Girls of Paper and Fire - Rambling Readers

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Published Dec. 6, 2018 by Hachette Audio.

ISBN:: 978-1-5491-2290-3

(1 review)

In this lush fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most oppressed class in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards still haunts her. Now, the guards are back, and this time it's Lei they're after--the girl whose golden eyes have piqued the king's interest.

Over weeks of training in the opulent but stifling palace, Lei and eight other girls learn the skills and charm that befit being a king's consort. But Lei isn't content to watch her fate consume her. Instead, she does the unthinkable--she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens the very foundation of Ikhara, and Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide just how far she's willing to go for justice and revenge.

10 editions

Radioactivestardust reviewed Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

Review of 'Girls of Paper and Fire' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Let's write a pro and contra list of this book:

+ nice love story
+ good portrayal of friendship
+ not your regular harem story
+ interesting and new concept
+ Great side characters

- horrible main chara, whole story should have been written from the point of a different character. The MC is all talk and doing nothing. She never thinks about the people who could get involved for her actions, like her servant whose life depends on her.
- some very critical scenes, that basically destroyed the whole world building
- it stays in the confines of a YA book, which explains some of the scenes. But seriously, sometimes it gets just outright ridiculous "There have been public executions before???" No shit, sherlock, there are still goddamn public executions as of today. Also the whole concubine situation has been morally jugded. A very complicated topic simplified for the …

Let's write a pro and contra list of this book:

+ nice love story
+ good portrayal of friendship
+ not your regular harem story
+ interesting and new concept
+ Great side characters

- horrible main chara, whole story should have been written from the point of a different character. The MC is all talk and doing nothing. She never thinks about the people who could get involved for her actions, like her servant whose life depends on her.
- some very critical scenes, that basically destroyed the whole world building
- it stays in the confines of a YA book, which explains some of the scenes. But seriously, sometimes it gets just outright ridiculous "There have been public executions before???" No shit, sherlock, there are still goddamn public executions as of today. Also the whole concubine situation has been morally jugded. A very complicated topic simplified for the moral conviction of an YA book.
- The caste system was completely messed up. Not sure, if it's a good idea to take cultural elements from other countries just to distort them in your book.
- Also, "malaysia-influence" my ass. Malaysia is an islamic state. I don't see any middle east influence. I only saw south east asia, especially chinese influences.
- All the animal people became just people in my head. Don't think that played out well.
- The last fifty pages were torture