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The Girl King #2
Empress of Flames
Princess Lu knows that the throne of the Empire of the First Flame rightfully belongs to her. After all, she is the late Emperor's firstborn and has trained for the role all her life. And she can't forget made a promise to shapeshifter Nok, the boy she came to love, to win justice for his now powerless people. But even with an army at her side, Lu will need to face down a major obstacle: the current sitting Empress, her once beloved younger sister, Min.
Princess Min used to live in Lu's shadow. But now she can control a powerful, ancient magic, and she's determined to use it to forge her own path and a strong future for the Empire, even if that means making enemies in court. But Min's magic isn't entirely under her control, and she must learn how to tame it before it consumes her . . . and the entire realm.
Lu and Min are set for a confrontation that can't be stopped. But the Empire faces threats greater than their rivalry, and even if they choose to stand together, it could cost them both the throne-or their lives.
Princess Min used to live in Lu's shadow. But now she can control a powerful, ancient magic, and she's determined to use it to forge her own path and a strong future for the Empire, even if that means making enemies in court. But Min's magic isn't entirely under her control, and she must learn how to tame it before it consumes her . . . and the entire realm.
Lu and Min are set for a confrontation that can't be stopped. But the Empire faces threats greater than their rivalry, and even if they choose to stand together, it could cost them both the throne-or their lives.
496 pages, Paperback
First published August 19, 2021
14 people are currently reading
1670 people want to read
About the author
Mimi Yu
4 books172 followersMimi Yu was born and raised in rural upstate New York. Her hometown is the site of both the Women’s Rights Convention (1848) and the largest active landfill in New York State (ongoing).
She currently resides in the SF Bay Area of California, and soon she will live near Chicago. She has never been a midwesterner before, but she does enjoy a good casserole.
Besides books, Mimi likes quilting, gardening, drawing, picking up heavy weights, and pop music. She has four planets in Aquarius. She knows a little bit about a lot of animals, and far too much about cats.
She currently resides in the SF Bay Area of California, and soon she will live near Chicago. She has never been a midwesterner before, but she does enjoy a good casserole.
Besides books, Mimi likes quilting, gardening, drawing, picking up heavy weights, and pop music. She has four planets in Aquarius. She knows a little bit about a lot of animals, and far too much about cats.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
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September 8, 2020That is one beautiful cover. Wow.
January 15, 2023
A horrifyingly realistic take on politics and the effect of drugs on individuals and a nation. I was shocked throughout the whole book by the gritty realness. Dark, sad (definitely spilled a few tears), but beautifully tragic.
Only thing that might have improved the experience for me is if some characters got a little more fleshed out before their ultimate demise.
Only thing that might have improved the experience for me is if some characters got a little more fleshed out before their ultimate demise.
April 5, 2024
3,5 ✨
June 21, 2022
Rep: Chinese-coded characters & setting, trans side character
December 8, 2023
I decided to restart this with the audiobook after struggling to get through it, the audio book didn’t help however especially with the audio either being to slow or fast I couldn’t find a good speed.
I found this book disappointing I only pushed through as I liked the first one so much. I found the that the story was extremely slow and yet it rushed through a lot of plot points.
I found this book disappointing I only pushed through as I liked the first one so much. I found the that the story was extremely slow and yet it rushed through a lot of plot points.
May 3, 2026
I loved the first book. I hadn't picked up a book in months and The Girl King was what got me back into reading. It was so vivid and rich with imagery, world-building and characters that it had me hooked from the beginning. After I finished the it I looked at the reviews and found it was rated much lower than I had expected. I didn't get it, to me the book was exciting and new - two things reviewers often said the book was not. That was until I read the second book lol.
I'll start off with the things I liked. Yu's descriptions of events, feelings, scenery, movements and everything else is amazing. It is so visceral and made me imagine scenes with an ease I find rare in most fantasy books. They are unique as well - often using similes and metaphors that I had never read before (though similes were a bit overused at times). I also loved the characters (to an extent), their troubles seemed so real to me, especially in how the same events can effect people so differently, and some have an easier time moving on than others. I find too many fantasy books have characters recover from devastating events far too quickly, but this doesn't happen in the Girl King.
But that was all I got. About a third of the way into this book I felt the character progression slowed down dramatically. Everyone felt stuck. They each had one core motive, and then maybe another short-termed one because the events of the story called for it, but nothing new beyond that.
Lu wanted her throne back (continuation from the first book) and her friends and family (also a continuation of the first book). Then she achieved all that the first half of the book. I can tell Yu wanted to evolve these motives but it never really worked for me. I never felt any sense of indecision or internal conflict when Lu had to choose between reopening the poppy trade or the Northern mines, she just decided fully on one option, then completely switch to another once she witnessed the consequences of the previous one (consequences she should have considered long before she even made a decision). I never felt the internal struggle. It felt so one dimensional and I became kind of bored. It seems strange that she didn't even consider how detrimental the poppy trade would be for her nation until her best friend died of addiction. How could she not knowledge that she was just picking her poison? I know Lu is meant to be stubborn and short-sighted but she shouldn't be so unaware, especially given her supposedly deep understanding of her country's history.
But before she had a chance to develop, she got her throne taken away again and we were back to her original motives. And then she died. I felt like a poetic death was forced upon her. I understand it is trying to show that her life is inextricably linked to death and killing, no matter how hard she want it not to be, but I didn't feel she tried to be anything else. She did the one thing she was good at doing from beginning to end (killing people) while trying to convince me that she was trying to, and had, changed.
Then there's Min. She wanted to be different from her sister and to be recognised by those she admired. She wanted to be strong, and she became so with the help of magic that was strong enough to destroy literal heaven. She then became empress and then got her magic taken away. Along with her prevalence in the book. She literally became irrelevant for most of the second half of the story. All she did was sulk over her lost powers and fall back into her old behaviours. You're telling me that, after all that she had accomplished, she hadn't changed at all? Not even after she was nearly killed? Furthermore, we never saw her opinions of Set change at all. I truly wished a little bit of that rage that had grown alongside her power had stayed with her after her magic was taken away. At least this way, the events of the book would have actually impacted her. The book clearly wants me to think she had developed as a character but she's the exact same. I've never read her doing one substantial thing besides make a plan (that mostly failed) and rule a nation, but only because she was the only heir left. Surely having experienced god-like power and subsequently killing an entire nation would have pushed her to be more as a character.
As for Nok, I loved him in the first book and his arc looked promising in the beginning of the second. He had his encounter with the Our Mother and worked through a large amount his internal issues set up throughout the first book- and quite beautifully in my opinion. But it seemed that only helped him get his caul back, because mentally he was the exact same. He was still shifty and flighty and his self esteem remained awfully low- right up until the last pages of the book. He didn't even display any agency when joining the Common Kith, he just joined because his sister told him to. There was no true healing. He behaved the exact same way he would have at the beginning of the book while, once again, pretending he had changed.
Nasan was my least favourite character. She had two lines in my head: 1. I can't trust you. 2. I'm making a militia. That's it. She had the exact same gripes throughout the entire book. 500 pages of "you will never change Lu" and "I promise I'm not using you as a weapon, Nok" and then doing nothing to back up her claims. I had actually started skim reading over her dialogue because they never brought anything new to the story.
Her relationship with Ade also awful because it does a disservice to both Nasan and Ade as characters. You're telling me Ade got together with someone immediately after her fiancé was brutally killed in a riot - and not with just anyone; but the sister of her long time crush/almost-boyfriend that just came back from the dead. And with no discussion. You cannot leave a relationship like that in the background. And why would Nasan be open to a relationship at all? Her one, explicitly clear motive is rebuilding a Kith to regain her homeland. Why would she trouble herself with a relationship? Let alone with someone she just met and is not part of a Kith? You can't write a character who's most prominent trait is distrust toward outsiders and have that happen, especially without exploring it with the readers. Give us one chapter in Nasan's pov or even a discussion between Nasan and Nok because that would at least deepen their shallow relationship alongside it.
Honestly, every inter-character relationship in this book is underdeveloped and I never found myself rooting for any of them.
I'm still giving the book 2 stars because it 1. got me out of a reading slump and 2. because the effort that went into the book is palpable. It's filled with love and beautiful writing, I'm just upset it didn't translate into the plot. I look forward to Mimi Yu's future writing, if she does decide to write again. Should she take any of the criticism from her first two books, her stories would be amazing.
I'll start off with the things I liked. Yu's descriptions of events, feelings, scenery, movements and everything else is amazing. It is so visceral and made me imagine scenes with an ease I find rare in most fantasy books. They are unique as well - often using similes and metaphors that I had never read before (though similes were a bit overused at times). I also loved the characters (to an extent), their troubles seemed so real to me, especially in how the same events can effect people so differently, and some have an easier time moving on than others. I find too many fantasy books have characters recover from devastating events far too quickly, but this doesn't happen in the Girl King.
But that was all I got. About a third of the way into this book I felt the character progression slowed down dramatically. Everyone felt stuck. They each had one core motive, and then maybe another short-termed one because the events of the story called for it, but nothing new beyond that.
Lu wanted her throne back (continuation from the first book) and her friends and family (also a continuation of the first book). Then she achieved all that the first half of the book. I can tell Yu wanted to evolve these motives but it never really worked for me. I never felt any sense of indecision or internal conflict when Lu had to choose between reopening the poppy trade or the Northern mines, she just decided fully on one option, then completely switch to another once she witnessed the consequences of the previous one (consequences she should have considered long before she even made a decision). I never felt the internal struggle. It felt so one dimensional and I became kind of bored. It seems strange that she didn't even consider how detrimental the poppy trade would be for her nation until her best friend died of addiction. How could she not knowledge that she was just picking her poison? I know Lu is meant to be stubborn and short-sighted but she shouldn't be so unaware, especially given her supposedly deep understanding of her country's history.
But before she had a chance to develop, she got her throne taken away again and we were back to her original motives. And then she died. I felt like a poetic death was forced upon her. I understand it is trying to show that her life is inextricably linked to death and killing, no matter how hard she want it not to be, but I didn't feel she tried to be anything else. She did the one thing she was good at doing from beginning to end (killing people) while trying to convince me that she was trying to, and had, changed.
Then there's Min. She wanted to be different from her sister and to be recognised by those she admired. She wanted to be strong, and she became so with the help of magic that was strong enough to destroy literal heaven. She then became empress and then got her magic taken away. Along with her prevalence in the book. She literally became irrelevant for most of the second half of the story. All she did was sulk over her lost powers and fall back into her old behaviours. You're telling me that, after all that she had accomplished, she hadn't changed at all? Not even after she was nearly killed? Furthermore, we never saw her opinions of Set change at all. I truly wished a little bit of that rage that had grown alongside her power had stayed with her after her magic was taken away. At least this way, the events of the book would have actually impacted her. The book clearly wants me to think she had developed as a character but she's the exact same. I've never read her doing one substantial thing besides make a plan (that mostly failed) and rule a nation, but only because she was the only heir left. Surely having experienced god-like power and subsequently killing an entire nation would have pushed her to be more as a character.
As for Nok, I loved him in the first book and his arc looked promising in the beginning of the second. He had his encounter with the Our Mother and worked through a large amount his internal issues set up throughout the first book- and quite beautifully in my opinion. But it seemed that only helped him get his caul back, because mentally he was the exact same. He was still shifty and flighty and his self esteem remained awfully low- right up until the last pages of the book. He didn't even display any agency when joining the Common Kith, he just joined because his sister told him to. There was no true healing. He behaved the exact same way he would have at the beginning of the book while, once again, pretending he had changed.
Nasan was my least favourite character. She had two lines in my head: 1. I can't trust you. 2. I'm making a militia. That's it. She had the exact same gripes throughout the entire book. 500 pages of "you will never change Lu" and "I promise I'm not using you as a weapon, Nok" and then doing nothing to back up her claims. I had actually started skim reading over her dialogue because they never brought anything new to the story.
Her relationship with Ade also awful because it does a disservice to both Nasan and Ade as characters. You're telling me Ade got together with someone immediately after her fiancé was brutally killed in a riot - and not with just anyone; but the sister of her long time crush/almost-boyfriend that just came back from the dead. And with no discussion. You cannot leave a relationship like that in the background. And why would Nasan be open to a relationship at all? Her one, explicitly clear motive is rebuilding a Kith to regain her homeland. Why would she trouble herself with a relationship? Let alone with someone she just met and is not part of a Kith? You can't write a character who's most prominent trait is distrust toward outsiders and have that happen, especially without exploring it with the readers. Give us one chapter in Nasan's pov or even a discussion between Nasan and Nok because that would at least deepen their shallow relationship alongside it.
Honestly, every inter-character relationship in this book is underdeveloped and I never found myself rooting for any of them.
I'm still giving the book 2 stars because it 1. got me out of a reading slump and 2. because the effort that went into the book is palpable. It's filled with love and beautiful writing, I'm just upset it didn't translate into the plot. I look forward to Mimi Yu's future writing, if she does decide to write again. Should she take any of the criticism from her first two books, her stories would be amazing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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July 18, 2022It was too long between reading the first and second books for me to decide if this was fine or bad. I don't know what I expected but I know from the premise and beginning of book one that neither book went the way I'd hoped.
September 2, 2021
Fascinating. Great drug/magic allegory. Sad and beautiful.
October 6, 2021
I'm really disappointed. I was really looking forward to this book and I loved the first one. There was so much plot that just didn't need to be there. The book should have ended pretty much half way through and even that felt dragged out and like barely anything was happening. The end also just didn't feel climactic at all and it wasn't satisfying. I'm just incredibly disappointed.
August 20, 2022
Ending was weird and felt strange. Certain characters like Nok also acted out of character at the end.
I did love the sisters reconciliation though, and the context about Rinyi was good (would have been nice to have that fleshed out more).
Ultimately it was okay and I enjoyed it enough so long as I don’t dissect it too much.
I did love the sisters reconciliation though, and the context about Rinyi was good (would have been nice to have that fleshed out more).
Ultimately it was okay and I enjoyed it enough so long as I don’t dissect it too much.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 24, 2022
I feel so disappointed with the book.
I devoured The Girl King & ordered this straight after finishing it. There was so much that could have been done, so many different ways this story could have gone and it just fell so flat.
Lots of pointless plots and such a dissatisfying & anticlimactic ending.
I devoured The Girl King & ordered this straight after finishing it. There was so much that could have been done, so many different ways this story could have gone and it just fell so flat.
Lots of pointless plots and such a dissatisfying & anticlimactic ending.
February 5, 2023
2.5 stars.
I really enjoyed the first book, but unfortunately this one felt quite dragged out, a little repetitive and I found myself quite bored and disinterested. Some of the events where interesting just too drawn out and the ending was ok, and somewhat emotional. Overall it felt relatively 'meh'.
I really enjoyed the first book, but unfortunately this one felt quite dragged out, a little repetitive and I found myself quite bored and disinterested. Some of the events where interesting just too drawn out and the ending was ok, and somewhat emotional. Overall it felt relatively 'meh'.
April 15, 2023
Such an incredible book!
The thing I loved most was that it didn't end with the coup. The coup happens and you're only halfway through the book, because that's never the end of the story, there's always more, and this book shows that so well. A brilliant continuation of the story, fabulous and realistic character development, more twists and turns than you can count, and that ending!!!
The thing I loved most was that it didn't end with the coup. The coup happens and you're only halfway through the book, because that's never the end of the story, there's always more, and this book shows that so well. A brilliant continuation of the story, fabulous and realistic character development, more twists and turns than you can count, and that ending!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2023
The sequel of the girl king was very similar to the original, and I felt like once again it could have expanded on the characters so much more. Relationships and personalities weren't explored enough, and if they had been, I would have liked the book a lot more.
August 31, 2022
It was a good book but
Why did she die at the end? T-T
WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
NOK IS SAD
Why did she die at the end? T-T
WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
NOK IS SAD
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 1, 2023
It took me a very long time to finish this, and I wasn’t very satisfied by the ending.
December 7, 2023
Took a little while to get into this one. But a great follow up, left me feeling a little sad when it was over.
April 28, 2022
3.5 stars, a great follow up to the girl king and it went in such an interesting direction!
July 18, 2022
I had forgotten so much since the first book that I spent the first few chapters reading with a super confused look on my face. Once things clicked back into place, I couldn't put it down. Hated the ending though. It felt rather anti-climactic which is ridiculous considering what happens but
December 1, 2021
5/5
Probable spoilers ahead!
What. An. Ending! I did not see that coming!
This was a beautiful end to the series, a culmination of all the events from the first book.
Min does show her real power, and we get an explaination of where this power comes from. Her arc in this book is really something I was hoping for, for her to become more than just her sisters shadow and a little girl who is manipulated by those around her who pretend to care. I feel so sorry for Jin, he really gets done dirty in this book, after losing everything he knew.
Nok has a great progression as well, with his caul and accepting who he is. Lu is pretty annoying for most of the book, but she does seem to come slightly undone and then make up for it in the end.
The villains are pretty convincing, and Lu's fight between the choices posed to her is well written.
All the magic switching got confusing though, I had to re-read those parts to work out what exactly was going on.
Probable spoilers ahead!
What. An. Ending! I did not see that coming!
This was a beautiful end to the series, a culmination of all the events from the first book.
Min does show her real power, and we get an explaination of where this power comes from. Her arc in this book is really something I was hoping for, for her to become more than just her sisters shadow and a little girl who is manipulated by those around her who pretend to care. I feel so sorry for Jin, he really gets done dirty in this book, after losing everything he knew.
Nok has a great progression as well, with his caul and accepting who he is. Lu is pretty annoying for most of the book, but she does seem to come slightly undone and then make up for it in the end.
The villains are pretty convincing, and Lu's fight between the choices posed to her is well written.
All the magic switching got confusing though, I had to re-read those parts to work out what exactly was going on.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews