Reviews

Sound the Gong by Joan He

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bcat0124's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.25

flyinglark's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

As the author suggested, read Strike the Zither right before picking up Sound the Gong, or glance at the Sparknotes version. Unlike different sequels I read, Joan He drops the reader right into the narrative without any time to recap what happened in the previous book.

My interest in this book was like a parabola - I was engaged at the beginning and the ending, but the middle was just okay. There were even points where I wanted to stop reading. This might be because I read the first book a year ago and only skimmed the summary of it. I was intrigued by how Zephyr was going to manipulate to get against Crow. The gorge scene was when my attention was captured again. The story wraps up with bittersweetness, and the epilogue provides life after Zephyr's influence.

Overall, I enjoyed He's prose and I look forward to future books by her.

STZ Refresher Link:

https://www.joanhewrites.com/stz-refresher

rrachowww's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

crys03's review

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

cyndqls's review

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4.0

i admit i didn't remember a whole lot from strike the zither, but i'm impressed with the directions he took with sound the gong and how well she stuck the landing.