Another mystery solved by Ana and Din that will have you utterly consumed and on the edge of your seat!
4.5 rounded up to 5, arc received from publisheAnother mystery solved by Ana and Din that will have you utterly consumed and on the edge of your seat!
4.5 rounded up to 5, arc received from publisher in exchange for honest review--
plot: 5/5 this plot seriously had me by the throat! its been a while since a book had so much control over me but i could NOT put this down!! the pacing and they way the mystery unfolded was just perfect. the mystery is definitely 90% of the plot and then the interpersonal stuff is like 10%.
characters: 4/5 i specifically loved ana's developments in this book and i always just adore her character because she's so insane. i had some suspicions about her and they were kind of confirmed, as much as they can be at this point so im contented hehe. i also really loved malo's character. i thought she added alot of personality and vibrance. i'm really looking forward to how her role develops in the next book. the weak point here was din. it felt like he was very much the pov character as a tool. like he was there to observe everything, which is true to his on page purpose. but i just wanted to see more of ~him~ in it, like his personality. he has some good developments by the end but i feel like his character didn't have a ton of life.
writing: 5/5 rjb writes in a way that totally captivates me and transports me into the worlds every single time without fail. and they're worlds i would absolutely die in so stop it!!
overall: 4.5/5 fantastic continuation of the series and, as always, i will read anything robert jackson bennett publishes <3...more
a mulan retelling that will tell you how the story would have really happened
while i have critiques i think what song did here is fascinating and reaa mulan retelling that will tell you how the story would have really happened
while i have critiques i think what song did here is fascinating and really admirable. we know mulan as a love story filled with honor that ends happily. song tells us a more historically plausible story of selfishness, greed for power, and tragedy.
Meilin disguises herself as a man and enlists to escape her future as a wife to a cruel man. The training environment only enhances her own need to be the best and to have power. Haunted by her mothers descent into to sanity and ultimate suicide, she begins hearing voices. however those voices have more to do with the sea dragon spirit and inherited jade pendant from her mother.
my favorite part of this book was the training arc and battles in the first half. while it doesn’t really compare (cause nothing can hold a candle to my most favorite book), it reminded me a bit of the poppy war and those early days before things went to shit for Rin lol.
—light spoilers below�
the pacing was a bit off as i felt we should have spent more time in this training stage, learning more about meilins power and establishing more of the intricate politics. there’s a fairly sudden jump to meilin being captured and that part of the plot dragged on much longer than seemed necessary. i had very little interest in the actual happenings then and it made the book drag a little. i will say this portion is to emphasize meilins character growth and how she finally abandons her conditioned feminine habits of subservience and desire to please. from there the final plot arc happens so quickly and then the book ends really suddenly. it just felt like the wrong arc was expanded upon.
my only other issue was with how sky’s character devolves when he realizes meilin is a woman. he became solely focused on protecting her and thinking she was fragile � which is really just a product of society at the time� but it was very jarring because he had more complexity and depth before his personality became all about that.
overall though i really enjoyed this book, it was a quick read and i love natalie naudus as the narrator. very thankful to penguin random house audio for the alc in exchange for an honest review!...more
i don’t even know where to start but this was absolutely miserable.
i loved tan’s original duology so i was really excited for this but “let down� doei don’t even know where to start but this was absolutely miserable.
i loved tan’s original duology so i was really excited for this but “let down� doesn’t convey this feeling enough.
- main characters: one dimension and inconsistent, instant attraction played off as bickering that was a little fun at first but it just got really annoying. the fmc acts like she’s so clever but honestly everyone else is just stupid and she’s only slightly less so. also the mmc is just a broody simp he doesn’t have any depth to him - plot: repetitive, predictable, and infuriating. i didn’t enjoy any of the choices tan made with the plot progression. i felt like we got nothing from all the big developments becuase the characters had no real growth from it. - writing: tans writing is still really beautiful in a descriptive sense but that’s the only redeeming quality. the last few chapters felt like a self help book trying to teach life lessons in the most heavy handed way. and those lessons were like middle grade level. adult fantasy should be leagues more nuanced than this. - i hated the romance those two characters shouldn’t have been together. they’re just horny and like giving declarations of love. there’s no substance to their bond.
i hate writing a bad review for a book i had such high hopes for but i have very little positive to say to balance it out.
i wouldn’t recommend if you liked tans debut series becuase this is everything that isn’t. ...more
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