Wrap Up: May 2025

Hi everyone

May was a good reading month. Because I didn't really enjoy Parker-Chan's He Who Drowned the World; I read a few children's book alongside and I really liked this combination.

Here's what I read: 

- Terry Practhett & Stephen Baxter: The Long Mars

- Jim Butcher: Furies of Calderon 

- The Poetry of Emily Dickinson

- Harriet Muncaster: Isabella Maan gaat naar de kermis

- Harriet Muncaster: Mirabelle heeft een slechte dag

- Paul van Loon: Birthday Surprise

- Paul van Loon: Full Moon

- Shelley Parker-Chan: He Who Drowned the World

- Emma Newman: Before Mars

How was your month? Did you read anything you'd like to recommend?

Happy reading!
Helena

Shelley Parker-Chan: He Who Drowned the World

Hi everyone

He Who Drowned the World is the second and final book in Parker-Chan's series The Radiant Emperor.
I read this on my e-reader.

You can read my review for the first book here.

"How much would you give to win the world?
Zhu Yuanzhang, the Radiant King, is riding high after her victory that tore southern China from its Mongol masters. Now she burns with a new desire: to seize the throne and crown herself emperor.
But Zhu isn’t the only one with imperial ambitions. Her neighbor in the south, the courtesan Madam Zhang, wants the throne for her husband—and she’s strong enough to wipe Zhu off the map. To stay in the game, Zhu will have to gamble everything on a risky alliance with an old enemy: the talented but unstable eunuch general Ouyang, who has already sacrificed everything for a chance at revenge on his father’s killer, the Great Khan.
Unbeknownst to the southerners, a new contender is even closer to the throne. The scorned scholar Wang Baoxiang has maneuvered his way into the capital, and his lethal court games threaten to bring the empire to its knees. For Baoxiang also desires revenge: to become the most degenerate Great Khan in history—and in so doing, make a mockery of every value his Mongol warrior family loved more than him.
All the contenders are determined to do whatever it takes." 

This book was so, so, so boring and repetitive. I can’t tell you how many times we were told the same things (whether it was about events or character traits) over and over again. The constant reiterations and the fact that we were told instead of shown these details frustrated me. I wanted to finish it to see how it ended, but I had to pace myself because otherwise, I’d either nod off, lose all interest in reading anything, or just get angry.
On top of that, it felt too sexually explicit. I understand that sexuality can be part of the story, and sometimes it’s necessary, but here it felt overdone, like it was included just for shock value rather than serving the plot or characters.
Finally, the tone was just too dark. There wasn’t a single moment with even a glimmer of hope. I enjoy grimdark fantasy, but even in the darkest stories, I need something to believe in, to hope for, or to root for. This book gave me none of that. It was just relentless bleakness without any balance.

So yeah, not a great read for me. It’s a shame, because I loved the premise of the series, but this book just didn’t work for me.

Have you read He Who Drowned the World? Did you feel the same way, or did it resonate with you more? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Happy reading!
Helena

Wrap Up: November 2024

Hi everyone

Another month has come and gone. November is one of my least favorite months; it gets cold, wet, and dark here in Belgium. But there’s an upside: it’s perfect weather for cozy reading!

Here’s the list of books I finished, along with links to my reviews:

- Shelley Parker-Chan: She Who Became the Sun

- Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter: The Long War

- Ira Levin: Son of Rosemary

- Daniel Kahneman: Thinking Fast and Slow

What books did you read last month? Did you discover any new favorites or hidden gems? I’d love to hear about them!

Happy reading!
Helena

Shelley Parker-Chan: She Who Became the Sun

Hi everyone

I finished She Who Became the Sun, the first book in The Radiant Emperor duology by Shelley Parker-Chan. I read this on my e-reader.

"In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness…
In 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family’s eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The fate of nothingness received by the family’s clever and capable second daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected.
When a bandit attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who succumbs to despair and dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl uses her brother's identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice. There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay hidden from her fate.
After her sanctuary is destroyed for supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu uses the chance to claim another future altogether: her brother's abandoned greatness."

This was a medium-good book for me.

I didn’t really like the characters; they were very one-sided and unlikable. Ouyang, in particular, was very dramatic and kept thinking the same things over and over. Everything gets repeated so many times that it became frustrating.

But the story itself was really good. It’s a re-imagining of the rise of the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, something I know nothing about, so I can’t say how much is based on facts. Still, it was easy to read, the story engaged me, and I really wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen next.
So, even though I didn’t connect with the characters and hated most of their actions, I liked the book because of the writing, the world, and the plot.

Have you read She Who Became the Sun? Did you enjoy it more than I did, or did you feel the same way? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Happy reading
Helena