** spoiler alert ** Okay, so my first thought on this is that I'm using the Goodreads rating system of 1/5 stars means "I did not like it." I feel horrible about rating any book one star, but that's the description that fits me for this book. It was not horrible. I just... didn't like it. At all.
I had no idea until I was about 90% of the way through this book that it is a companion (not exactly a sequel) to the Rise of the Empress series which I have not read. It is meant to stand on its own, but there is so little world building that this book should be read after the other books by this author. I might have liked it more that way, as I probably would have understood more about the politics of this society and the illness that has befallen its people.
Because this book relies so much on others, it feels very shallow. The story plays out exactly like I expected it to after finishing the second chapter. There are no twists and, despite the witch's warning, no sense of urgency in the plot. I didn't feel that anything was really at risk for the main characters. I actually felt more for the "side couple" in this story than I ever felt for the main characters.
Lan is also an unlikable main character. I feel like the author forced her to change to fit the plot, not that she ever genuinely grew up or became any less selfish. This meant I didn't feel the romance at all between Lan and Bao. It felt like they fell in love with preconceived ideas of one another, not the person actually in front of them. I don't see their romance lasting long term.
Overall, the writing is not horrible. Younger YA readers who are suckers for romance but want something that isn't the same old contemporary Kasie West novel churned out again and again with a different title might like this book.
I had no idea until I was about 90% of the way through this book that it is a companion (not exactly a sequel) to the Rise of the Empress series which I have not read. It is meant to stand on its own, but there is so little world building that this book should be read after the other books by this author. I might have liked it more that way, as I probably would have understood more about the politics of this society and the illness that has befallen its people.
Because this book relies so much on others, it feels very shallow. The story plays out exactly like I expected it to after finishing the second chapter. There are no twists and, despite the witch's warning, no sense of urgency in the plot. I didn't feel that anything was really at risk for the main characters. I actually felt more for the "side couple" in this story than I ever felt for the main characters.
Lan is also an unlikable main character. I feel like the author forced her to change to fit the plot, not that she ever genuinely grew up or became any less selfish. This meant I didn't feel the romance at all between Lan and Bao. It felt like they fell in love with preconceived ideas of one another, not the person actually in front of them. I don't see their romance lasting long term.
Overall, the writing is not horrible. Younger YA readers who are suckers for romance but want something that isn't the same old contemporary Kasie West novel churned out again and again with a different title might like this book.