"And besides, the story had to start sooner or later. I had only hoped it would be a little later, and I could rest for another spring in my library."

Oh gosh all I want to do now is reread the whole Fairyland series, then reread this and see how many more cameos and parallels and instances of foreshadowing I can catch.

As always, Valente weaves lovely words and ideas together into an inimitable tale. The characters are astoundingly memorable, given how little time we spend with them (in this story anyway), the setting is literally and figuratively magical, and there are so many gentle reminders of simple truths. My heart was broken and carefully fitted back together, but the stitches aren't holding very well in the presence of knowledge about some of these characters' fates.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

——————
[pre-review]

Apologies to all other 2020 releases, but THIS just shot up to the top of my Most Anticipated list.

I know a lot of people complain about the backstory that you have to scroll past on recipe blogs, but I'm one of those weirdos who actually likes to hear about how Grandma always made this soup when the blogger was sick, or how it took a week of develompent to hit a balance of good flavor and appearance, or whatever. So it's totally unsurprising that I enjoyed this.

Behind-the-scenes fun facts, extra tips for recreating and/or customizing these recipes (or cautions against making the attempt), and of course lots of pop-culture references: Rea's sense of humor and passion for food and film come through just as authentically in print as they do on camera. Fans of his videos are unlikely to be disappointed, and hopefully the book will get new fans to watch them too.

-----------
CONVERSION: 12 / 15 = 4 stars

Prose: 5 / 10
Intellectual Engagement: 6 / 10
Credibility: 8 / 10
Organization / Structure: 9 / 10

Emotional Impact / Interest: 5 / 5
Rereadability: 5 / 5
Memorability: N/A

content warnings:

Spoiler

substance abuse, alcohol as coping mechanism, depressive episodes, suicidal ideation, non-graphic sexual content, unhealthy relationship(s), (arguable) emotional abuse, prostitution, mentioned homophobia, mentioned violence, mentioned cancer, loss of loved ones, grief

rep:

Spoiler

bi/pan MC [Addie], pan/bi Jewish MC with depression [Henry], Black lesbian secondary char [Bea], past M/M & F/F relationships, diverse secondary & minor characters

RTC.

-----------
CONVERSION: 13.55 / 15 = 5 stars

Prose: 8 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 9 / 10
Emotional Impact: 8 / 10
Development / Flow: 9 / 10
Setting: 10 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 4 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 5 / 5
Rereadability: 5 / 5
Memorability: 5 / 5

Despite the action-packed opening, for me it was a slow process to get into this one — probably in large part because it's been quite a while since I read the first two books. But I enjoyed Guo Jing and Lotus's journey, the brawn-and-brain duo (or heart-and-head, if you prefer) and it was fun to see

Spoiler

so many returning characters converge on one site, albeit coming and going at different points

; the list of characters in the beginning was somewhat helpful for keeping it all straight, though limited since I didn't want to flip back and forth in the middle of a tense scene.

I received an advance review copy from St. Martin's Press (St. Martin's Griffin) through Netgalley; all opinions are my own and honest.

★ 3.5 stars ★

In terms of plot and themes, this felt rather different from the previous books in some ways while being a logical conclusion in others. While I didn't love all the math and was a bit overwhelmed by the sheer volume of riddles and poems, I do have to give props to the translators for making all the verses work in a different language (though I haven't read this in the original Chinese so I can't judge whether/how much nuance was lost in translation). Honestly I never really enjoy a love triangle, but at least there is genuine conflict — a question of honor and keeping one's word, vs. True Love (I Guess) — and none of the characters is vilified for their role in the whole situation. The narration gets quite heavy on the moralizing/philosophizing in the last section or so, but there's still plenty of martial arts action.

Ultimately, this installment delivers the culmination of this series, coming full circle while demonstrating how far the heroes have come ... and it sets up the sequel series.

★ 3.5 stars ★

content warnings:

Spoiler

bullying, fatphobia, homophobia, mentioned past suicide attempt, non-explicit sexual content, mentioned infidelity

rep:

Spoiler

Dhruhástranian emigrant MCs [Harriet & Margot], bi/pan MC [Harriet], Black major characters [Kerchevals], hard-of-hearing major character [Rémy], Romani secondary character [Kenzilea], F/F relationships, mentioned M/M relationship

Some parts of this — i.e., most of

Spoiler

Harriet's story as told to Perdita

and

Spoiler

the ending reveal

— were 4+ stars while other parts were 2-3 stars. I particularly appreciated the varied and distinct character relationships and atmospheric worldbuilding (which includes themes and concepts),

-----------
CONVERSION: 9.93 / 15 = 3.5 stars

Prose: 5 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 8 / 10
Emotional Impact: 7 / 10
Development / Flow: 6 / 10
Setting: 7 / 10

Intellectual Engagement: 3 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 4 / 5
Memorability: 3 / 5