wow. wow wow wow. this book was everything I liked about the first one on steroids with none of my complaints. each perspective was exciting and thrilwow. wow wow wow. this book was everything I liked about the first one on steroids with none of my complaints. each perspective was exciting and thrilling, the plot moved so elegantly and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. even though I was ready for my heart to break it still SHATTERED but in the best way possible — adored this one truly and am still reeling from like the last 100 pages like ouchhhh
also SPOILERS but (view spoiler)[ ouyang's whole story with his father being alive and all his revenge being for naught... him having killed the love of his life for nothing... god that KILLED me. zhu promising to bury ouyang and esen together, promising that ouyang's story would not be forgotten, that he would still get a proper burial, that he and esen might find each other in another life... like holy shit i was in TEARS i love ouyang so much (hide spoiler)]...more
a stunning r&j retelling in that it has all the melodrama and misunderstandings wrapped up in the most heart-wrenching story about family and loss anda stunning r&j retelling in that it has all the melodrama and misunderstandings wrapped up in the most heart-wrenching story about family and loss and inheritance. i always love a story about characters and their flaws and vices and loves...more
Like a 4.5 stars, truly urban fantasy at its finest!!!! the most lovable characters, best yearning, perfect angst, sweetest found family, I couldn’t aLike a 4.5 stars, truly urban fantasy at its finest!!!! the most lovable characters, best yearning, perfect angst, sweetest found family, I couldn’t ask for anything better ...more
this book is So unserious but it was so fun and exactly what I wanted. If u go into it expecting a fun pirate-y romp without many stakes or angst at athis book is So unserious but it was so fun and exactly what I wanted. If u go into it expecting a fun pirate-y romp without many stakes or angst at all you’ll have a great time it’s so silly ...more
Ning was a much more compelling character in this story than the first book, but with that Kang became much lessthis was sadly a disappointing read :(
Ning was a much more compelling character in this story than the first book, but with that Kang became much less of one. He had the potential to be such a complex tortured character but he just... wasn't. Also,, why did Ning have more chemistry with the princess than with Kang and then why did the princess just like disappear for most of the book, their friendship just kind of forgotten??
the story meandered and was hard to follow, the writing was kind of stilted, the characters were flat, the ending was too clean, and the worldbuilding that made the first one compelling was no longer novel enough to make up for these shortcomings
this would have been four stars if not for the reference to niamh's clumsiness literally every page this would have been four stars if not for the reference to niamh's clumsiness literally every page ...more