Forest of a Thousand Lanterns

At last, a story set in Asia with proper world-building and lore, and not Asian in name only. Bless.This is definitely a guilty pleasure read for me because the protagonist, Xifeng, is an antiheroine of the pretty nasty type, yet I enjoyed her dark inner thoughts and the questionable decisions she made. If you find it hard to enjoy stories with protagonists that have sketchy morality, then maybe [b:Forest of a Thousand Lanterns 33958230 Forest of a Thousand Lanterns (Rise of the Empress, #1) Julie C. Dao https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1496338822s/33958230.jpg 53186285] isn't for you... but I loved how unapologetically ruthless, selfish, and vain she is.From beginning to end, this book carries an ominous feeling as Xifeng leaves home and climbs to higher ranks in the court. It constantly gives off the feeling that something terrible is about to happen, even in the ending itself, and for this part it never disappoints.The writing, however, feels somewhat detached at times so during some of the most crucial moments it doesn't deliver the necessary emotions. It feels so strange when you're emotionally flatlining as you read through the deaths and heartbreaks of major characters, but hopefully this will improve in the next book.