I listened to the audiobook - what an excellent performance!

Now, my rating is middle of the road because I was entertained overall. The story was at times heartwarming, at times mysterious. It took me a while to understand the structure. And through all of this book, I was going through old family photos from my late mother’s memento bins, so honestly… I was not as invested as I could have been and I was as distracted as I needed to be.

Girls be like “I needed this” and it’s literally just a break from dystopia, genocide, and late stage capitalism for, like, a minute.

This was the coziest of cozy books. I loved the meandering and the philosophy. I loved Dex’s and Mosscap’s respective and collective journeys of self discovery. I want Mosscap to be my friend while it learns more about what being a human is like for me.

The sweetness between Dex and Mosscap is heartwarming. The imagined post-industrial future is lovely. The relationship with nature and how it shows up almost as a character in its own right felt like a balm for my soul.

I started this book some time ago and had a hard time getting into it. I just got it from the library again and it was clearly the right time and exactly what I needed. What a beautiful diversion.

This legend was new to me and I can’t speak to how well it was retold here.

The characters all around were pretty well developed. Xishi’s grief, and later her inner conflict, were told clearly through her inner thoughts. Her development from a beautiful girl of the village who worked hard because she had to into someone who could navigate royal protocol, steal the heart of a king, and masterfully navigate the politics of the palace was clear and it was interesting to see how that showed up for her internally.

While Fuchai was multi-dimensional rather than being cast only as an enemy, which paired well with Xishi’s internal conflict, I found the magnitude of his brutality at odds with his vulnerability as a character, though perhaps that was ultimately the point… he was an immature man child unfit to rule and that was harmful to him as it was to all were in his bath of brutality (though obviously at different scales).

Fanli’s yearning and stoicism were beautifully captured. I think what’s behind the yearning may have been better developed with a deeper dive into the “before” time between Xishi and Fanli. My heart breaks for all he endured and how he wore it.

What a heartbreaking story, and well done by an author who was VERY young when she wrote it.