Book Review: "Girls of Paper and Fire" by Natasha Ngan
Hello and welcome to my second-ever book review! Second book, second James Patterson Presents, second amazing cover. Believe it or not, it was total coincidence that I picked this up right after "Once and Future". It wasn't until I was looking at them side-by-side that I realized they were both James Patterson Presents titles.
And they both have stunning covers.
But that's about where the similarities end (with one obvious exception, but that's below my spoiler warning).
This book is creative. It's beautifully written, more than a little bizarre, and compelling. It follows Lei, a girl relegated to the lowest caste of society (Paper) by her humanity, as she is summoned by the Moon demons (part human, part animal) to become a concubine for the Demon King. Ok, so it frontloads the mythology, but it's worth it. The world is heavily influenced by Ngan's own culture and the places she's lived, which lends it a richness and depth that can feel lacking from a lot of fantasy worlds. Every part of this world feels bursting with more stories to tell. I want several companion novels for this one alone, and I will probably buy the next book in the series the next time I have $20.
The book deals with situations relating to sexual violence, assault, and rape, so you should be aware of that before you pick it up. I thought the issues were handled with realism and sensitivity, and without graphic details, but it's just something to keep in mind.
That's about all I can share with you without introducing spoilers, so if you want to read the book and not have it spoiled, you should probably close this now.
You have been warned.
The other big thing the book has in common with "Once and Future" is that the central romantic relationship is between two girls. In this case, two concubines, both forbidden on pain of death to have a relationship with anyone but the king, in a world that doesn't even acknowledge that it's possible to be a lesbian. It's compelling stuff, and this relationship is handled much better than in "Once and Future," but still suffers from what I'm calling "ILS"-- Idealized Love Syndrome.
While the chemistry between the two characters is described much more elegantly, and the relationship builds organically, this book still had a little too much of the oversimplification that comes with most romantic subplots. All the conflicts in their relationship are external. Despite their vast differences, and the love interest's cagey and secretive nature, they fall together organically and without major interpersonal conflict. This happens in straight relationships just as often, this rosy view of love with nothing between the two characters being painful or irritating. It's possible I've just been conditioned to look for the spice and intrigue of a dysfunctional relationship that these authors are too progressive to give me, but I like a little tension; a little lack of surety about whether two characters are going to get together. And in this book, from the very first description of the group of "Paper Girls," you know who Lei's love interest is going to be. That's not necessarily a bad thing, I just happen to not like it as much.
This book is slow. The action takes a loooong time to get going, and it's really only in the last maybe 30 pages that our heroine actually does much of anything. Granted, it makes complete sense why it had to be that way, and when she makes her move it's freakin heart-stopping. But if you picked this up hoping for "The Hunger Games" meets "Zootopia," it's not that.
Please, nobody write that.
Ngan's writing is lush. It's visual. It's sensual, as in, all of your senses are involved. It was effortless to slip into the world of the book, even though the world was bizarre and unfamiliar. Every side character clearly had a whole life going on, a whole story, and I would legit read all of them. Especially Kenzo. Never have I been such a stan for a character that got maybe 15 pages of screentime in a book. Please, Natasha Ngan, write Kenzo a different story where he doesn't get murdered. I was kind of hoping he and Zelle were going to run away together but FINE, BREAK MY HEART.
The ending of the book makes me nervous, because it's eerily similar to something that happens in my book, but that's just how it goes when you're reading as a writer. And at least it happens in a different beat in my story and has completely different consequences.
This is NOT a standalone book, in any sense. This very much feels like an appetizer for an epic series. I don't know anything about the other books, how many are out or whether they are as good, so that's always a bit nerve-wracking when starting a series, but if you're willing to take the risk, I recommend this.
3.5 out of 5.
Song Recs:
I See Fire by Ed Sheeran
Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys
Broken Girls by Gabbie Hanna
The book deals with situations relating to sexual violence, assault, and rape, so you should be aware of that before you pick it up. I thought the issues were handled with realism and sensitivity, and without graphic details, but it's just something to keep in mind.
That's about all I can share with you without introducing spoilers, so if you want to read the book and not have it spoiled, you should probably close this now.
You have been warned.
The other big thing the book has in common with "Once and Future" is that the central romantic relationship is between two girls. In this case, two concubines, both forbidden on pain of death to have a relationship with anyone but the king, in a world that doesn't even acknowledge that it's possible to be a lesbian. It's compelling stuff, and this relationship is handled much better than in "Once and Future," but still suffers from what I'm calling "ILS"-- Idealized Love Syndrome.
While the chemistry between the two characters is described much more elegantly, and the relationship builds organically, this book still had a little too much of the oversimplification that comes with most romantic subplots. All the conflicts in their relationship are external. Despite their vast differences, and the love interest's cagey and secretive nature, they fall together organically and without major interpersonal conflict. This happens in straight relationships just as often, this rosy view of love with nothing between the two characters being painful or irritating. It's possible I've just been conditioned to look for the spice and intrigue of a dysfunctional relationship that these authors are too progressive to give me, but I like a little tension; a little lack of surety about whether two characters are going to get together. And in this book, from the very first description of the group of "Paper Girls," you know who Lei's love interest is going to be. That's not necessarily a bad thing, I just happen to not like it as much.
This book is slow. The action takes a loooong time to get going, and it's really only in the last maybe 30 pages that our heroine actually does much of anything. Granted, it makes complete sense why it had to be that way, and when she makes her move it's freakin heart-stopping. But if you picked this up hoping for "The Hunger Games" meets "Zootopia," it's not that.
Please, nobody write that.
Ngan's writing is lush. It's visual. It's sensual, as in, all of your senses are involved. It was effortless to slip into the world of the book, even though the world was bizarre and unfamiliar. Every side character clearly had a whole life going on, a whole story, and I would legit read all of them. Especially Kenzo. Never have I been such a stan for a character that got maybe 15 pages of screentime in a book. Please, Natasha Ngan, write Kenzo a different story where he doesn't get murdered. I was kind of hoping he and Zelle were going to run away together but FINE, BREAK MY HEART.
The ending of the book makes me nervous, because it's eerily similar to something that happens in my book, but that's just how it goes when you're reading as a writer. And at least it happens in a different beat in my story and has completely different consequences.
This is NOT a standalone book, in any sense. This very much feels like an appetizer for an epic series. I don't know anything about the other books, how many are out or whether they are as good, so that's always a bit nerve-wracking when starting a series, but if you're willing to take the risk, I recommend this.
3.5 out of 5.
Song Recs:
I See Fire by Ed Sheeran
Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys
Broken Girls by Gabbie Hanna
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