The only negative at all I have about this book was the pacing was a bit slow. The rest of it though...it was all amazing, incredible, an absorbing retelling.
I've found that I've gone back to the book again and again, it's so well written and enjoyable. And even the issue I've said about the only negative is the pacing was a bit slow, in places, it's a really tiny nitpick.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an option to review this book.

Interesting concept to base a book on by it was done really well and I would definitely enjoy reading more books like this. Pacing felt a little slow at times but still overall enjoyed the book.

I recently finished She Who Became the Sun and enjoyed it, albeit with some pretty jarring issues.

We follow Zhu, who is born into poverty in a setting of 1300s China under Mongol rule. With Zhu's brother being fated for greatness, Zhu is determined to escape her fate of nothingness.

The authors wordcraft is beautiful at times in contrast to the brutal backdrop. Really impressive for a debut author.

With this split up into three parts, I found the first part highly enjoyable, reminiscent of the early stages of The Poppy War. Although this was fast paced, it served to show several key events of Zhu's upbringing and displayed her mindset in constantly wanting to outrun her destiny. We skip a few years at a time here

My issue mainly with the book was with the 2nd act. This is where the story became heavily military based and whilst I'm all for that, constantly being on compaigns for pages and pages became a bit of a chore. Especially as for a couple of them they ended abruptly and then with the next paragraph it was over (think how Forrest Gumps stories end). Apart from two of them, you get to read no actual on-page battles which was a bit of a disappointment in a military based story. The pacing was really off to me during this whole section.

I found Ouyangs character to be exceptionally well written and his feelings of self hatred interlinked with his condition, past and relationship with those around him was fascinating. Definitely by far my favourite character throughout.

There was a strong ending 100 pages or so and both main characters actions will set up the second book well so I am looking forward to it.

This book is a dark but unforgettable tale about the journeys that people under take, to achieve what they believe their destiny is! It focuses on a young girl born into the life of a peasant, who takes on the identify of her brother when he passes away. The book has so many elements to it, touching upon queer identity, a great read. Thank you for the opportunity to read this.

This originally ticked all the boxes for me but was a bit difficult to get Into. I abandoned at 40% as it just wasn’t interesting enough to keep going,

I had high expectations for She Who Became the Sun but it still managed to completely surpass them. Pitched as Mulan meets Song of Achilles, it definitely captures the complex emotional beats of both of those stories and the way that Parker-Chan explores different facets of gender through both Zhu and Ouyang's character's is incredibly well done.

It's vicious and brutal, almost everyone is morally suspect, the characters and relationships are extremely complicated and there are SO MANY FEELINGS. It's a historical fantasy set in China at a time when people are rebelling against the Mongol rulers. It's pretty light on the fantasy elements but it does add to the story in my opinions rather than just being a maguffin with no real value.

Zhu is definitely my favourite character. She 'steals' her brother's identity and is so determined to survive and steal the fate she wants for herself rather than accepting the fate she is predicted of nothingness. Her journey and growth through the book is stunning and I can't wait to see where it goes next. I especially loved her complex relationship with her gender and gender roles and seeing how it affects her decisions.

As a counterpoint, we also get to know Ouyang who has a completely different story though an equally complex relationship to gender as a eunuch. Rather than claiming a fate he wants like Zhu, he feels like he's on an inevitable path and although determined to follow it, has mixed feelings about what is involved. His role as a general in the Mongol army gives us a really interesting perspective and his complicated relationship with the Mongols he serves is incredibly well done.

I could gush about so much more but instead I'll leave it here. It's definitely 5 stars from me if that isn't obvious and I can't wait to see where this story goes.

I tried with She Who Became the Sun, reading it before it was published, getting just past the first part before not really having impetus to keep picking it up. This time I started from the beginning, got 50% of the way through and sadly have had to DNF it for good.

I really liked the first half of this book which focuses on Zhu, a girl who has to take on the identity (and therefore fate) of her dead brother and joins a monastery in disguise. Although it is a bit of a cliché (and heavily influenced by Mulan), I thought it was done well and I enjoyed the scenes in the monastery. Part 2 however, time jumps forward and is split perspective between Zhu but also eunuch Ouyang and woman Ma. I found the chapters from Ouyang’s perspective focusing on politics and warfare to be tedious and I didn’t feel that I got to know him as a character. I think Ma might have been an interesting character though so I should reserve judgement on her.

Zhu in these latter parts also seems to be a little odd, I didn’t understand any of the reasons behind her decisions, particularly her solution to taking the city of Lu. This seemed so far removed from the character we had learnt about in the first part of the book.

Overall, I was finding myself finding excuses to not pick up the book any further as quite frankly, I was bored with it, which was a shame. Thank you to NetGalley & Pan Macmillan – Mantle for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sadly, this book had been overhyped for me so I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped. I had read a few other Chinese inspired fantasy books around the same time and this wasn't quite as good as the others. It was well written and I enjoyed the concept but didn't find myself caring enough about the characters. I felt that I should be rooting for Zhu Chongba but I really struggled to. There were lots of good aspects to this book and I did like it but didn't love it in the way I had expected to enjoy a Chinese inspired feminist fantasy. I do think I will continue the series though and I would pick up other books from this author.

She Who Became The Sun had a wonderful premise and on the whole it did live up to expectations. However, I did find that the sheer number of characters were difficult to follow at times and could be quite confusing.

Unfortunately, I lost track totally at 2/3 of the way through and ended up not finishing the book, Part of this was because I was very busy and the book just didn't hold my attention. Partly it was because I decided I wasn't sure if I cared enough about the characters to continue.

"At some point, though the girl couldn't remember exactly when, she had become the only girl in the village. It was an uncomfortable knowledge, and she preferred not to think about it. Anyway, there was no need to think, she knew exactly what had happened. If a family had a son and a daughter and two bits of food, who would waste one on a daughter? "

She Who Became The Sun started off at a good pace and was full of feminist fire but even that could keep it going for so long. As a girl growing up in a famine-stricken village she should be fated to die but what if she doesn't want to give in to her fate.

"If he took my fate and died...then perhaps I can take his, and live."

I would say this book is still worthy of your time, despite me being disappointed with the results you may find it easier to stick with and it had the potential to be a great book.

I loved this book. I did find it a little bit confusing keeping up with who was who but the world building was absolutely amazing. Can’t wait to read more by this author!

It has taken me a very long time to review this book because I just didn't want to do it. It was one of my most anticipated reads at the time of publishing and I was absolutely stunned to get an early copy. I read it with so much excitement only to finish up with a book that just felt like it missed the mark for me. I felt no pull toward either the characters or the story, it just didn't do it for me. I was bored throughout a lot of the story and it only had a few redeeming scenes. I would still rate it 3 stars because the writing was excellent and the idea behind the story was really good and it kept me interested enough to read through to the end but I wouldn't want to pick it up again.

It’s hard to put into words how brilliant this book is. From memorable quotes, to unforgettable characters to the world building and the wars this book has everything. Love, power, anguish, heartbreak. I loved every second and it gave me serious Mulan vibes.

This was just so amazing, I fell in love with Shelley Parker-Chang’s writing, it’s such a joy to read, it’s almost lyrical, so beautiful. This is a historical fantasy, full of intrigue and drama, it’s an epic read, completely absorbing and so different to so much out there. I will definitely be reading the next book

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Shelley parker-chans writing is so beautiful. I found myself lost in a magical world of monks, warriors, princes and politics. I was on tips of swords and deep in weeping wounds that kept me on the edge of my seat. When I put the book down I was thinking of what I thought would happen next. In the lives of Zhu Chongba and Ouyang, both such epic characters I hated and loved them both throughout the book. But Zhu Chongba's poverty beginning to what they became was such a thrill ride of epic proportions. I can't say the analogy of Mulan & Achilles is true having not seen or read either but I will be waiting for the second installment - and wondering what it's going to tell me next.

This is the kind of book that reminds you just how great retellings and reimagined stories can be. Shelley uses a masterful touch to take us on this journey of ambition and war, vast in scope and merciless in the way it pulls you along. This is not only an epic fantasy in the true sense of the word, but also dives deep into the minds of each character so we gain a rich understanding of them. The narrative explores complicated themes of gender and destiny alongside brutality and politics, and each component is given the room to be unpacked. Though it will break your heart, She Who Became the Sun is an excellent fantasy and a great beginning to what is sure to be a breathtaking series.

The characters within Shelley’s novel is where the heart of the story lies, or at least where my heart lies. Our two main characters, Zhu and Ouyang, are fascinating in their depth. While Zhu fights so hard against her destiny as a ‘nobody’ to prove she can achieve greatness, Ouyang carries his own destiny around like stones in his pockets, the weight of his past dragging him down until he can’t fathom anything but what he perceives as inevitable. As a eunuch with no living family, Ouyang carries a lot of rage for what was done to him and those he loved. He holds on to revenge even though he knows it will make him miserable. Zhu on the other hand is determined to be great in defiance of her childhood destiny, but choices seem to slip away from her as she clings more and more desperately to this goal. For both of them, fate is a kind of prison and it makes for a fascinating read.

In some ways, She Who Became the Sun is a story about desire: the desire for power, for love, for a fate that isn’t yours but you reach out and grab anyway. In a lot of ways, it is a story about gender: the difficult relationship you can have with your gender, the ways other people perceive you due to your performance of gender and the ways this can morph and change. In other ways, it is a story of fear: the fear of being nothing, of losing power, of giving your all and ending up with nothing. It’s complicated and heartbreaking, and the way all of these facets of the story intertwined was very satisfying and made for a dark and interesting tale.

I had to enjoy She Who Became the Sun slowly, filing away each detail in my head for later as the story slowly unravelled. I do think it was harder to understand once a lot of time skips were introduced, and I found that if I stepped away from it for longer than a couple of days I would be a little confused once I opened up the pages again, but it was worth it for how enjoyable I found the story.

As a fantasy this is wonderful but as a debut fantasy it’s incredible. I loved learning what was going to happen next and can’t wait to see what horrible things happen to the characters I love in the sequel. Here’s hoping we get more queer epic fantasies in the (hopefully not-so-distant) future.

This was one hell of a ride. Full of intrigue and betrayals, heartache and complex and layered characters.

We’re transported to the central plains of China in 1345, where famine and poverty or rife. It revolves heavily around two children, a daughter whose fated to die and become nothing, and a son whose fated for great things. During a bandit raid two children of the Zhu family are orphaned and have to find their way in the world, but heartbreakingly the son (Zhu Chongba) deals with terrible grief and despair at the world he’s been thrust into and dies, despite the great fate that has been bestowed upon him. In the face of his death, the daughter with a burning desire to not let the fates choose her destiny, takes on the persona of her brother. We then follow her journey as she fights for her survival, from trying to hide her female identity from those around her in a monastery to becoming part of the rebel cause and ultimately a commander of her own army. Zhu will go to any lengths to achieve the greatness she longs for.

It highlights some really important topics and is full of really complex and richly thought our characters battling their own journeys with their identity and gender. Particularly in a time where women were not accepted as competent warriors.

I really enjoyed the development and layers that each of the characters possessed, even when you thought you knew everything about someone, another layer would slowly be introduced and change your perspective, even slightly. At times I was even feeling sorry for the antagonist, which was really frustrating given all the horrific things they’ve done. It just shows the genius of Shelley Parker-Chan.

I also really loved the way the tension is built up throughout and the high stakes that are on the line stay intense and present throughout, rather than being forgotten out.

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It was a very fast paced start and I was hooked almost immediately. There are various POV’s throughout the book from Zhu, the monk and Ouyang (the eunuch general of the opposing side) villain by all accounts. I did sometimes get a little lost at times due to the dual timelines throughout but that might be more of a flaw on my behalf as I was in a slight reading slump when I started this one. The chapters are also a little long, around 20 pages or so, which I understand can be difficult for some people, but there are breaks throughout so easy to stop within those chapters whenever you need.

Really incredible and tension filled book, full of battles and betrayals, love and destiny. Well worth the read in my opinion.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When I started reading this, it immediately put me in mind of Pearl Buck. Then it swung wide and opened into a completely different and amazing flower. The premise is simple, but brilliant- a girl takes her dead brother’s identity and forges a glittering destiny for herself. Based on this alone, I would have rooted for Zhu (the MC), but all of the characters are very well-realised- complex and emotionally nuanced. It is not easy to create a character with the kind of wild ambition shown by Zhu but still have her forming relationships and attachments with other people that you root for as the reader. I was captivated by this story and found myself thinking of it often even after I was done reading it. It was beautifully done.

Sadly this I a DNF for me, I've tried twice to read this and I just can't carry on with it. I'm halfway through and although the characters are enjoyable at times, the pace is excruciatingly slow. I'm very disappointed.

Firstly, apologies as I read this quite a long time ago but have been of Netgalley for a while. It is without question that Shelley is one of the greatest fantasy writers of our time. I have been a huge fan of theirs for a while, mainly through their presence online and as part of the Sapphic trifecta. She Who Became the Sun takes steps into the new type of fantasy that the world is craving; one that isnt just castles, dragons, violence and heterosexuality. It breathes a new life into the genre, with a stunning cover to match.

I really thought I'd love this one, but unfortunately, it just didn't work for me. I found the narrative quite dull and felt that a lot of the action happened 'off page', which was quite frustrating. I enjoyed Zhu as a protagonist and thought that their journey was a fascinating one, but the other characters fell flat for me and I found myself struggling to invest in the story.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.