The Girl King

I'm always yelling about wanting more books where our heroines are confident from the start; Lu is a dream heroine to cheer for. It's always the cocky-yet-honorable throne-seeking warrior prince meets soft-yet-feisty peasant girl with tragic backstory and secret magic, and all I ever want sometimes is for it to be a warrior princess and peasant boy instead. THIS IS THAT BOOK.

It has such a good cast of characters, with such an array of motivations, and I enjoyed each PoV. Everyone has strong desires and they all push forward toward them, be it a throne or power or safety or freedom or family; when they meet conflict, I feel the stakes, the weight of their compromise. It's a very practical-minded cast overall too, which I prefer; the characters absolutely know what's at stake and their decisions reflect that.

Lu is the girl who has everything and yet, now nothing. Smart but impulsive and overconfident, annoyingly charming but emotionally dense. I love her. So. Much. Min's side of the story is more spoilery but it went in the direction I thought she would go (I made one specific early prediction and cackled when I read the lines near the end); it's not as immediately compelling as Lu's journey but I think the most interesting part of her story has only just started. I love all the mentor figures. I love seeing more and more female characters show up who are leaders and warriors, and having all of them interact with each other.

It's very much an adventure epic. Usually I don't like these kinds of fantasy books, but it's executed well here, with not too much meandering and always a finger on the emotional heart. It's a little shallow and too-brisk at time but not distractingly so - it's just not completely immersive - but this is my quibble with all action-y books. It moves on to something interesting before I have time to complain. The core plot is fairly predictable, but since the execution is refreshing, it doesn't feel tired. It was a very fast read and the length was earned.

I have no idea what will happen next, but I can't wait to find out!

Absolutely raced through this book. Pacey, well-written, powerful (yet vulnerable and relatable) protagonists - a fine addition to SFF. BRING ME BOOK 2!

Once in a lifetime, you discover a book that doesn't wraps you in its webs of words nor offers you sleepless nights. "But why?", you wonder. The world building is perfection and the characters are so different and yet so strong and willing to fight for their destiny. So, why? Because you wan to revel in every moment and nuance, to feel the magic surround you and gaze at every setting as if you never will have the change to experience it again. In other words: The Girl King is so epic that you never want it to be over.

Writing: The King Girl is an ode to female strength and power. Mimi Yu's writing is detailed - the author focus on every little detail - and the characters are very well-written - you can find three POVs throughout the book and these are all so different and yet complement each other perfectly. Some of Yu's quotes will forever haunt me.

Characters: A girl king without a crown; a boy wolf without a pack; a new Empress without control. Even though I had a few issues with Min - she was young and naive, but it was frustrating that she didn't realized people were using her to achieve their goals and didn't care about her - I loved Lu's fierceness and Nokhai's caring heart.

Lu breaks conventions and fights to be in charge of her own fate and country. However, because she was born a girl, she is perceived as arrogant (her own sister, Min, points out it so many times how arrogant Lu is, but not even once did she think the same of Set, the new male Emperor) and stubborn for not bending her knee to the patriarchal order. This does not mean Lu doesn't have flaws (a few times she was too headstrong and her actions would put her in dangerous situations), but she wouldn't let the world tell her who she should be and that's an empowering message. As I mentioned above, the story is an ode to female strength, but Nok also deserves to be loved. He's so heartbroken that I wanted to hug him. He lost everything and everyone he cared about not once, but twice. He lost his family, his clan, Omair, he doesn't know how to shapeshift into his wolf. You could feel how much all this loss crushed his soul.

On a side note, the story features one of my favourite romantic tropes: enemies turned to lovers (and no, the romance doesn't shadow the plot).

World building: The East Asian inspired world created by Yu is simply fascinating. The settings, from the Imperial lands to the Gray City in the Inbetween, are mesmeric and atmospheric. This world of gods and magic is enriched with a bewitching cultural and historical background that entices you, leaving behind the desire of learning more about the secrets hidden in these lands.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for fulfilling my wish and providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Political intrigue, a character destined to become the first female ruler and then there are shapeshifters? Nobody should even expect me not to read this, want to read this, want to cuddle this and devour it and.. and.. well.. everything.

The writing is superb and drew me in without letting me go. There are different kind of page-turners and this is definitely the kind that originates from fluent writing! Both descriptive but not too descriptive; the perfect balance for me personally.

I loved the world Mimi Yu created as well. The history, the gods, the magical elements and the political intrigue all got to me. Although there are moments where a lot of it is explained at once, it's also spread out some bit and a "learn as you go"-experience together with the characters.

Which, of course, brings me to the characters! The Girl King consists of three POV's - Minyi, Lu and Nokhai. Minyi and Lu are sisters but couldn't be more different. Min is submissive and quiet, adapting to the people around her and their demands while Lu is the absolute bad-ass of the two. She's called the Girl King due to her ambition to become the next ruler. They are so different and.. well.. they don't really have the sisterly relationship I expected them to have but it does make sense the way it is.
As for Nokhai - easily one of my favorite characters. [The other one I can't even talk about since that would spoil things, ugh!] He's had a rough past and struggles with himself and said past throughout the story. It's amazing to see how he slowly changes.

Like I mentioned in the triggers, there are definitely some things to watch out for in this novel. They actually gave me the creeps at times. Sexual assault, intimidation and harassment are present a couple of times and, honestly, it hurts to see it but it's also done in a way you know adds to the story. Sometimes that isn't the case, but I'm glad it was this time. There's also a short description of an animal death during a battle that might get to certain people - just saying.

If there's one thing that took away from my reading pleasure just a little bit, it's how one character in particular kept making these ridiculously stupid mistakes. I can understand someone being naive, but at times it was over the top and.. had unnecessary consequences that could've been avoided. I actually slammed the book against my head once - softly, don't worry - because it was just. so. stupid. That character definitely needs to learn a bit more about self-control!

I can safely say I do need the sequel of The Girl King in my life ASAP. I loved it and cannot wait to see how our characters will change, grow and what will happen next!

4,5 / 5!

I am a big fan of books that play with the sister dynamic. It was something that felt very big quite a while ago and seems to have somewhat fallen out of fashion in recent years. That being said I've read a couple of sisterly books of late and with the popularity of books like Caraval and (hopefully) this book I suspect we might see an increase in sisters gracing our bookshelves. This sisterly duo was particularly interesting to me as the two of them don't start the book as either the closest friends or as terrible enemies. It is very much the case that their relationship is shaped by the events of the story - which is even more powerful given that for the most part, they don't actually see each other after the first few chapters. I thought that was a really interesting take on a dual POV book and it was a great way of showing how people can either change or be manipulated (or a bit of both). 

What was fantastic for me is that I actually enjoyed both points of view, where normally I end up with a stand-out and then the other one that I tolerate. In this case, however, both stories are very different and both are extremely well conceived. It does mean you kind of get the best of both worlds, if you like court politics and all the subterfuge that comes hand in hand with that then you'll enjoy Min's perspective, if you like 'head off into the woods and stumble upon hard truths about your kingdom' kind of stories then Lu is your girl. I personally, and unsurprisingly given what I've already said, like both.

I am also a fan of hidden/forbidden magic so long as it is done well. I thought that the shapeshifting magic, and the way it was being eradicated by the monarchy, was very powerful, but Min's discovery of her own powers and finding her own voice amongst those who would use her was also hugely significant. Are you beginning to sense a trend? 

The character I wasn't such a big fan of was Nox, I think that's my bias towards female characters shining through. That being said I valued his perspective on things and it did make certain romance plot points all the more satisfying to have his view on things. 

In some ways, this book is very trope-y, and if I were to just describe the plot point by point I think you could easily draw hundreds of comparisons with other YA fantasy books. But it is the book as a whole, the drawing together of all of these different story elements, that makes this book feel particularly new and exciting. 

I will mention that this book is written by an Asian author, therefore counts as ownvoices fantasy - which I love. I really hope Asian fantasy (and other genres) continues to flourish in 2019 because it's been a wonderful year of reading this year.

If you're a YA fantasy fan then I would highly recommend you read this book, whatever you enjoy about the genre I do not doubt that you will be able to find a piece of it in this story. 

My rating: 4/5 stars

I received a free digital advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I loved this! Fast action, good characters, lots of jeopardy! Can't want for the series to continue! Reading other reviews on Amazon (how? It won't let me review as the book is pre-release? Maybe it is possible in the US? ) other readers found it slow with too much dialogue and the world unfinished. I didn't find this at all. So it may be a Marmite book...