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laurentined's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Not as much romantic pining as the first book—this one turns more into a proper birth of a legend type thing. Still ate it up in only a few days.
lostinagoodbook's review against another edition
3.0
Disclaimer: I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
“The Phoenix Empress, the sequel to K Arsenault Rivera’s wildly buzzed about The Tiger’s Daughter, an epic historical fantasy in the vein of Patrick Rothfuss and Naomi Novik.” – Goodreads blurb
Well, I mean… of course if you tell me that I HAVE to read it right? Unfortunately, I did not get in on the ground floor with this one, so I had to read the first book before I started number 2. The Tiger’s Daughter was excellent. Highly imaginative, beautifully written and an unapologetic queer love story for the ages. It’s so good seeing a story where a romance between two women is treated in grand fashion. Barsalai and O-Shizuka love one another their entire lives. They are fated to love one another. They are in fact gods not just love-struck girls. That doesn’t mean life is easy for them. They are dealing with a world that is quickly falling part around them. Corruption is spreading in their kingdom, turning people into horrible creatures and ravaging the land.
The first book was a slow build. The kind of book where for chapters nothing happens and then everything happens all at once. I love a book where I am counting the hours until I can go to bed and read the next chapter. Tiger was that kind of book for me. Unfortunately, I feel like Phoenix Empress suffers from a little bit of middle book syndrome. There is a great deal of setup and waiting for promises made by the author in the beginning of the book to pay off by the end. Expectations are high and not completely met. I did like seeing a more in depth treatment of the character Shizuka so as to understand more of her motivations. I’m hoping that the third book will tie everything together and make this more of an arc. I have the feeling that the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts when it comes to this series. Looking forward to the next installment.
Song for this book: 12 Kingdoms Opening
“The Phoenix Empress, the sequel to K Arsenault Rivera’s wildly buzzed about The Tiger’s Daughter, an epic historical fantasy in the vein of Patrick Rothfuss and Naomi Novik.” – Goodreads blurb
Well, I mean… of course if you tell me that I HAVE to read it right? Unfortunately, I did not get in on the ground floor with this one, so I had to read the first book before I started number 2. The Tiger’s Daughter was excellent. Highly imaginative, beautifully written and an unapologetic queer love story for the ages. It’s so good seeing a story where a romance between two women is treated in grand fashion. Barsalai and O-Shizuka love one another their entire lives. They are fated to love one another. They are in fact gods not just love-struck girls. That doesn’t mean life is easy for them. They are dealing with a world that is quickly falling part around them. Corruption is spreading in their kingdom, turning people into horrible creatures and ravaging the land.
The first book was a slow build. The kind of book where for chapters nothing happens and then everything happens all at once. I love a book where I am counting the hours until I can go to bed and read the next chapter. Tiger was that kind of book for me. Unfortunately, I feel like Phoenix Empress suffers from a little bit of middle book syndrome. There is a great deal of setup and waiting for promises made by the author in the beginning of the book to pay off by the end. Expectations are high and not completely met. I did like seeing a more in depth treatment of the character Shizuka so as to understand more of her motivations. I’m hoping that the third book will tie everything together and make this more of an arc. I have the feeling that the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts when it comes to this series. Looking forward to the next installment.
Song for this book: 12 Kingdoms Opening
jakeeys's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
3.5
book_goblin22's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
beckybook628's review against another edition
4.0
I would not have given this four stars (I think it is more like 3.5) but it was more than 3. I know everyone has their own rating scale. I loved the first book, and I expect to love the third book, but this one was so very slow to read -and it's really long. And both Shizuka and Shefali have lived through so much heartache in the past 8 years apart that instead of a nice homecoming (palace-coming) that we expect (and so do they), they take most of the book to settle into being together again -and neither is very fun to be around because of their baggage. They are pretty moody. I think this book is important for the third one, and it had its moments. I wish Shizuka could share her story sooner, and Shefali could be honest about her predicament sooner. I do like the hand-holding.
halaagmod's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Racism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, and Lesbophobia
booksandladders's review against another edition
1.0
See this review and more on Books and Ladders!
DNF @ 35%
I just couldn't force myself to read anymore. Where the first one allowed us to learn the entire story at once and really feel like we were involved because of the second person tense, this book scrapped all that in favour of purple prose, horrible characters, and a huge lapse in time while knowing the "end" which takes away all the intrigue and mystery. I may try again but probably not.
DNF @ 35%
I just couldn't force myself to read anymore. Where the first one allowed us to learn the entire story at once and really feel like we were involved because of the second person tense, this book scrapped all that in favour of purple prose, horrible characters, and a huge lapse in time while knowing the "end" which takes away all the intrigue and mystery. I may try again but probably not.
cadoca's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25