This won’t be a 5-star read for everyone but it sure is for me. There’s something about June’s brand of awful that just gets me. I felt pure glee witnessing her despicable attitude towards her various racist and literary misdeeds.

This book is so meta, so clever. Bits and pieces of Kuang’s personal experience and point of view are (probably) in the mix, wrapped up in layers of satire and irony. I love how ambiguous the story is - especially at the beginning and end.

I am so impressed by how easily readable Yellowface is, especially given how informative it is on topics as distinct as racism in publishing and the Chinese Labour Corps in WWI. Also considering how deplorable June is.

has there ever been such a thing as.. TOO much world building?

i highly enjoyed A Master of Djinn! i will preface by saying reading the prequels adds quite a bit to the experience, so i highly recommend checking them out whether you've finished this one already, or are planning on reading it after.

Clark is an extremely talented writer and is absolutely incredible at really pulling you into this fantastical world he's building; i can't believe i've never come across such a fun twist on ancient Egypt before! i enjoyed all the little details included throughout to ensure you get a full picture of what's going on (especially as someone who has a hard time with visualizing, most often with fantasy).

i loved our strong female lead(s), the mentions of inequality for women, the colorism/racism and colonization being called out— Clark never shies away from telling it like it is.

i will say i think this ran a bit long, however, and for that i also wish there was a bit more character building! the prequels help make certain characters a bit more fleshed out, but i feel like it would've been nice to get more background info on them (i LOVED Ahmad, give me more Ahmad)!

overall i think this was a super fun novel and i don't regret giving it a shot whatsoever, this might have been the most i've enjoyed fantasy thus far! also while we're here, definitely check out Ring Shout by Clark as well (promo because i'm so impressed by his ability to give things a fantastical twist)!

okay genuinely fuck this book, it dragged for the first 300 pages, was an absolute masterpiece in the final 250 pages, and then pissed me off and made me cry

Eliot made me care about these people and then broke my heart i am angry and upset but i loved it idk