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

by Julie C. Dao

[Kat @ Novels & Waffles]

“Your beauty is all you are and all you have. Your only weapon.”

3.5. When I first started reading this book, I didn't realize that it was an Evil Queen retelling. Not knowing this, I struggled to connect with the slow pacing of the story and the extremely vain Xifeng, the book's main character. Once I understood that this was the whole point – you aren't supposed to like the Evil Queen, after all – I was much more at peace with the whole thing, though admittedly I still had a hard time with the pacing.

I enjoyed all of the clever nods to the original story; the apple, the mirror, the huntsman, the dwarves, it's all there. And of course, we have the Evil Queen herself, beautiful Xifeng. She is such a deliciously conflicted antiheroine, and it was almost painful to witness her descent into darkness, despite knowing her fate beforehand. I love me a good complex character, and the power-hungry, self-centered Xifeng is about as complex as they come, for good or for bad.

The rich East Asian-inspired setting was one of the more compelling parts of this novel for me. I enjoyed the lore of the Dragon Lords and thought that having the Five Kingdoms mirror the Five Chinese Elements (Wu Xing) was creative. The world-building itself was awkward at times, relying heavily on stilted conversations between characters. More than once I found myself asking, "Why is this guy just spouting history and politics for no apparent reason?" But this is not an uncommon pitfall for many YA Fantasy authors.

Then, of course, we have the romance. On the one hand, we have Xifeng's childhood lover, the strong, muscular, and extremely handsome (because of course he is) Wei. Wei's love for Xifeng is simple and earnest. No matter what she does, Wei somehow always manages to see the good in her. But what is the difference between seeing the best in someone and loving someone who doesn't truly exist? At times, it feels as if Wei only loves the idea of Xifeng and despite being depicted as her True Love, I had to wonder, "Is this really a healthy relationship?"

On the other hand, we have Xifeng's all-consuming desire for control and power, which is embodied by the Emperor of Feng Lu. He is her pathway to notoriety. Xifeng's internal conflict – of Wei versus the Emperor; of the need to be somebody special versus her yearning for a simple life – is balanced so beautifully by the author.

Ultimately, this story is one that explores the dark side of ambition. If you have to like the main character in order to like the story, then maybe this isn't the one for you. But then again, this is retelling told from the villain's perspective, so what else would you expect?