This book was honestly so chaotic. I just kept turning the pages, not because I was enjoying myself that much, but because i needed answers, like desperately!

So it’s not surprising that I was hooked at first. With all the court intrigue, the murder mystery, the soft tension between Hesina and Akira; it had so much potential. But somewhere along the way, the plot started to spiral Ang get a bit out of control. Everyone became a suspect, and everyone was acting weird and shady. I didn’t trust  Akira, I started not to trust Sanjing or even Lillian, definitely didn’t trust Minister Shagun, and at some point I was even eyeing Hesina’s own mother. I think the only person I trusted was her blood brother even though he’s the one that was giving us genuine reasons not to. A bit ironic really but that’s how wild things got. And maybe that was the point, but it honestly just got a bit exhausting.

Hesina herself was a very frustrating lead. I get that she was suddenly thrust into power, grieving her father, and surrounded by all these liars; but did she have to trust everyone so easily? It’s like she’d learn one hard lesson and then turn around and make the same mistake. Over and over again. It was so frustrating and honestly made her feel more reactive than strategic, which is really tough to root for in a court full of supposed killers.

And then the unnecessary deaths began. As I said, spiraling plot becomes really, did May have to die? Did Lillian? It started to feel less like a necessary plot movement and more like shock for plots sake. And even that wasn’t done well because the emotional payoff didn’t always land.

One thing I’ll give the book though even with all this is its unpredictability.  I really thought it was Akira throughout; because of the way the story led up to it. The poison hint? The distancing himself from her? All of it made sense. I should have seen it coming, especially the real truth about her father. By that point I was just laughing at myself because I really did fall it all. It was definitely nicely done

Still though, by the end, I was already tired. Plot twist after plot twist. We’ve got Gods and immortals and betrayals on top of betrayals. At that point, I couldn’t even tell if Sayan’s betrayal was real or part of some deeper play. That’s how tangled everything was. I know some people love that level of complexity and I like it too when there’s enough room to breathe. But with this, I felt like I was holding my breath throughout and not in a pleasant way. 

That said, I definitely respect Joan He for the ambition of this book. This was a layered, politically charged fantasy with real heart underneath all the layers. It just didn’t all come together smoothly for me. But I can’t say I’ll forget it either so….