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ninaskokoro's review against another edition
while this author had excellent descriptions of corpses and death… that was it. everything else fell flat and it wasn’t compelling. the dialogue felt repetitive and uninteresting and the crown prince was less interesting than a wet noodle.
seashell's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.25
jonkerkat's review against another edition
2.5
The world and magic were very interesting. I didn’t enjoy the romance or how naïve the main character was. She literally thought she could kill the empress when countless people have tried?? The romance didn’t fit or make sense. Just seemed convenient.
It felt very YA with the pacing and relationship building.
It felt very YA with the pacing and relationship building.
rgronmark's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
chian_exe's review against another edition
3.0
I found this book to be very interesting. I would like to think that I've read a good amount of books that derived/took inspiration from ancient Chinese mythology and culture. This book in particular deals with the concept of alchemy which is something I find to be interesting overall (Thank you Fullmetal Alchemist).
At the start, we are introduced to our MC Fan Zilan who is a practicing alchemist in Guangzhou, China with her cousins Wenshu and Yufei. All three have been studying in order to take the alchemist examination in the Northern capital of Chang'an so that they could become royal alchemists and live better lives. Drama starts to unfold during the examination and in the capital which leads to them getting involved with the royal family a little closer than they intended.
It was a really good read and not hard to follow at all imo. The drama wasn't too extra or too bland and I think it fit well for the story. The twists and turning points of the story kept it interesting as well. I really enjoyed the book.
Now on to the characters~~
Fan Zilan: She was as decent as an MC could get (not an insult) she was very headstrong about her beliefs and values which I couldn't help but admire. I will say though that when it came to her relationship with Prince Hong I couldn't feel the emotions of romance at least on her end, but maybe I missed something when it came to their interactions. Excluding that I overall liked her as MC.
Fan Wenshu: I've always said that I disliked the tsundere type and that sentiment still stands. I'm not a personal fan of consistent mean attitudes towards siblings but at the same time, I admire how much he cares for Zilan and Yilan. That alone made me like his character overall.
Fan Yilan: Loved her a lot, although her not standing up for Zilan or at least giving her two cents when Wenshu and Zilan would agree lowkey pissed me off.
Li Hong (Prince): Adorable cutie patootie that couldn't do jack shit (read that in a nice way). We love a blushing husband fr but at the same time, the fact he literally could not do anything within the whole story made me angry. He was a damsel in distress from beginning to end.
Empress Wu: The baddest bitch at the party fr. Great villain, but equally as frustrating whenever Zilan would face her since she was always 2 floors above everyone else. Gotta appreciate a ruthless ruler when they were built ruthlessly.
Zheng Sili: FUCK YOU, YOU HATER ASS BITCH, I HOPE YOU PILLOW IS FOREVER HOT, AND YOUR SOCKS NEVER DRY.
That is my review
At the start, we are introduced to our MC Fan Zilan who is a practicing alchemist in Guangzhou, China with her cousins Wenshu and Yufei. All three have been studying in order to take the alchemist examination in the Northern capital of Chang'an so that they could become royal alchemists and live better lives. Drama starts to unfold during the examination and in the capital which leads to them getting involved with the royal family a little closer than they intended.
It was a really good read and not hard to follow at all imo. The drama wasn't too extra or too bland and I think it fit well for the story. The twists and turning points of the story kept it interesting as well. I really enjoyed the book.
Now on to the characters~~
Fan Zilan: She was as decent as an MC could get (not an insult) she was very headstrong about her beliefs and values which I couldn't help but admire. I will say though that when it came to her relationship with Prince Hong I couldn't feel the emotions of romance at least on her end, but maybe I missed something when it came to their interactions. Excluding that I overall liked her as MC.
Fan Wenshu: I've always said that I disliked the tsundere type and that sentiment still stands. I'm not a personal fan of consistent mean attitudes towards siblings but at the same time, I admire how much he cares for Zilan and Yilan. That alone made me like his character overall.
Fan Yilan: Loved her a lot, although her not standing up for Zilan or at least giving her two cents when Wenshu and Zilan would agree lowkey pissed me off.
Li Hong (Prince): Adorable cutie patootie that couldn't do jack shit (read that in a nice way). We love a blushing husband fr but at the same time, the fact he literally could not do anything within the whole story made me angry. He was a damsel in distress from beginning to end.
Empress Wu: The baddest bitch at the party fr. Great villain, but equally as frustrating whenever Zilan would face her since she was always 2 floors above everyone else. Gotta appreciate a ruthless ruler when they were built ruthlessly.
Zheng Sili: FUCK YOU, YOU HATER ASS BITCH, I HOPE YOU PILLOW IS FOREVER HOT, AND YOUR SOCKS NEVER DRY.
That is my review
itzreedus's review against another edition
3.25
cela fait un moment que j'avais ce livre dans ma pal, depuis 2023 si je me souviens de la box fairyloot. je pensais sincèrement que j'allais adorer cette duologie. mais comme le montre la note, c'était une lecture en demi-teinte malheureusement.
l'intrigue et tout l'univers autour de l'alchimie est super intéressant et assez complet ! j'ai bien compris les explications et certains moments sont super fascinants ! c'est une "magie" qu'on ne croise pas souvent dans la littérature ou autres œuvres ! c'est vraiment le point fort du livre ! les moments d'action sont assez immersifs et interessants ! on n'est pas perdu comme dans d'autres lectures !
les personnages sont ce qui m'a le plus déçu dans ce tome. je les ai trouvé peu crédible dans leur réaction. c'est super triste car je pensais vraiment m'attacher à Zilan, ses cousins, le prince etc
mais alors pas du tout ! j'étais très détachée car pas mal de leurs actions sont débiles et sans fondement ! j'ai passé plus de temps à lever les yeux au ciel et souffler que d'apprécier pleinement.
le manque de cohérence et de compréhension de certaines décisions ont affaibli mon appréciation du roman. on arrive à certaines situations qui auraient pu être évité si les personnages réfléchissaient 5min et s'ils ne se prenaient pas pour les rois du monde à seulement 17 ou 19 ans (je ne me souviens pas de l'âge exact) !
c'était quand même une lecture agréable, je vais lire le tome 2 car je l'ai acheté il y a quelques mois mais je n'ai pas vraiment d'attente ni d'espoir qu'il soit mieux que ce premier tome !
l'intrigue et tout l'univers autour de l'alchimie est super intéressant et assez complet ! j'ai bien compris les explications et certains moments sont super fascinants ! c'est une "magie" qu'on ne croise pas souvent dans la littérature ou autres œuvres ! c'est vraiment le point fort du livre ! les moments d'action sont assez immersifs et interessants ! on n'est pas perdu comme dans d'autres lectures !
les personnages sont ce qui m'a le plus déçu dans ce tome. je les ai trouvé peu crédible dans leur réaction. c'est super triste car je pensais vraiment m'attacher à Zilan, ses cousins, le prince etc
mais alors pas du tout ! j'étais très détachée car pas mal de leurs actions sont débiles et sans fondement ! j'ai passé plus de temps à lever les yeux au ciel et souffler que d'apprécier pleinement.
le manque de cohérence et de compréhension de certaines décisions ont affaibli mon appréciation du roman. on arrive à certaines situations qui auraient pu être évité si les personnages réfléchissaient 5min et s'ils ne se prenaient pas pour les rois du monde à seulement 17 ou 19 ans (je ne me souviens pas de l'âge exact) !
c'était quand même une lecture agréable, je vais lire le tome 2 car je l'ai acheté il y a quelques mois mais je n'ai pas vraiment d'attente ni d'espoir qu'il soit mieux que ce premier tome !
brittnicolev12's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
victoria_d18's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0