A review by robotwitch
Peasprout Chen, Future Legend of Skate and Sword (Book 1) by Henry Lien
3.0
3.5*
The final third of this book is excellent -- the revelations are great and well-handed, the ending is satisfying and sweet without being saccharine, it sets up the next book nicely, and Peasprout gets a huge amount of character development. The final third is enough to make me want to read the next book in the series.
Besides that, the romance was, at first, too fast for me and a little silly (and seemed to old for what felt like a middle grade book), but I loved the way it developed and what it meant at the end of the book. I'm really interested to see where the second book takes it!
The first two thirds, though, are why this book only gets a 3.5. Peasprout is only able to get so much character development because she is an extremely unlikeable character for most of the book. Pigheaded, stubborn, braggadocious, insensitive. She's also incredibly determined, which drives most of the book and gets her into trouble, but it's not exactly an endearing quality when it's so ruthless, even when directed towards her own sibling.
The only part that made it tolerable was the fact that Lien's writing is strong, so I knew it was done on purpose. Little knowing winks to the audience, for instance, when Peasprout calls herself modest were a fantastic addition to make me relax.
I also struggled to imagine the skating moves, especially at first. There's no real guidance for how any of this looks, and given how complicated some of them are meant to be...I wanted some indication of that through description. I came up with my own headcanon, eventually, for how different moves were performed, but I was so excited by the figure skating that I wanted it on the page!
But I did really enjoy the world being built here, the mythology and history and structures. I also loved the way the reader is introduced to it all through Peasprout. And like I said, the ending is most excellent. It all comes together nicely, with clues throughout the book meaning that none of it is a surprise but it is unexpected! Good stuff.
The final third of this book is excellent -- the revelations are great and well-handed, the ending is satisfying and sweet without being saccharine, it sets up the next book nicely, and Peasprout gets a huge amount of character development. The final third is enough to make me want to read the next book in the series.
Besides that, the romance was, at first, too fast for me and a little silly (and seemed to old for what felt like a middle grade book), but I loved the way it developed and what it meant at the end of the book. I'm really interested to see where the second book takes it!
The first two thirds, though, are why this book only gets a 3.5. Peasprout is only able to get so much character development because she is an extremely unlikeable character for most of the book. Pigheaded, stubborn, braggadocious, insensitive. She's also incredibly determined, which drives most of the book and gets her into trouble, but it's not exactly an endearing quality when it's so ruthless, even when directed towards her own sibling.
The only part that made it tolerable was the fact that Lien's writing is strong, so I knew it was done on purpose. Little knowing winks to the audience, for instance, when Peasprout calls herself modest were a fantastic addition to make me relax.
I also struggled to imagine the skating moves, especially at first. There's no real guidance for how any of this looks, and given how complicated some of them are meant to be...I wanted some indication of that through description. I came up with my own headcanon, eventually, for how different moves were performed, but I was so excited by the figure skating that I wanted it on the page!
But I did really enjoy the world being built here, the mythology and history and structures. I also loved the way the reader is introduced to it all through Peasprout. And like I said, the ending is most excellent. It all comes together nicely, with clues throughout the book meaning that none of it is a surprise but it is unexpected! Good stuff.