*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review*

Dark, twisting, political and tense. She Who Became the Sun follows two central characters:
a girl who receives a prophecy of nothingness and after a pivotal event, takes her brother's prophecies greatness and works to turn it to herself; a eunuch general, the last male of his blood line, caught in the violent trappings of his fate. 

The wild ride of following fates and characters with complex and often hidden or suppressed desires, I regularly failed to predict what would happen next. Also, interesting insight into Chinese/Mongol dynamics and history of the region.

The Good:
- Characters with depth, personality and their own interests, some of which make for brilliant inter person and internal conflict.
- Interesting political intrigue and moving allegiances.
- The fantasy elements were well scaled for the story and didn't feel out of place.
- Beautiful descriptions of the physical settings.
- A fun catalyst for independent research into Chinese & Mongol history.
- LGBTQIA+ representation done well.

What could have been improved:
- This is a violent story and that it fine, struggles for power usually are. Some moments of violence seemed disproportionately graphic and unpleasant which took me out of the story. This won't be a problem for some but it did affect my engagement with the story.
- The build up to the finale was amazing but the ending did feel just slight rushed. 

She Who Became the Sun is going to be released in July 2021 and I highly recommend picking this book up.