I want to thank Penguin Random House/Viking Books for Young Readers for supplying me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Ying dreams of becoming a member of the Engineers Guild, but she is female and that is unheard of. Grieving the death of her father, who had been a member of the guild, and wanting to avenge him, she disguises herself as her brother and enters the trials in the hopes of not only earning her place as an engineer but also in finding her father's murderer. But all the secrets contained in the guild begin to reveal themselves and she starts to understand her father's reasons for leaving. Her unlikely ally in Ye-Yang, one of the princes set to potentially take command in the future, proves more than just a mutual attraction and when she realizes she may have been betrayed she vows to keep her promise of avenging her father.
I don't know any Asian folklore at all. I was excited to read this one and also learn a bit about the culture along the way. I was pleasantly surprised to find this book contained a kind of fantasy/sci-fi aspect. But also a bit of a steampunk vibe, and I love steampunk. It was a unique twist.
The pacing of the book is well done. I found myself not wanting to put the book down and find out what happened next. I needed to know the conclusion to the story. The words flowed beautifully off the page.
What initially drew me to this book is the cover. It is absolutely gorgeous. I must have a finished copy on my shelf. But then I read the blurb and it was super intriguing. I have not read a lot of Asian based books so delving into this one was really intriguing for me.
The plot was reminiscent of Mulan. I'm not sure if that was the author's intention but it for sure had that feel to it. I love the idea of hidden identity. Of a woman infiltrating an all male career path and excelling at it. At the same time, the author imbued the story with friendships. I enjoyed watching Ying form bonds with her fellow contestants and how, even though she was female, she was able to have those friendships. The romance was done well so as not to overtake the overall plot of the story. I liked that it wasn't always in Ying's mind. I liked that she kept to her goal rather than pining over someone and letting that take over all her thoughts.
Ying is a naive character. Having been sheltered all her life, I was not surprised by this. She definitely came off younger than 18 years old for me. I can see how this was essential to the plot. To show things happening through her eyes as she learned more and more of what the real world is really like. At the same time, she's super smart and her scientist mind was fascinating. Her character is strong and relatable and very well devleloped. Her relationship with Ye-Kan was nice. I liked their bond a lot. They had a best friend vibe, though at times I felt like for Ye-Kan it was more than that. The romance with Ye-Yang, as I mentioned, was done well. He definitely had more invested in it than she did. There was not the angst I normally associate with young adult reads so I would have liked to see a bit more of that happening.
Without spoiling, I will say the ending was not what I expected. I honestly felt like there wasn't as much wrap up as I would have liked. I do see this is a first book in the series so, while the ending was not a cliff hanger, I do hope the author delves deeper in the second book of the series. I'd like to see a bit more world building happen.
Overall I really enjoyed this story and the journey of the heroine. If you're looking for a sci-fi fantasy filled with great characters, intriguing concepts, mystery, and a unique world, pick this one up!
3.5 stars rounded to 4