A exciting and page-turning read on asian folklore!

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Judy I. Lin's ability to write such a captivating book that really captures the desperation of the characters was, least to say, mind-blowing. This book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time and in a constant state of "what the hell did I just witness". It's truly such a fun (and nerve wrecking) book that had me really immersed in the world the Lin brought to life.

I think of the my favorite thing of this book was Lin's ability to give so much depth to Ning. Ning, who we know as the headstrong girl who will do anything to save her sister, was a complex character. She faces many situations where she has to pick what she WANTS to do vs what she NEEDS to do. I think Lin was really able to portray Ning's conflict in such a realistic way by using Ning's inner monologue but also with the situations she found herself in. Ning struggled throughout the entire book and Lin was really able to captive the readers with her words. I just felt that all of the words in this book were so meaningful to the story and Ning's development. From Ning's internal conflict to Lin's description of the night sky, I was truly enchanted by each word.

In my reviews, I almost always HAVE to talk about the romance so here we go! The instant love was a little too much for me but taking into consideration of Ning's character, I understand how she fell so in love with him. As separate people, I love them but together...I just wish we had more substance to work on. Again, romance was not the biggest take away of the book but I feel like it could have been worked on a bit more.

Overall, such a exciting read that had my heart beating way too fast. And can we talk about the ending??? I simply cannot wait for the rest of this series :)

Thanks again for BookishFirst for providing me with a copy to read this book!