I've been meaning to read this book for months and finally got around to it. I loved the characters in this book, Xifeng, Wei, Lihua, and many more. They all had a lot of depth to them. But aside from the characters, the story was a mixed bag for me. It started off with these great characters, but a bit slow and uninteresting early on. A little more than halfway through the book I was definitely pulled in to the story a lot more. As Xifeng starts her descent and is fighting within herself between light and darkness, this is when the book is at its best. By the end I was left wanting the sequel in my hands, because I hope it will be told from a different perspective (won't spoil from whom though). 3.75 out of 5

I'm starting to think I have a hard time enjoying Evil Queen origin stories, even though Forest of A Thousand Lanterns finally clicked with me as I stated above. Similarly, Lunar Chronicle's story of Levana (Fairest) and Origin of Queen of Hearts (Heartless) were two other times I struggled with these types of books.