It's taken me a while to find the words to review this book (5 months, in fact). This book was breathtaking, and I'm still honestly reeling from some scenes in this book. I've loved the rise of Asian mythology and authors in fantasy, and found so many great books since I've started reading more and more adult fantasy. This book, at times, hit me like The Poppy War did, and can't wait to read the next book in this series.

I was ecstatic when I was approved for the advanced copy of this book, and overjoyed when I found out Illumicrate would be putting it in their monthly box. While it took me a bit to read, even after both of these things, my eyes were constantly drawn to the bright colors of this book waiting on my shelf. Finally, after a few rounds of just barely not winning the book club bracket for my book club, it finally won, and it was time for me to read.

I read the first portion of this book with my eyes, and found myself quickly caught up in Zhu's story, in both choices she's forced to make and the path she chooses to fight for. Her tenacity and unending desire to be great could have easily come off as arrogant, but instead she's just a person who wants what the world was never going to easily give her. She's so sure of herself, of this path to greatness that she carves out for herself, piece by piece, that you can't help but be swept up by her bravery and her strength. She's not even a good person by the end, but she is a great one, and honestly? She deserves the greatness she's taken for herself.

At some point while I was reading, I found out that the audio of this book was actually narrated by one of my absolute favorite narrators, and I quickly found myself switching to see if the book was just as enchanting when read aloud. Somehow, I found myself enjoying the story even more, and the way it was brought to life through narration. The combination of expressive narration and breathtaking writing just blew me away, and in the end, this book was one of my favorite books of 2021.

I really enjoyed the additional point-of-views we had throughout the story, and the other angles it gave on both the world, the plot that was unfurling, and on Zhu's rise. It's easy to follow along blindly with Zhu's journey to greatness when she's the only voice you see it from, but adding in the additional characters changes your perspective on that rise. I loved seeing her through the eyes of someone who at first thought she was just a lowly monk, and then seeing her as so much more. I also found it extremely intriguing to see her posed as the enemy, and how her actions are perceived by someone threatened by her. It all tied together in such a strong way, and I found myself enjoying every point of view, both for the additional insight they gave into the world and for the characters themselves, as even they felt fully fleshed out, with their own desires and dreams.

Overall, I devoured this book, and I cannot wait to see what comes next.