poppywarphan's reviews
291 reviews

Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Characters: 7/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Plot: 9/10
Worldbuilding: 8/10 
Writing: 10/10

I apologise in advance. I have turned into a philosopher. First and foremost, this is my opinion and commentary. Disclaimer, this review is slightly spoilerish, especially when I talk about the relationship of the main romantic pairing plus I talk a bit about the worldbuilding and left in information that is found early in the book. If you want to see the full review with spoilers, check it out here. 

This book is Chloe's debut in the adult genre. Compared to Foul Lady Fortune, which was more fun and entertaining, it is serious and has a darker tone. I see why one could get bored with everything going on and the worldbuilding. If you aren't invested, you might struggle to keep up. I also found it to be slower paced. 

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but it is a bit Hunger-games-esque so if you liked that I think you’d enjoy this too. There also are no explicitly good characters, for the morally grey character lovers. But don't go into this looking for queer rep because there's nothing concrete worth mentioning. 

Everything in this book happens in San-Er, once two cities but now joined under the Tyrannical rule of king Kasa, the capital of Talin. The living conditions of the lower class are bad, which is why people enter The games. What the contestants might get out of them, even if by dying, is explained pretty early, so I’ll skip that, but the victor is greeted by the king and awarded a large sum of money. And that’s why the main character, a traitorous princess Calla, enters the game under a false identity, so she can finish what she started and kill the king. She is immediately discovered by August, the king's adoptive son and heir to the throne, who offers her support and pardon if she does the dirty work for him which would put him on the throne. Early into the games, she also allies with another contestant and grows close to him. But only one of them can become the victor, when they are the last one standing.

Something really interesting in this book is the concept of people being able to transfer into different bodies. But only people with a special gene have that ability. This skill is intertwined with the concept of qi which originates from Chinese culture. I found it quite fascinating. On the other hand, there are people from a certain family tree that are protected from being invaded by jumpers. There are also laws to how jumping works as well as various negative consequences. Everything was very thought out. 

As in Chloe's fashion, the foreshadowing was excellent. I should have seen some things coming.

The book is written in 3rd person, allowing for more deception as we don’t see what’s going on inside the characters, just what is apparent from the outside. But with jumping, the factor of deception is even higher, which leads to many plot twists. Shoutout to Sydney for giving me this cue. Another thing about jumping is that people do not value their bodies (with the exception of the royals, who frown upon jumping into a lower person's body because of classism). They view them just as shells carrying their qi. Appearance doesn’t necessarily tell much, as there could be anyone occupying the body. Although jumping is illegal, it is not uncommon. And since it facilitates crime while being undetectable on surveillance cameras, there is also a great deal of injustice and dilemmas in the judicial system.

There are people who don’t inhabit a different body from their birth one, people who temporarily take over someone else's when convenient for them, or people who don’t even have a permanent one. Which makes you think, who actually are we, or what if our bodies are mere vessels? What defines us? 

Moving on to Calla. Out of all the characters (which I admittedly didn't really care about), she was the one I liked the most. She is strong, independent, ruthless and set on removing the king from the throne, so the world could become a better place. August wishes the same. But I think he would have ended up on the same path as the king before him. He’s calculative and goes by any means necessary to achieve his goal. I didn't particularly like Anton. He's the contestant Calla allied with, and they form a romantic relationship. 

Now, this relationship I found very intriguing. I’m not sure whether it was intentional or not, but I’m hesitant to call what they had love. Anton has a history of being obsessed with his childhood sweetheart. Back to my point. He did not occupy any body permanently (she slept with a random dude?) so it couldn’t have been physical attraction that Calla was feeling for him. But was she truly in love with just his character? I'm not convinced. Their emotional connection came a bit out of nowhere. At the very end, the reason he entered the games in the first place was so that he could pay medical bills for Otta his girlfriend, who had been in an artificial coma preventing her from dying for years. He clings on to her hoping she would awake, all while claiming he was in love with Calla. When she suggests an alternative solution which would keep them both alive, he refuses. The book ends on a cliffhanger, and what happens next is important. I want conflict. There's a lot of potential for drama, interesting and juicy stuff. Basically, I hope there isn't a happily ever after because where's the fun in that? I just love messy relationships and complicated characters. Gives you something to think about. 

There's a lot left unanswered, so I will be looking out for the sequel. 

Ps: If people were so recognisable by eyes alone, why didn't anyone ever think to wear contacts? Do they not exist???

<i>Arc provided by publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review </i>
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

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dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty

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adventurous challenging dark funny inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

The Dragon's Promise by Elizabeth Lim

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

3.5

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim

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adventurous challenging hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? No

4.25

This has to be one of my favourite retellings. I quickly recognised which tale it was a spin on, as I'm quite familiar with it from my childhood. Normally books with less action don't leave a strong impression on me but this one was truly beautiful and I loved it. The book itself is also stunning and I'm so happy I have a physical copy. 

Characters: 7/10
Enjoyment: 9/10
Plot: 9/10
Worldbuilding: 7/10
Writing: 10/10


I absolutely adore Kiki. It was nice to see the love interest not be a jerk for a change.
The evil stepmother trope was nicely subverted


Shiori and Takkan were cute together
I'm so mad they got interrupted when they were about to kiss 😠


I couldn't really feel the bond between Shiori and her brothers. Hasho was the exception. 
Strike the Zither by Joan He

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4.25

Characters: 8/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Plot: 9/10
Worldbuilding: 8/10 
Writing: 10/10
Yes I,m giving almost every book high scores for writing. If I have no issues with it it's a 10

It's been a long time since i've read an entire book in one setting. It was great how women were in positions of power. I really loved part one. Although I don't understand how Miasma just believed that Zephyr defected. It was unconvincing. I'm not familar with the work Strike the zither is based on so part two did catch me off guard. Looking back there was foreshadowing.
Ngl I do miss Zephyr in her Qilin form. Backstabing Cicada 😒.
Curious to see how this unfolds. Also I'd like more Crow please.
Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

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

3.0

Characters: 5/10
Enjoyment: 6.5/10
Plot: 6/10
Worldbuilding: 5/10
Writing: 8/10

This might as well have been a standalone. But it's not because of that extra page at the end. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm invested enough to read any further installments.

The idea was good, the execution not so much. The worldbuilding wasn't really explored. The plot and writing were simplistic. That's not a bad thing, but on one hand it read as a book for younger teens, on the other hand though it discussed mature themes. There's rape. It's not graphic, but there nonetheless. If there's anything that triggers me in books, its sexual assault.  The girls are taken as mistresses and must have sex with the king against their will. Yes, they don't object, but it's either that or be killed.

The characters were underdeveloped. The king as a villain was just stupid. He's evil. OK, and? That's it? The paper girls were pretty indistinguishable. Aside from Aoki and Blue whose personality was being a bitch. The relationship between Lei and Wren didn't really have any foundation. It was pretty much just lusting and attraction.

Now, what I did like was what was done with Aoki's character. Not that I like what happened to her, but the book highlights how easy it is to fall victim to an abusive man. Aoki is the youngest out of the paper girls and naive. The king makes her feel special, so she starts having feelings for him. I like how it pointed out (although in a pretty juvenile way) that such a relationship is, in fact, not good (side-eyeing all the romance books that romanticize toxic relationships). Aoki is probably the most nuanced compared to the other two-dimensional characters.

Overall Girls of paper and fire wasn't a terrible book, just underwhelming. 
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The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

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

2.5

Characters: 3/10
Enjoyment: 3/10
Plot: 5/10
Worldbuilding: 4/10
Writing: 7/10

I’d say this was like a gothic fairytale mystery. Everything felt like a fever dream. The writing style was definitely not my preferred style. It felt like the words kept going in circles. Not as in being repetitive, but as in going on this roundabout way to express something but ending up back at the beginning. I appreciate the effort put into the writing, a lot of people will probably find it beautiful, but it was just too much for me.

The worldbuilding was just a big question mark. I was confused about the fantasy elements. When magic was described, I couldn’t tell if it was meant literally or figuratively. Additionally, I had no idea whether this Otherworld mentioned was actually real, or most of the things mentioned as a matter of fact.

The characters were boring. I didn’t care about any of them except for, maybe, Azure in the past. The relationship between Indigo and the bridegroom felt artificial. The friendship between Indigo and Azure was unhealthy.

Everyone was obsessed with the supernatural. The bridegroom studied magic, mythology, and folklore because he remembered having a brother who apparently did not exist. Azure and Indigo bonded over the fae. They were convinced they were a part of them and belonged elsewhere. Indigo took that obsession too far.

The plot was extremely slow. Almost everything was merely told, and most of the page space was filled with descriptions.

The author said this is her best work. If that is the case, I don’t think her books are for me. I don’t understand metaphorical gibberish. That’s a me problem. I chose to read this first because it was the shortest of my arcs, yet it felt so long.

Arc provided by publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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Spice Road by Maiya Ibrahim

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.5

A Venom Dark and Sweet by Judy I. Lin

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adventurous challenging mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

3.0

I forgot to write a review for this, so here I am doing it almost a month later. The first half, or so, was slow and boring to me. Honestly, I don't remember much. The ending was anticlimactic. I didn't feel any urgency despite the supposedly high stakes. I quite enjoyed the first book and this one went down a different path and felt different.