises itself as sweetness.
If you were told at birth that the world is supposed to bow down to you, you would think it natural that you are destined to climb.
Human hands make mistakes, Ning, but they are the hands the gods gave us. We use them to make amends, to do good things.
You cannot pull the truth from the unwilling, and you cannot tear something out of a mind that is closed off.
We all have people we care about, those we would give our lives for. It puts us in danger, or makes us dangerous.
"You can raze plants to the ground, burn them, but some will always return the next year, and the year after that."
"The tree may stand strong, but the rot starts from within."
quotes that dissolved me into a puddle on the floor
"Careful, clever one," he says next to my ear, his breath stirring my hair.
The quick flash of his smile in the night is lightning against a dark sky.
"Ning," he sighs, and a shiver runs through me.
"I have to go," Kang says, yet he makes no effort to move.
"You should," I say, yearning for him to stay.
The lightest brush of my lips against his. He tips my head up and deepens the kiss, until it is a different sort of drowning, until we are forced to draw breath.
"I've tried to send her away for her own protection, and she crossed the empire to save me. I will never leave her again."
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Moderate: Grief and Classism
Minor: Misogyny, Blood, and Death of parent
xvicesx'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
5.0
They say you can spot a true shennong-shi by their hands - palms colored by the stain of the earth, fingertips scarred from thorns, a permanent crust of soil and blood darkening the crescents of their nails.
I used to look at my hands with pride.
Now, all I can think is, These are the hands that buried my mother.
The pacing was really good throughout, every scene purposeful and leading the reader through the baffling world of court politics and intrigue from the eyes of a girl of simple goals. All Ning wants to do is save her sister.
The romance was cute, although brief, so I'm hoping for a bit more in the follow-up, and the end does come to a bit of a cliffhanger overall but I enjoyed it all enough to not argue too much.
Strongly recommend. A love letter to Chinese myth, food that is a form of art, and most of all, tea.
On a side note, because I've seen this flagged as LGBTQ elsewhere and it's not necessarily clear if it's the main focus of the book or there is representation.
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Classism, and Deportation
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Torture, Blood, Death of parent, and War
I flag a note on animal cruelty because a snake dies as a vehicle for one of the trials, but all other animals featured in the book do just fine.