Status Updates From Scions of the Black Lotus: ...

Temptress of Fate
This was another okay story that once again gives that tantalizing clue at the end. Tian and Wen shine the most here. The best part honestly is the reveal. The rest was filler and by now it’s almost too easy to guess certain villains. The major interest is who is actually pulling all the strings.

Wretches of the Trench
It was good to get a different perspective of The Floating World. This time we are in the poorer section ruled by the Triads. It advances the overarching plot even though the timing doesn’t make sense. Expect the twist at the end, which is repetitive if you read these novellas back to back.
3 stars

White Sheep of the Family

Picks up 6 days after the events of Thorn of the Night Blossom. There is a new character who is a great addition. The pacing, plot and those final twists, world building and action scenes were great. The reader has a better handle on this world.
Still weak on certain aspects regarding women and handling a certain neurodivergent character.

Finished Thorn of the Night Blossom
Fast paced Asian fantasy/mystery where a secret spy group works as courtesans. Lots of info dumping at first and it felt quite disjointed. Think it needed to be fleshed out more with the intrigue and world building. And it is meant to have commentary on sex and power but that felt quite flat.

I like the book, I like the characters, and I like the world. But somehow it’s not “grabbing” me; I’m not sure why. Kang has a really easy style of narrative that’s not excessively, and unnecessarily, descriptive, so this shouldn’t be a long read for me. *shrugs* I might not be in the best mental space for fantasy fiction right now.

4/8 stories finished. The third one was actually a chapter-sized one.

2 of 8 stories finished.

Short stories finished: 1/8