A review by emmaowens
Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan

adventurous challenging dark 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

3.25

Disclaimer: my memory of the story is not completely reliable as I started this book in March and finished it in May due to my overwhelming courseload this past term. My thoughts are really fragmented as a result, and so I speak in terms of how I felt overall about this story. 

Generally, I would say that Girls of Storm and Shadow was a pretty good second installment to this trilogy. I felt like a lot of things were being set up for this book’s ending and the third installment, and as some other readers and reviewers have put it, this is a transitionary book that had a slower pace and less intrigue than the first. 

In GS&S, we see our main characters processing a lot of trauma and some character/relationship complexity starting to be fleshed out. I picked up on the tensions between Lei and Wren pretty early on and this tension grew to a climactic point by the end, which I honestly felt was one of the most interesting plotlines. For the rest of the novel, I had a hard time getting hooked and being truly invested until the ending when the pace and story picked up almost out of nowhere.
We go from having the characters travel from court to court to gain alliances (for about 90% of the book) to a sudden ambush by the King’s soldiers in Jana, secrets revealed about Wren’s Xia magic, and Merrin’s betrayal/mistake in relation to Qanna’s coup against her mother’s reign. This last 10% of the book was the most exciting and intriguing part, and I wish that this tension was extended over the entirety of the novel. All of the plot twists (Bo and Hiro’s deaths, Merrin’s complex/shifting alliances, and Qanna’s coup) had the element of surprise and shocked me, which gives the story some extra points for how much I enjoy being caught off guard. Bo’s death made the most sense to induce a strong reaction from readers (at least for me as I enjoyed Bo’s character), but I do wish that his character wasn’t reduced to the comic relief, which I find happens a lot for these types of characters. The most dimensional comical character I’ve ever read is Jesper from Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows, which tells me that funny characters can be more than just funny. I think Bo’s death would’ve sat with me more deeply if he had more layers to him; I could only be surprised because I merely liked him rather than actually connected with him.

Ngan did a great job fleshing out Lei, Wren, and Merrin more, and I know this because I can empathize with/understand their standpoints without necessarily agreeing (or disagreeing) completely with their actions or perspectives. I have a lot of complicated feelings about each of them, and yet, I still love and root for them in different ways. 

The side stories at the Hidden Palace were also some of the more interesting parts of the book, and I wish we got them more often or at least more consistently. They felt pretty random and scattered.
With the way this book ended– Lei being captured by Naja and taken back to the Hidden Palace– I’m really hoping for more content with Mistress Azami, Darya, Lill, Kiroku, and Kenzo, and perhaps an undercover alliance between them and Lei… I have a feeling this is where our third book is taking us.

A random note but all of the sexual innuendos from/about Bo, Merrin, Lova, Caen, etc. gave me awful second-hand embarrassment. They just felt like a super forced way to imply that certain characters are having sex, and it was only awkward. It was especially weird that they were saying it so outright in front of all the other characters, but at the same time, I can maybe appreciate the comfortability and ease they had around the subject to talk about it so openly. 

I found it sort of strange that Lei barely ever mentioned her father or Tien; I think I can recall just a handful of times that she was reminded of them. And at the same time, I was also cognizant of the fact that she had been away from them for a considerable amount of time and had been overwhelmed with traumas and preparations for battle/war. I definitely have some more complex thoughts on that, but it is something I noticed and considered and I hope that we get some answers about them in GF&F. 

I felt that the book’s atmosphere is very different from Girls of Paper and Fire. I can’t pinpoint exactly what it was, but it felt like these characters were plucked from the original settings and plopped into a completely different world. Thinking about that now, it could be attributed to good world-building skills from Natasha Ngan; we are seeing Lei and Wren in completely altered states and settings outside the walls of the Hidden Palace. It ought to feel strange and we are forced to adapt in the same ways that the characters do. We see the difference between Lei and Wren under the control of the King and court as concubines, and Lei and Wren autonomously and authentically themselves beyond the palace walls. 

Again, these are some of my general thoughts and takeaways from this book, and I am starting the next book with lots of expectations and hopes: more intrigue, more fleshed-out characters, more tension, and more complexity. 


EXTRA: A short *radical* critique of Lei, Wren, and the Hannos: 

Throughout the book, I picked up on Lei’s growing skepticism of Ketai and his tactics. Once the secrets were out about the Hannos’ killings and raids, I had really complex feelings. I believe that Lei’s criticism of the Hannos’s actions speaks to how war only benefits the elite as the powerful Hannos clan commits crimes against humanity to secure its own alliances at the expense of the people (particularly Papers). Ketai’s intention seems to be to replace the King and maintain the oppressive caste structure of society, and Lei begins to see how replacing one dictator with another is not liberatory. There is no war but class war. At the same time, I don’t love Lei’s conflation of violence by the state with the retaliation of the people (in this case, of the Hannos and its allies) where she employs the rhetoric that the Hannos are just as bad as the King and court. While I don’t disagree (considering the Hannos are a powerful clan that leverages their power at the expense of the people), I’m worried about the consequences of this type of rhetoric as it is often used to degrade resistance efforts led by people against oppressive institutions (ie. Indigenous Palestinians and Turtle Islanders against occupation). Retaliation and resistance are not violence. The Hannos however do not completely align with liberatory resistance efforts as they murder their own kin in exchange for power. With this, my ideal hope for Lei is that she is able to break off from the Hannos’ alliance and become part of a people’s liberation revolution/movement against the entire system and all oppressors. I’m all team Lei here and my commitment to the next book rests on this hope that she becomes a radical warrior who fights for the people. This goal would align so well with Lei’s positionality as an oppressed Paper girl from a village, and I feel like any other direction would be disingenuous to her character. I also hope that Wren might be swayed to do the same, but considering how deeply ingrained she is into her father’s plans keeps me doubtful of that possibility. I understand Wren’s positionality as well, as an oppressed Paper Xia warrior raised under the protection and guidance of an elite clan. I’m looking forward to reading this next book to see where Ngan takes it, and my radical little heart hopes for some badass grassroots organizing and dismantling of the system.


Expand filter menu Content Warnings