a song to drown rivers ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ wait actly this is like 4.5 stars but i js rounded it up heh spoilers ahead
(view spoiler)[ • this was such a stunning rea song to drown rivers ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ wait actly this is like 4.5 stars but i js rounded it up heh spoilers ahead
(view spoiler)[ • this was such a stunning read. i finished it in one sitting. i feel like i went through a whole roller coaster ride, dry-heaved, vomited, ate a fantastic meal then vomited again • the writing was so so so so magical. it truly felt like i was witnessing everything with my own 2 eyes. from the details to the language, everything was perfect i loved reading it. reminded me of the writing in the secret shanghai series. what i absolutely loved was the fact that ann liang could take one small detail and spin it into something with So Much depth. it's a little hard to describe but if you read the book you'll understand • the plot!!! i was super intrigued. for some books the romance might overwhelm the actual plot, but for this book they complemented each other perfectly. the whole spy thing was supa cool as well and it wasnt difficult to understand • there are definitely hidden layers in this book that you might have to squint a little to see. but once you notice them your entire perception of the book changes so drastically • there are some parts that i wish were more developed. like the backgrounds of the different characters could have been elaborated more, the war could have been stretched out more to be more impactful, and the ENDING oh gosh the ending could definitely have been done better. i felt like it was a little rushed compared to the rest of the story. but if you can overlook the plot holes then it should be fine i guess • the only part i did not really like was the instalove between xishi and fanli • if you want a happy ending don't read this book i was so heartbroken at the end
characters
--- xishi "They say that when I was born, all the wild geese flew down from the sky, and the fish sank beneath the waves, having forgotten how to swim." she is such a beautifully written character. one thing i love abt ann's books is that her female characters have so much potential. xishi is a very intelligent character, a spy who uses her beauty and wits to charm others, but at the same time is so in tune with others' emotions, and who is well aware of her own feelings
--- fanli "If heroes are born from tumultuous times, then he must be one of them. Perhaps very little from our kingdom will survive through the tides of history, but Fanli—I believe he will. Even hundreds or thousands of years from now, I believe they will remember him a hero." honestly, i wish we got to see more of him in the book. i dont rlly have much opinion about him.
--- zhengdan "In action, she was so elegant. Beautiful. Her movements were fluid, like how water flows over rocks or how wind shifts through the trees. One strike bled into another, with no pauses or fumbles in between." wait i was really upset when she died lol. wish ann couldve done her character more justice and given her a more glorified death.
--- luyi "Can you imagine living your whole life without the chance to witness one of Heaven’s greatest masterpieces?” He gestured to his own face. " wait he's so funny i love him
--- fuchai "There were times when he gazed at me with such pure sincerity, such boyish eagerness, that I almost forgot how much I loathed him." i could go on and on about how complex his character is. hes seen as someone responsible for the destruction of a kingdom, but as we continue deeper into the story, we see his boyish innocence, his longing for someone to love him as he is, his willingness to do anything for the one he loves. there is SO MUCH depth in his character, and although the reader is reminded time and time again of how he should be perceived as this "evil" character, when you peel back the layers, you can see that all he wanted was for someone to see past his title. he was so kind to xishi and he trusted her with all his heart and she BETRAYED HIM omg like ik that was her job but still i was so heartbroken on his behalf like damn girl whyd u do that to him!
quotes and moments that altered my brain chemistry --- “Happiness was a side dish, like the sweet, sticky rice cakes Mother made during the festivals, or the glutinous balls stuffed with rich sesame paste. But revenge—that was the salt of life. Necessary. Essential."
--- when fanli asked xishi what desire means “Absence,” I said, after some thought.” this makes so much sense
--- “The heart is a fickle thing; it takes and takes. It is easily swayed, and tempted, and made weak. Too many have fallen victims to their own irrational desires. But the mind—the mind is dependable, accurate, deadly. It destroys the enemy, not the self, and ensures that we do what we need to, not what we want.” crazy how this quote is a perfect description of the entire story
--- “I could see my future moving away from me, as distant as a star, my life caught in the tides of something so much greater than I was.” because ultimately, xishi was just a pawn in a game. she believed she had a greater purpose, but in reality she got used then disposed
--- the night of the final battle when xishi felt guilty so she told fuchai he could do anything he wanted to do with her. bcos up until that point, although she was his concubine they had never done the thing. and fuchai was introduced at the start as someone who ummm had a lot of these desires. but when given the opportunity to finally do whatever he wanted with the girl he loved, he just held her tight and asked whether that was ok with her LIKE????? THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT IS INSANE
--- when fuchai offered his sword to xishi to end his life someone who had everything at his fingertips eventually decided that nothing was worth it anymore once he found out that the girl he loved never truly loved him back
--- goujian killing xishi bruh i knew he was suspicious from the very beginning
--- the skewed perception on women "Be beautiful, be charming, be the most coveted girl in the room, or else you will be nothing. For men, it was so easy; the path to power was so direct. But we had to manipulate and maneuver and claw our way to gain half of what they did." from learning how to conceal her expressions, to seducing the king, to leading her country to victory, every move xishi made had to be a strategic one. and yet, in the end, all she was seen as was sly and cunning. someone who put her life on the line for her country was reduced to just a pretty face. to put it a little more into perspective, fuchai who was seen with many women on his arm, was only regarded with respect and reverence (most of the time). while xishi, who won over his heart, was compared to a nine-tailed fox, someone who managed to put him under a spell
--- the rise and fall of kingdoms "So long as we continue to put mortal men on thrones and hail them as gods, sacrifice our lives to their legacies, history will repeat itself. Just as the ocean tides ebb and flow beneath the moon, empires will rise and collapse, wars will start and cease, and the rest of us will be left to struggle against the currents." this story really highlighted the fact that human lives are so delicate, and in the grand scheme of things, nothing ever changes much.
--- red string of fate wait so like i dont understand why this wasnt elaborated on! like did she forget about it or what. like at the start when she mentioned that xishi's heartpains wld cease when she was arnd fanli then as the story progressed none of this was mentioned??? (hide spoiler)]...more
![ブルーロック 5 [Blue Lock 5]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1580364474l/50719422._SX50_.jpg)
![ブルーロック 4 [Blue Lock 4]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1580364189l/50719407._SX50_.jpg)
![ブルーロック 3 [Blue Lock 3]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1555434946l/45155205._SX50_.jpg)
![ブルーロック 2 [Blue Lock 2]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1549155968l/43817929._SX50_.jpg)
![呪術廻戦 21 [Jujutsu Kaisen 21]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1669924371l/61124345._SY75_.jpg)
![呪術廻戦 20 [Jujutsu Kaisen 20]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1659297973l/59988310._SY75_.jpg)
![呪術廻戦 19 [Jujutsu Kaisen 19]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1648577953l/58219312._SY75_.jpg)
![呪術廻戦 18 [Jujutsu Kaisen 18]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1640389165l/58219311._SY75_.jpg)
![呪術廻戦 17 [Jujutsu Kaisen 17]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1633723251l/58036555._SY75_.jpg)
![呪術廻戦 16 [Jujutsu Kaisen 16]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1622650897l/56894055._SY75_.jpg)
![呪術廻戦 15 [Jujutsu Kaisen 15]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1614969926l/56448885._SY75_.jpg)
![呪術廻戦 14 [Jujutsu Kaisen 14]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1609350901l/55437091._SY75_.jpg)
![呪術廻戦 13 [Jujutsu Kaisen 13]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1601665559l/54702017._SY75_.jpg)
![呪術廻戦 12 [Jujutsu Kaisen 12]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1596210415l/53676898._SY75_.jpg)
![呪術廻戦 11 [Jujutsu Kaisen 11]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591035702l/53387133._SY75_.jpg)
Loading...
