yourbookishbff's Reviews (650)

This sequel to She Who Became the Sun (and conclusion to the duology ) is even darker than its predecessor -  you've been warned, reader. This is, again, a nuanced exploration of gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, and experiences of dysphoria and internalized transphobia and homophobia - and also war.  

Our character foils from book one, Zhu and General Ouyang, orbit each other even more closely in this installment, and I was fascinated to see the ways in which they aided and betrayed one another. I was surprised by how much time we spend with Wang Baoxiang, and didn't anticipate how central his storyline would become, but I honestly loved how the threads came together and how his story intersects with Zhu and General Ouyang. And never fear, because my favorite side character from book one, Ma, becomes pivotal in the final act, and I was so delighted to see how she influences the course of the narrative.

Though this book was exceedingly dark with significant on-page trauma (including rape, sexual violence, miscarriage and abortion, in addition to murder and war), these scenes felt intentional more than gratuitous, as Parker-Chan examines the intersections of revenge, sex, pain and violence in compelling and devastating ways.

I appreciated how Parker-Chan brings into this morally grey, violent hell scape earnest discussions of living authentically. Our characters each have a different vision of what it might mean to rule, and Zhu and Ma offer insight into what it might look like to create new ways of being yourself in a world that wasn't built for you. They dream of a world existing outside the binaries that have restricted them, and have to continually decide which sacrifices are worthy of this cause. The symbolic contrasting lights and shadows of the mandate, and the ability to see ghosts, layer into this vision of remaking new life and new light from death and darkness. 

I felt the story was surprisingly well-paced (given its length), and there were significant landmark scenes throughout that will haunt me for some time (sailing through ghosts?! IYKYK). 

Because of how graphically violent and dark this duology is, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to all fantasy readers, but I would absolutely recommend for those who love historical fantasy, historical retellings, speculative fiction, gender+bent history, and queer retellings with deeply (deeply) morally gray characters. 

This was a SLOW BURN, but the payoff was well worth it! Again, Milan's intricate and original premise - a biracial and Black man engineering a telegraph line to cross the Pacific needs someone to develop a telegraphic code for Chinese - is brilliant. I was fascinated to learn more about how telegraph lines were laid (particularly across oceans) and how codes were developed and used by operators. And the level of detail! Milan walks us through how our female main character, a Chinese woman raised by an American missionary, develops a useable code that conveys the complexity and dimensionality of Chinese characters in a very one-dimensional code. Honestly, for 75% of the book, I was far more interested in this plot than in the romance, as the main characters are so often in different countries, or even continents. 

What ultimately makes the romance work is the unique twist on epistolary, as our main characters develop a way to send coded telegrams while he's at sea. I loved the use of these codes to develop their confidence in each other, and then eventually to deepen their physical and emotional intimacy. 

I would consider this workplace romance - kind of - and friends to lovers - kind of. Ultimately, it's the bridging of two people who have a LOT of personal reflection and growth they need to accomplish before they can truly commit to each other. I was so satisfied with each of their storylines, as they navigate their own traumatic pasts and uncertain futures.

As we saw in book two, we again see both characters navigating complex code switching, and we get an excoriating examination of transracial "adoption" during this time - a commentary that has a lot of relevance today, too.

This is a slow-paced story in every respect, with around a year elapsing in the storyline, frequent time jumps, and significant distance - geographically and emotionally - between MCs. The writing is stunning (no surprise for Milan readers) and I cried messily through the last 10%. I will also note that for a book where the romance was largely secondary for the first 75% this HEATS UP at the end, and I loved it!

I specifically read this to better inform my reread of Sherry Thomas's A Study in Scarlet Women. This gave me new appreciation for the Sherlock-style mystery, a performative mystery that depends on eccentric personalities, a love of chemistry, extravagant disguises and mysterious backstories. I enjoyed it in context!

Middle books so often feel meandering in a trilogy, and Marske's decision to make this a confined, liminal story, existing entirely on a ship crossing the Atlantic, really worked for me. I loved the attention to detail on the ocean liner, which made this setting feel so vivid and unique. I loved the concept - murder mystery on an ocean liner with a cobbled together crew of vigilantes - and enjoyed the moments of true eccentricity (The actual menagerie?! The jewelry thief and circulating erotica?!). 

The romance is very realist cally built and ends in a way that feels authentic for these characters, who each need more time to determine their own futures and identity individually as well. I loved Violet's high-walled heart and Maude's steadiness and vulnerability. I think some readers will want a romance arc that feels more conplete and more familiar, as we had in book one, but I didn't mind this personally. 

The expanded magic system!! I loved exploring illusions, as well as American approaches to magic, and I LOVED cradle speak. Learning more about the Forsythia Club adds even more to the world-building and our understanding of the magic system, and I loved how much of the origin story we get in this installment. 

Marske's writing is, as always, stunning, and I loved the audio production and narration for this book. There were lines that stayed with me, even as I listened - a feeling of cold water poured between bones, a voice searching for a bruise to press, music that sounds as though someone had passed their hand across velvet, the wrong way and then the right way. I just love Marske's writing. 

As a second book in a trilogy, Fevered Star does a lot of the things that middle books do - a lot of traveling back and forth as characters have to get to new places and discover new backstory, small expansions in the magic system, moments that begin to deepen the world building and conflict, etc. It felt less intentional than the first book, but likely just because we are no longer counting down toward a specific event, and have to navigate the "after." I loved the symmetry of the starting and ending action on sun rock and our expanded understanding of the gods and god powers. 

There were a few POVs I wanted more of, but I ultimately understand why we had the characters we did in this installment and appreciate where we ended and where we will likely go from here.

Again, the full-cast audio production is excellent and I highly recommend!

Once again, the social and political commentary in this is so expertly done and so nuanced. Our biracial and Black male main character navigates (and even explains) code switching on page, and provides a unique contrast to the code switching of our female main character, who is white and formerly of the nobility, but now must navigate life in the servant/working class. The intersections of race, class difference and gender are explicitly examined through the story. 

I struggled with the third-act conflict and wished for a bit more apology/grovel in one scene, but ultimately these two characters navigate a rocky path to a truly beautiful happily ever after. And the resolution of the family separation was heart wrenching in the best way.

I loved the audio production, but will note that Milan's author note is not included in narration and well worth reading, as she reflects on her lived experiences that informed key plot points. It is available on her website to read in full. 

I absolutely loved this start to Milan's Worth Saga. This is a perfect balance between her signature humor and some delicious angst. The sibling dynamics add levity and urgency to the plot's conflict, as we see our female main character shouldering the burden of the family's fall from societal grace - into relative poverty. This is a beautifully done second-chance romance with touches of brother's best friend and childhood friends to lovers. Milan writes such sharp and nuanced historical and political sub-plots, and I found the family saga here so heartbreaking and compelling, and perfectly balanced with the primary romance. 
Both of our main characters accomplish a lot of personal growth through on-page reflection and reconciliation. And I appreciated the flashbacks to their earlier years, building our understanding of their current tension and longing. And the longing! A forest of pine trees. 

I also really appreciated how much attention there is to our male main character's development, because often in M/F romance we have a stronger focus on the female main character's journey, but this felt really balanced. I loved how Milan explores morality vs legality in his storyline, and how she pushes characters to confront the nuances of doing the right thing vs doing the honest thing. We see each ch racter examining their loyalties - to family, country, and personal values. 

The full-cast audio production of Black Sun is phenomenal and I highly recommend! Each character felt so distinct, making this large cast of characters in rotating POV easy to follow. I loved the pacing of this story, the slow-burn countdown to Convergence blended with character flashbacks. It created a unique tension and building sense of dread. The chapter starts and excerpts from fictional historical accounts were so well done and added depth to the world building. I particularly loved the dynamic between Xiala and Serapio and was so grateful I could immediately jump into book two after that ending! 

For as much as I loathed the MMC for the first 75% of this book, it really did have a phenomenal ending. This is starchy Duke levelled by illegitimate society scandal, and by the time this man was well and truly humbled, I was (finally) rooting for him. We had an on-the-knees grovel, and a sense that our two main characters had finally achieved equal footing in their relationship (which is Fraught with stressy power imbalance for a majority of the book). Readers might not love the betrothal storyline for the Duke, because it he is technically betrothed (to a character who is not the heroine) for a portion of the book (when he is absolutely intimate with the heroine), but it is very clearly established as a business match by both parties. That said, for readers with a hard line on infidelity, this may be a deal-breaker!

This was cozy and genuinely slapstick funny at times, and I loved the concept of Minerva House, and how our big cast of characters live unreservedly and independently. The third act tension and chara ter conflicts felt very authentic, given the backstories we had, and was well balanced by mutual respect and a commitment to building (and rebuilding) trust. I thoroughly enjoyed this continuation of the series and I'm loving MacLean's humor. And bonus! A sweet secondary love story!