Forest of a Thousand Lanterns

Rise of the Empress #1

by Julie C. Dao

An East Asian fantasy reimagining of The Evil Queen legend about one peasant girl's quest to become Empress—and the darkness she must unleash to achieve her destiny.

Eighteen-year-old Xifeng is beautiful. The stars say she is destined for greatness, that she is meant to be Empress of Feng Lu. But only if she embraces the darkness within her. Growing up as a peasant in a forgotten village on the edge of the map, Xifeng longs to fulfill the destiny promised to her by her cruel aunt, the witch Guma, who has read the cards and seen glimmers of Xifeng's majestic future. But is the price of the throne too high?

Because in order to achieve greatness, she must spurn the young man who loves her and exploit the callous magic that runs through her veins—sorcery fueled by eating the hearts of the recently killed. For the god who has sent her on this journey will not be satisfied until his power is absolute.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Retellings, Young Adult Fantasy, Fiction, Romance, Fairy Tales

363 pages, Hardcover

First published October 10, 2017

About the author

Julie C. Dao is the award-winning author of many books from Disney, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, and more. Her novels have earned starred reviews from Booklist, School Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly, and her "Rise of the Empress" books are being made into a major television series at Amazon MGM Studios.

A proud Vietnamese-American who was born in upstate New York, she now lives in New England.

Pronunciation: JOOL-lee DOW
Pronouns: She/Her

Reviews

[Emily May · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Beware, Xifeng, of magic that comes too easily. There is a price for everything, as she learned and you, too, will learn. Some magic requires blood. Other magic requires a piece of your own self and eats away at your soul.”

4 1/2 stars. In short: Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is an East Asia-inspired fantasy in which a young woman chooses ruthless ambition and power over the love of a hot guy. Halle-freaking-lujah.

I should probably say this is not for readers who must like the protagonist in order to enjoy a book. I almost DNFed it in the beginning when Xifeng hates and/or is jealous of every other woman she encounters. Girl-on-girl hate is one of my all time biggest pet peeves in YA. However, it soon became apparent that this is kind of the point. We're not really supposed to like Xifeng. She's a complex antiheroine and, honestly, it worked really well for me.

The story opens with Xifeng living in a small town with her abusive aunt/Guma and secretly longing to fulfil the destiny the cards have predicted for her, again and again. The cards show a future of ultimate power, with Xifeng as the Empress, but there are sacrifices to be made and many obstacles to be overcome. She finally gathers her courage and runs away with her beloved, Wei, searching for a way to plant herself close to the Emperor and achieve what the cards have promised.

It's nasty, twisted, and kinda gory. And I loved it! I experienced a whole array of emotions while reading. It's one of those books that gets under your skin until you're not quite sure how you feel about what is happening. On the one hand, Xifeng's dark jealousies and obsession with her own beauty should make you dislike her, and yet it is easy to feel the suffocating, frustrating cage of being a woman in a man's world.

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns goes into a surprising amount of depth, never allowing characters to become one-dimensional stereotypes, and considering the complexities of abuse - how one can love their abuser for their few kind, gentle moments, despite everything. Even the most despicable character in the book offers us glimpses of her humanity:

“Life is difficult when you’re born a woman in this world,” the concubine murmured. “You’ve entered a game you can’t win. Men make the rules and we are left to be used by them or claw our way to whatever scraps they’ve left behind. Do you think my father gave me to the Emperor because he loved me? Did he care when he tore me from my mother’s arms? He thrust me into this pit of scorpions to be stung and forgotten.”

In a strange way, it's something of a feminist tale. Or, at least, a critique of a patriarchal world that can make a woman terrified of losing that which she considers her greatest weapon - her beauty. It may be difficult to like Xifeng, but I truly felt her claustrophobia and pain here:

“I was Guma’s, and now you want me to be yours. I have my own soul and my own destiny, and I’m tired of belonging to someone else.”

It definitely has a very Macbeth-esque feel to it. The use of prophecy - and how a person can become obsessed with and corrupted by it - reminds me of the Shakespearean tale. I can't say I would want Xifeng for a friend, but I am very interested in where her story is going. I have a feeling things are only going to get darker and nastier from here. I can't wait.

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[Marie Lu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore an anti-heroine story, and Julie C. Dao achieves this with flying colors in a lush, richly developed fantasy world of myth, monarchy, and magic. Xifeng is an unusual and wonderfully complex protagonist of ambitious agency--I couldn't stop reading about her journey! Go pre-order this beauty immediately.

[Hailey (Hailey in Bookland) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was SO good and I'm just really angry that it took me so long to read it (or listen to it actually). I loved how it twisted a lot of the typical elements of fantasy but also added the richness of the culture it was thoroughly steeped in. A great retelling overall that I HIGHLY recommend!

*I read this as part of Penguin Teen's Fall Into Fantasy readathon where this was my featured buddy read.*

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

October 2017 Fairyloot Box. We got two books. I added a link to all of the stuff in close up under the picture =)



CLOSE UP PICTURES

I thought it was alright.

Happy Reading!

Mel 🖤🐾🐺

[s · Rating 4 out of 5]

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is a dark and gruesome, !!!East Asian!!! fantasy about Xifeng, a beautiful peasant girl who has always been told that she is destined for greatness.

Xifeng is raised by her abusive aunt/Guma who longs to fulfill Xifeng's destiny, the cards have predicted. They show Xifeng's future full of power and as Empress, but with great power comes great sacrifice and difficult obstacles to pass. Sick of her aunt's abuse, Xifeng ceases the opportunity to run away with her lover, Wei, and fulfill this fucking destiny, yo!!!

The pacing of this book is extremely slow and takes its time in building up to the good stuff. Slow pacing is a hit and miss for me. I'll either love it or quickly go bored with it. In this case, I did have a hard time enjoying this book, but thankfully that lasted for only about 50ish pages. The book started off well but then I got bored and I was going to dnf. But I decided not to and swear to god, the best decision my pathetic ass ever made.

I think the pacing has a lot to do with what's going on in the story as well. As long as you're enjoying what you're reading, you'll enjoy the book.

The world building is so freaking GORGEOUS, y'all I was in awe!!!! Everything is described so beautifully. You know that feeling when your mom makes some real good looking food and doesn't let you eat it so all you can do is take in every detail and your mouth is watering?? That was actually me. World building is hands down the best thing about this book!!

Xifeng is such an amazingly written character. I read some reviews about how Xifeng is supposed to be an anti-hero. You sympathize with her and like her at some point and sometimes things she does make you hate her. This girl knows she's drop dead gorgeous and she knows that using that beauty the right way is going to get her where she wants. (The whole woman and their beauty message also showed some feminism in the book, which was great!!) She hates on other women and kills one to have the spotlight on her. She's fucking crazy I know and girl hate is annoying, but it's all part of her ugly side. We aren't supposed to like Xifeng sometimes.

Also not to mention she eats the hearts of the dead to get stronger, so that's great!! It's very gory, dark and bloody and you know I'm a sucker for that stuff.

Overall, a very refreshing and beautiful book about how far people are willing to go to fulfill their destinies, v v great sacrifices, selfishness and all the ugly things that go through a woman's mind. Definitely recommend.

❌❌❌❌❌❌
this cover is ugly af but it's the inside that should be beautiful and if it's not then you'll find me in a hole i personally dug for myself back in 1669.

also br with Mat the blue eyed sexy Greek god with a six pack but is broke and only has muscles and his hotness to keep himself happy.

[jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is a tricky one to rate because theres something about the story that makes it sooo boring, but quite interesting at the same time. its difficult to describe, but no matter how monotonous i thought this was, i still kept reading. many would describe this as a good thing, but i wanted the writing/story be better in the first place.

most of the boredom came from the MC. she is extremely self-centred and only cares about her looks. i understand this is a retelling of the evil queen and vanity is very on brand for that character, but wow. it gets old having to constantly read about it. buuuut, i thought the prophecy and how the prophecy comes true for the MC was a lifeline her character very much needed. because the pacing is slow, i looked forward to each time the plan would slowly fall into place.

overall, not a horrible book (there is some truly wonderful asian inspiration), but it definitely could have been better. not really a series i see myself continuing, however.

↠ 3.5 stars

[Elle (ellexamines on TT & Substack) · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I was a born a woman into this world,” she said, echoing the concubine’s words. “And I will play the game, but I won’t lose.”

I’m not mad, I’m just… a little disappointed.

okay okay okay actually let me level here: I LOVE Xifeng. love her so much Julie C. Dao knew what she was DOING with that character.

“But in weakness, you find your strength. You leave pieces of yourself in everyone you love. Is that not the greatest power, to endure in that way?”
“I don’t know,” Xifeng said in a low voice. “I may never know.”

Xifeng has this wonderful selfishness to her that I think authors often shy away from. Moral greyness is always fantastic, but I love how completely unlikable Xifeng is at times here; she does not have anything but selfish intent, and the narrative does not pretend otherwise. I don’t know how it works, but I am incredibly impressed by the fact that it does.

Unfortunately I felt this just lacked a little uhhhhh... plot. The first 40% is deadass one of the worst beginnings to a book that is trying to be this dark and twisted; it is boring, lacks plot, lacks any sort of intrigue, and could be split by half in length with no change to the overall plot and honestly, I wish it were split into a third of its current length. Even when we get to the palace, the book really lacks plot, honestly - it simply makes up for it all with Xifeng’s wonderful moral ambiguity.

I will also admit I did not like Guma’s characterization at all. She’s an abusive parent figure to Xifeng, both physically and mentally, and it does that whole arc where it’s revealed that there were extenuating circumstances. However, I found these reasons really flimsy… or maybe I was just annoyed at the implication that Xifeng’s darkness is caused by the fact that she won’t forgive her abusive parental figure. That's... something that pops up a lot in literature, and it consistently bothers me.

I will say that this complaints felt like slightly less of a problem while I was reading the book - the narrative feels, in some ways, far more nuanced than simple abusive-mom-forgiven and so I think I usually would have been waaaaaaay more mad.

I will also say I was really not invested in the romance. It’s supposed to make you sad because it’s lowkey tragic but it’s just so deeply unromantic on every level? I didn’t like Wei very much and I can’t tell if you’re supposed to – he’s incredibly possessive in the first half and I was not a fan. The girl hate plotline admittedly does feel a bit subversive because Xifeng learns from Lady Sun, but it doesn’t work because Lady Sun is so flat-villain in characterization - although yes, she is a damn cool villain.

You can probably tell I was not invested in or interested in any character relationships except one, Xifeng’s with the Empress. And I really wish that relationship got more pagetime. What we do get is great, but it lacks a lot of depth.

Maybe I just love Xifeng too much because she’s the power hungry bitch Lady Macbeth & Evil Queen amalgamation of my heart.

I'm not sure if I'll be reading the sequel to this, but I'll pick up other works by Julie C. Dao. I have a feeling she's going to pull a Leigh Bardugo on us all and write my favorite book of all time in three years.

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[♛ may · Rating 1 out of 5]

Full review posted

I don’t think this book is TERRIBLE, I just think that the synopsis DECEIVED me and I’ve faced too much betrayal from my loved ones books to continue being a victim to such treachery I’m lying, I clearly never learn since I keep reading kasie west books

Pros *this gonna be short oops
- Asian setting!!!!!!!!
- its pretty gruesome, so if you’re into that it might appeal to you I guess :|
- um…girl power but done like sneakily so youre not sure if the characters are evil-villainous-pieces-of-trash or their strong-willed-freedom-fighting-heros
- the mc literally takes no crap from anyone, except her crappy aunt, but she deals with her pretty quickly


(s)

Cons
- where do I start?
- Okay the writing is LONG, DRAWN OUT, AND LITERALLY ENCOURAGES YOU TO SKIM bc its just :|
- The world building is so confusing and hard to grasp, my poor brain rip
- I didn’t like the mc, shes selfish and vain and annoying and keeps reminding everyone how oh so terrible she is without OUTWARDLY saying WHY she is so terrible so idk she’s basically poop sorry
- I. was. Bored.
- There were SO MANY characters that could have been developed more and provided an excellent conflict but nope they pretty much get thrown into the trash bin and poof, they are never seen again
- Basically the ending is really ACTION PACKED but the 300 pages leading up to it is like an exam and a half to get through
- Also what the poop was up with all THE WOMEN HATING EACH OTHER WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN
- The romance was weird as hell ??? there was no connection between her and wei and then all of a sudden another dude gets into the picture and just ugh im over it
- But literally EVERYONE loved this aside from me, so there’s a 9/10 % chance you’ll like it even tho I really didn’t :)

“She was a monster, a bride of the darkness, and she rose to face her destiny as though it were the blood-red sunrise of a new day.”

1.5 stars!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Buddy read with saunta khalus

idk WHY EVERYONE KEEPS SAYING THIS COVER IS UGLY ITS NOT UGLY ITS PRETTY

[Era ➴ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alright bow down bitches.

“She knew her own worth. She would seize her destiny with all the strength and spirit within her, and bend them all to her will: every man kneeling and every woman overshadowed.”

This book was powerful, intense, dark and amazing. I am obsessed with fairytale retellings and Asian-inspired fantasy and this book fucking delivered. I knew what I was coming for and I got it. This is the epitome of dark fantasy retellings.

The plot. This was an Eastern-Asian retelling of the Evil Queen from Snow White. And I loved it. It was so dark and enchanting – much like our protagonist herself.

Xifeng, the main character, was always told by her aunt Guma that it was her destiny to become the Empress. But aside from her beautiful face and foretold fate, it seems like nothing is going to get her out of the destitute village and abusive household she’s been raised in.

So, with her forbidden lover Wei, Xifeng decides to leave Guma and the village, and seek out her destiny on her own.

“For that is the way of the world…Some are given a rope to the moon, and others claw up the sky.”

The world-building was very easy to grasp, but it was still gorgeous and detailed. The kingdom of Feng Lu was based on dynasty-era China and everything else about the system followed that.

The geography, history, class system and everything about the palace - the concubines, eunuchs and army - were explained simply but in detail, and it lent such a rich setting and a beautiful atmosphere to the world.

The writing was gorgeous. It added this perfect, rich quality to everything about the book. Julie C. Dao’s prose was so beautiful and lush and I loved how the descriptions flowed. Reading this book just became such an aesthetic experience.

“Xifeng tilted her face, a pale moon in the evening of the water. She felt like a goddess in the shimmering light. She was a poem come to life; each vein was a lyric.”

The characters.

I loved our antiheroine, Xifeng. This queen was ruthless and beautiful and I was here for it.

Her personality was so complex and beautifully written. I loved that she was so determined and so relatable - she was the protagonist, but as we all know, the Evil Queen was also the villain. But the way she was told through the story meant I couldn’t NOT root for her. That magnetism and charisma was insane.

“She would bloom where she was planted and let her roots close around the throats of her enemies.”

Guma – Guma was Xifeng’s abusive aunt, who raised her in absence of her parents. Guma was the one who told Xifeng repeatedly that she was meant to be the Empress. She was toxic and manipulative, but she played an incredibly important part in the book for her own reasons. She was horrible to read at first, but I couldn’t help wanting to know more about her and why she did what she did.

Wei – Xifeng’s secret lover who was her only respite from Guma’s treatment. He was kind and loving, but had a ferocious temper and never really listened to Xifeng. He was possessive and stubborn and didn’t even try to understand Xifeng’s perspective. I didn’t like him much, to be honest. Their romance didn’t feel authentic and I didn’t like them together.

[Wei] “I saved you from that evil woman!"
[Xifeng] “Only to trap me yourself. I was Guma's, and now you want me to be yours. I have my own soul and my own destiny, and I'm tired of belonging to someone else."

Empress Lihua – the reigning Empress of Feng Lu. She was an amazing character with such inner strength and I loved the role she played as a mother/mentor figure to Xifeng. I loved reading about her.

“But in weakness, you find your strength. It takes no small amount of courage to open yourself up,” the Empress said gently. “You leave pieces of yourself in the ones you love. Is that not the greatest power, to endure in that way?”

Lady Sun – the Emperor’s favorite concubine, and a conniving bitch. She was cruel, cunning and remorseless, and would do anything she could to anyone she thought was in her way. She was power-hungry and vicious and probably Xifeng’s main opposition after she came to the palace.

“I was born a woman into this world," she said, echoing the concubine's words. "And I will play the game, but I won't lose.”

Something I loved was how the magic played into the characters. The fantasy setting was present in almost everything, and the way it impacted Xifeng and Guma and all of Feng Lu was so interesting.

The mythology was prevalent to the geography and the wars that were fought. The magic that Guma owned and the gods she worshipped played into Xifeng’s strength. It was beautiful and lush and it just added so much to the entire book.

“I want to mean something to a great deal of people. I am tired of being no one. As Empress, I would have the right to choose for myself. Guma could not command me, and Wei would not own me.”

Another thing I loved about this book was how self-worth played into things. Xifeng was beautiful and powerful and she knew it. But she derived her strength and her confidence from that beauty.

I loved the way her sense of self-esteem and her freedom from a toxic relationship changed her personality. How she felt about herself changed the plot of the story, and I loved that effect.

“Sometimes it is necessary to do questionable deeds to achieve what the heavens ordain,” Xifeng said, thinking of all she herself had done. “But in our losses, we may gain ourselves. We take what is ours and find solace in the quiet places between death and destruction.”

The character development was stunning and twisted. We saw Xifeng go from an unsure girl with a destiny too big for her, to a stone-cold queen bitch of an Empress with the world at her feet. She traded one toxic relationship for another, not realizing how much of a victim she was until she recognized her own strength.

At the beginning of the book, she was determined and scrappy. She had to be resourceful and cautious to survive. Over the book, she grew in stubbornness and self-worth. She became stronger, fiercer and cleverer.

Xifeng’s evolution was intense and twisted and I loved every bit of her rise to power.

“Being underestimated can be a blessing in disguise,” Xifeng said. “That is to say, it gives us a chance to astonish those who doubt our true worth.”

Overall, this book is the perfect balance between dark fairy tale, Asian mythology and dynastic China, and wicked protagonist. I am obsessed with villain main characters AND gorgeous settings AND pretty writing and this book gave me all of it.

I’ve already read this book once before, and I was kind of worried that my tastes would have developed past it by the time I got around to rereading it. But it was still just as epic and intense as I remembered it being.

“She was a monster, a bride of the darkness, and she rose to face her destiny as though it were the blood-red sunrise of a new day.”

[Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel weird saying I relate to the main character because she's clearly the villain but I. FUCKING. RELATE.

[Rosaline (Rosaline's Rolls & Scrolls) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review can now be found on Rosaline's Rolls & Scrolls.




Previously on Rosaline's Rant Reviews:

“

I like my fantasy books dangerous and gritty. With strong, capable, and witty characters who capture my heart, shred it to pieces, and put it back together again. I want to see character growth, I want to see cunning, I want to see power play. And most of all I want fantasy!

”


Yes, OMG, yes!

  

This is what I have been waiting for! Destiny, power play, and dirty politics. Characters who are not afraid to get their hands dirty. And MCs who embrace power and are concerned with their own self interest. Not once did the MC in this book mope around complaining about her life or whine about “doing the right thing” and using it as an excuse for her inability to do shit! She took her life in her own hands. She went after what she thought she deserved, and she did not apologize for it. Not for wanting more and not for taking it.
A queen like her makes sense, a queen who gets her power handed to her sounds like dumb luck. Guess which one I want to read about?

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is Julie C. Dao’s debut novel, and girl did she do it right!
Everything in this book was just right. Nothing was overdone and nothing was… underdone. No character was without a purpose and no line of dialogue forced. Julie C. Dao wrote a gripping novel about love, destiny, and betrayal. The story portraits characters with grey morality and brings forth the raging debate of nature vs. nurture.

 

The author has done a wonderful job of bringing Xifeng’s character to life and making her feel palpable to the reader.
Ever since reading Marie Lu’s The Young Elites and Marissa Meyer’s Heartless I have been ravenous to read more about anti-heroine type MCs, even though the MC in Heartless is not really an anti-heroine, just a product of circumstances. Regardless, I have found Forest of a Thousand Lanterns to be the perfect answer to my prayers. Whereas Heartless and The Young Elites' MCs ‘ angers were shared by me the entire book and I was screaming for them to behead all their enemies and whoever has done them wrong, with Xifeng I felt no small amount of conflict. As I was begging for her in my head to stop and think, I was nodding and rooting for her to succeed as she whispered her thoughts into my ear.
You may not completely approve of her, but you cannot deny you get her desires. Xifeng’s character speaks to a very dark and very real part of humanity. She is not tortured, and life and circumstances have not forced her hand. Xifeng is just extremely ambitious... and extremely cunning. She does not stop at anything to get what she wants and what she wants is everything.

And. I. Am. Here. For. It!

I bought this book amidst all the hype and after taking one look at my favorite reviewer’s high rating. So going into it, I didn’t really know what it was about. It took me about 60% of the book to realize what story this book was retelling. That’s how original this book was. More often than not retellings end up being the same story with different character names and a slightly different setting, but that was not the case with Forest of a Thousand Lanterns. Nothing in this book was copied, and the story took only inspiration from the original tale and nothing more, which was a sweet surprise.
I did not think I would love this book as much as I did. When I first picked it up I thought it was another overly hyped YA retelling that would not be absolutely horrible at best and I would end up being in the pool of unpopular opinions yet again. However, this book and its author surprised me with an amazing tale that took me to another land and another time and absolutely exceeded my expectations.


In conclusion my dears:

How long has it been since you read a book where the MC is not constantly whining about her life, herself, the people around who are trying to save her (because she just somehow always needs to be saved), and the “greatness" that she is destined for and absolutely doesn’t want because boring stupid existence was enough, thank you very much? And how long since you did not have to go through the atrocious love affairs with Mr. Wallpaper and Mr. Shitworm, and in extreme cases and too often, both at the same time?

If your answer to these questions is “too long", then you should definitely give this book a try.
And on top of lacking all that nonsense, this book includes awesome characters, court politics, backstabbing, good world building, right amount of fantasy, and bloOoOod.

Definitely recommend!



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[Wren (fablesandwren) · Rating 4 out of 5]

An East Asian fantasy reimagining of The Evil Queen legend about one peasant girl's quest to become Empress--and the darkness she must unleash to achieve her destiny.

How could I not fall under the spell of this book? HOLY BATMAN I cannot express how beautifully dark this book is. This book is a typical-folklore fairy: beautiful and hypnotizing and just brings you in with your words... but it’s super creepy and probably going to kill you.

Xifeng is a victim of abuse. Her aunt took her in once her mother was out of the picture and looked into her future. She saw that Xifeng was destined for greatness and that she could even become Empress of Feng Lu, if she played her cards right; those cards being completely dark and doing whatever she needs to do to get to her destined throne.

“She would bloom where she was planted and let her roots close around the throats of her enemies.”

The character building for Xifeng is literally out-of-this-world. She is so meek in the beginning and believes the horrible things her aunt tells her. She believes her beauty is the only thing she has going for her and she must protect her face at all cost. But then she realizes she doesn’t have to do things her aunt’s way... she can do things without her. And then she does and things get really complex and abstract from there.



She wasn’t confident in herself. But as the story goes on, she becomes more and more confident that she can do anything and that is what makes her the most threatening person in this book. She is an anti-hero; if you don’t know what that is, it is when the main character is not a good person but you find yourself loving and cheering for them anyway. And I had my pom-poms out the whole time in this book.

“If my beauty is my greatest weapon, vanity is the shield that protects me.”

The world building in this is so beautifully woven into the story. There is no world-vomit and there is no confusion. The East Asian setting was just jaw-dropping and vivid to the mind. I wish more authors would take this way instead for settings more often. I don’t really know a lot about this culture, but this has really peaked my interest.

I don’t want to give things away, but things like heart-eating and step-mothers and clawing anyone who threatens her being the fairest of them all are a part of this story. She goes about getting the throne in a completely different way than I thought she would, which was really refreshing.



If you love creepy, unexpected, anti-heroes and surprisingly well-done retellings: this is for you.

---

I did not expect this to be the prettiest most dark book of my 2017 reads. Heck, I forgot it was a retelling and jaw-dropped when I reread the synopsis and then I died. RTC.

- - -

36% | This slow burn intro is everything I don’t want but everything I have needed. I’m going to be wrecked and I’m so ready.

- - -

I heard this was antihero... and it just came in on my overdrive/library... I need this to be my most favorite read of 2017 please.

[Sara (sarawithoutanH) · Rating 2 out of 5]

What I Liked
• I enjoyed that the story followed the making of a villain rather than the making of a hero.
• Overall, I liked Xifeng as the main character. Her focus was less on romance and more on her end goals.

What I Disliked
• I didn't really love the writing. There were times that it was very nice and other times that I just didn't vibe with it. The quality wasn't consistent.
• The pacing of the story. The beginning felt too long and the end felt too rushed.
• I really did not like Wei and I could not figure out why Xifeng was so bent out of shape over him. He was possessive and kind of the worst.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

"She was a monster, a bride of the darkness, and she rose to face her destiny as though it were the blood red sunrise of a new day."


Ok ok I finally have time to write a review. I'd like to start off with a big loud pterodactyl screech that might convey how unique and amazing this book was. I am thoroughly impressed. The entire plot was so well thought out and the characters were beautifully written (even if some of them were brutal as hell... yeah I'm looking at you Xifeng). Basically, I loved it.

Essentially this story is an Asian inspired twist on the Evil Queen from Snow White. It also seemed to incorporate lots of Asian mythology as well. I adoredddd this aspect because I'm not exposed to Asian culture very often in YA, so it truly was a breath of fresh air. There's also an antiheroine in the story and you have no idea how much I adore antiheroines like YES PLEASE GIVE THEM TO ME.

I can not and will not get over the entire concept of this book. For the first half I would say I thought this book was about a 4 star read. But then something extremely dark and twisted happens and from then I was internally screaming until I finished the book. Now let me emphasize this again... this book gets REAL dark... There are certain violent scenes that are described that were hard to stomach... but they were done SO WELLLLL! I'M STILL INTERNALLY SCREAMING. AHHHHHH THIS CONCEPT.

This story also breaks so many stereotypes and typical YA tropes... FABULOUS in that regard

Next, the characters. Now, uh, as I mentioned before I adore antiheroines and LET ME TELL YOU... YOU DON'T THINK THIS PERSON WILL BE AN ANTIHERO UNTIL THIS THING HAPPENS AND AFTER THAT OH MY *cackles* sorry... was that too much? I just really love antiheroes don't @ me... Anyway... I enjoyed reading about all of the characters except for Wei... honestly I hated him the entire time oml...

I will say the romance was a low point for me and what made me seriously consider whether this was a 5 star or a 4.5 because the romance in this book annoyed me to no end. However, I do understand why it was there and I respect it... That respect is as far as I will go.

I feel like I already emphasized this but THE SECOND HALF OF THIS BOOK. The second half totally turns into a pre Snow White story and the ending HOLY SHIT I NEED THE SEQUEL. Now, I will say this is NOT a Snow White retelling... it's more of a PRE Snow White retelling and it seems as if the sequel may be more of a Snow White retelling. Don't go into this expecting Snow White... there were just so many hints and clues that point toward that story and it made me so giddy. And that second half man... it felt like a different book. When this book is released and if you aren't feeling the first part... I BEG YOU TO STICK WITH IT.

This story had politics, demons, murder, gods, kingdoms, and a splendid world full of magic and darkness. I enjoyed it immensely. For sure pick this one up come October so I can have someone to freak out with! (:

[Cece (ProblemsOfaBookNerd) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was definitely slow to start, but I'm already absolutely dying to read the second book. I was invested in this book because I knew the main character was supposed to be ruthless, and I was not misled in any way. If you're looking for an origin story that's dark and twisty, this one is fantastic.

[Hiba · Rating 5 out of 5]

She was special, with every bite, every stream of blood spurting from her ravenous mouth. She was a monster, a bride of the darkness, and she rose to face her destiny as though it were the blood-red sunrise of a new day.

This book is so gloriously BRUTAL. One word of warning, this book is certainly not for faint hearted, if you want a glint of hopefullness and happiness then go away because this book is certainly not for you. Forest of thousand lanterns follow the story of 18 year old's Xifeng's rise as an empress, as she embraces her own dark destiny.

Xifeng's abusive aunt/Guma had filled her head with promise of great destiny as an Empress of whole Feng lu. The cards shows a powerful future beholds Xifeng but with great powers come great sacrifices, so throughout the book we saw as Xifeng abandon every kind of love to achive her destiny. She left her aunt, who she thought as her mother and abandoned Wei, her childhood sweetheart, to go into the Castle of Emperor Jun and grab her future.

The world building was so beautiful and intricate. The blend of various elements of Chinese culture was done really well. I love court settings and court manoeuvrings so much and the author did splendid job building a court and consperacies within it.

Xifeng's journey to darkness was done so well!!! Xifeng is gorgeous and knows how to use her beauty to survive in this cruel and dark world run by men. Throughout the book, we saw her inner conflicts. She try hard not to let her selfishness and darkness within her take over her but as story progressed she realize that only way to achieve greatness is through embracing her darkness.

Just as it had the first time Guma had made her kill, Xifeng could hear a piece of her old self pleading: Let me go. Don’t make me do this. Her limbs shuddered with her silent prayer for mercy, for her own salvation, but she heard nothing in return except the thundering of her own heart.
“Save me,” Xifeng uttered aloud, one last time, before she let the darkness take her. She knew nothing now but her uncontrollable hunger

Xifeng is not the character to love or root for. She is extremely hateful toward every girl at court but her hatred for other and desire to be greater then everyone is the whole point of story. The court life is cruel, and if Xifeng did not become cruel like others, she would have eventually failed.

I know everybody cared more for Xifeng and her conflicts but to be honest, the character I loved most was Empress Lihua. Lihua was the most miserable character in this book despise being Empress and direct descendants of Dragon Lords. Her parents did not deem her fit to rule, her first husband married her to another person before his death, his second husband, Emperor Jun did not gave a shit about her once Xifeng came into view and then in the end everyone forget her. She was not ruthless like Xifeng was, and in the end nobody cared for her. But despuse everything, she was still strong. She was clever and saw everything thay was happening around her. She loved her daughter dearly. She didn't have physical strength but her love for her child made up for it.

Everytime I think if Lihua, my heart break even more. She did not do anything wrong. She deserved love and in the end she did got love in the form of her daughter, but almost everyone, even the readers too, forget her. I think this was the whole point of this book; be cruel or be forgotten. I just hope there is loads of Princess Jade in the next book. Pleasee!!!

It's twisted, it's cruel and full of blood. I felt anger and love for Xifeng, I sympathized with Lihua, I am feeling so protective of baby Jade and I really want fo kill Emperor Jun. There were tons of twists and turns that I did not see coming and Xifeng's conflicts would not bore you. So many emotions, so many action, so many interesting characters, all in all, it's perfection.

[Natalie Monroe · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Let no one stand in your way. If they face you, your beauty will entrap them. If they turn away, you will stab them in the back."

Chalk up 'Snow White retelling from the POV of the wicked queen, set in imperial China' to the list of things I never knew I needed. Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is so vindictive and brilliant and and blade-edged in its message.

"She touched her face. 'This is how a woman plays the game. It makes men weak and forget they make the rules. She becomes the player and they the pawns.'"

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns chronicles Xifeng's rise, much like Heartless. She is yet the wicked queen, merely a peasant in a tiny village with stunning good looks and burning ambition. We see the steps she takes to secure a place at court, to fulfill the destiny her Guma (aunt) read for her in the cards—Empress of Feng Lu.

In many ways, it's a story about the weaponization and currency of female beauty in a patriarchy. Women can't get anywhere based on talent, so they have to rely on their looks. Because of that there's quite a bit of girl-hating, but it never feels misogynistic. Xifeng often feels bad about disparaging her companions, but it's either them or her, and she's not exactly the type to share.

“She knew her own worth. She would seize her destiny with all the strength and spirit within her, and bend them all to her will: every man kneeling and every woman overshadowed.”

Two men are romantically interested in Xifeng, though I'd bank at calling it a love triangle. Xifeng isn't heavily emotionally invested in either—they're just tools for her on her quest. Shout-out to Wei for having a actual backbone. He refuses to stay by Xifeng's side like Generic YA Love Interest #2 while she pursues the emperor. All I can say is, if you're after a passionate earth-defying romance, look elsewhere. Shadow and Bone does a great job with the love vs. ambition plot. Xifeng's truest devotion is the crown.

What can I say? I've always liked my heroines with a grey streak.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

"In weakness, you find your strength. It takes no small amount of courage to open yourself up"

Spoiler Free Review!

Holy shit this was amazing! I have no idea what to think when I went into this... but not THAT! Firstly it's partly a re-telling that has set up the second book perfectly, then we have an anti-heroine (which I didn't even know about!), it's dark and twisted but so gripping. The progression of the book moved at a gradual pace, nothing seemed to be rushed. Not only this the writing was so well done. I think what made this book so gripping is that there were many plots going on underneath the surface and you didn't know who you could entirely trust.

"Your beauty is all you are, and all you have. Your only weapon."

Our main character is Xifeng, when we first meet her character I didn't really know what to think of her, she has something very very dark in her, we see her being abused by her Aunt and wants something better in her life. Her character development what phenomenal, the way in which she thinks and plots and how she overcomes certain aspects was just so well done. We see her flaws and her embrace them, some things were grotesque and at some points I was inwardly screaming.

Some are given a rope to the moon, and others claw up to the sky.

What I liked?
- The storytelling we see throughout, it was so gripping and in them they felt like fairytales.
- All of the little references of Snow White
- Her friendship with Kang
- Even though some bad things happened, I kind of felt sorry for Xifeng... I KNOW!
- How dark it was, I didn't expect it to be like this!

There was honestly nothing I disliked about this book!

Ovverall, if you love Fairytale re-tellings I'd highly recommend this. It's set it up perfectly for the next book. I honestly can't wait! For the month of November I read books only from Subscription boxes and I'm ridiculously happy I finished with this!

[Hamad · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review and other non-spoilery reviews can be found @The Book Prescription

Actual Rating: 3.5 stars

“I believe our lives have already been decided, and it is our purpose to make the choices that lead us to that fate.”

🌟 I have taken the decision to read and not read this book multiple times. I am a big fan of Dark Fantasy but most of my friends said that it was mediocre/ Meh. I finally decided to give it a chance since book 2 is out now.

🌟 The book started very good. It also had a prophecy which is my favorite trope and seeing how things fall in place to make a prophecy come true is always a something that puts me in awe. Mix that with good writing and it is a recipe for a great book. But there were some things that dampened this excitement.

🌟 Xifeng apparently starts as a poor weak girl and to see her transformation was great. But sometimes she didn’t know what she wanted to achieve and she had like multiple personalities, I think the author intended it to be that way. I also loved the Empress, I like a good character who knows what’s happening around her and who isn’t oblivious. But I can’t say that I was a fan of the rest of the characters!

🌟 I was warned that this had slow pacing and that was part of why I kept procrastinating it till the right time and I was finally in the mood to read something slow but it was even slower than expected, the middle part was a bit boring and I am not surprised that many readers DNFed at that point.

🌟 This is a retelling of the Evil Queen with Asian setting which means there is not much plot twists and it is a character driven story. The world building was average and I felt that I needed to know more about the fantasy settings and rules.

🌟 Summary: A slow-paced, dark fantasy book with a morally grey characters. It had defects almost in all aspects but still was addicting enough to finish it and consider reading book 2. I recommend this to fans of Asian settings and Dark fantasy!

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five-starring in advance because Julie is fabulous, her writing is fabulous, and diasporic authors have EVERY RIGHT to pen Asian-inspired fantasy without being cut down or degraded for it.

[CW ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

*rubs temples* I really wish I liked this because I was really looking forward to this, but, I'm sorry friends, I was not a fan (and at most, 'it was ok').

- First, I found the worldbuilding... weird. Indeed, it is Asian-inspired, but I felt liked what made it 'Asian-inspired' was superficial and inconsistent. I don't believe that the story should embody an essentialist notion of 'Chineseness'/'Asianness', but it should be consistent, immersive, and rich - which it was not.
- I couldn't get invested in Xifeng as an antiheroine - or a character. I felt like her characterization was inconsistent; at times her values and what she would vs. wouldn't do confused me. I think her 'inner conflict' could have been better written. Unfortunately because of this, I didn't feel very invested in the story or Xifeng's emotional journey. When bad things happened, I just thought, eh, she'll be alright.
- The emotional conflicts really felt like non-conflicts.
- Many of the characters in the story had so much potential to be fascinating and fleshed out characters, but I found that the boring (and predictable) ones were developed instead.
- I felt like the writing lacked... an active tense. The writing seemed passive in some instances, and so I found it difficult to get invested, or when something big and important happened, it didn't feel big and important at all.
- The romance was lacking. For one, I didn't feel the chemistry between Xifeng and Wei, nor did I feel like Xifeng really cared at all, despite her saying so and how possessive and selfish she felt about him. And so, when she felt heartbroken towards the end of the book, I was like, she sure is dramatic about someone she doesn't care about.

Trigger warnings: physical abuse, violence, murder, gore, mutilation, intended rape

[kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed a fantasy as much as I enjoyed this. Forest of a Thousand Lanterns was dark, gritty, unique and unpredictable. I thought the way the narrative of the Evil Queen was woven into the story was so incredibly clever and Xifeng was one of the most intriguing and complex protagonists (antagonist?!) I’ve encountered in a while. The wait until the next book in this series is going to be a painful one but I have no doubt it will be worth it.

[✨ jami ✨]

dnf @ 30%

I'm really not getting into this. The writing style or characters just aren't drawing me in at all and I'm at page 150 and feel like nothing has happened. I decided to read the last page too see what was happening and nothing really intrigued me to want to read this. Plus feels a waste of time to read a book I know I probably won't rate very high. I don't think this book is bad it's just not working for me

[Joshua Gabriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been watching a K-drama called Empress Ki, so now, I can't help but imagine Xifeng as Ha Ji-won and Emperor Jun as Ji Chang-wook. <3 Hahaha, I'm such as helpless fanboy. xD

[Lainey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non-spoiler book review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAJd2...

Written review:

I went into this book hoping for the origin story of a villain and I was not disappointed in the least.

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns follows the story of Xifeng. A young woman who is told she is destined for power and leadership... the be the empress of the kingdom. According to the cards her abusive witch aunt reads, the journey is not going to be easy and will test her. Xifeng leaves her aunt behind with her childhood sweetheart and travel to the capital city for the opportunity to go to court with only one goal in mind: become the empress.

Between the current empress, the concubines, and even the gossiping eunuchs, Xifeng navigates and schemes her way, manipulating nearly everyone in her favor to hook the current emperor into hopefully making her his next empress.

I loved this book. I was super into it from the start. It has a quiet beginning, but once Xifeng makes her way to court, I was enthralled. All the relationships were so intricately schemed I was so interested in the dynamics Xifeng had with everyone, both the men and the women in this book.

First, I gotta talk about the writing and how immersive it was. Julie Dao can write, holy moly. I'm not the biggest fan of flowery prose but it was so atmospheric and fit with the tone of the story she sat up here that it was really inspiring to listen to. I say listen, because I did get the audiobook for this one and I loved how this story was told me. I can't wait to read more of Julie's books because I'm a lot of percent sure I'm going to enjoy anything she writes.

The book primarily takes place in a court setting at the palace and it was exactly what I needed to read at the time because I was eating all this court life up. The political intrigue and alliances aspect did not disappoint me at all. It was great. I loved learning about everything, especially the culture.

Now, I have seen a lot of mixed reviews on this book and it seem a lot of them come down with Xifeng's character. I loved her character. This is a villain origin story so... she does some pretty pretty awful things. But like, I was both shocked and proud of her when she did these things. I was rooting for her. I wanted to see her become empress. I enjoyed the way the malicious schemed and manipulated the characters around her to get her goal. It's wildy different than how a hero would get there.

Speaking of her manipulations. Oh man, was I on board for how she completely worked all the men in this book. Her childhood love she schemed against and I was thrilled. She manipulated the crown prince by planting seeds of doubt. And the way she worked the emperor was the best. I was living for these scenes, they were my favorite part of the book. *insert Louise Belcher laughing in front of flames gif*

Now the only reason I rated this a four instead of a five came down to the evil creature that lived inside of her that Xifeng often references. She relies on this "creature" a little too much in my opinion for the reasoning behind she does certain things. I wish there was more of a separation there. I wanted Xifeng to be a little more self-reliant on her villainous tendencies. I would have liked to see her do some of these things without saying the creature made her do it. But really, that was the only thing I didn't like about the book. I'm really excited for the next book in the series and I just... I harbor ill-will toward anyone who will go up against Xifeng since I am #TeamXifeng alllllll the way.

[Inge · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Ahhh, this was a pretty solid debut novel, and a great start of a promising series! Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is an East Asian retelling of the Evil Queen's origin story before she became Snow White's stepmother, and it is everything I wanted it to be.

First of all, SHE DOESN'T BECOME EVIL BECAUSE OF A DUDE. I love my villains and I am a sucker for a good origin story, but my main pet peeve is when a female villain becomes evil because a guy wronged her. Sure, there's a guy in here, but there are so many factors contributing to Xifeng's embracing the darkness and it was really well done. Her descent was well developed and thought out.

Which may make my complaint seem a bit contradictory, but at times, this book felt really long. According to Goodreads, it's not even over 400 pages, but I honestly felt like I was reading a 500-page tome sometimes. There was so much information to suck up, and yes, this does result in quite a rich world-building, but... I think I would've been happier with less. It didn't read as smoothly.

I did really love the mythology and the stories everyone told. The characters were nicely fleshed out as well. I did guess some of the things that were coming, but the road was still an enjoyable one.

Overall, I'd really recommend this to fans of fantasy, villains, and retellings. You will find it very hard to resist Xifeng's lure.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy

[Cindy ✩☽♔]

Cover Reveal: Good old Asian vibes

But re-reading the synopsis and seeing, "she must spurn the young man who loves her..."
Me: Wait, does she love him too? OMG am I gonna be heartbroken again by another tragic love story!? Ugh my heart is not ready!!!

---
It just makes me so happy when I see Asian protagonists because I saw so few of them growing up. Now with books getting a little more and more diverse, I get to see them more often, and it is just so nice.

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5/5 stars*

“She would bloom where she was planted and let her roots close around the throats of her enemies.”

I was always intrigued by stories of villains or anti heroes in fantasy books. And I think it's something the YA genre needs more of, because it has so much potential to be different from many other generic - or too similar - books in the genre. Coming into this book, I didn't realize it would be so reminiscent of Snow White from the evil queen's point of view. It's not the same and I'm not even sure if the author meant it to be a sort of retelling of that particular fairy tale, but I really liked how the story had some similar elements, but still was esentially its own.

The Asian inspired setting was beautifully described and magical and one of the best points of the story. In terms of lush world building combined with rather slow paced storyline, I'd recommend this books to fans of Renee Ahdieh.
Of course I enjoyed the moral greyness of the main character, Xifeng. But at the same time, I have to say I really disliked her. It's kind of understandable - and intentional - since she's the future villain, but.. Normally I either love a good villain, or at least love to hate him/her. And if the story is about the origin of a villlain, I want to understand her, to feel for her somehow. Like I felt, for example, for Adelina Amouteru from The Young Elites. That story ripped my heart right out. But this, I felt either indifferent towards Xifeng, or outright hated her. I mean, she was so so vain. So woman hating, so self absorbed, judgmental, hypocrytical and thoroughly unlikeable to me from the beginning. And it just got worse. So I guess I did like the promise of evil queen origin retelling, and I did like it on the surface, but I didn't always (or most of the time) enjoy reading from her view.

“The beauty of this world is fading all too fast through the cruelty and thoughtlessness of men.”

As for the side characters, no one really stood out to me. There was some little bit of romance as well, but it didn't take the center stage of the story at all, for which I was grateful. All in all, I didn't care for the love interest as a character, nor for the bits of romance.
The pacing of this book was also a bit of a struggle for me. It was very slow and uneventful, for the most part.

Overall, I liked the world buidling and the premise of the story. I like morally grey character and fairy tale retellings. Xifeng was an interesting future villain, but a horrible person and reading from her view was unpleasant for me.
Recommended for those who, like me, want to read more YA books focused on female villains.

“She knew her own worth. She would seize her destiny with all the strength and spirit within her, and bend them all to her will: every man kneeling and every woman overshadowed.”

*****************************

Some great YA books centered on morallly grey main characters that I would also recommend: The Young Elites, Cruel Beauty, Fairest, Heartless, The Diabolic.

[Chelsies Reading Escape · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cant say I was too surprised by how this story gripped me from the first chapter. Ive heard nothing but amazing things about it. The setting and culture were beautifully vivid and lush. I also thought the writing was fantastic. I wasnt sure if I was still into retelling but after reading this wonderful East Asian evil queen retelling I have hope there still some great ones out there.

I probably would have finished it in a couple days had it been an egalley. Im so used to reading ebooks that switching back to physical books makes it harder for me to get fully immersed in the story and read for long periods of time. Despite my struggle with physcial books, I read the last 2/3 of the book quickly. The story had its slower moments, but I still didnt want to put it down.

The main character Xifengs inner struggle with darkness was compelling to read about. She wasnt always likeable, but I loved her scheming once she got to the palace. I tend to love smart and cunning main characters and this was no exception. Her developpement felt realistic and Im not surprised she turned out the way she did after the way her aunt treated her. The way she treated Wei broke my heart.

I also had Ken pull on my heartstrings. I loved the way Shiro was represented as a little person and Xifeng friendship with him. I also really liked the eunuch Kang. Even though I didnt trust his quick friendship with Xifeng right away his flare and kindness made him instantly likeable. I really appreciated that the Emperor didnt treat Xifeng like property. He could be ruthless when it comes to ruling, but he also had a very charming side.

I appreciated how the author gave us good reasons for Lady Suns behavior, as well as Xifengs. I dont like when the antagonist motivations arent clear but I didnt have that problem at all with this book.I enjoyed how the dynamic between Xifeng and the Empress developped. I would have liked to have seen more female friendships, but I understand this is an evil queen retelling. I still wonder what became of Ning.

Im pretty good at predicting were a story will go, but my predictions were totally wrong for this book. I expected the romance to go in a different direction and I expected her to be impatient about becoming Empress. I loved the dark magic, the mythology and demons. I have a set of tarot cards at home and I liked seeing it incorporated in a book.

There's wasnt that much action, but I thought the political and magical plot was intriguing. I dont always find it easy to get invested in villains because their flaws can make them hard to like, but despite Xifengs flaws I was rooting for her. Ill definitely be picking up the next book as soon as it comes out and anything else the author publishes. Id recommend this if you love anti-heroine stories.

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Physical copy just arrived in the mail and its soooo pretty. Im hyperventilating. I was just sitting there hugging it when someone walked in on me LMAO - Its not what it looks like