SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Let's talk about it!

Prompts to get us going:

1. What did you think of the setting(s)?
2. What was your favorite part?
3. What if anything didn't work for you?
4. Overall thoughts?

1. What did you think of the setting(s)?
I liked the setting, although I think what I liked most was the cultural aspects of it rather than necessarily the setting itself. I know little about Malaysian or Chinese culture, so I enjoyed getting some glimpses of that. I especially loved learning about some of the Chinese myths related to death like the ghost marriage concept and the idea of burning items so that the dead could enjoy them in the afterlife. Those were new and interesting to me.

2. What was your favorite part?

Maybe surprisingly given my answer to question #1, I preferred the parts set in the real world. I enjoyed the slight creepiness of the first part where Lim Tian Ching was terrorizing Li Lan in her dreams, and the dead wandering around amongst the living. Toward the middle, the story sometimes started to drag for me. The beginning and end held my interest best.

3. What if anything didn't work for you?

I had a couple issues, but the main thing I had trouble with was the whiny/wimpy nature of Li Lan. I do understand that she had lived a very sheltered life, didn’t get out much, and never really had to fend for herself. In that context, her behavior was probably realistic and not that wimpy since she did step out of her comfort zone. I just strongly prefer a “let’s roll up our sleeves, do what we have to do, then complain later” type of attitude versus the “let’s whine and cry and then finally accept that we have to do something by which time it may or may not be too late” attitude. Both in fiction and in real life. It also seemed like she kind of bumbled along without much planning, but had a remarkable capacity for getting lucky and ending up in the right place at the right time. Like how she often managed to run into people to eavesdrop on who were conveniently talking about something she needed to know. Or how she wandered around lost and ended up in the right guy's room by accident.

4. Overall thoughts?
I liked the setting and I loved learning things that were new to me about Chinese mythology. I haven’t read many ghost stories in my adult years, yet that’s something I tend to enjoy, so I also greatly enjoyed that aspect of the story. If I regularly read ghost stories and/or if I were more knowledgeable about Chinese mythology, I think I probably would have enjoyed the book less. I had the aforementioned issues with Li Lan’s character and actions. Also, the foreshadowing was a little heavy, not allowing for much surprise as things happened. Finally, the story was more “romancey” than what I normally enjoy reading. Overall though, I found it a fast and fun read.

I rated it 3.5 stars and rounded up to 4 to Goodreads, although I had difficulty deciding which way to round. I felt like objectively it was closer to a 3-star book, but my enjoyment level was closer to 4-stars, so I decided to be generous.

I absolutely adored the setting of the plains of dead and the afterlife with the status there being determined by the quality of the burned offerings. Such an interesting and new to me concept and it worked so well in the story.
I also loved the way ghost life and real life were interwoven in the Malaysian/Chinese culture. It felt natural to blur the boundaries.

So my favourite part was the encounter with ghosts and the journey through the afterlife, before it turned into a romance.

Cause that was the part that didn't work for me at all. I appreciated that the characters were drawn more as types than as 'real' characters cause that suited the mythic tale character of the novel. Most of them came across as archetypes for their respective status/place in the story. Therefore Li Lan's depiction didn't bother me at all. Quite on the contrary. She felt true to her upbringings/social status/heritage/culture. A typical American badass YA heroine would have felt out of place for me.
BUT this archetyping made the romance absolutely cringeworthy for me. I would have loved if this would have been left out (or reduced by at least half). Li Lan would have worked perfectly on her own.

Like YouKneeK I ended up with 3.5 stars. My reason for rounding up was the VOICE! I was listening to it and Yangsze Choo narrates it herself - and hell does she have a beauty of a voice!

I will definitely read her other book as well.

I thought the setting was amazing; it was by far the part that stood out to me most. There was a lot of knowledge that went into the novel's foundation of history and mythology, and I loved learning about it this way. Part of why I adore historical fiction is because it allows me to explore a different time and place through the characters as if I lived there myself. This is what I think Choo excels at here.

I unfortunately didn't care for the love triangle or the main character. Li Lan just floats through the story, doing things that don't make a whole lot of sense simply to move the story forward. She doesn't have a lot of agency. By the end I was skimming a bit because I was bored.

I wrote in my review: "As a reader who enjoys social themes, I wanted to explore the restrictive roles of women in this society and how that affected characters like Fan, Auntie Three, the bitter concubine--and especially how we saw them as players in Li Lan's story. It felt like Choo did too, but that ultimately never happened."

I think this is a debut by Choo, and it has tons of potential, so I'm still interested in reading her other work as she continues to evolve as a writer.

Elowen wrote: "My final gripe is how superficial Li Lan is. Not only is she fatphobic (she compares a fat person to a pig - I did a double take when I read it) but she also equates beauty with goodness (Tian Bai) and ugliness with evil (her dead fiancé), and these beliefs aren't challenged. They're confirmed."

This upset me as well. I don't mind Li Lan internalizing misogynistic beliefs; it makes sense based on how she grew up around people who mostly valued her for her beauty. But I, too, didn't feel like the narrative really challenged her on it. It was uncomfortable, to say the least.

I'm glad to hear you think her second novel is so much better! I might have to pick that up.

Elowen wrote: "I felt sorry for Tian Bai and I was exasperated with Li Lan. She finally had what she wanted and then... she decides she doesn't want it after all. It left me unsatisfied. I don't enjoy "romance" when the love interest gets dumped"

I read this completely differently! Tian Bai was in love with someone else, and they both realized it was just a mutual infatuation, they're weren't in love with each other.

I do agree that the romance with Tian Bai was completely unnecessary, and leaving it out would've made for a tighter story. But I think Er Lang is hilarious, and I love his scenes, so I'm fine with the weird romance between him and Li Lan.

Elowen wrote: "My final gripe is how superficial Li Lan is. Not only is she fatphobic (she compares a fat person to a pig - I did a double take when I read it) but she also equates beauty with goodness (Tian Bai) and ugliness with evil (her dead fiancé), and these beliefs aren't challenged. They're confirmed."

Yes, I'm glad to see you and Kari mention that. I had briefly commented on it in my review, but forgot to mention it here. There's also the "horse-faced girl" who's mean to her. And naturally Er Lang turns out to be the most beautifulest ever. I kept hoping that he would turn out to be unpleasant looking and she'd fall in love with him anyway and learn a lesson or two.

Anna wrote: "But I think Er Lang is hilarious, and I love his scenes, so I'm fine with the weird romance between him and Li Lan."

I have to admit I did like Er Lang quite a lot, in spite of the romancey bits.

I didn't like Tian Bai as much after Li Lan's body was stolen by what's-her-name. Not only did he not recognize the difference (not surprising since they really hardly knew each other), but he catered to her materialistic and immature behavior. I imagine he might have felt trapped in the situation and forced to go through with it after making such a big fuss, and there were some hints that he was displeased, but I was still annoyed by the whole thing.

Let’s not forget that concubine 2 had to be her mother because she was so beautiful and the shock she felt upon learning who her mother actually was.

I didn’t mind her shallowness and how she used physical beauty as a judge of how good a person. She was extremely sheltered and naive but like others have said I wish the author had made the choice to challenge those beliefs at the end to show some sort of growth for Li Lan.

The setting was the best part for me. I liked the small details that built up the culture. I was surprised by the offerings not in why they were used because many cultures have done the same throughout history but that it took place in such a recent age. When I think of offerings for the dead I think of the Egyptians/Greeks/Romans.

Overall I would have given it 3 stars but bumped it up to 4 due to the authors fantastic narration. I would be much more interested in listening to another book she narrates than one she writes but will be checking out her other novel anyways.

Bill wrote: "Let’s not forget that concubine 2 had to be her mother because she was so beautiful and the shock she felt upon learning who her mother actually was."

True, that’s actually a good set of exceptions to the pattern of beautiful=good person and ugly=bad person found in the book.

I don't mind spoilers if the journey is worth it. So now that I'm about 1/2 way I'm reading this thread and trying to decide if, indeed, it is worth it to me to continue. I have not yet met Er Lang, but everything else you-all have said leads me to think that I should dnf. I'm at 2* now, and really only that high because it's not a bad book and it's an unusual setting.

So, should I continue?

I also wonder why none of you are complaining about the father? Don't we care that he's wasting resources with all that opium?

Cheryl wrote: "I also wonder why none of you are complaining about the father? Don't we care that he's wasting resources with all that opium?"

Honestly, he just seemed like such a non-entity to me I forgot all about him! He doesn't really do much in terms of the plot.

Yeah, I didn’t give the father much thought either. I disliked him of course, but he didn’t really stand out to me as anything other than yet another deadbeat fictional father, mostly just there to provide background for some of Li Lan’s problems. He’d have been more likely to get a mention from me if I’d found him unrealistic in some way.

Although I guess, now that Cheryl has me thinking about him, he’s another “ugly = bad” example, based on how he was described.

If I don’t answer any comments directed at me over the next couple days, I’m not intentionally ignoring you, I’m just probably going to be out of pocket for a bit.

Yeah, I still don't know whether to continue. I'll set it aside for now at least, maybe pick it up if someone tells me I should try again. :)

FWIW I found myself getting more annoyed towards the end, Cheryl. But I'm a cynic who can't stand plots that hinge on who wants to smooch who, so take my opinion with a grain of salt, a big bite of lime and a shot of tequila.

Allison wrote: "so take my opinion with a grain of salt, a big bite of lime and a shot of tequila. "

Mmmm, tequila.

I agree with this, though. Definitely thought the beginning was better and found myself skimming a lot towards the end.

Welp, I don't drink, so I'm glad of the advice... all three of you are ppl I trust, so , moving along... Thanks!

1. What did you think of the setting(s)?
I think the setting/world building was one of the best parts of this novel. I felt like I could really "see" everything that was happening in the story. I found the parts of the culture that were new to me to be very enjoyable. However, I'm not sure how much was authentic or not, so I'm taking it with a grain of salt.

2. What was your favorite part?
I enjoyed when she first left her body, first navigating through the physical and spirit worlds. The best part about the spirit world was how the buildings changed. There was one building that was always in the distance because everyone remembered it as part of the collective unconscious but no one had strong enough ties to make it actually materialize.

3. What if anything didn't work for you?
I've read many people say that they didn't like the lack of character development. Maybe that's what it is for me too. I didn't dislike the main character but I also didn't find her to be very compelling. I wouldn't want to read another book about her. The one character I would like to read more about is the ghost that leads her to the spirit world, I can't remember her name and I don't have access to the book anymore. I think there could be a good anti-hero narrative.

4. Overall thoughts?
I read this over a weekend, it was good escapism.

I listened to this on audio, which was a fantastic choice. The author has a great reading voice, and honestly that was maybe the main reason I kept going instead of skimming, like I would have in the printed version based on my enjoyment.

Overall, the book dragged quite a bit. I enjoyed the first 1/3 or so but then kept waiting for action to pick up. When it did, it felt sort of ho hum to me. I wasn't hugely into anyone besides the main character. I liked the setting pretty well, but that wasn't enough to carry me through without a plot that grabbed me. The concept was neat, too. It was lyrically written, which you can tell from the audiobook, but there just wasn't enough meat on the bones to make it great for me.

Honestly, I think this is a major case of getting a bonus star for the reading. She truly did a great job bringing the characters to life. I would listen to her read many other books, as well.

This book didn't do much for me.

I agree with the comments about appearances being overly connected to who we are supposed to root for (Li Lan and Er Lang are the most comely characters and also the ones we are supposed to root for whereas evil characters are generally worse looking).

The scene in the well where Li Lan says she'd rather be stuck there forever rather than ask Er Lang for help reminded me of this Roy Lichtenstein print.

Overall positive for me would be learning more about the mythology and beliefs of the setting. That was outweighed, however, by a plot that didn't grip me. And the romance aspect just didn't do anything for me, I couldn't care less who Li Lan chose to spend her life with.

I read it on KIndle -- sounds like the audio book for this one had good narration so maybe that would have enhanced the experience.

I'm pretty much with you, Christopher! I have an extra star in my rating for the audio, which I think was lovely. I wanted so much more about the culture and the mythology...romances and unexamined prejudices are hard for me to bite into.

1. What did you think of the setting?
I definitely enjoyed the setting. Reading the novel made me quite eager to return to Malaysia for a trip (one day)! I thought it was interesting how the author touched upon how much of a melting pot the country was (is), but focused only on characters of Chinese descent.

2. What was your favorite part?
My favorite part was probably towards the end where Li Lan was pushed into the well by Yan Hong’s stepmother. I was not expecting that and was pleased to have something thrilling happen after the slightly boring adventures in the plains of the dead. Overall, I really enjoyed the first third of the novel and also the last third, but I found the middle in the spirit world to actually be a bit of a drag. I have to say I actually really like that Li Lan ended up choosing Er Lang rather than Tian Bai as well.

3. What if anything didn’t work for you?
I thought it was odd that she immediately decided that the second wife was her mother in the spirit world. It never even mentioned the woman acting like her or looking like her, it just said that she was beautiful. Why would she assume that was her mother? I just thought that was a bit weird.

I also can’t say that I particularly liked Li Lan overall, but I don’t think the author’s intention was to have the reader fall in love with Li Lan as a character. I also really disliked her father.

4. Overall thoughts?
It was definitely a fun read. The first third of the novel was excellent, but it fell off a bit for me after that. I feel as though the part of the novel in the spirit world should have been more interesting, but I actually ended up preferring the parts of the story in the real world. I can’t say I have read any books quite like this one before and would definitely be open to reading novels by this author in the future.

I do want to touch on a few things others have discussed above:

Like Bill said above, Li Lan was extremely sheltered and naive. Li Lan barely gets to leave the house, and never without an escort. She grew up with a cook, a maid, and basically a servant. She always finds time to feel sorry for herself and is overall, basically a spoiled brat. I don't think the character was meant to be anything other than that. As others have mentioned, things just kind of happen to her and she doesn't have much agency.

Some have commented on the superficiality of Li Lan's character. She compares an overweight character to a pig and refers to another girl as having a horse-face. I would say these are things that are expected of her character. She was an 18-year old girl raised in a sheltered manner and has very little depth. The one thing she has probably looked forward to most in her life is marriage. It is even brought to the reader's attention towards the end of the novel that she should have been married off even sooner. Let's not forget the setting and the time period.

While I only traveled in Malaysia briefly, I do live in Southeast Asia and I will say that overall people are not sensitive about that sort of thing here. People will outright stare at you and make comments on your appearance unsolicited. Friends or colleagues will come up to you and tell you that you look fatter than yesterday. I have literally had someone come up to me and poke me directly in a zit on my face before and tell me "you have acne now and look uglier than before". And they were not trying to be mean! It is just part of the culture; much to anyone's chagrin suffering said criticism.

So I think it is pretty realistic for Li Lan as a character to think like this during that time. Was it necessary to the story? No. But I don't know that anyone else would have challenged her on these ideas during that time period within her culture.

I would also say that her father, after suffering scars from a disease (already forgot which one) shut himself up in a room and smoked himself silly on opium for years and rarely went out, not liking people to see his scarred appearance. That doesn't exactly reinforce body positivity/confidence in one's appearance.

Anyway, I have gone on too long at this point- But I don't think it was the author's intention to make Li Lan particularly likable or challenge her in her beliefs. She was just a vapid girl hoping to get married off to a nice boy in times when almost everything was outside of her control. (I personally didn't like her character, but still enjoyed the story!)

*Also, just wanted to say it is my first time doing a read-along with the group and have enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts :)

Since the comments, as usual, are fairly diverse, I agree!

I lean more towards Gabi where the beginning and end were the forgettable parts and the middle was what entertained me briefly.

Similar to Allison, the ending power seemed to hinge on us really caring if Li Lan and Er lang ended up together which I did not so the end was just meh.

Possibly this is just my long standing bias but I was not in love with the audio version. I think for the most part if an author is not also a performer (Trevor Noah, Eddie Izzard, etc) they should not read their own books. With that said, I did really enjoy how Choo narrated Li Lan, it is just the other characters all sounded emotionless.

It was good enough that I am looking forward to reading the Night Tiger.

Christopher wrote: "The scene in the well where Li Lan says she'd rather be stuck there forever rather than ask Er Lang for help reminded me of this Roy Lichtenstein print."

Thank you for that! I just fell down a Lichtenstein rabbit hole starting with that link and I am now furiously trying to figure out how to work "Brad" into my book reviews

I enjoyed the book as a fantasy entertainment with a cultural education thrown in. Li Lan appeared completely appropriate and a realistic personality for her age and experience to me.

As for how appearances are remarked on or how appearances affects the response of others, I remember Junior high and high school interactions mirroring these responses in the book exactly.

As far as liking or disliking a character, usually I judge a book's characters more on how realistically or funny the writer has captured a life-like personality. I learn more about the real people around me, including the people I dislike in real life, by examining the author's depiction of characters who resemble people in real life. I feel curiosity.

It is a rare thing for me to toss a book based on whether I like or dislike a main character just because a character is unlikeable or too realistic and not heroic or flawless enough without any faults, since I put on emphasis more on gleaning insights - whether it be learning about a culture or how another person(s) are observed by an author.

But then, YA books remind me of my stupidity when I was sixteen, eighteen, even thirty-five. I enjoy the belly laugh of recognition these realistically depicted characters give me in reminiscences of myself at that age. Being in my sixties gives me a tolerance of a lot of follies, I suppose. I have never met a flawless hero in real life. So far. Perhaps that is why I enjoy novels which include a coming-of-age character like this one.

Really good observations and additions, thanks Emmett, Christopher, April and everyone else!

I think, if I may sort of put words in folks' mouths, the problem isn't that Li Lan is vapid and naive, in love with the material and vanity. I think the problem, if any, is that usually we see this in Western stories at least as part of a morality tale, especially in this millennium. Looks are deceiving, it's what's inside that counts, a girl's gotta stand on her own two feet etc.

And we didn't have that here. We didn't examine or see much character growth beyond perhaps Li Lan's love of freedom and appreciation for her ama. I'm not sure that either way is preferable at large, but I can totally see it being both believable and sort of a let down, depending on your perspective.

@Hank, Lichtenstein has some fun stuff, got to see a few of his pieces in person during various exhibitions over the years, glad you went down the rabbit hole and checked some of it out.

Yes, very cool stuff, thanks again!

Posting my answers to the questions in Post #1 and then going back to read what everyone wrote & stuff. =)

The book is on Kindle Unlimited. That made it easy to jump into this group read. I halfheartedly read 2/3 of the story. I wasn't feeling it and decided to try again with the audio. I did see that several people enjoyed the narration by the author, my library had the audiobook and I'm currently on a Asian influence story kick.

Yay for libraries! I was able to get the book a few days ago and gave it a go. The audio is great! The author gives the story more atmosphere with the narration. It's not necessarily there for me when I read the book.

1. What did you think of the setting(s)?

Overall, the word choices and writing style made the whole thing come across as a fantasy story with a mild Asian touches. The physical description details were better in the intro and not as well done later in the book.

There were little nuanced notes that were nice and I loved those. The mix of different cultures and how they meshed in the area were cool. Most of them showed up in little details about buildings in the area, clothing styles and food.

2. What was your favorite part?

My fav part is when Li Lan was spirit wandering around in the real world and spritiual realm. That part was the closest to Asian myths/philosophies/folklore.

Loved the author notes at the end. That was great.

3. What if anything didn't work for you?

The writing & audio narration came across as modern & Western. That made it harder for me to visualize in Asia.

The interactions were a hit and miss for me. It didn't have the different qualities of interactions and verbiage that distinguishes those who are very traditional vs those who have become more Westernized. The thing is, even if a family has become more Western in dress and some of the dialogue, a lot of the status interactions and what is considered acceptable would lean toward traditional values.

Romance - What romance? Haha! Though, I did like the few exchanges that Li Lan had with Er Lang and it would have been nice if that was more established.

I also thought it was rather strange when the fiance easily made moves on Li Lan. Time period and all that jazz. Let's not forget timing of when it happened. I was like, uh, why?

I really wanted another paragraph. Maybe a page or two or short chapter to truly end the story with Li Lan and Er Lang.

4. Overall thoughts?

It was an interesting take on the Ghost Bride tales but not that original because it follows most of the stories in format. It's obvious that the author has a love for the elements that make up the concepts & there's a lot of research done to back it up.

Narrative tone was even from start to finish. There should have been more of a rise and fall to create tension, resolution, etc. I didn't really get any of that. The audio made the story come across as a pretty fable. Which is funny because it's not a pretty tale. It should have been creepy, hopeful, despairing and stalwart.

It was a nice intro to the author and I look forward to trying out her other work.

I read the posts. =D

- Li Lan: She's a sheltered young adult that has barely made any decisions on her own. The way she is depicted in the book is close to what would have happened in the time period. I think it's the word choices and even-tone that the author uses that negates a lot of different things that happened in the book.

Li Lan isn't that passive. If she was passive, none of the book would have happened. She decided to go to the Lim's mahjong party. The invite is a little weird because of how gambling is considered and the fact that Li Lan didn't know how to play but that's a different point. She also decides to figure out why she's being haunted, search for her mother, find out about Tian Ching's death and a bunch of other stuff.

Comments about appearance and etc - That's all true to culture and the insults are the common insluts. I know I think of the story as a fantasy with a touch of Asian but it's a Historical Fiction with Ghosts (Religion/Philosophies).

- Li Lan's Father: I didn't care for him either but the fact that he became a drug addict recluse after the illness and death of his love made sense to me. How he could afford to be a drug addict and Li Lan be as sheltered as she is in the story? No clue but that's a different bone to pick on plot. lol

- Nanny (Amah) and Cook: I loved these characters. They added a lot to the story without saying a bunch.

- Tian Bai: He fell in love with the stupid ghost that possessed Li Lan's body. The whole fall for the flirting/cooing act deal.

- Er Lang: All gods/demigods are described to have an unearthly beauty. They also have a demonic appearance. So that part about him being super duper handsome just goes with the general flow of religions/stories. The dragon gods were beautiful in human form and scary-pretty or nightmare in their other form.

I'm okay with Li Lan choosing the one that she actually interacted with and has shared experiences. However, with all of the doubts aired by Li Lan, I would have liked another paragraph/chapter to actually tie that part of the story up and end the book.

- Cultural/Religious/Philosophical:
The whole story is based loosely on popular Asian ghost stories. Format is pretty clear cut. The making of paper homes, burning money, leaving food, etc are mix of Buddhist/Taoist. The author touched lightly on the different levels of afterlife. I don't know if that's due to lack of knowledge or deciding to keep that aspect more simple for the story. I was amused by the use of "essence/soul/chi" in the story because it's a matter of some of that being the same and some of it not.

If I highlighted all of the things that are based on research and woven into the story, the middle part of the book would be mostly highlighted. =)

1. What did you think of the settings?
I loved the settings! I listened to this as an audiobook read by the author wich was a really good choice. I felt as if I was walking around with Li Lan in this historic town and in the afterlife. The culture and the overall feel of the places was so well described that I actually got shudders sometimes. That really lifted the story for me.

2. What was your favorite part?
My favorite part was the ending and the beatiful scene with Er lang by the well. The wording right at the very end was astonishing. I also loved Li Lans choice making in the end and how much the character had growed by then. From teen age crush for someone she barely knew to a grown woman with a will to see the world and leave her family to be with the one she loves.

Throughout the book I was waiting for Er lang to show up, because I thought their interactions were funny and sparkling. I was really hoping for her to chose him or Lim tien ching, because Tien Bai were so boring. In the plains of the dead at the lim mansion I was actually wondering if Lim tien ching would turn into a bad guy/good guy that she eventually would fall for, but he disappeared instead.

3. What if anything didn't work for you?
I really liked this so of course I want more. I want to follow Li Lan to Er Langs little house and meet his family. I also want her to carry on helping him with investigations and learn more about the afterlife, demons and such. She said, right at the end, that she would wait for her loved ones and escort them to the plains of the dead, wich made me think that maybe she can travel between worlds now, like Er Lang. I also wanted to know more about the sixth lord of hell and what will become of him.
I was somewhat annoyed of Li Lans helplessness in the beginning just like everybody else I see :). But as it got better and she grew, it stopped bothering me.
4. Overall thoughts?
Well, as I wrote above this feels like a first book in a series so I'm hoping for more. The setting was great, and the plot and story line to. We are left with many loose ends. However I think that it could have been a bit faster and more story pressed in.

Thanks for making me read this book!

I finished this last week & really enjoyed it!

Now I'm watching the Netflix series. After Episode 1 I thought (view spoiler)[ they'd put the plot in a blender & mixed it all up! (Also I had not imagined Li Lan so GIGGLY, lol.) (hide spoiler)] Now after Episode 2 (view spoiler)[ I have no idea what they're doing / planning! (hide spoiler)] I am liking it. So pretty!

I started watching the Netflix show too. I agree, (view spoiler)[ plot elements are mixed up, compared to the book (hide spoiler)]. It's similar and yet different. (view spoiler)[I wish it had more of the historical aspects, similar to the book, instead of what seems like a mixture of eras and styles. I wanted the series to look like I imagined the book to be like, if that makes sense. (hide spoiler)]

I don't have much to say about this that hasn't already been said by someone else - I liked the setting, found the characters a bit flat, and liked the audio narration a lot. If there is anything that makes my reaction unique, it is that I enjoyed both the beginning and most of the middle, then started to roll my eyes with increasing frequency toward to end.

I enjoy reading romance in general, but I didn't find this particular romance very satisfying or even amusing, although Er Lang himself was one of the better characters. I couldn't help but compare the romance here with that in Gods of Jade and Shadow, one of last year's books - for me both the development and resolution of the relationship between young human woman and old god-like being was handled much better in GoJaS. On the other hand, though, I've seen other stories where a newly long-living main character does decide to live out a human lifespan with the original love interest and then join an immortal lover later, and I'm not much of a fan of that, so I'm glad the story didn't go that direction.