Thorn of the Night Blossoms

I'd heard great things about this author and this series, so maybe I expected too much.

For me, the book focused too much on the courtesan, or rather, the unusual elements of the world that made it what it was. 25% in and I was sick of reading about how much the main character's virginity was worth vs. others and the bids that had been made for her. “Deflowering” being the name of the ceremony where they lose their virginity.

As part-assassin/spy, part-courtesans, I envisioned the characters would be willing to play both parts. Not that, when requested, they couldn't then leave the courtesan life. This isn't shining a light on sex work. If they're not willing, it's trafficking. And the unwillingness on top of the selling virginity thing pushed me over the edge with this book.

And the “fantasy”, at least in this book, is sorely lacking. Besides the main character being half-elven, not a lot of fantasy happens here. It's more like historical fiction. I'm not sure if more happens in later books, but for now, nothing is really screaming fantasy for me.

It's a shame, because there are positives. The Asian-inspired world-building was a delight to read about, tea shops and mahjong halls being some of the highlights for me that you wouldn't normally see in a western-based fantasy story.

The action scenes were also a delight to read, well-paced and reminiscent of the impressive scenes in Martial Arts films.

And there's, of course, plenty of rep, which is always refreshing. Two of the main characters are LGBTQIA+ and the whole book and characters are inspired by Asian worlds.