sorry this was so beautiful, and the ending? i am currently ruined, this was EVERYTHING <3 (also idk why i'm reading so much like it's very concerningsorry this was so beautiful, and the ending? i am currently ruined, this was EVERYTHING <3 (also idk why i'm reading so much like it's very concerning procrastination) rtc ☆
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the fact that this is kind of mulan-inspired makes me so so happy !!
thank you to the author and penguin publishing for the arc ...more
the best part of this was br with my bsf irha™ <33 but i guess jacks comes at a close second the best part of this was br with my bsf irha™ <33 but i guess jacks comes at a close second ...more
2/15/2024: someone help me, edanmaia are so precious <3 i want to give them both the biggest hugs in the world, they are such cuties !! thank you rina2/15/2024: someone help me, edanmaia are so precious <3 i want to give them both the biggest hugs in the world, they are such cuties !! thank you rina for the rec, iloveyou bsf rtc ☆
꒰ pre-review ୨୧ ꒱ this cover deserves to be framed in the highest of halls. also, look how pretty the cover is. adding on to my point, the cover art is gorgeous. and finally, i think that the cover looks amazing. (please act like i have a way with words)...more
note: as a professional procrastinator, it's no surprise that it took me a week to post this, but act like ↠ 4.5 stars ✰ ~ no spoilers in this review ~
note: as a professional procrastinator, it's no surprise that it took me a week to post this, but act like i posted this the day after finishing the book <3
i don't think i can get through this without screaming about every single betrayal in this book but i'll try. the politics, the worldbuilding, the tension and romance, almost everything about the wicked king was perfect. it's one of those books you can read in one setting, regardless about how good it is. what's so fun about the characters are that they are morally grey and problematic, so you don't really know whether they're a villain or not. the thrilling storyline kept me hooked from the first line, just feeling like i know what happens next, and then getting absolutely blown away. i think there are many flaws about this book, but the way the author weaves the plot twists so carefully automatically makes it a 5 star read!
“i hate you so much that sometimes I can’t think of anything else.”
➵ jude. i love that you can see how much her childhood affects her, you realize why she is the way she is. her dialogue is so witty and fun to read about, she's the definition of feisty. jude is so emotional and tries to hide that by almost blocking everyone out, determined to try and find something that brings her joy, only to realize what she wants is just in front of her. i adored reading about her thought process and i just know i'll love her even more in the queen of nothing.
(view spoiler)[when i read they got married, i actually had to shut the book and take a walk for a little bit. jude said yes. he proposed. and she said yes. i don't think i can fully process what happened. (hide spoiler)]
➵ cardan. he's cunning, charming, the character we all know and love. his quotes... i could simply pass away talking about them, i swear i got what i wanted in this one. the enemies to lovers trope in the book was actually perfection, he kind of reminds me of jacks from the once upon a broken heart trilogy! even though we didn't get a thousand dagger to the throat scenes in the wicked king, i'm sure there will be more in the next book, there better be.
“i want to tell you so many lies.”
*spoilers* ➵ taryn, locke, and vivi. everyone, say it with me: why. why are they still here? vivi actually makes me infuriated, there was no excuse for pretending everything is fine and to glamour your girlfriend. her actions, i can see some truth behind them, she just wants heather to love her, but it was such an immature way to go about it. locke and taryn. i could go on for literal hours about how stupid they both are. instead, i will just list awful things that they both did, and still ended up getting married: locke almost murders jude in his bachelor party for payback, he toys with her feelings, flirts with other women regardless of the fact that he was engaged, he's disgusting. taryn betrays her twin sis, she so desperately just wants a normal life, but she's willing to do terrible things for that, and it was so annoying to read.
my favorite quotes/scenes
“for a moment,” he says, “i wondered if it wasn’t you shooting bolts at me.” i make a face at him. “and what made you decide it wasn’t?” he smirks at me. “they missed.”
“and the single last thing in my head: that i like him better than i've ever liked anyone and that of all the things he's ever done to me, making me like him so much is by far the worst.”
“if he thought i was bad, i would be worse. if he thought i was cruel, i would be horrifying.”
“if you’re the sickness, i suppose you can’t also be the cure.”
pre-review i couldn't wait, i just had to start this because i've heard it's the best one!...more
4 stars ☆ ⤿ spoilers are marked trope: enemies at first, star-crossed lovers
˖ ࣪ ◌ ➛ “the stars incline us, they do not bind us.”
the year is 1926, and sh4 stars ☆ ⤿ spoilers are marked trope: enemies at first, star-crossed lovers
˖ ࣪ ◌ ➛ “the stars incline us, they do not bind us.”
the year is 1926, and shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery. with an opening line like that, how can you not fall in love with this book? gong’s historical fantasy debut hooks you in from the start with a gripping power struggle and a lingering question: is love simply tragedy? this slightly alluded to romeo & juliet but i loved how there was a unique twist even though this is an iteration! the author delves into the divide in governments, the consequences of previous wars, and foreigners entering the bleak city. while the rival gangs; the scarlets and white flowers, are being pulled in many different directions, the two heirs are on a journey to accept the power they hold and uncover a monster hidden in the depths of the huangpu river. the found family aspect of this book was so precious: juliette, a character with rather morally complex intentions (she’s a piece of my heart now), starts to slowly realize that a person is made up of the impressions that others have left on them, and learns who to trust <3
⤿ analysis. i’ve been thinking about my rating for a while; i originally rated this 5 stars, but it’s been a while since i read the book. and since then, i read these violent ends and finished foul lady fortune! in comparison, the writing only improved, and while this was so impressive and is very dear to me, i think 4 stars is more representative of my enjoyment/the story itself. i have two main critiques with it, one of them being that the prose sometimes got too detailed. i’ve heard that some people thought that it was slow and dense to get into, and i can see why, especially because paragraphs upon paragraphs of pure description is incredibly intimidating. my second problem is that there’s a bit of a pacing issue, meaning that there are points where the reader is intrigued and able to finish 100 pages in one go, and others where it’ll take a day to pick it back up again. with that being said, the political undercurrents of hierarchy were brilliant, i loved seeing the feud and elements of fantasy, specifically contagion, woven into the narrative!
˖ ࣪ ◌ ➛ “i am the heir of the scarlet gang,” juliette said. her voice had grown just as sharp as her weapon. “and believe me, tángdì, i will kill you before i let you take it from me.”
note: this is a little section for the girlies who desperately want to read ouabh but feel like they need to start this series. i would s↠ 3.5 stars ✰
note: this is a little section for the girlies who desperately want to read ouabh but feel like they need to start this series. i would suggest reading caraval first to get familiar with the world and characters, and then start once upon a broken heart. if you haven't considered reading ouabh, do it. for evajacks.
first off, i want to apologize for taking so long to write this review, school has been so tough, and i haven't found the time <3
“every good story needs a villain. but the best villains are the ones you secretly like.”
after caraval, tella thinks she's done with the crazy games. but, she made a risky bargain with a nameless man, and she owes him a secret that no one knows: legend’s name. tella realizes that she has to win, so she throws herself into a whirl involving an enchanted deck of cards, an unbreakable promise, and figuring out the people that she's closest too aren't who she thought they were.
jacks was the main reason that i even started this, but i ended up actually enjoying the story! the reason that i only gave it 4 stars was because the pacing was a little bit slow, and it took a while for me to become fully invested in the book. the minute jacks appeared however.. i am fully in love with this man. tella isn't wrong, the best villains are the ones you secretly like adore. it's so obvious who she's going to end up with in the end, but i will firmly be living in delusion because my baby jacks deserves so much better.
the anticipation for me.. when i found out who actually was legend, shook. but what i truly am in love with is stephanie garber's writing. sure, her worldbuilding was predictably confusing, but just the way she makes me feel like i'm in a whole new magical and enchanted world. i questioned everything while reading legendary, the familiar feeling of not quite knowing if caraval is a game or not!
tella. i don't know how to feel about her. for the first half of this book, i got pretty bored while reading her pov chapters, but her character development was ok, tella improved so much from caraval! she's selfish sometimes, but the way scarlett treated her during legendary has me so intrigued.. scar is nothing like she was before, so i'm excited to see where their characters go from here.
jacks. he told tella some of the most romantic and beautiful things ever, and she didn't bat. an. eye. me personally, i would have proposed to him on the spot, but to each their own. he's so mischeivous.. please tell me why the minute i read about him biting an apple, i threw the book across the room and blushed? he is the standard and i'm so sad he's fictional.
spoilers from here on!
i am so invested about what's going to happen with scar and tella's mom, is she a villain? what was her reason for leaving the island? why did she give up her secondborn, and what's going to happen to her in finale? the unanswered questions are killing me, stephanie garber knows how to write an epilogue and cliffhanger.
my favorite quotes most of these quotes are either by jacks or mention him, i don't make the rules <3
“you're the most beautiful liar i've ever seen.”
“it was the sort of kiss she could have lived in. the sort of kiss worth dying for.”
the boy from the sky carriage—the same indolent young nobleman who’d threatened to toss her from a coach and dropped a half-eaten apple onto her slippers—flashed a delinquent smile. “you can call me jacks.”
“this was why love was so dangerous. love turned the world into a garden, so beguiling it was easy to forget that rose petals were as ephemeral as feelings, eventually they would wilt and die, leaving nothing but the thorns.”