Pragathi Ram > Recent Status Updates

Alice has imagined Henry to be such a perfect person, untouchable basically, that when he shows the slightest slips of emotion or reaction, she actually treasures how he looks so much and so affectionately it’s really beautiful

Her parents’ reaction to her getting in trouble was TERRIFYING, maybe they also don’t realize that she’s just a child too which is why she treats herself horribly

“I notice.”
“But I can’t wrap my head around it. What does he mean, he notices? And how could he be aware of something about me that I wasn’t even aware of myself? It just doesn’t make sense, because no one notices—“ AWWWW

Also Alice is making some VALID points about power and perception especially after what happened to her family in the States, she just doesn’t want them to feel helpless

Some of the most romantic lines I’ve ever read and it’s from a freaking YA fantasy novel:

“She’d laughed, and if he could have bottled the sound and gotten drunk on it every night, he would have.”

“I have been made to protect you. Only in death will I be kept from this oath.”

The way these men YEARN 🫢

I like Chanel, I feel like her and Alice started off on bad terms but I’m glad Alice is opening up to her more now and even including her in the whole Beijing Ghost thing
Also CRAZY that Henry literally stayed up three nights in a row to make this app for Alice, think girl this can’t just be for the money 🤦‍♀️
Also getting the feeling that Alice is just very awkward and Henry just isn’t

I LOVEEEE how during this section the Black Protocol bells chime exactly when each character has fallen into the worst possible circumstances like damn that’s good writing
BUT ANYWAY WE GOT THE GAY TALK BETWEEN JESPER AND WYLAN FINALLY:
Wylan: “Just girls?”
Jesper: “No. Not just girls.”
“His eyes met Wylan’s. They were out of time.” NOOO STOP NO DON’T TOUCH THEM 😭😭

Kaz, I hate to break it to you, but lying to everyone who’s risking their lives to go on this insane mission for you is just not the strat
I LOVE Inej’s character growth here tho, she finally decides to do smth for herself and not because she’s a pawn to someone else
Although that means…
“Scheming face… She was going to miss that look.” 😭
“The heart is an arrow. It demands aim to land true.”

“Stop being dense. You’re cuter when you’re smart.” Jesper just discovered how much better it feels to make Wylan blush and he’s just going with it now, I freaking love it
Also he’s a GRISHA WHAT??
GUYS KAZ’S BACKSTORY IS ACTUALLY HELL BECAUSE WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE CLUNG TO HIS DEAD BROTHER’S BODY AS HE SWAM MILES BACK TO THE HARBOR BEFORE HE DIED AMONG A SEA OF CORPSES?! WHO CAME UP WITH THISSS

Whoa I did not expect Nina and Matthias’s story to circle back to the present like that cause he’s right, they both do have a motive to kill the scientist and now I’m really wondering if Nina would truly betray the Dregs or if she’s leading Matthias on again…
And even if they tried to, how would they outsmart Kaz? Surely he’s at least a little suspicious of them due to their past with each other

“The Prince had stood before me moments ago. I had held his hand. He had whispered my name. And now he was gone.”
No. No way he’s gone. I know the omen and stuff like that but… but this entire story is a story about resistance so I refuse to believe he’s truly gone.
Also I don’t think Nameless Flower knows that Daehyun also lost because of the king and that he never condoned his actions

It actually breaks my heart to watch little Kaz and Jordie be so naive when I have seen what type of person Kaz has become today. But it’s also really eye opening to why he became this way.
“Kaz would always remember that moment, when he’d seen greed take hold of his brother, an invisible hand guiding him onward, the lever at work.” Meanwhile now greed is his servant.

I was gonna talk about how he felt that creating a female Creature was even worse and those implications BUT WHO CARES WHEN VICTOR’S DEFINITELY GAY LOVER JUST GOT KILLED
WHYYYYY 😭
“I should have died on the coffin of Henry.”
“Your form so divinely wrought, and beaming with beauty, has decayed, but your spirit still visits and consoles your unhappy friend.”
“I had rather be with you…” IT HURTS 😫

The Creature continues his (very-in-depth) story about the cottage dwellers.
One impressive thing to note is that it is able to pick up on skills very easily, he learns how to speak French indirectly, and then he reads books like Paradise Lost soon after and can comprehend their complex themes.
I also find it endearing how he sees man as beautiful but notes that Victor made him wretched while God made man like him

So Frankenstein turned suicidal except he can’t die because of his remaining brother, father, and cousin.
Finally Frankenstein and the Creature have a conversation and it’s almost funny how much more coherent and reason the Creature is compared to Frankenstein (who btw, threatens to box him to death for some reason)
“Do your duty towards me, and I will do mine towards you and the rest of mankind.”

Wow um… didn’t think I would get through this so quickly. It’s actually a way easier read than I thought
“The world to me a secret, which I desired to discover.” Victor Frankenstein is a spoiled home-schooled kid in my opinion whose parents never taught him the meaning of reality, and so he gets this idea that he can play God
Further he refuses to take responsibility for the Creature, abandoning it instead

Super engaging
The fact that Henry Li was the only person Alice felt comfortable going to with this issue feels significant but also sad, like she thought through her entire school career and could only name her self-asserted rival as her only friend…
Awww he has a photo of them taped to his desk for when he’s studying 🥺
I fear Alice is reading all the signs wrong and he’s desperately in love with her

“There aren’t any wild cheers… but at least they’re looking. At least they can see me.”
Not for long…

I like how obvious Liang makes the cultural references in this book. Obviously it’s based in Beijing but Alice herself is somewhat American and even says that other people describe her as “foreigner” not to mention I found her entire conversation with her parents super relatable as a first gen

I actually can’t be bothered to deal w real life when this is happening in my book:

“Huang Iseul, if by any chance, we do not meet again in this lifetime, then I will find you in the next. Or as many lifetimes as it takes to see you again.”
“So long as you live, we have the rest of our lives to find each other again. And I will find you again. I promise.”

That omen is driving me crazy, we’re so close

“Go Daehyun. Go and move the heavens for her.” I’M NOT CRYING YOU ARE
The scenes leading up to Iseul entering the courtesan house were HEAVY idk how but the author managed to make me empathize with these characters’ desires and motivations as if they were my own… That was just incredible…

Chapter 29 is my favorite chapter:
Wdym he stayed outside keeping guard of her hut for THREE DAYS without even speaking??
Daehyun: “The next person to harm you will die by my own hands.”
“What does it matter what I wish? You said no, and I will receive your word as a royal command.”
“The Prince is not going to die this year… it is but a silly omen.” NOO I FORGOT ABOUT THE OMEN

“We pull off this job and divvy up the haul, we’ll be the legends of the Barrel. We’ll be the crew that beat Pekka Rollins.” Loving the group dynamic so far
THE BACKSTORIES
Nina and Inej’s backstories had me near TEARS what do you mean these two were treated so HORRIBLY, and both times they were persecuted for separate identities. Both Grisha from Ravka and foreigners are enslaved, no one is 100% safe

Okay lots to unpack in one chapter
Iseul’s uncle’s betrayal hit her so hard and for good reason, he’s family, he was supposed to protect her
Onechik’s sacrifice and Iseul’s grief was SO WELL DONE like I had to pause and just listen to the absolute POETRY
Finally Iseul has had it Daehyun’s unfeeling nature, “I hope it crushes you. All your unfelt tears and sorrow.” WHOA just whoa

If I had all the time in the world I would be able to read this book in one sitting.
WE FINALLY GOT THE INVESTMENT SCENE:
“You came back for me.”
“I protect my investments.”
Also Kaz’s pure RAGE directed at the enforcer who stabbed Inej was actually making me giggle so hard this dynamic they’ve is so complex but it’s understood by everyone that she is HIS Wraith, so consequences will come from him

AHHH I LOVE THE TENSION
Iseul making sure Daehyun stays alive by gifting him the ring and making him promise to bring it back to her after the coup was actually beautiful
When he called her “my lady” teasingly I was so impressed at the natural character growth
One of my favorite moments so far is when Iseul smiles at him for the first time and it reads: “He felt undone.”

It’s still frustrating that Daehyun and Onchik aren’t telling Iseul everything and still feel the need to protect her. I understand at the beginning of the book, but hasn’t she proven herself worthy of being more than just a girl in their eyes?
I love to see that Iseul is actually starting to understand Daehyun, she sees how repressed he is and implores him to think beyond the coup, about his hopes and dreams

“The treacherous, murderous king? Afraid?”
“Utterly terrified.”
This story is so interesting, at first I had thought that there was a lot going on, but now I feel very deeply immersed in all the different twists and secrets
I also love how we can see Iseul slowly working for herself, understanding the thrill of figuring things out on her own
Meanwhile Daehyun is getting constantly distracted by her laugh

“He did not want to care. Indifference was the only thing that has kept him sane.” This man is going to care so much for her that he won’t be able to BREATHE
He’s starting to see her as stronger than he’d assumed, meanwhile she’s starting to see him as gentler than she’s assumed

I have no idea how Kaz is able to handle everybody on his team constantly being at each other’s throats
Wylan is so adorable, “Actually, I play the flute” aww please keep him alive guys

I love how each perspective actually feels like stepping into their shoes, Inej & her saints, Jesper & his impulsivity, Kaz & his planning
It’s so well done that every chapter and interaction deserves notice