ArmyBookClub discussion

Romantasy and Books I Have Read in the Past Few Months

A Court of Thorns and Roses Series by Sarah J. Maas (mild spoilers) 7.5/10
This is one of the most well-known and popular book series right now. I read the first book about a year ago, and I hadn’t planned on continuing the series. However, my sister-in-law convinced me to keep reading them. Books 2-4 are definitely more enjoyable than the first simply because the love interest is better. Other than that, the level of writing stayed consistent. One thing that did bother me about the series was the world-building. There were clear references to eastern European folklore, but it seems as if the author just borrowed characters rather than fully immersing her story within the mythology. I am not against that, but I just did not understand why. I am no scholar of Russian folklore, but it seems Maas picked certain characters that already existed in folklore and then added in some of her own. Why not just create all of your characters then? I just didn’t see the point in including the Firebird, Baba Yaga (known as Stryga in this story), and Koschei the Deathless if they are not the main focus of the story. Koschei the Deathless in particular had almost no involvement in the story. Like… why??? On top of this, the main villain in the story did not get very much backstory or explanation. The super powerful king is simply an evil, all powerful being that wants to take over the world. I am not against evil, all powerful beings (Sauron being a prime example), but I would have liked Maas to spend more time explaining his character in some way. Heck, I think it would have been cooler to combine Koschei the Deathless and the king into one character!



The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo 8/10
This is basically a “Spirited Away” story that uses Chinese folklore. It takes place in British ruled colonial Malaya. Not only does it have a fun, sometimes creepy, Spirited Away adventure, but it also has a murder mystery. It is a great stand alone story. It also has a Netflix adaptation which clearly had a low budget to work with and changed a lot from the original story.

The Red Palace by June Hur 9.5/10 (mild spoilers but also based on real life)
“Lies are the only defenses the lowly have against the powerful.”
Taking place in 1758 Korea, this is a fantastic murder mystery. The main character is a palace nurse named Hyeon who wants to solve the murders of multiple women. She joins a young police inspector, and eventually evidence seems to point to the Crown Prince as the killer. I found it super interesting that this story drew inspiration from a real prince: Crown Prince Sado. Prince Sado kind of went crazy and killed a bunch of staff. He was executed by being locked inside of a rice chest until he starved.

A Bright Heart by Kate Chenli 7/10
Influenced by Chinese folklore, this is about a girl who helped a prince become a king, but is then betrayed and murdered. She is given a second chance at life, and the story is about her seeking vengeance and allying with a different prince along the way. It was a fun read. The world-building could have been better, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.



Daughter of No Worlds by Carissa Broadbent 5/10
I don’t have much to say about this one. It felt like every “romantasy” book I have ever read but with less personality. By the end, I was skimming through it because I stopped caring.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson 9/10
I would classify this as a science fiction mystery. Many might consider this a horror story, but it does not feel that way at all. It is nothing like any of the movie adaptations that I know about. The protagonist, Mr. Utterson, is Dr. Jekyll’s friend and lawyer. He becomes highly concerned when Dr. Jekyll names Mr. Hyde as his sole inheritor in his will. Who is Mr. Hyde, and why would Dr. Jekyll all of a sudden choose him as his sole inheritor? I wish I hadn’t known anything about Jekyll and Hyde before reading it because the big reveal at the end would have probably been shocking! Even already knowing what the reveal was going to be, it was still fantastic to read. I love reading novellas because every scene feels paramount to the story. At under 100 pages, I read this in a few hours, and I think I was smiling the whole time.

Powerless and Reckless by Lauren Roberts 7/10
This is another one of those fun, “turn your brain off” romantasy stories. I don’t use this phrase as an insult. I just mean it is a story that is not very deep and it is meant to be both escapist and fun to read. There are other books on this list that would fall into this category. The “turn your brain off” aspect is the main reason I read them ( I need some breaks while reading The Count of Monte Cristo). Granted, there is a trend I have noticed which both confuses me and kind of annoys me. There are books, like these two, that have a protagonist that is considered poor and oppressed. The upper class and the rulers are then framed as the oppressors. The story spends time on cultivating this dynamic only to make the love interest one of the oppressors? What is the messaging here? In order to make the love interest one of the oppressors, the author then has to incorporate some excuses as to why the love interest is somehow absolved. Powerless seems to take a lot of inspiration from The Hunger Games, but Suzannne Collins knew better than to make Peeta a rich boy from the Capitol. I understand “enemies to lovers” as a concept, but there are much better ways to do this. Sorry, I guess I did not turn my brain off for this one!

Song of the Six Realms by Judy I. Lin 7/10
This is another story based on Chinese folklore. The main character, Xue, is a young musician who is whisked away into the Celestial Realm by the Duke of Dreams. They work together to solve a mystery surrounding the death of another celestial and the demonic beasts who keep appearing. It is a fun story, but definitely too long.

Foul Days by Genoveva Dimova 8/10
This story uses eastern European folklore as inspiration for its monsters. The main character is a witch who actually knows what she is doing (for the most part). There is a wall separating her city from a city with no magic or monsters. This immediately made me think about the Berlin wall and made me chuckle. The main character, Kosara, has to team up with a detective from the other side of the wall to simultaneously solve a murder and get her ‘shadow’ back from her abusive ex-boyfriend who just so happens to be the Tsar of Monsters. It’s fun and pretty cool.


Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 7/10
I have mixed feelings about this one. Was it fun to read? Yes. Was it extremely derivative? Yes. Look, at the end of the day a lot of popular books are derivative. I think it is kind of what is making them popular. I just don’t fully understand it from a writer’s perspective. Why write something if you don’t have a new take on the genre? I don’t mean to harp on Fourth Wing for this problem. As I said, a lot of popular books have this issue, including books on this list. I may be getting to a point where I am overthinking this, but I just could not think of a single original idea in this book. As I was reading, I kept remembering scenes from other books I have read that play out very similarly. It felt like I was reading a Frankenstein of all of the young adult books I have ever read. Maybe the sequel will have something original to say.

Also, this book had many moments that made me laugh so hard I could not breathe. I don’t think these moments were meant to be funny, but they were to me. For example, the main character, who I think is about my size or smaller, tries to best a fully grown man in a fight. Based on how these characters are described, this would be like me trying to pin my older brother. To put this in perspective, I am 5’3’’ and about 120 lbs. My brother is 6’3’’ and over 200 lbs. I cackled so hard at the sheer dumb audacity of this girl thinking she could ever do anything against this man. Like, what?? I don’t care what kind of special martial arts I know, I am never taking down my brother. I wouldn’t even try it with a weapon. This is devastating to me, but I will get over it. I am still cackling imagining what the size difference looks like on a mat.



Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross 8/10
This is an enemies to lovers YA fantasy that seems to be based on WWII England. It’s cute and fun to read. Both of the main characters are journalists who work at the same news company and are connected through magical typewriters. The romance plot is the main focus which made me start to wonder why the fantasy parts were included at all. I think it would have been more interesting to make it about WWII with some magical realism. This has actually been a thought I have had about many “romantasy” books. If an author wants to mainly focus on romance but also have some fantasy aspects, then magical realism fits the bill. Trying to have a robust romance and fantasy all in one story is a difficult task and sometimes feels completely unnecessary.

The Folk of the Air Trilogy by Holly Black 9/10
I just knew this series was going to hit different. I had already read some of Holly Black’s work before. She is a well-established author with a strong voice in her writing, and I am so glad she decided to write this romantasy trilogy. I was cackling like a witch during the first scene of The Cruel Prince. Girl does not pull her punches! Also, I have to admit that I did roll my eyes a bit when I read the title “The Cruel Prince.” The cruel or cold king/prince/duke/rich man trope gets really annoying after a while especially when the cruel/cold persona is always fake. However, Cardan, the male lead, quickly proves himself. There is a scene where he does something horrifying to a complete stranger who had slightly insulted him. After reading that I was like, “Holy shit, the title wasn’t lying.” It felt like a middle finger to all the stories that had lied to me in the past. There are so many things about this series that I love. The Fae are a bunch of dangerous tricksters and it creates a feeling of swimming in a pool of sharks. This may be my favorite in the romantasy subgenre.

The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo 8/10
This story takes place in 1908 Manchuria. The main character is a fox, but not a regular fox. She is one of those foxes found in Chinese mythology that can shape shift. She is hunting down the person responsible for the death of her child. The story follows her through that journey. It also follows a private investigator that was hired to find her. While long-winded, it is a beautiful story about finding closure.

The Blood Orchid by Kylie Lee Baker 8/10
This is the sequel to The Scarlet Alchemist. The story is about an alchemist/necromancer in ancient China. There are strong influences from both Chinese history and folklore. However, there is a dedication to Fullmetal Alchemist fans! The law of equivalent exchange definitely plays a big role in this duology. Reading that dedication before reading this book made me realize how much this story was inspired by Fullmetal Alchemist. There is a sense of danger in these books that is unique because the characters literally straddle the line between life and death.

Any book recommendations for me? I am reading The Count of Monte Cristo, but that is going to take me some time to get through. :’)

idk if you have read the Fourth Wing series but that was really good. if you have 'Hoopla' listening to the graphic audio really helped get me through it!

I'll most my favs that I read last year and this year so far