Forest of a Thousand Lanterns – Julie C. Dao

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns – Julie C. Dao

Happy Tuesday!! I hope that you have all had a fantastic start to your week. I have! I have been following a ketogenic lifestyle for a while now, lost a total of about 50lbs. I gained some back over the holidays since I went off the path of this lifestyle. But…I am not back on. Once I lose another 5lbs I’ll be my high school weight again which I haven’t been since I fell off the wagon, and before that…since before my dad passed away my senior year of high school (10 years ago). I am so happy to be getting back into this healthy lifestyle. When it warms up here I will begin running. April will be another surgery, this time to remove the screw from each hip. But…overall, I am incredibly happy that we are living such a healthy lifestyle.

 

Speaking of healthy lifestyle, aside from eating right I am working my brain by reading so much! I am aiming to read a total of 100 books this year and so far, so good. I am one book ahead of schedule, thanks to my discovery of audiobooks. They really are a lifesaver when I have to children running around and little free time. What is your favorite audiobook? I will be doing a post about Hoopla and Libby soon! Be sure to watch for that, especially if you do not know what these are!

 

Well, on to the book review…shall we?

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns (Rise of the Empress, #1)

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns (Rise of the Empress #1)

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns (Rise of the Empress, #1)

Author: Julie C. Dao

Published: October 10th, 2017

Publisher: Philomel Books

Book Length: 363 Pages

Genre: Fantasy (YA)

Rating: ♥ ♥ 

Buy the book: Amazon

An East Asian fantasy reimagining of The Evil Queen legend about one peasant girl’s quest to become Empress–and the darkness she must unleash to achieve her destiny.
Eighteen-year-old Xifeng is beautiful. The stars say she is destined for greatness, that she is meant to be Empress of Feng Lu. But only if she embraces the darkness within her. Growing up as a peasant in a forgotten village on the edge of the map, Xifeng longs to fulfill the destiny promised to her by her cruel aunt, the witch Guma, who has read the cards and seen glimmers of Xifeng’s majestic future. But is the price of the throne too high?
Because in order to achieve greatness, she must spurn the young man who loves her and exploit the callous magic that runs through her veins–sorcery fueled by eating the hearts of the recently killed. For the god who has sent her on this journey will not be satisfied until his power is absolute.

 

 

This cover is beautiful I  love the symbol of danger the snake presents, wrapped around a beautiful hibiscus flower. My book has an alternative cover, matching the second book in the series. It is still beautiful though. I think I actually prefer this cover below, the copy that I have. I love the darkness of it with the green branches and blossoms along the edges of the book, the silver dragon in the middle. It really is beautiful. Don’t believe me? Check it out for yourself!
I was very excited to read this, I mean I do love a great Asain fantasy. Not only does this book incorporate Asain culture but it is a retelling! I seem to have been reading a few of these lately. I guess I enjoy them, wouldn’t you say? There have been so many Asian inspired books lately, that I was happy to be able to review this one. Unfortunately, I was let down. It wasn’t all that I hoped for. I think this is one book where the hype sucked me in and let me down.

 

 

The first thing that caught my attention in this book was the really slow pace. As if I was walking through molasses as the story progressed. The beginning of the tale was alright, not good but not terrible either, but the pace slowed as the story went on. It felt…off. It took me a long time to finish this, I dreaded reading it but it was not dull enough for me to just put down and forget about. Honestly, this story just did not pull me in. This was intended to be an Asain retelling of Snow White’s evil Queen. I hoping for a complex, engaging story and what I read was just, not that. Xifeng knows she is meant to be Empress and intended to make any sacrifice needed to get there.
The overall aspect that I did not enjoy here was the fact that I never really related to or bonded enough with Xifeng to become invested in her story. I like to relate to characters, if I do not feel invested then why should I continue to read their stories? The book could have been improved by adding smaller side stories or quests for characters to overcome throughout. Reminding readers why Xifeng was on this journey to the top.

 

I think that Dao’s worldbuilding was one of, if not the sole strongest aspect of her novel. The Asian influences on the world around her characters were beautifully written. The fact that this influence was even used in naming her the characters made me smile. I do love Asain culture and seeing it extended even to the characters made me happy. The imagery used to describe the surroundings in the story was vivid and I could picture the events actually occurring as the beautiful scenery surrounded me.

It is a Snow White retelling, but it does take a bit to really get into those details that really make that clear to the reader. That being said, I enjoyed her twist on the classic story.

 

 

Xifeng: Ugh…I just don’t know about her. She was beautiful and I loved how dangerous she could be but I just wanted more. I wanted to know her background a little bit more. All I know is her mother (well the woman who raised her), Guma, told her that she was meant to be Empress to Emperor Jun. I am confused why Xifeng was so obsessed with this, I understand that she respected Guma but why has this become her sole focus in life? She goes to such lengths, even giving up those she cares about simply to get into the palace. I just do not understand her reasoning behind this, I could not connect with her on a deeper level.

 

Wei: I don’t really have much to say about him. His jokes made me laugh at times but most of them were sexist and he was incredibly closed minded. Just not the type of character I enjoy.

 

There were other characters throughout the book but I really did not connect with any of them, their stories just did not interest me.

 

 

I think what hurt my opinion of this book the most was my lack of interest. The story just failed to grip me the way I hoped it would. If I am not interested in the story or invested in its characters, chances are that I will struggle to finish it. Overall it might be a great read for you but it just wasn’t for me.


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


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4 thoughts on “Forest of a Thousand Lanterns – Julie C. Dao

    • January 30, 2019 at 3:56 pm
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      Yea, sometimes a book just doesn’t fit everyone’s tastes and that’s ok. I have read many reviews where people loved this one, it just wasn’t for me.

  • January 31, 2019 at 7:55 pm
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    Sorry this one didn’t work for you! I own a copy and hope it works for me when I get around to reading it!

    • January 31, 2019 at 7:57 pm
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      It might!! I hope it does

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