Nellie

Specific rating: 4.6 stars out of 5

What a read! To be honest, I did my best to push through the beginning three chapters of it since it was a lot of world-building, character introduction/building, and forming of conflicts for the main character. It was a bit of prose that I did need a bit more enthusiasm to go through as I wasn't used to the way it felt too paced and prose-y. Including my own struggles in getting through a reading slump, the first few chapters felt like a hill to climb.

When I got to Xingyin's time in developing herself though, I couldn't drop the book! As much as the book was a fantasy or folklore fantasy, it was more of a coming-of-age story within a fantasy/folklore world. The romance felt more of a second priority in the story, and I liked how it felt that it moved along in the background while the main story and character arch developed before me. It was a teenage romance, and yes it did get frustrating at times, but I loved how Xingyin was mature in areas that affected her mindset and naive in the more ambiguities of falling for someone and loving someone. It was like Howl's Moving Castle in a way, where the romance was a consequence of the story beats/archs. The friendship/romance did feel natural after I got used to the way the book was written, and I felt for both of them so much.

“Her kindness was a warmth in the winter of my misery.” Pg 28

A lot of beautiful phrases and messages!

I'm happy to have read this book! Not a 5-star book, but I wish I can rate it higher than just a 4 star.