husnaibrahim_'s Reviews (393)

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….

I’m honestly still not sure how I feel about this one. It had some solid ideas here and there, but the format just wasn’t for me. The whole back-and-forth dialogue between the philosopher and the youth felt like it was trying really hard to be clever. And instead of pulling me in, it just made it harder to stay focused; especially cause I started with the audiobook version. I’d hear something interesting and want to sit with it, but then the youth would cut in, all whiny or sarcastic, and the moment would just dissolve.

I get what they were trying to do, and some of the points did land; like the idea of living without needing approval or separating yourself from other people’s tasks. Those bits were definitely thought provoking. But the way the ideas were presented made it harder to really feel the impact. I kept zoning out, rewinding, trying to catch what I missed… it was honestly too exhausting.

Maybe I’d have appreciated it more in print, where I could pace myself, underline things, and actually reflect. But that’s not really my style. So, as it stands, I didn’t hate it, but I definitely didn’t love it either. It was just okay. Kind of thought provoking, kind of frustrating.

This book was such a good one. The magical typewriters, the mysterious letters, and the slow-burning, innocent romance brewing between Iris and Roman (or should I say, Carver? lol) were all part of what made me really enjoy this. I’m definitely biased towards low-stakes or easygoing fantasies; especially when I actually like the main characters. And I really liked Iris. Her grief over her mother’s death and her brother’s absence added so much depth to her character; the regret, the “what could have been” moments. It made it so easy to follow her through the whole journey, even when things got a little heavy.

Then there’s Roman, who I loved, by the way. I remember thinking how brave it was when he decided to follow Iris to the front lines, leaving behind his safe, comfortable life. Sure, he was trying to escape an arranged marriage, but still. That moment was just so lovely. It showed how much he’d grown and how committed he was to not losing someone he cared about again; especially after what happened with his sister. And his bond with Iris? It felt so fragile but so so warm. And even though it all started through anonymous letters, you could tell how much he really liked her and how scared he was of losing her once she knew who he really was. I also loved that Iris didn’t just accept him right away. Her confusion, her mixed feelings about both guys; it felt so real, especially for a girl her age. That kind of inner conflict made her reactions feel very honest. I really liked that.

Now the twist at the end though… I’m still not too sure if I can say I really liked that lol. Roman’s fate being left hanging like that made me so anxious, and now I honestly don’t know if I want to read the second book. Even though I liked this one a lot. Like… why would they do that to me?

I really liked so many things about this book; the storyline, the pacing, and the sweet, albeit naive, main character. I always find it intriguing when I read about how different societies navigated the shift during the Industrial Revolution, post-industrial times, modernity, and postmodernity. And this book did so well in showing the emotions and thoughts of the communities.

One thing I usually have a hard time with in books like these is the challenging family dynamics that come with such deeply culturally compliant, family-oriented eras. So it’s not surprising that her family dynamic was sometimes hard to accept. I’m West African, so I understand how a lot of these things work, yet I was still annoyed when it came to the part about her betrothal. I just kept thinking how they had an entire meeting to decide her future, without her being there, like she’s not even a real person? Not even a “Hey, maybe we should ask her if she wants to be shipped off to America to marry a stranger”???! I mean I’m used to seeing this kind of societal norm, but even so, I just kept thinking, I’m tired already. That level of casual patriarchy can be so exhausting to deal with sometimes.

Still, her family wasn’t that bad. I think that sometimes, in our bid to be progressive, we crucify our families so much that we forget they are also victims of the same patriarchal society. I mean that doesn’t excuse people when they go overboard, but it does help to understand their actions a little better. So yeah, I didn’t think her family was too bad. In fact, I liked her older brother. I really liked him because he was surprisingly emotionally aware, especially for a man in that era. I mean, sure, he still operated within the same system, but he actually saw her. He listened. He wasn’t just parroting tradition; he was actually thinking about what it meant and its impact on his sister. So yes, in a sea of these excessively rigid, honor bound patriarchs, he was kind of a soft king. And I appreciated that a lot.