I wanted to like this book so badly. After struggling at the start, I soon found myself invested in the world and in Xingyin's journey.

However, as we progressed, I found the way it engaged with political and moral issues to be undercooked? Even juvenile maybe? Considering the YEARS of training and high quality education Xingyin received, there seemed to be no indication of growth or depth to her. It felt a little YA to me — not in a bad way, but in that it was so simplistic.

Knowing I have another book after this one, I dediced to cut my losses and DNF'd at 46%.