*I guess you could say: this book wasn't my cup of TEA* [image]
If it hadn’t been for the fact that this book was a book-club read, it might have become*I guess you could say: this book wasn't my cup of TEA* [image]
If it hadn’t been for the fact that this book was a book-club read, it might have become my first DNF in years. The only reason I sped through it is that I wanted to be done with it.
A 12-year-old girl named Tea accidentally raises her brother Fox from the dead. She is discovered to be a dark asha, a Bone Witch that can summon dark powers and, well, raise the dead. She is whisked away by another Bone Witch to begin her training at a magic school that trains asha (females who wield magic). The whole setting is Asian-inspired.
This book had me confused from beginning till the end, like thoroughly confused. I have no idea what the names of the countries are that they travel through. Mysterious-sounding names like “the Faceless” would be dropped without being explained. Apparently, they are the villains who trained monsters called daeva to fight for them? I have no idea.
The magic and world-building felt so underdeveloped in this book. The magic system makes zero sense! Everyone wears a heart-shaped (??) necklace called a heartsglass that changes colour depending on one’s mood (so it’s basically just like a mood ring). Some people’s heartsglasses are completely silver or completely black (why and what does that mean? I have no idea). You can also give your heartsglass away (haha, like giving your real heart away), but you would still keep your necklace only that it is empty from then on. You can pay heartforgers to make you a new heart (???), or you can try and find your old one. [image]
Normal asha that are not necromancers can wield the elements like fire, earth, wind, water etc. How do they do that? At what cost? I have no idea, and I read the whole damn book.
The pacing was all over the shop. In the first chapter, Tea raises her brother from the dead. In the second chapter, she is visited by an older Bone Witch taking her away to train her as a dark asha. In the third chapter, they are already on the road? Everything happens so fast, and Tea’s connection with her family, parents, and siblings is never fully explored.
The rest of the book covers Tea’s two years at the asha school. It bored the hell out of me because nothing really happened. It was just Tea’s training and her attending tea parties and scrubbing the toiletries. It’s also weird that this book is marketed as young adult when Tea is only 12-15 throughout the book? The cover and synopsis of this book are so misleading! I read about a literal child who always blushes in the presence of the prince she has a crush on. [image]
The plot was bogged down by overly descriptive writing. Every single hua (sort of like a kimono) the characters wear was described in great detail. After a while, I stopped trying to imagine what their outfits and food looked liked because it was just too much, too often, and too repetitive, and I simply didn’t care.
I wasn’t a fan of the narrative either. It altered between the past and the present. In the present, a 17-year-old Tea recounts her story to an unnamed Bard and in the past, we get to see 12-year-old Tea learning to be a Bone Witch. It made for a choppy reading experience, and the flow of the story was heavily disrupted.
The ending provided a twist (that I didn’t see coming but wasn’t awed by either) and a cliff-hanger which seems to have been put there for the sole purpose of getting people to pick up the next book in the series.
This book left me thoroughly confused for lack of explanation in places where it would have mattered and annoyed for the over-descriptive writing in places where it didn’t matter at all....more
I do believe that this book works best when you take your time, make it slow (yes, yesterday’s news of ABBA’s comeback means an intentional ABBA referI do believe that this book works best when you take your time, make it slow (yes, yesterday’s news of ABBA’s comeback means an intentional ABBA reference).
It works best when you pour yourself a cup of coffee or tea (whatever floats your boat), sit down and tell yourself that you need to savour this book. If you treat it like a ‘quick read’, I don’t think it’ll have the impact it is meant to have. I speak from experience because that’s exactly what happened to me. I have been too impatient with it, hence my 3-star rating.
Originally written in Japanese, the book was translated into English, so I don’t know whether it was Kawaguchi's or Trousselot's (the translator) literary voice that came through, but the writing took some getting used to. Everything was described in such detail; facial expressions and the way the characters moved were all depicted in such minuscule detail. It was difficult for me to stay focused because I wanted the plot to move forward.
However, and I grant the book that it did something right, the interactions between the characters seemed very real. A bit subdued maybe, a bit lowkey, but at least they worked on paper. When I say they ‘worked’ on paper, I mean that neither as a compliment nor as an insult. It worked just fine but when you know that this is the adaptation of the stage play (which came first), you begin to feel how stagey it feels with every passing scene. It is definitely made for the stage and – without having seen the actual play – I’d say the translation is semi-good as it seems to cling too much to its origin.
All in all, the concept of the story is very unique, after all, it combines coffee (who can live without it? I ask in all honesty) and time-travel while putting a new spin on time travelling and its rules but in the end, it did not manage to satisfy me as I thought it was too wooden....more
*Heaves a heavy sigh* I should have stayed away from this book knowing that I don’t really care for The Great Gatsby. I only know the film and having n*Heaves a heavy sigh* I should have stayed away from this book knowing that I don’t really care for The Great Gatsby. I only know the film and having never been forced to read the original in school, the story of Gatsby’s undying love for Daisy and his tragic ending left me relatively cold.
You now know that I can’t tell you how close The Chosen and the Beautiful sticks to the original but what I can tell you is that for a novel that was called a “queer retelling” there wasn’t much queerness in it. Jordan Baker, the main character of this story, was taken from Tonkin, Vietnam, when she was still a child and brought to the US where she only got to spend a few years with her new ‘mother’ before the latter died and her parents, Mrs and Mr Baker took upon themselves the task of raising Jordan. She is often exoticised by those around her because of her looks and while she loves to attend parties and soirees, she is always aware that she doesn’t quite fit in. What makes her stand out, even more, is that she is queer and as interested in women as she is in men.
I can’t tell you more of the story because… that’s it. Jordan complains about the heat, she visits Daisy, they drink cocktails, Jordan drifts from party to party, and they repeat the same thing pretty much every day throughout the summer. It was incredibly tedious to read. I had to force myself to pick it up again and time just seemed to pass very sloooooowly so that after I had read 20 pages it felt like I had read 100.
But let’s talk about the ‘queerness’: whenever a book is promoted with that term I expect more than just mentions of a character being interested in persons of the same sex. In this novel, Jordan spends most of her time sleeping with Nick, and there are only fleeting mentions of her staying at other women’s houses or dancing with women. When such moments come up, they are often mentioned in retrospect and never! described or talked about in detail. Honestly, one could even go so far and say that a stupider person might not have picked up Jordan’s queerness at all.
Oy but here is the best part: there’s magic! But it is never explained! There are goblins and demons but they are mentioned only in passing! The characters sometimes talk about an alcoholic liquid mixed with demon blood? Apparently, they can also float across ceilings when sniffing a certain gas? Jordan can cut animals and people out of paper and they live and breathe and talk like normal human beings? Oh, and there are soulless people who made deals with the devil but remember: all this is never explained but talked about as if those things were as clear as water being wet or grass being green. I was so effin' confused throughout the entirety of the book, no joke, the confusion started on page 1 and never left. I don’t mind being thrown headfirst into a fictional universe that doesn’t explain every little thing from the get-go but what I truly despise is not being informed about WHAT. IS. GOING. ON. even after reaching the 50% mark.
While I agree that the book is beautifully written, I thought it was a superficial kind of beauty that only contributed to the book’s shallowness....more
A solid, incredibly nuanced, and richly detailed adult fantasy read that dives head-first into a unique magical world inspired by the history and epicA solid, incredibly nuanced, and richly detailed adult fantasy read that dives head-first into a unique magical world inspired by the history and epics of India. And while it left me emotionally rather cold, there is lots to be admired about this first book in the Burning Kingdoms trilogy.
While there are lots and lots of different POV’s in this book (a few too many, in my opinion), the perspectives the novel mainly focuses on are those of Malini, Priya, and Bhumika. Malini is an imperial princess, banished by her brother, the emperor, for refusing to participate in a ritual during which women are burned alive to appease the deities. Therefore, she is exiled and sent to live in Ahiranya, a region that makes up 1/5 of the empire of Parijat. There, she is imprisoned in the Hirana (an ancient temple that was once the source of the mighty, magical deathless waters — but is now little more than a decaying ruin); under the watchful eyes of Bhumika, the regent’s wife, and tended to by Priya, a housemaid and part of Bhumika’s staff. But there is more to Priya than meets the eye. She knows magic, dangerous magic that once ruled the same empire Malini wishes to see free from her tyrannical brother.
The novel’s strength lies in the depiction of its strong female characters (no, I won’t use the term “strong female character”. Not now, not ever because it implies that there are also weak female characters. While that might be true, “male characters” are never attributed the term ‘strong’, suggesting they are automatically strong without us having to emphasise it).
Even though Priya, Malini, and Bhumika live in a homophobic and misogynistic world, few things could stop these incredible women from achieving what they want. I truly appreciate that each of these women is ‘strong’ and capable in her own way. Mind you, there are not senseless, bland heroines that ‘got it all’ and can do everything (*cough* ACOTAR, Throne of Glass *cough*).
Priya is explicitly described as “not pretty”. Her character is too trusting at times, but while others may describe that trait as a weakness, it’s one of her biggest strengths. She is not only a great fighter and trained killer but a woman who has magic flowing through her veins. Malini however, is lost when it comes to any form of combat. Instead, her strengths lie in politicking, manipulating, asserting influence and dominance, and getting to do others what she wants. While being married to the regent and seemingly ‘just a housewife’ who happens to be pregnant with her first child, Bhumika is hiding a secret power, too. She pretends to be complacent in public, but her mind is razor-sharp, and she is a skilled actor.
Fantasy novels too often present us with heroines that are beautiful AND physically strong AND clever AND good at fighting AND morally good and whatever else female characters need to be in order to be the heroine in a fantasy novel. The Jasmine Throne shows that female main characters DO NOT have to be all that to deserve the title of main character. The message that you do not have to be pretty or beautiful to deserve to be loved is such an important one. Here, the women are allowed just to be, gloriously be. The story this novel tells is feminist exactly because it doesn't boil feminism down to the "I can fight for myself" trope. It brings together women of different ages, sizes, abilities, circumstances and only by working together do they get closer to achieving what they want.
While the blossoming relationship between Priya and Malini is probably the novel’s most important relationship, especially in terms of character development, that doesn’t mean that the whole plot is only focused on those two. There is political intrigue and scheming galore.
The Jasmine Throne takes itself serious enough to acknowledge that not everything in life is about love, especially in a world as cruel and cold towards women as this one. It successfully avoids the pitfall of sacrificing narrative developments for romantic subplots. Instead, awaiting the reader is a delicious slow-burn; a sapphic relationship that is never quite the main focus but always there. The tension between Malini and Priya is palpable, and so are the motivations for their actions. They are both incredibly driven, each willing to sacrifice what they love most to save their country or nation and to protect their people. These are not two dumbstruck teenagers in love but very three-dimensional, carefully carved out characters that don’t adhere to YA novel standards of “one kiss and she was a goner”.
There is much more to say about this book, not only about how intricate its depiction of different kinds of faith is and that faith can lead people to do both incredibly good and incredibly bad things, but also about how nearly every single one of its male characters is defined by the women in his life. However, to keep this review short, I just want to say that The Jasmine Throne is a strong and powerful fantasy book. Tasha Suri creates a world rich in detail and very enticing, and though the first part might not have been especially fast-paced, there is still lots of adventure, plot twists, and high stakes.
I will definitely be picking up the second book to see how Malini’s and Priya’s story continues!
[image] Malini and Priya by @layahimayala on Twitter...more
„… but one who hopes to create must understand that opposites exist to balance and complement one another.”
I am still blown away by how good this book„… but one who hopes to create must understand that opposites exist to balance and complement one another.”
I am still blown away by how good this book was. Masterful storytelling, inventive writing and original linguistic devices are what made this book a five-star read for me and I was even more surprised to find all this in the first self-published book I have ever read!
This novel tells a Japanese-inspired war story that is set in Takayubi, on an icy mountain located on a peninsula in the Kaigenese Empire. Different clans inhabit this very rural part of the Empire and traditions are held in high esteem. The soldiers of each family call themselves "The Sword of Kaigen", for they are a military unit who are gifted with elemental magic. They can create weapons out of ice, shape snow and command water. But war is brewing in the south and the time has come for the Sword of Kaigen to prove their strength against a deadly foe.
I knew this book was going to deal with war and bloodshed but I did not expect it to be so brilliantly written; with such detail, with such profound knowledge and insight – why, it felt like M.L. Wang had experienced it herself. It felt so real, it was incredibly satisfying to read about life-or-death swordfights that lasted several pages. The action was nail-biting, enticing me to turn the next page. It gave me the feeling of being there, standing next to the characters and witnessing their battles.
The best thing however was the author’s compelling characterization of the main characters and inhabitants of Takayubi. The narrative is split into different points of view, with the main narrators being Misaki Matsuda, mother of four and wife of the esteemed Takeru Matsuda. Their family stands at the head of the village and is the most influential of all the different houses. The other important narrator is Mamoru, Misaki’s eldest son of 15 years. Takayubi’s traditions and "the way things are being done there" determine each individual’s path. Misaki is a housewife and therefore expected to be obedient, soft-spoken, gentle and always willing to do whatever her husband bids her to do. Now, during the course of the book we learn that she has not always been that way, in fact, she has been raised and trained as a warrior but society’s rules and the traditional lifestyle of those surrounding her demand, that she be silent about it.
The way we get to see Misaki evolve, break and at the same time learn to respect the traditions of the family she has married into is captivating - and frustrating and, once again exceedingly well-written. Making a 30-year-old woman a main character in a fantasy book and giving her a voice is extraordinary in itself but the way she described Misaki’s battle with following the rules and finding peace through caring for her family instead of holding a sword was just genius. It made me think of Meg March [Little Women] saying: "just because my dreams are different than yours doesn't make them unimportant." Misaki is vastly different from other female main characters in present day YA literature and far more complex and I struggled to agree with her on everything. However, that just made her character so much fascinating and engaging.
Aside from giving a 30-year-old mother a voice, the author made some other bold narrative choices, for which she has to be applauded (I don't want to venture into spoiler territory here).
The ‘linguistic devices’ mentioned at the beginning of this review materialize in terms such as jaseliwu, tabi and jiya. The inclusion of different languages made the world described in this book seem too big for just 600 pages and it gave the story a lot more depth, enhancing the captivation of the Eastern setting.
The glossary for all the different terms and their explanations can be downloaded via the author’s website (preferably if you’re reading the e-book and don’t want to flip back and forth) or at the back of the book/ e-book.
This book is as powerful as a master of the "Whispering Blade", a deadly weapon of water and air that only a very powerful Matsuda can create. It will sweep you off your feet and show you how impressive a self-published standalone adult fantasy book can be....more
Oh gosh, where do I even begin? This book promised to be a lush retelling of Anastasia and Russian folklore but it failed miserably in so many aspectsOh gosh, where do I even begin? This book promised to be a lush retelling of Anastasia and Russian folklore but it failed miserably in so many aspects. Before I dive deeper into my review, please be aware that I won’t refer to or be influenced by the book’s pre-publishing controversy. There are other reviews and blog posts which explain the matter in detail.
The biggest problem I had was how many stereotypical YA literature tropes this book contained and just how mediocre the writing was.
I started rolling my eyes as early as page 6 (!!!!) and from there on in never really stopped.
“He was young – much younger than she’d expected for a renowned crime lord of the Empire. Surprise twanged in her stomach.”
Need I say more? These two sentences tell me everything I have to know about a) the young man’s personality and background and b) I know exactly what will become of his and Ana’s relationship. Isn’t it bitter that the set-up of this story was done in such a crude way that I only needed to read this passage to know where the story was going? I can’t believe just how lame and stereotypical the main characters’ meet-cute was.
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On to the next trope… “There was a time when scum like him would have bowed to her, when she could have ordered his demise with a single word. That time was past, but she could still do the right thing.”
… where the main character needs to hide their identity in a town or city, then spots some kind of injustice or mistreatment of innocents and can’t help but come to their aid, thereby revealing their own identity. The author wants to make a point of just how noble & selfless yet reckless Ana is. If, by adding that scene, the author wanted to further establish Ana’s personality… well, she fell into the trap of using an all-too-common trope for that.
At the beginning of the book Ana is a girl who has travelled the country with her friend and protegée May for months. She rescued the young girl from the fangs of an Affinite broker. Even though Ana has spent weeks in May’s company she only seems to realise just how bad the situation for Affinites is when she is in the big city. Ana seemed incredibly naive throughout the entire story.
Another thing that really annoyed me was Ana’s recklessness. It painted her stupid and child-like. In situations where it would have been common sense to keep her head down and think, she would lose her head. This just didn’t make any sense at all for someone who has spent 11 moons on their own in the wild but oh well, here we are.
Ah and have I already talked about Ana’s repetitive behaviour? Every time she hurts or kills someone with her ability she is disgusted of herself. Then she makes peace with it because it is for the greater good. Then she loses her head again when she’s witness to an unjust deed and feels this ‘all-consuming hot rage’. She proceeds to use her power to hurt the bad guys which again leads to Ana being horrified of herself.
This isn’t even everything that I hated about this book (wooden dialogue, flat and irreproachable villains) but this review has got too long already.
Before I picked up this book I had lost almost every hope of ever finding another great and stunning fantasy series. One that could pull me in and droBefore I picked up this book I had lost almost every hope of ever finding another great and stunning fantasy series. One that could pull me in and drown me in its worldbuilding and story and characters. Well, this book managed just that and I freaking love it for that.
Are you tired of smart-witted, beautiful princesses who are sooo alone but also sooo strong and then meet a stranger who’s sooo handsome and has such a strong jaw line and such beautiful eyes? Me too.
Rin is an orphan living in a village in one of the most rural regions of the empire. Her only chance of getting out of her step-family’s opium-stained grip are the yearly tests that will determine every student’s future life and decide which academy they’re allowed to go to. Rin scorches her arms with molten wax to stay awake at night and cram every textbook and every bit of knowledge inside her head. She wants to take the test. And she needs to excel in it if she wants to study at the Sinegard Academy. She takes the test, she excels and she finds herself being accepted into the empire’s best and elitist academy. But the challenges that await her are greater than she could dream. And the fate the Gods have laid out before her is more dangerous and daunting and destructive than she could have wished for.
The Poppy War is bold in every possible way. It's rich of representation and it's daring and daunting.
There is a lot of gore and blood and crimes are described in more detail than you would wish for. But it’s something new, it’s audacious; there’s a certain melody and prose to it. The characters commit deeds more terrible than you could imagine and still, I was HOOKED. I want, I crave more. It was so different, it was such a breath of fresh air that I nearly wept upon finishing it (not really, but you know what I mean). Give me more books like this one. Give me more fantasy books in which white characters don’t play a single role, in which romance doesn’t take the foreground all the time and in which tropes and stereotypes are a thing of the past.
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