Published By: Tor
Pages: 336
Released On: 03/10/2024
Her beauty hides a deadly purpose.
Xishi’s beauty is seen as a blessing to the villagers of Yue – convinced that the best fate for a girl is to marry well and support her family. When Xishi draws the attention of the famous young military advisor Fanli, he presents her with a rare opportunity: to use her beauty as a weapon. One that could topple the rival neighbouring kingdom of Wu, improve the lives of her people, and avenge her sister’s murder. All she has to do is infiltrate the enemy palace as a spy, seduce their immoral king, and weaken them from within.
Trained by Fanli in everything from classical instruments to concealing emotion, Xishi hones her beauty into the perfect blade. But she knows Fanli can see through every deception she masters, the attraction between them burning away any falsehoods.
Once inside the enemy palace, Xishi finds herself under the hungry gaze of the king’s advisors, while the king himself shows her great affection. Despite his gentleness, a brutality lurks; she knows she can never let her guard down. But the higher Xishi climbs in the Wu court, the further she and Fanli have to fall – and if she is unmasked as a traitor, she will bring both kingdoms down.
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Tor for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
This has been on my wishlist for so long and so was thrilled when I was sent an early copy.
It is my first of Liang’s books, but it sounded so mystical and mysterious and so addictive – and it was.
I don’t think I’ve read any books set in (albeit fictional) Chinese culture, so that was an interesting angle, and it was a nice interlude to the various Christmas books I was reading at the time.
It’s hard to classify the genre It is historical, yes – I am unsure of the era but it definitely had this feeling of Chinese legacy to it. But it had action, mystery, subterfuge, family drama, romance; it had a bit of everything but never felt too heavy. It is so addictive that you just want to stay with it.
Xishi is our main character. She’s an open book when it comes to her emotions, but at the same time she is closed and secretive, which I know is a paradox but go with it. She’s had to learn to hide herself away for her beauty means more than anything else to anyone who meets her. But she is determined and she is willing, and she is grieving. It was fascinating to read her journey, from sometimes timid to strong and powerful. But I think underneath it all, she’s always been this strong character, just possibly not in an obvious way. I could see her being looked up to.
We then have two main male characters. Fanli, one of the King’s advisors who trains Xishi in everything she needs to know to fool a King. He’s mysterious, quiet, and beautiful. But we don’t seem much of him, and I’d have quite liked just a little bit more because he was delicious. And then we have King Fuchai. The enemy. I know he’s meant to be this big evil character who we all hate but he leapt off the page and I found him charming. Possibly slimy and deceptively charming, but I couldn’t help it, the heart wants what it wants.
Ann has really given us a sense of space. From the struggling village of huts trying to build back up after war, to the opulent King’s palace to everywhere in between, you can really place yourself anywhere and get a feel for it.
I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that the “training” part of the book takes up much of the first half, with the actual task coming in at about 40-45% of the way through. At first I wondered if that was too late, if the first half was too dragged out and the second too rushed, but I surprised myself by just how much I enjoyed the training sections and would have quite easily read a whole book of that. But then the second half was just as good. And so, it almost feels like the first section is too long but I wanted more, and the second section too short and I wanted more. But overall, I loved both halves and I didn’t actually feel they were too rushed or drawn out in the end, she’s found the right balance of enjoying what is there but wishing it didn’t have to end.
Now I know this is a fictional book, and I don’t know how much is real or not, but there is so much rich Chinese culture in it, it’s glorious and beautiful and eye-opening. I don’t know much, if anything, about Chinese culture and so it was interesting to read about that as well as enjoyed it as a novel.
Now that I’ve finished, I can say it is an utterly fabulous story with fantastic writing. Everything about it is just right. And by the end, I was in tears, it’s that beautiful. It will definitely be on my ‘Best Books of 2024’ list. It is a work of art.
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