I'm conflicted with this one.

I loved that this is a female led wuxia/xianxia genre-bending story. Sai'er is an amazing lead who, while naive at times, is an absolute baddie. She learns to fight, excels in it, trains hard, is immortal spirit Chang'e in mortal form, and becomes the leader of a strong, tight knit rebellion. Everything about her checks lists for me and her story is so interesting. Based off a real rebellion leader, I found her character amazing, as a whole.

The world-building was also a huge win for me. Poon's writing is immersive and I could see the world come alive in my mind as I read, especially the fight scenes. The training sequences and fight scenes really set the stage for future battles, and I enjoyed joining Sai'er, Binhong and Yinho on that journey.

Where this book lost me at times was the virgin magic (an absolute no for me) and Sai'er's inexplicable attraction to a known tyrant and rapist (also, ick). Due to the virgin magic, there are attempts to make her not one (ahem), and I did not enjoy those sequences. With regards to the evil Sky Wolf, the main adversary and the man Sai'er is drawn to, she's transported fairly early on in the story to an old memory from her life as Chang'e. In that vision, Sky Wolf sexually assaults her, and she's walks away from that vision still drawn to him and trying to better understand his psyche. I wish her disillusionment happened earlier, as that was a big nope for me.

This book had strong writing and fantastic world building, but some of the cons really conflicted with the pros. I'm curious to read book 2, as the end of this book cuts right at the 50% mark of the plot, but this one was a miss for me.

TW: violence, injury detail, sexual assault, suicide attempt, vomit, rape, torture, war, death, kidnapping, death of an animal (not dog, hunting); mentions cannibalism

eARC gifted by Alice Poon, the author, in exchange for an honest review.