Taylor’s Reviews > She Who Became the Sun > Status Update

The very limited fantasy elements are very intriguing. At this point I don’t know if this is a stand alone or part of a series, but I am 100% invested. I just know that I’m going to get heart broken with either Xu Da or Esen dying (although I like Xu Da way more than I like Esen).

Things are happening very suddenly, but they’re not super unexpected. I do think a lot of the treatment characters get (primarily the women and Ouyang) is undeserved (obviously). I didn’t really think Little Guo was going to make it to the end, but having your limbs and head torn off your body is a little much.

Ouyang and Zhu are like the same coin flipped. It’s interesting to see a woman being able to pass as a man to most people and achieving a certain amount of success, while a man who, through no actual fault of his own, has been “stripped” of his masculinity and still seems to be solely focused on anger and hatred. I’m actually going to be sad if any of these characters die or something.

I wasn’t expecting there to be different perspectives, but I really enjoy that in a book! Everyone’s stories are already so tragic that it really brings out the theme of “life is what you make of it”. Of course there are things we can’t control, but how we come out of it is what matters and the only approval worth having is your own.

I really like the writing so far, it feels very well thought out. Already pretty devastating and not even a hundred pages in. I like Xu and Zhu’s relationship. He seems like the older brother she never had, even when her own was I’ve he didn’t show her as much love and understanding at Xu. I will be very upset if he dies…