This story is so beautiful. I don't know enough to know if it's a retelling of a tale that already exists or if it's an original story that just reads very much like a retelling of a classic fairy tale. The storytelling is gorgeous, and the world building is just lovely.
This was my first book by Julie C. Dao, though I've had Forest of a Thousand Lantern on my TBR list for quite a while. This is book 2.5 in the series (which I didn't realize when I picked it up) but it can be read as a stand alone. I think it's more of a companion novel to the rest of the series than a continuation of it. Still, if this is an example of what the rest of Dao' writing is like, I'll definitely be picking up books 1 and 2!
This was my first book by Julie C. Dao, though I've had Forest of a Thousand Lantern on my TBR list for quite a while. This is book 2.5 in the series (which I didn't realize when I picked it up) but it can be read as a stand alone. I think it's more of a companion novel to the rest of the series than a continuation of it. Still, if this is an example of what the rest of Dao' writing is like, I'll definitely be picking up books 1 and 2!