I grew up watching Disney’s animated Mulan and I loved it, though in recent years I’ve learned how inaccurate it is to the original story. So to find out about The Magnolia Sword, a retelling of that original story written by a Chinese author, was exciting. Though I’ll always appreciate the humor and music in the movie, I think that as a whole, I actually like this book more.

Thomas wrote a great story with complex characters, interesting themes, and a tender slow-burn romance, set in a time period completely new to me. I’ve never read a book that took place in fifth century China, and Thomas did an excellent job incorporating history with plot without bogging down the story.

My one issue was with the pacing. The first half of the story was quite slow, and I found myself not wanting to read even though I enjoyed the book when I did pick it up. This would’ve been cause for me to lower my rating by a whole or half star, but the second half picked up enough to save the book. I was hooked by the last third in particular, as everything came together in ways I didn’t expect.

All in all, I’d say The Magnolia Sword was a pleasant surprise, in that it was surprisingly good. I’d recommend it to anyone interested, but especially those that like Mulan or history in general.

Representation