The Phoenix Empress (Ascendant, #2) by K. Arsenault Rivera

The Phoenix Empress (Ascendant, #2) Reviews

• 
  Samantha

  I honestly don’t know how to feel about this book or continuing with this series. This book provided more context for the world, but felt more scattered than the first book. There are large events and gaps of time missing that we don’t get to see on the page but are told about. This makes the plot hard for me to follow, personally. But, somehow, I’m still intrigued. This story at its root is a love story between two warriors and while I think the world is expansive and interesting, I’m starting to wonder if the reason it’s so scattered is because that’s not the point. The writing is very readable and lush, but throughout the story I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue and finish the series?? But now I think I might?? I don’t know.. this is so unique that part of me wants to see it through but I can also see myself never getting the motivation to pick up the final book. We will see.
• 
  Cesar (Inactive)

  1 star.
  
  "An epic historical fantasy in the vein of Patrick Rothfuss and Naomi Novik."
  
  
  
  That would be an insult to Rothfuss and Novik.
  
  By far, the worst book I have read in 2018. This is not an exaggeration. This is my 100% honest thought: I hated The Phoenix Empress. Hated it. I can't even begin to describe how much I disliked my reading experience.
  
  Throughout this novel, I tried, I really, really, really tried to like it. I tried to find the positives. What I found was nothing but flowery prose that took an entire page just to describe something, characters who think they're special but really aren't, a plot about as thin as a Bible page, a world that isn't fully explained, and a threat that wasn't really a threat at all.
  
  Somehow by the grace of God, I managed to finish 500+ pages of a story that doesn't even know where it's going. I'm amazed I even managed to finish this without DNF'ing it as some people did. But there were times when I wanted to DNF it.
  
  The Phoenix Empress was a massive, massive let down compared to the previous book, The Tiger's Daughter. In my review of The Tiger's Daughter, I didn't like it as much as I hoped I would, but I held on to the idea that the next book will rectify the things I didn't like in The Tiger's Daughter.
  
  Welp, that didn't happen. The Phoenix Empress was somehow worse than The Tiger's Daughter. I didn't even think that was possible but here we are.
  
  If I had to summarize The Phoenix Empress, it was a boring, frustrating read with poor structure, boring characters, and poor world building. It honestly feels like I just read a textbook explaining instead of giving me an engrossing story. Hell, I can barely even remember what the happened.
  
  The premise of The Phoenix Empress is that Shefali is dying and there is the threat of an impending demon invasion. And that's it. The plot itself is almost non-existent and only shows up around 300 pages into the story. Instead, I had to read 300 pages of redundancy.
  
  I would start this off with the positive aspects, but since there are none, let's get on with the negatives.
  
  The World.
  I have said in my review of The Tiger's Daughter that the world wasn't perfect. It's an East Asian inspired world which seemed ambitious and promising. But people, myself included, have pointed out that culturally, KAR didn't do it justice and I can agree with that.
  
  Most of the time, I felt like aspects of the East Asian setting and culture felt grandiose, and not in a good way. I will say upfront that I know nothing about East Asian culture, what little I do know is based on my own research, stuff I've heard from East Asian people and those who have studied Asian culture in general. KAR puts a lot of emphasis on the world and how things are done that it comes off as being a know-it-all. I would even dare say that KAR was glorifying the culture.
  
  If you have been keeping up with my updates on The Phoenix Empress, I had written that KAR should've stuck to using regular honorifics instead of the made up one she created. Or rather, she should've explained what each honorific meant instead of leaving us in the dark. How the hell am I supposed to interpret '-lun'? Is it used when addressing someone of higher status or someone older? *sigh*
  
  Then there's the imperialist aspect of the story. In my opinion, I didn't think it was well. It was brushed under the carpet quickly as it appeared. And given that the setting is based on a real-life imperialist nation, I figured that the characters would say something about it. But it was only mentioned for like 10 seconds and is never addressed again.
  
  There's also the issue of Showing but not telling. We are shown a lot of things in both books where amazing, fantastical stuff is happening but we aren't given a proper explanation. The same goes for the world and culture. The world sounds beautiful, but half of it isn't even properly explained. The culture itself is another thing. The one thing I wished KAR had put into this series would be a glossary. There are so many places, people, and things that weren't fully explored and a glossary would've helped.
  
  So much of the world is downplayed completely which doesn't leave much room for any development. There is magic in this world. But we don't know crap about the magic other than there is magic. We are shown about the magic but not told about it. Tell us, don't show us.
  
  There is no foundation for the world or plot. That's all pushed aside for the love story of Shizuka and Shefali.
  
  The Writing.
  There is no doubt that KAR writes beautifully. But that's also a problem. Most of the time, I don't mind flowery prose, but KAR takes it to a whole new level by writing non-stop about things that go on for longer than they should have. No, I did not want to read an entire page describing something that could've been summed up in a few sentences. No, I did not want to read three paragraphs telling how a scroll should be tied by a colored string and how each brush stroke must be perfect and the smell of the paper as well. No, I did not need to read a story within a story that added nothing at all to the plot.
  
  Just get to the fucking point!
  
  
  
  The Pacing.
  Because of the flowery prose, the pacing of the story was SLOOOWWWWW!!!! Just when it feels like things are starting to pick up, we get sidetracked by flowery prose or Shizuka or Shefali doing something. This goes on and on. I got frustrated that I put the book down a few times. There are long chapters as well and that didn't help with the pacing at all.
  
  
  
  The Structure.
  In The Tiger's Daughter, 98% of the book is in 2nd person letter format of Shefali describing everything (every little detail) about their life together and the remaining 2% is from Shizuka's POV. The letter format is completely gone here which I thought would be an improvement. I was wrong.
  
  While there is no letter, Shizuka begins to tell her story of what she was doing in the eight years they were separated. And this type of structure didn't work well. We go from past to present, to Shizuka and Shefali being together to them not being together. It's mind-boggling having to keep track of what's going on.
  
  It reminds me a lot of those Pokemon episodes where the narrator says: "When we left off Ash Ketchum and his friends, they..." and the narrator tells us what they did in the previous episode. Some of those episodes take place immediately after what transpired in the previous episode. (i.e. Ash beats a gym leader and is on his way to the next city) Some episodes, however, seem to jump from location to location without adding in what happened. Like, say Ash beats a gym leader and is all of a sudden on a mountaintop somewhere. That is what The Phoenix Empress is.
  
  It isn't consistent to where these time skips start. Not to mention that there is stuff Shefali did in her years of traveling that we don't get to know what she actually did. They mean absolutely nothing and don't even add anything to the story. Oh, Shefali did something? Great. Too bad we don't get to see it.
  
  The Characters.
  I do not like Shizuka or Shefali. They haven't given me a reason to like them other than that they are kickass warriors (which they are, I'll admit that). Shefali spends most of her time being bitter about her brother, putting Shizuka on a pedestal, and that's about it. Shizuka feels like an afterthought because of how bland her personality was.
  
  The two have a mentality that it's them versus everyone and everything around them. They claim to be gods and are powerful when really they aren't. Sorry to break this to you two, but you aren't as special as you think you are.
  
  Shefali and Shizuka remind me of OP anime characters done badly. Yes, they do have moments of vulnerability at times, but then KAR then turns that around and gives Shefali and Shizuka powers that aren't even explained just to add in some plot progression. Shizuka can all of a sudden can burn things which surprise surprise, isn't explained. They call themselves gods when really they are just generic protagonist of paranormal novels who have some sort of supernatural ability.
  
  I have seen other characters from different novels who are more powerful and have more character growth. One Punch Man could even kill these two.
  
  And that's the end of my negatives.
  
  My experience with this series so far is mostly negative. I tried my best to like it. I really did. But Two books in and I don't like any of it. If I'm being honest, I might not even read the final book. There are going to be two more books in this series, the third book The Warrior Moon and Sixteen Swords which I believe is going to be a standalone companion to the series. When the last book is released, I'm going to wait and see if the reviews are mostly positive or negative. If it's positive, then I may pick it up. If it's negative, I'd rather not waste my time with 500 pages of redundancy.
  
  Verdict
  
  This was not a good book. Easily one of the worst I have read so far in 2018. There were too many negatives than positives. I do not recommend this series.
  
  Thanks for reading my review!
  
  -Cesar
• 
  Kathy Shin

  The Phoenix Empress picks up where The Tiger's Daughter left off, with Shizuka and Shefali reunited after eight years apart. Shefali returns to find Shizuka crowned empress and drowning herself in alcohol, while Shefali herself is dealing with demons of her own (quite literally) and the fact that she is dying.
  
  So, despite some issues with The Tiger's Daughter, I did quite like the relationship between the two main characters; while over-dramatic at times, I'd found it romantic and addictive for the most part. The Phoenix Empress, however...well, I think the best thing I can say about it is that it's prettily written.
  
  First of all, much of its first half is devoted to telling the readers what will happen later on in the story--a lot of coy promises that fall along the lines of "this and such exciting things happened to these two characters during the eight years...but we're not there yet, so you'll just have to wait for the details!" It took much of the anticipation out of the story and I found myself penduluming between frustration and boredom.
  
  The other problem I had was with the structure. Whereas book 1 was a straightforward epistolary with brief interludes in between, this one goes back and forth between the present, with Shefali and Shizuka reunited, and the past, which recounts Shizuka joining a temple and becoming the general of an army. This all sounds fine on paper, but then you quickly realize that the structure doesn't allow for any kind of meaningful and continuous character development.
  
  Eight years is a very long gap in a relationship and it's a long time for friction to build up--friction that doesn't really get explored in this book. Just when I thought something interesting was building between the two women--something more than "You're the love of my life"--the narrative jumped back into the past, and when it moved into the present again, all the previous tension dissipated. They love each other, which is great, but the relationship doesn't move beyond that. I can shrug and overlook that in a 200-page romance novel, but in a 500+ epic fantasy--one in a four-part series, no less--I want something more complex and substantial.
  
  Also, about a third of the way through, I finally figured out what's been nagging at me about the tone of the writing: it feels culturally arrogant. The empire uses 32 honorifics; the brushstrokes of your calligraphy must be crisp and the scent of the paper perfect; the colour of the cord that you use to tie the scrolls must vary from recipient to recipient. It's all so overly grandiose. I don't want to say "fetishize", but it is a level of glorification that goes into weirdly zealous depths. It's like reading about a college exchange student who spent three months in East Asia, came back, and anointed themselves an expert on the cultures. And it's not unlike the feeling I get when I'm being lectured to by a guy on a subject I'm already familiar with. Or listening to someone who feels the need to explain, in painstaking (and sometimes false) detail, the ins-and-outs of Korean culture just because they're a fan of K-pop and K-dramas.
  
  Moreover, the rest of the story felt very shallow. The side characters are present but underdeveloped; Shefali and Shizuka get touted as gods but the story doesn't really go into the details of how or why; and the ending I can only describe as underwhelming. Small spoiler (but not really because the book spoils it for you at the beginning): the latter part of the book sees Shizuka dethroning her uncle and ascending as Empress, but it occurs with such ridiculous ease and any political ramifications and--most infuriatingly--any lasting effects of Hokkaro's imperialism are brushed over. And setting a story in an imperialist nation (based on a real-life imperialist nation) without addressing the deplorable nature of imperialism itself feels like a highly irresponsible decision.
  
  Really, I'm beginning to realize that this series is very much Shefali and Shizuka Versus the World. At the core of the tale is their all-consuming love and every other story element--side characters, magic system, worldbuilding, cultural representation--gets sacrificed at the altar of it. Which makes for a validating F/F story, but not much of anything else.
  
  Copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
• 
  Alice

  Not a review. Goodreads won't let me put this on my "no thanks" shelf without putting it as a book I've read or want to read. The first one was eww (I mean culturally, don't at me because you wanted a wlw story and the racism in TD didn't bother you), so I'll politely say no thanks to this one unless I hear it's revolutionarily good and fixes all the shit I had problems with in the previous installment.
  
  The only thing I agree with in the Tiger's Daughter is that 8 times 4 is 32.
• 
  Aoife

  2.5-3 stars
  
  I received an e-copy of this book from Pan Macmillan in exchange for an honest review.
  
  The Phoenix Empress is the sequel to The Tiger's Daughter - an expansive fantasy novel in which readers are first introduced to Quorin warrior Barsalyya Shefali, and her best friend, wife, and Empress O Shizuka.
  
  In The Phoenix Empress, we finally learn what happened to O Shizuka in the eight years she and Shefali were separated after Shefali was banished by Shizuka's uncle, the Emperor. I really wanted to love this book as I really enjoyed The Tiger's Daughter but for some reason, it just felt really flat for me. The book seemed too long, and it took ages before readers were actually told the full story about Shizuka's time without Shefali. I also personally grew really tired of Shefali's all-consuming love for Shizuka. It seemed too much at times, and she seemed blind to a lot of the characters obvious flaws. I also wasn't really happy with Shizuka becoming an alcoholic after Ink-On-Water, as it just seemed a lazy plot point for me.
  
  I d really enjoy the flowery writing in this book, and some of the descriptions are truly beautiful. This is a world that seems to have so much beauty to it but also one that's full of darkness and violence and I really enjoyed he contrast, especially the imagery of Shizuka building a wall of flowers to fight a horde of demons. I would really like to know more about the gods of this world and how it all work s- there's times I feel like we are just told that our characters are Gods, or believe themselves to be so, but we're not shown how that could be properly. Some of the names of the different Gods confused me too, as they aren't gods we already know of (such as if this was somehow based on Greek or Roman myths). I find Shefali a lot more compelling character than Shizuka so this might be why I didn't like this one as much, as it focused on the Empress more so than my favourite Quorin.
• 
  Lindsay

  “My father used to say that poetry came to him from silence- but not just any silence. The moment between a few drop’s fall and impact [...] the space between two heartbeats. These things are perfect silences. Within them he heard the whispers of truth.
  
  As a child, I believed every word of this.
  As a young woman, I thought it sentimental nonsense.
  As a woman grown, as a general- I heard the perfect silence then, and I hear the truth’s whisper.”
  
  My rating for this book is purely based around my sheer continued enjoyment of the story this author creates (duh-doi). I can’t claim this is a perfect story without flaws or shortcomings and I definitely can’t speak to the reliability of the representation which seems to be one of the only things I hear mentioned consistently from other readers.
  
  What I can say with absolute certainty is that, for me, this series has an unique feel, a certain mystical aspect that defies description. I find it in the prose; flowing, descriptive, lush without fear of unnecessary grandstanding. I find it in the significant growth of the plot and flow of the storytelling. Again the tale is split between two narratives, past and present, fitting together in a coherent rhythm that was less jarring to skip between than its predecessor. The history and mythology of the world is explored to greater extent and effect that noticeably enhances the overarching themes of the story thus far. It’s also present in the characters, whose emotional connections and responses are believable, deep, and display an obvious growth from the people they were in the first novel. This level of detailing is found not only in Shizuka and Shefali, but the myriads of other characters that play a role in the story. While the principle antagonist is barely present and somewhat nebulous, it lends an ominous air of mystery that will shift more into focus in the third installment.
  
  Overall, there is just something about this series that draws me in and engaged me in a way other recent stories have failed to do. I really wish more people were talking about these books as they deserve a lot more notice than they are receiving.
• 
  Beth Rosser

  I love these books. I have been lucky enough to read both thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, and I'm so grateful. The way the prose is written, I just find very beautiful. I find that the story truly immerses me in the worlds that Rivera has created with distinctive cultures, traditions, and stories.
  
  I enjoyed being able to learn more about the Traitor in this book, and the role he has played in shaping the land and the blackbloods.
  
  It was also nice to see how both Shizuka and Shefali have both changed and grown during their time apart.
  
  I can't wait for the next one.
  
  The only thing I will say is that because this is an unedited version, there were several typos throughout that did pull me from the story at times.
• 
  Kay

  This was painful to read. It was long winded, confusing, repetitive… all things you don’t want in a book. The only reason I’ll be reading the third is because I already bought it lol
• 
  Kate

  2/5stars
  
  Ridiculously boring. Also weirdly more confusing than the first book?? Things were bugging me way more in this book than the first, maybe its the difference in format (letters in the first vs this one which is a normal POV) and also the amount of honorifics in this book got to be WAY too much. Names were getting even more muddled than the first one when i actually cared enough to pay attention.
  
  The writing is beautiful and i love the f/f relationship but other than that, this was definitely a let down of a sequel.
• 
  Steven

  Full of pain and sorrow - and I want more!
  
  Absolutely spell-binding. With the Tigers Daughter i said it's the kind of book you finish and don't know what to read next, as nothing can really compare. It's no different with the Phoenix Empress. Equally as eloquent and well thought out as the first book, but this one cuts deeper. I had honestly wondered how the author would be able to continue the series in the same vein as the Tigers Daughter, since that was largely told in the form of a love letter read in the first person perspective. The Phoenix Empress by comparison, delves into a story told by Shizuka to Shefali detailing their 8 years of separation and while the story told doesn't take up a significant percentage of this book, it's enough to lend it the same style and careful world building found in Tigers Daughter.
  
  Eagerly awaiting Book 3 only 48 hours after this book released (no pressure!)
• 
  Colin

  My current favorite fantasy series!
  
  A worthy sequel to The Tiger's Daughter, Rivera continues her wonderfully subversive Silk-Road fantasy series in a not-Asia that is skillfully and intricately constructed, even down to small details like the honorifics added to each character's name in dialogue. The protagonists are icons of feminism, multiculturalism, LGBTQ representation . . . And they're great! I absolutely love everything about this series!
• 
  Jamie (Books and Ladders)

  See this review and more on
  Books and Ladders!
  
  DNF @ 35%
  
  I just couldn't force myself to read anymore. Where the first one allowed us to learn the entire story at once and really feel like we were involved because of the second person tense, this book scrapped all that in favour of purple prose, horrible characters, and a huge lapse in time while knowing the "end" which takes away all the intrigue and mystery. I may try again but probably not.
• 
  Anna

  Giving up on this a little over the halfway mark because I couldn’t bring myself to care about any of it: an awfully boring non-existent plot with flashbacks of something you already know had happened; boring characters – I wasn’t a huge fan of the first book, I thought it was just okay, so here we have more of the same; vague worldbuilding – all that flowery prose does little more than building castles in the air, spending too much time describing things that have almost no relevance to the plot; which leads to the writing: I have an allergic reaction to “and yet …” and here there are so many, it’s not even funny.
• 
  Starlah

  Check out my review for the first book in this series,
  The Tiger's Daughter.
  
  This book picks up right after the conclusion of the first one, with Shizuka and Shefali reunited after 8 years apart. Shefali returns to find Shizuka crowned empress and drowning herself in alcohol, while Shefali herself is battling demons inside of her and the fact that she is dying.
  
  Despite my issues with
  The Tiger's Daughter, I still generally enjoyed it. I really like the relationship between the two main characters - despite it being very over-dramatic at times. It is still loving and fun to read for the most part. This one though ... didn't even really have that to get me through the story.
  
  First of all, the story structure of this book was way off. The first half of the book is basically just telling the readers what will happen in the second half of the book. It made the story as a whole a bit frustrating and kind of boring. As well, while the first book was pretty straightforward - epistolary style with brief interludes in between - this story goes back and forth between the present where Shafali and Shizuka are reunited, and the past, where Shizuka is becoming a general. And that may not sound all that bad, but how it was all written gave very little meaning to the plot as well as continuously breaking up whatever character development might have been there.
  
  8 years is a long time to be away from someone, especially your partner. And on top of that, there are certain things that happened that would definitely cause some friction in a relationship, but that is never brought up or explored - which is quite frustrating. And for that to happen in a 500+ page book, made it worse.
  
  After reading 2 books in this series now, I think I have realized that this is really just a story of Shefali and Shizuka versus the world and their all-consuming love. And every other element of storytelling - side characters, magic system, worldbuilding, etc.. - are just there to support them. A fun F/F story (at times, because sometimes the overdramatize is too much), but overall, not really a fun story story.
  
  Disappointed? Yes. I enjoyed the first book much more. Will I read the third and final book,
  The Warrior Moon? Yeah, probably.
• 
  bella

  2.5/5
  I don't have a good history w series' second books, cuz they tend to b full of Nothing but this was sooooo loooongggg bruhh and for what?? lots of weird vague worldbuilding (i could tell the story exists in an immersive world but author didn't do well to make things not confusing) n LOTS of trauma but at least they're wives <3
• 
  Jeni Gresko

  This book was very hard to read. I got lost very easily. Some of the stuff just went ON in circles. There were some other awesome scenes, I’d still read the third book but oh my I don’t know what I just read
• 
  Maxine Robinson

  RTC
• 
  Michelle

  Just as hard to put down as the first but rather more difficult to read - after the extraordinarily beautiful love letter and tale of adventure that was Tiger's Daughter, it's at times tough to learn what has become of Shefali and Shizuka's relationship, and challenging to switch into a more army/war-based narrative. But still incredible, and can't wait to get my hands on #3.
• 
  Savannah Holland

  3.75⭐️
  Tbh I really could have used a recap before this book. While the writing is gorgeous it really doesn’t lend itself to easy recall so I feel I just accepted a lot of things rather than understanding them
• 
  Laura AP

  love the sword lesbians. they're the best
• 
  Grace W

  Full review to come.
• 
  Jenna

  The Phoenix Empress is a book I thoroughly enjoyed. I adored The Tigers Daughter so I was really excited to lean more about the characters and the world K Arsenault Rivera has created.
  
  The strongest aspect of The Phoenix Empress is the characterization. The two main characters are exceptionally well drawn and their personalities are complex and interesting. Their romance is believable and often adorable, and the scenes I enjoyed the most were the the two of them just spending time together. This installment also expands the world quite a bit which was really interesting. I especially enjoyed the expansion of the mythology/religion of the world and seeing as it plays a major role in the plot development I'm glad we'll probably see more of it in future installments. One issue I had with the first book was that it took the form of a letter written by one character to another rehashing the events of the past. It took most of the tension out of the story which was disappointing. This entry is told similarly, but this time in the form of a story mixed in with contemporary happenings. It works a bit better this time around and from the way it ended I'm guessing the next book will do away with it entirely.
  
  While I enjoyed this book overall, it wasn't without its flaws. The main characters are well fleshed out, but most of the secondary characters are a bit flatter--or at least significantly less memorable. I found myself really struggling to remember who some people were and honestly by the end of the book I still hadn't figured it out for some of them. This is a series I would really recommend reading in rapid succession rather than waiting between volumes. Or at least keeping a character chart! The two protagonists also have very similar names and multiple different names depending on who they're interacting with so writing things down is highly recommended. The action scenes also loose a lot of impact simply because of the way they're conveyed in the narrative--they almost never take place in the present. Someone is always describing the events to someone else which can be aggravating if you're a firm believer in "show don't tell."
  
  But if you can overlook those flaws you're in for a treat! I can't exactly put my finger on why I like these books so much, but I do. There's just something about them that makes me so invested in whats going to happen and I can't wait for the next one.
• 
  Mindy'sBookJourney

  The Phoenix Empress is the second novel in Their Bright Ascendancy adult fantasy trilogy. This series is very unique in a lot of wonderful ways. The main characters are female warriors and leaders prosperous despite cultural norms. There is also a prominent female/female relationship even though this was not easily accepted in this world. I also enjoyed the setting of this epic historical fantasy series. There are not many fantasy novels with an Asian like setting. These are the elements that completely won me over with this series.
  
  The main characters Shefali and Shizuka are by far the strongest part of this novel. They were brought up by strong leader warrior mothers, and they were trained to be the same. Their story seems like they are a legend. They beat so many odds in order to be together. Their relationship is beautiful with a very solid foundation. This second book explores some of the details of the hardships they have faced during a time apart, and also loads of political intrigue that ensues when they are together.
  
  Another big positive aspect of this series is the setting. I really enjoyed the Asian based world that K Arsenault Rivera has built. She put in the time to make an expansive world with several different groups of people with different customs, norms, and political atmosphere. This is the kind of world that is perfect to get lost in, and absorb all the nuances.
  
  I would recommend the Their Bright Ascendancy and therefore The Phoenix Empress to fantasy fans that like a slow burn character focused story with a lot of atmosphere, political intrigue, and a lovely romance.
• 
  Colleen Corgel

  This series just continues to impress! This second volume pretty much starts off right when the events of the first book end, with Shefali and Shizuka finally reunited. However, as much as Shefali anticipated her "condition" to deteriorate in the years they've been apart, it is Shizuka that seems the most broken. Shizuka is now the Empress with the burdens of a kingdom and her earlier actions weighing her down. The pair must navigate this new aspect of their relationship, along with the news that Shefali is dying and there seems to be no way to stop it.
  
  Once again, K. Arsenault Rivera's world building is fascinating. The scope of the world is so big, but it feels intimate. I think its because the way that Arsenault Rivera builds the conflicts; the worlds larger problems reflect what is going on with our leads. It also helps that the story moves between telling the events of the present and Shizuka telling Shefali what happened to her. Just like in the last book, the little asides that Shizuka tells Shefali helps make the story really personal.
  
  So much happens to these two women, and then there's that ending. I know there's more to come, but dang I am so worried. I can't wait to see what happens next!
• 
  MasterSal

  After being quite disappointed in book 1, I am wondering if I should continue with the series. The writing style didn’t work for me.
  
  I’ll see if I have any desire to pick this up before calendar end 2002. If not I’ll probably DNF the series
  
  Late Sept 2022
  I still have no desire to pick this up so I’ve decided to DNF the series instead of forcing myself to read this and give it a bad rating.
• 
  Mary

  There were many things that I loved about the first book in this series. That's why I immediately requested it when I saw it on Netgalley (and to give you perspective, I RARELY request books any more as I have so many TBR.) Anyway, I was excited about this one. Unfortunately I just couldn't get into the story. I would read a page or two and put it down to do something else. I'm technically putting this in my "On Hold" shelf as I may come back to it at a future date. But, for now, it just isn't the book for me.
  
  Thank you to the publisher for providing an e-book ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Priya

  I can’t say my time was completely wasted reading this book, but I can say that it was mostly wasted. The first 200 pages are an absolute train wreck trash fire hot garbage abomination. Pages upon pages of drama to no end, lamentation with no explanation, and Shizuka being an attention whore weepy useless shell of a character. Throughout the book though, the dynamic between Shizuka and Shefali that was so endearing about The Tiger’s Daughter is almost completely lost. No more banter, no more wittiness, only the two of them devolving solely into obsession with the other. Such focus on their present-day states was excruciatingly boring and painful to read about at times, and whatever remains of the “plot” gets lost in this mix of melodrama. I would say that there are plot holes, but the whole plot is in fact a hole. There can be no clear line drawn from beginning to end, and everything is muddied by the endless infodumps that, for the most part, contribute nothing to the storyline. One of the biggest faults of this book is its consistent employment of paragraph or more length stories to explain a simple emotion. A PARABLE is simply unnecessary to tell us that she felt crushed!!! The sprinkling of stories that lead nowhere are also part of what makes this whole book confusing. So many characters, places, histories, and the like were introduced and not very well strung together or elaborated on that the entire thing felt like a mess. One has to read extremely closely, else miss a crucial plot point, and there are few at that. Not to mention, the whole book has a bit of a conceited air to it, as if the author is subtly making arrogant commentary on the cultures she draw from I MEAN STRAIGHT UP STEALS FROM AND KIND OF FETISHIZES ???? That’s a conversation for another day though. Anyways, it’s also riddled with so many unnecessary similes that just get ridiculous at some point: “A giddy joy came over me, as if I sat on the branches of my father’s dogwood tree, as if I’d beaten you at a race.”
  The dogwood tree??? Really ?? 🫥🫥🫥
  JUST SPIT IT OUT!!! WE UNDERSTAND THE FEELING OF JOY I’M BEGGING YOU PLEASE RELEASE US FROM THESE SHACKLES!!!! Let’s look at another example, shall we?
  “I felt in my heart a pinprick sensation, as if ants were running across its surface.”
  Now. I just don’t think that if ants were to run across any surface, they would feel like a pinprick. I think it would be more like a little tapping, but that’s just me. Another opportunity thrown away here was THE SETTING!! It could have been incredibly rich and immersive, but our dear author would rather explain the color of a scroll and the string it’s wrapped in than describe the sight of the great imperial city. Also, why are there so many cities??? One should not have to reference the map every time one comes up because EVERYTHING IS CONTRADICTORY. Except for the 200 things I just mentioned, it wasn’t all bad 🤗🤗. The best parts were when Shizuka and shefali were separated, so their personalities could actually come through. The action towards the end was captivating, but that part with the Octopus King was just disastrously written like a Disney movie or something. I simply do not believe that this octopus man was speaking and summoning perfectly planned lightning strikes while the sky turned black. I just don’t buy it. The last 200 pages were definitely the highlight of the book, because things actually happened. Yes, consequential things!!! It was quite exciting after 300 pages of melancholy nonsense. Also I adore Sakura and Baoyi. New wife and child ⁉️⁉️⁉️
  👁👁. Anyways, I tire of writing this and surely you tire of reading it if you have even made it to this point, but I conclude with anticipation to read the best book in the series, or so I am told 🥰🥰.
  📖 🐀💕
  
• 
  Penny King

  3.5/5 stars
  
  I feel strangely about this book, because I was never necessarily bored reading it. There’s something enticing about Rivera’s writing that pulls me through it. Even so, this book was simply average.
  
  At no point was I racing for the next chapter or gasping out loud. And I think part of this lack of gasping is from a lack of explanation. Some of the meaning of certain scenes or revelations was lost to me. Partly because I can’t always remember the importance of a certain character that was mentioned 300 pages ago or even in book 1 (honestly, more fantasy books need an index of characters and their roles). I also feel as though the author forget to explain certain things all the way through, especially in terms of lore. We get bits and pieces of the world and the Heavenly Family, but not a full picture, which leaves the reader quite confused at times (in my experience). I have many questions, such as why was the urgency of Shefali’s impending death suddenly done away with?
  
  While I enjoyed Shizuka and Shefali coming together and having to retrace and share aspects of their eight years apart, I wanted more on Shefali’s end!! What of Otgar and Alshara and the truth of their relationship? Why is Shefali welcomed back into her tribe and her relationship with her mother?
  
  Overall, I’m hoping that the third book really delivers. I want to see Shefali and Shizuka’s godhood in action. I want their promise to slay a god delivered.
• 
  Indaera 👻

  Right, so, I think I'm going to have to stop here.
  
  As I've said before..it's the language. The story is great, the characters are great, but it feels like every single word in the human language that is longer than three syllables has been chucked into this book. Like yes, you can read it, you understand what the words and sentences mean, but it's *so wordy* and flowery that it feels like you're wading through tar to get to the point, and it distracts from the story, and reading it becomes an unenjoyable task.
  
  This could just be a me thing. I'm a simple girl and I do enjoy simple writing that isn't quite as flowery as this was (I like "waxing poetic" I guess? I've been told that's what it's called. Has to have a nice flow). This had a nice flow for sure. But just..the wording. It stretched on and on and on, and sometimes, the sentences just felt like they didn't have a direction, but were just used as a filler..I could read half a page and have no idea what was happening, because the way it was said was so overwhelming I couldn't focus. 😬