Forest of a Thousand Lanterns

3.5 Stars

So this one is difficult to review. I really struggled with the beginning of this book. I could not get into the story or the character's heads. It was not until we reached the Imperial Palace that every thing started to click and I could fully immerse myself in this story and that took a good 100 pages or so to happen. Now once I got over that threshold, this book became very enjoyable. I always love a book with a character you are supposed to hate but cannot help but love. In this case, it was more you understand where Xifeng was coming from and could relate to some of her wishes. This was not a Darkling situation where I love him as is. Xifeng was an interesting character. So many shades of gray to her character and her motivations. I'm really looking forward to what comes next, especially considering how this installment tied up so many things. I honestly have no idea where Julie C. Dao plans to go from here.