Forest of a Thousand Lanterns (Rise of the Empress, #1)

by Julie C. Dao

[ccbookwitch]

This book has completely crushed my entire SOUL my soul is DEAD I don’t know how I’m ever going to read another book again after this majesty HELP ME PLEASE save me from this soul crushing book hangover I’m surely having.

Okay, obviously I have some THOUGHTS about Julie C. Dao’s utterly FANTASTICAMAZINGFANTABULOUS 2017 debut, FOREST OF A THOUSAND LANTERNS. Here are some of them:

Why in the name of *#(@)!(#)_)(@$$!!!! did I wait until 2018, a whole YEAR after this book was published, to read this freaking book?
Seriously, WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME??
Would it be acceptable to write an entire review in caps?
Because this book is EVERYTHING
Even though it completely destroyed me and I am dead hi I’m a ghost now
I can’t even form coherent thoughts about this book what am I am I even still a human??
So clearly I LOVED this book, and I am sorry that my thoughts are extremely gushy and not at all coherent in any way. So let’s try to take a look at some of the things I loved about this book and put them into real words:

CHARACTERS

The thing that stuck out for me the most about this story was the amazing, A++++ character development. Every single character (except maybe Wei) was nuanced and complex and well-rounded and fully explored and just…my heart wept for each and every one of them. Nobody had just one face (except maybe Wei, sorry, he just wasn’t that interesting), and Dao did a fantastic job of revealing their layers one by one as the story unfolded. The first twist about a character? I did NOT see that coming, and I usually see EVERYTHING coming in YA.

XIFENG

Xifeng’s descent into madness and power hungry-ness and utter darkness can only possibly be rivaled by Mara Dyer. My heart just broke and became crushed as Xifeng let go of every last piece of her old self and her humanity as she struggled in pursuit of the destiny that Guma foretold for her. I’ve never read a more well-written power-hungry character like Xifeng, and I was totally drawn into and consumed by her story and her obsession with fulfilling her destiny.

THE WORLDBUILDING

Everything about the building of the Feng Lu world was so vivid and sumptuous and lush and just…oh, it was perfect. I didn’t even get confused by the politics between the different continents/lands/territories like I usually do in fantasies because it was so well done. I loved the mythological aspects as well as the legends that were put into the book; Julie Dao obviously really thought about how to build this world and make it seem real for the reader.

THE MAGIC

This magic is wayyyyy darker than the magic in most fantasies I’ve read, and I LIVED for it. I mean…she eats the hearts of small animals, and also…no, no spoilers. I didn’t fully understand who the creature really was, but I expect it will clear itself up in book two. I also liked the use of the cards, which of course reminded me of tarot cards like I’ve been learning. The magic was just generally so creepy and mysterious and atmospheric and everything you could want in a fantasy.

***

Yes, so basically, I loved almost everything about this book, with the exception of Wei’s character, who I found boring and dull and definitely not worthy of Xifeng even though they were childhood sweethearts which is a precious, soft trope. This book is dark and kinda gorey and twisty and will suck out your soul and probably make you realize you’re secretly a sadist because you’ll still root for Xifeng even when she starts doing terrible things. I have been totally blown over by this book and cannot wait to go out and immediately buy KINGDOM OF THE BLAZING PHOENIX.