Girls of Paper and Fire: Natasha Ngan

Welcome back, everyone! I hope that you are enjoying the new year so far. I am excited to be catching up on reviews. One of my resolutions or goals for 2019 is to review books as soon as I finish reading them. I know that I am not the only one with that issue. I don’t have a problem remembering the book but they pile up fast. I am happy to be finally getting a little more organized.

 

I bought an Inkwell Press planner and could not be happier. If you have not heard of them, go look them up. I bought the disc planner and am making my own planner stickers. It is a time-consuming process but it saves me money in the long run. I have a monthly planner for writing down post dates, blog tours, etc. The big planner is for a mix of family events and blog things I need to get done. My favorite part about it is that there is a goal sheet and a habit tracker for every month. I hope to use those to achieve some of my goals this year. How do you stay organized? I would love to hear your tips. As a person with OCD…all the tips for organizing are cherished.

 

Now, onto today’s review. I received an ARC of this book and simply did not get to write my review in time for the release. I apologize for that. I did, however, enjoy the book. I am sure many of you have read and enjoyed it as well…so, here goes.

 

Girls of Paper and Fire (Girls of Paper and Fire #1)

Author: Natasha Ngan

Published: November 6th, 2018

Publisher: Jimmy Patterson Books

Book Length: 400 Pages

Genre: Fantasy

Rating:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Buy the book: Amazon

**Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel for free, from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.**

 

First, let’s discuss how stunning this cover is! If you see this in the finished hardback, the colors are simply striking. The shimmering eyes and yellows really draw your attention. I know that when I saw the finished copy in the store I had a hard time not buying another copy, it is that beautiful! I know some of you have bought a book just for the cover…right?

I have to say that this was one of my most anticipated reads of 2018 and I was not disappointed.

 

Things I didn’t like:

• Slower Plot
  • In the middle of the book, it seemed to lack any real direction for a bit. It did not pull me away but it did seem duller than the other parts of the book. The building up to peeks int he story was great but it fell a little flat of really giving me a direction to look forward to.

Things I liked:

• Worldbuilding
  • The amount of detail in this world is amazing. I immersed myself in a new world and felt I was a part of it. The imagery was exquisitely beautiful and never once did I encounter any type of information dump. It was as if the world slowly unfurled in front of me, like the romance of Lei and Wren blooming. It is magical with a sense of realism spread throughout, wonderfully written.
• Romance
  • Speaking of romance…can we just say I love Lei and Wren. I was so releaved that it was not a case of some type of Stockholm syndrome. I have read my fair share of those. The budding romance between these two women was so swoon-worthy. A nice, slow burn romance is just what I needed and this book provided it! They really are a perfect match.
• Demons
  • The fact the demons are on the top of the social hierarchy stuck me as strange initially, but it turns out I actually love that idea. It brings something unique and different. When I first started reading I was worried this would be similar to a term I have heard abut before (furries). I was really hoping I did not have to read those love scenes. This hierarchy did bring up some more subtle themes of oppression of women within society without shoving it directly in your face.

Final Thoughts

The ending though! It was so good. Written with enough build to a big climax but leaving enough information to hint at a second book to come…very well done. I really have been loving the Asian characters and themes in recent novels. I adore Asian culture and these books, this one included, have made me incredibly happy. This book elicits feelings of empathy, fear, anger, desire for both love and freedom… freedom that ignites hope in every reader.

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Would you read this novel? Buy it or borrow it? If you have read it, what did you think?

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