DNF @ 20%

I cannot believe I've DNF'd two of my most anticipated reads this year.

This book does give me strong The Poppy War vibes, and while Part I was slow going I did really enjoy the way it was written. The first section has Zhu going to a monastery in her brother's place and she's motivated nearly entirely by a desire for success and sheer willpower. Unfortunately when the POV started to switch back and forth in Part II I just completely lost interest. There are moments where she shows a real passion and fiery characterisation and then it sinks back into blandness for me. I'm such a character driven reader that I really struggled to connect with her, and didn't connect with Ouyang at all. The world is gorgeous and it's clear that Shelley Parker-Chan has done incredibly dedicated research. There is loving detail in every piece of description and I could so vividly see life in the monastery and Zhu's life before the monastery, down to the descriptions of her hunting for food.

SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN by Shelley Parker-Chan was one of my most-anticipated releases of the year. Pitched as MULAN meets THE SONG OF ACHILLES, it promised an epic story and definitely delivered.

The comparisons to MULAN are obvious as we have an unnamed girl inhabiting the identity of her dead brother Zhu Chongba in fourteenth-century China when the Mongol conquerors ruled. The world-building is richly detailed and evocative with the opening description of famine and drought seared into the reader. The beautiful prose is thought-provoking and engaging, sweeping the reader along on an epic journey.

Fate is the prominent theme of the story, incisively interweaved by the author with the aim of exploring the idea of destiny. By taking on the identity of her brother, does Zhu also take on his prophesied fate of greatness? Is there a larger force in control? Does Heaven know Zhu Chongba isn’t who he professes to be?

Gender roles are examined through Zhu’s perspective as an individual assigned female at birth but who doesn’t identify as female. Society reveres able-bodied warrior males as the masculine ideal and women are relegated to the domestic sphere. I loved the idea of a “compressed rage” when facing “all that sought to make her nothing”. The author also explores gender identity through the character of the eunuch general Ouyang, a man moulded by self-hatred, shame, and anger stemming from his gender non-conforming appearance.

Romance plays a very small part in the overall story but Zhu does have a relationship with a woman called Ma Xiuying, an empathetic and intelligent character who worked well with Zhu. The suggestion of romantic feelings between Ouyang and Esen led to a tragic climax and left me devastated.

The military strategy and political machinations reminded me of THE POPPY WAR and I don’t think fans of that series will be disappointed by this incredible book. SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN is epic, powerful, emotional and beautiful. I’d highly recommend borrowing or buying a copy as soon as it is released.

With thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy of this title.

It’s clear that research went into She Who Became The Sun and there is a solid historical reality to it (not least of all the searching for food during the famine - eating crickets and lizards if you’re lucky - and inclusion of bodily functions early on and the sheer smell when unwashed!) for all that those destined to rule have the Mandate (divine fire). Fire, heat, passion, desire run throughout the book, the synonyms resulting in radiance, reference to the heavens in way that I suspect is very Chinese.

I like that the fighting is shown more as strategy and clashes than all out fight scenes which personally I tend to find rather dull, and political scheming scenes are passed over in favour of discussions (Is this really wise?) or warnings (not always listened to). The search or fight for one’s fate is played out interestingly especially in terms of queerness and identity of both Zhu and Ouyang and the level of agency plays out for pretty much everyone within society. I have deep respect for the way the main couple and the concept of suffering in this life is handled.

The points of view are done well, and alternating between camps Shelley Parker-Chan never overstays with one character or another. The pacing is good and I really wish I hadn’t finished so soon before book 2 comes out (don’t worry it’s not a cliffhanger) because even if it doesn’t quite nudge into 5 star territory, I want to know where it goes from here.

Honestly, 2021 is such an immense year for female Science Fiction and Fantasy writers. She Who Became the Sun is fantastic, bringing me feelings I’ve not felt since I read The Poppy War series by R.F. Kuang. It is a re-telling of the rise of Zhu Yuanzhang, a period of history I obviously new nothing about before reading this book. It’s the kind of story where the strong will of the protagonist draws you in immediately and then keeps you addicted to each page until you finish. I am in awe of how well-constructed this debut is, and I am already eagerly anticipating the sequel.

A peasant girl avoids her fate of an early death by opting to take the identity of her dead brother. She becomes Zhu Chongba, fleeing to a monastery, gaining entry through sheer force of perseverance and learning all she can from its Abbott before the monastery is taken by the famous eunuch General Ouyang. This is a moment that ties these two characters together. Zhu escapes and finds new goals in rising from soldier to commander in the Red Turbans, rebel forces wanting to take back China from the Mongols.

Zhu is a character that is simply a force of nature. She is determined, unstoppable and uses her intelligence to make up for her lack of physical strength. Through her talent for both strategy and tactics she impresses those around her, tricking them all into believing she is a man. I was simply addicted to the story, eagerly anticipating what her next moves would be and how she would get herself out of one sticky situation to the next. As well as her ferocity, I enjoyed reading her tender moments – a romance with daughter of dead Commander Ma and friendship with fellow monk Xu Da. I loved the contrast between the persona she puts on and the true Zhu, and who she chooses to reveal her real self to.

Like The Poppy War, I was taken in by the accessibility of the way the battles are described. There is only as much detail as needed for a reader to understand so each battle is fast-paced and full of tension rather than burdened with details. I loved the blend of action and character development – Zhu really grows throughout the book.

What I think really makes this book is seeing events from another perspective. There are multiple points of view throughout the book but the other most frequent one is from General Ouyang. His story is probably one of the most difficult for a reader – he is a cold character having led a traumatic life to date, losing his family, being made a eunuch and then serving the people that did it to him. He is now the right hand general of Prince Esen, but will his next meeting with the monk change his fate?

Again, this is another book where I am finding hard to write down just how blown away I was by it. I could empathise with the protagonists despite their sketchy morals. Not many books can make me feel so much about such a variety of perspectives. Overall, this is another book I will be thinking about for a long time and it’s taking everything in me not to look up the history until I’ve read the next book. If you like re-tellings, Mulan and The Poppy War I have a feeling that you will also like She Who Became the Sun.

This is an epic story – an unlikely one but very likeable, loosely based on historical figures during the collapse of the Mongol-ruled Yuan Dynasty, a successor state of the Mongol Empire, and the rise of the Chinese Ming Dynasty in 1368.

It is also an exploration of gender and gender identity in a society where gender roles are very clearly deliniated, where the key to success and recognition lies with being born male and most importantly to be seen acting like a man, as born out by the stories of the two main protagonists.

Zhu, resourceful and ambitious, is the only surviving girl of a famined village. She takes on her dead brother’s identity and becomes Zhu Chongba, who was foretold a destiny of ‘Greatness’ and by bringing ‘a hundred generations of pride’ to his family name. With her mantra ‘I am Zhu Chongba and Grateness is my fate’, she achieves high and becomes a fearless and ruthless warrior and leader. In the most critical moments of her path to Greatness, it is however her female intuition that opens up the way to her chosen destiny. In searching for the right balance between her hunger for power and her desire for love, Zhu struggles with the compromises she must make until compromise is no longer an option.

The second and secondary protagonist of this epic whose story is interwoven with that of Zhu, is Ouyang, a general serving in the army of the Prince of Henan. As a young boy he was the only male whose life was spared when his father’s rebellion against the Great Yuan failed. Spared and being the last son of his family, he was castrated and ‘lived and breathed for a single purpose. Revenge.’
Although bitter enemies and fighting for opposing armies – Zhu for the Red Rebells who will eventually enable the rise of the Ming Dynasty and Ouyang for the declining Yuan Dynasty – they recognise something of themselves in each other and facilitate the other’s success. Ouyang’s shame, self-hate and anger only secondary relate to the fate of his family, they are primarily based on his personal battle with his gender identity and the low status it represents – not being a man. Zhu on the other hand, took on the identity of her brother. Only a trusted few and, of course the reader, know that there stands a capable woman behind the success of this man .

This story, set in the 14th century in a culture so very different to ours, is as modern and universal as it gets.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Phenomenal. It has been a while since I’ve read a great fantasy book. The writing was so brilliant, and the characters!!!! God this was just so good. Will recommend this to everyone!

finished this book and immediately wanted to read the sequel. You know, the one that doesn't exist yet...

This is the queer remaining of the foundation of the Ming Dynasty that I never knew I needed.

There is a LOT of war plot lines and there is also a lot of laser focus on the desire for a certain fate and greatness in life. If reading those kinds of books isn't for you, this one is definitely not.

But if it IS for you...oh this book is so rewarding. It's an intense read and I really committed to Zhu's person, to their desire and determination and when that became comes with the hurt, shame and simmering Revenge of the opposing eunuch general, Ougang, God did this boom deliver for me.

I was generally confused about whether Zhu would be considered as someone who identifies as transgender. 'She' is used throughout the book and though she is desperate to be seen as a man and take a man's fate, at times this seemed more about the desire for greatnes than it was about identifying as a man. That said, the book deals excellently with a wide range of subjects - from bodily mutilation to gender and bodily dysmorphia.

Though those subjects can be triggering for some, and for this book would be very triggering, I can only imagine the safe, historical and fictional space this book is going to provide to readers who need and deserve to see such representation in the books they are reading.

Aside from that brilliance though, this book is just damn good. The political tension, the pacing, the suspense of war, the personal intrigue and the expansive setting? I was here for it.

When is the next book due? Next week? Please?

Thank you to Pan Macmillan Publishers and NetGalley for granting me access to this book's ARC.

A girl destined to become nothing. A brother destined for greatness. When her father and last remaining sibling Zhu Chongba succumb to bandits and impoverishment, the girl takes her brother's name and identity for her own, determined to claim the great fate that he has given up. She soon finds herself thrown into a world of war, where rebels and the Yuan Empire clash in a fierce bid for control of China - and where she will forge a virulent rivalry with the eunuch Ouyang, whose past has darkened him more than anyone could imagine.

Phew, okay. This book! I hardly know where to start. Let's talk about Zhu. Our starring character in this book is AFAB who doesn't identify with her given gender (but is referred to as both she and he throughout the narrative). I absolutely ADORED Zhu, and she was one of my favourite aspects of the whole book. She is determined, witty, funny and likeable, and yet also cold, unempathetic and morally grey at times. Zhu was incredibly written and I loved how she grew with the story. Her struggles with gender identity and dealing with her own body were profound and made her all the more genuine, and it was so refreshing to read a fantasy/historical fiction book with a queer protagonist. Zhu has organic motivations and desires, just as the other key characters do; motivations that are often unorthodox for literary heroes and protagonists.

And the relationships, my lord!! After Part I of the book, we switch to dual perspective and are therefore allowed to experience relationships between characters from many different angles (after following Zhu for the whole of Part I, the switch was a little jarring at first, but it only adds to the book's brilliance). Each relationship was different, but all were authentic, and Parker-Chan deals with complex subjects such as the struggle to accept one's sexuality, the fear of being 'outed', the loneliness of non-belonging, and the pressure to comply with historical gender roles. Several of the characters are queer and all of them have diverging personalities, which makes for an array of interesting and memorable relationships; the dynamic between Zhu and Ma as well as Zhu and Xu Da especially captured my heart.

There was never a point for me during which this book felt slow. The narrative flowed at a perfect pace, and much of the time I literally couldn't put it down. She Who Became the Sun is a retelling of the rise of the Ming Dynasty in the 14th century, so it's chock-full of war, betrayal, factionalism, murder, rivalry, and so much more - with a fantastical twist. The action and intrigue is non-stop; perfect for anyone who loves a fast-paced book. Parker-Chan surprised me consistently with the directions she took this novel in, and I'm not mad about it.

She Who Became the Sun works well on its own, but I'm so glad there's a companion book on the way because I am absolutely not ready to let these characters go yet. They've already developed so much, and I'm so excited to delve back into their world in the second book of this duology! I will be encouraging ALL of my reader friends to purchase this book when it comes out on July 22nd (UK), and if you are reading this I would encourage you to do the same!

Ever since I caught wind of this book, I have been dying to get my hands on it. I was lucky enough to receive a review copy of this book from the publisher and I devoured it in the spring, but have been totally unable to put my adoration of this book into thoughts. As the publication date creeps closer, I'm going to try my best because you all need this book.

She Who Became the Sun is filled with morally grey, ambitious characters living in political instability. We get perspectives from characters on both sides of the conflict, giving us a well-rounded story that helps explain and define character decisions and interactions. We have two main points of view — Zhu the monk who takes on her brother's identity, and Ouyang, the eunuch general leading the troops of a Mongolian prince. While they are wildly different characters, they are both flawed and morally grey in fascinating ways. I totally fell in love with Zhu's storyline and voice from page one, but it took me longer to get attached to Ouyang. However when his storyline began unfolding about halfway through the book, the book was unstoppable and I could not put this book down.

The gender politics in this book are absolutely fascinating. Sexuality, gender identity and conformity, and gender roles are all twisted, examined, or critiqued through each character's storyline. As a straight, cis woman, I'm definitely not the best person to provide in depth commentary on these facets of the book, but WOW they absolutely blew me away. I can't think of another book that has tackled these issues as well as Parker-Chan, and I highly encourage you to seek out reviews from LGBTQIA+ reviewers, especially non-binary and non-gender conforming readers.

She Who Became the Sun is a gorgeous work of historical fantasy that absolutely must be on your TBR. It's morally grey, casually gay, and absolutely brilliant piece of fantasy writing and I am in total awe. Also, that ENDING. Please give me the second book...now.

She Who Became the Sun is a fictional debut novel by Shelley Parker-Chan and is the tale of the rise of power of Zhu Yuanzhang during 13th century China under the Mongol rule.
It’s a sweeping epic involving rebellion, revenge, betrayals with a humongous dose of ambition and belief. Identity plays a huge part of the story…it’s a powerful read, as written in the book, “The Buddha said: live life like your head is on fire”.
However, although the story is well written, I did find myself struggling during the middle of the book which is when the focus switched quickly from monastery life to full on war. If you enjoy historical fiction around the bloody beginnings and endings of dynasties, you will love this book.
Big thanks to Shelley Parker-Chan, Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for this eARC which I chose to read in return for my honest review.

I really enjoyed *She Who Became the Sun* and am looking forward to reading the next book(s) in this series! It did take me a while to get into the story, but about halfway through the action started picking up and I was hooked.

As the story continues, the stakes become higher and the plot and action become more fast-paced and exciting. The main character survives a raid by bandits, while the rest of her family perishes. She decides to assume the identity of her deceased brother in order to make a future for herself and joins a monastery. Eventually, she accrues more power and therefore more enemies.

The stakes are really high in this book and I was never bored. The private human relationships next to the public power struggles felt very realistic and balanced the political narrative.

A slow, complex reimagining of the founding of the Ming dynasty, with a nameless daughter taking on an identity and destiny that takes her far beyond her origin.




She Who Became the Sun is a historical retelling about a fascinating moment in history: the fall of the Yuan dynasty and the founding of the Ming dynasty in China, and the corresponding rise of Zhu Chongba, a peasant boy from an impoverished family wiped out by famine, to becoming the dynasty's first Emperor. Except, in this reimagining, Zhu Chongba was not born with that identity. Instead, when the real Zhu Chongba dies of famine, it's his nameless sister who takes on his name and everything about his identity, including the prophecy that Zhu Chongba - whoever takes up that mantle - is destined for greatness. By taking on her brother's identity and finding her way into a nearby monastery for the next decade, Zhu survives, but eventually the conflict catches up with her and she ends up joining the Red Turban rebel forces, securing her place in the army through a smart initial victory and rising through the ranks.

Zhu's rise to power - and the way it ties in with a fantasy world that takes prophecies and mandates very seriously - would be a great adventure even without the complexities of her gender - but with it, the story becomes much more compelling. While Zhu lives in a time where men and masculinities are highly constrained, it is also a patriarchal structure where women have almost no agency or power except through making a lucky enough marriage. Zhu is convinced that she can only achieve the destiny attached to her name if she acts entirely in accordance with the way the "real" Zhu Chongba would have done - which means trying to push away any manifestation of her own female identity, and refuse any empathy with the women around them despite understanding their challenges far better than other men can. And yet, as readers, we can see that much of Zhu's brilliance comes from her ability to think beyond the constraints of martial masculinity that most of her comrades are embroiled in, and when she begins to build a relationship with Ma Xiuying (daughter of a dead General and betrothed of another), it's all we can do not to shout at her to stop being dense and go for it. But Zhu's gender journey is nowhere near as basic as "woman in patriarchy doesn't want to be oppressed", and her kindling a connection with Ma is not, in the end, about a shared gender - although it is based on a promise of being able to break with convention. Zhu never stops referring to herself with she/her pronouns (hence why I'm using them here - though the book switches depending on the point of view character) but her path to establishing her own identity involves embracing her "otherness" even as she evolves past the need to perform the best version of her brother that she can.

She Who Became the Sun is one of this year's much-feted golden-covered sapphic fantasies, but compared to The Jasmine Throne and The Unbroken, the chemistry between Ma and Zhu plays less of an active role in the narrative. It's still very much there, particularly in the book's heartbreaking climax, but it's nevertheless a quieter relationship than The Unbroken's Touraine and Luca or The Jasmine Throne's Priya and Malini. Instead, the more tumultous and tragic journey is given to the book's other great relationship: that between Ouyang, a eunuch general in the service of the Mongolian Prince of Henan, and the Prince's son Esen. Ouyang was brought into the service of the Mongols after they massacred his family and mutilated him, so one can imagine he's not particularly happy with the situation. But as a man dealing with plenty of Gender Bullshit of his own, Ouyang is desperate to prove himself as a martial leader, and his actions immediately put him at odds with Zhu as the latter begins to rise. Ouyang's complex, heated relationship with Esen, and Esen's own struggles with both Ouyang and with his adoptive brother Wang, make the politics of the Mongol side just as intriguing as that of the Red Turbans, and Ouyang's own difficult, conflicted role makes it hard not to sympathise even as we hate his actions in opposition to Zhu. Both Ouyang and Zhu end with very morally challenging resolutions in this book (the first of a duology), yet I find myself rooting for and sympathising with both of them, and hoping for at least a shred of mutual understanding to be possible in the concluding part.

She Who Became the Sun is, in short, an impressive book. On a personal level, it didn't work as well for me as it seems to have done for other reviewers - perhaps because it's so slow, I found myself appreciating it in a distant way rather than being as emotionally drawn in to Zhu's journey as I had hoped. The relatively low magic also took some adjustment after spending a lot of time in more fantastic worlds more recently: as noted, the Mandate of Heaven has a very physical manifestation in this world, and there are ghosts and other supernatural elements, but the war being fought is very much one of the historical time. Those are not criticisms of the book itself, though, and as historical fantasy that stays (I think!) relatively true to the historical record, She Who Became the Sun is a brilliant example of how the genre can turn those events on their head and bring readers a narrative that is both instructive of the period while imagining complexity and challenge in places that the historical record inevitably flattens (or overlooks altogether).

I am really grateful to have received a early copy of this book from the publisher - it releases at the end of next month, so if it interests you make sure to pre-order. This book was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021, and while I did really enjoy it, I didn't completely fall in love with it and I found it a bit slow. She Who Became the Sun includes content such as gender dysphoria, murder, abuse, and starvation, but I would recommend checking out this review by the author for a full list of content warnings: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

She Who Became the Sun is pitched as Mulan meets The Song of Achilles - it's historical fantasy set just before the start of the Ming dynasty, and full of queer characters! Parker-Chan reimagines the rise to power of the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty, Zhu Chongba - except Zhu Chongba dies during a famine in his village, and his sister is determined to take his place (and his fate) herself. Shelley Parker-Chan has specified online that two of the main characters are genderqueer - one of them has a relationship with a woman, and the other with a man. The exploration of gender is deep and complex, and I'm sure there will be even more development in the next book.

I loved the concept of the book, and I find it so interesting when authors put a fantastical twist on historical events. I'm intrigued to see how these fantasy elements will progress in the next book! Zhu's story as a child and the changes in her life completely captivated me at the beginning of the book. So many of the characters are ruthlessly ambitious, and as the plot progressed we got to see a lot of character development - especially with Zhu. I love reading about morally grey characters who are not afraid to go for what they want in life, no matter the consequences. I'm hoping to see more of Ma in the next book too. I didn't connect to Ouyang as quickly as I did to Zhu, but by the end I was so invested in his actions. The writing was great too - I felt SO much emotion at the end and I love when fantasy has tragic elements.

I don't even actually have that many issues with the book - I just didn't get the 5 star feeling, which I know is extremely subjective. The pace was also a LOT more slow-paced than I was expecting, which I don't think is a bad thing in fantasy/historical books, but I wish the pace was faster. At times, I wasn't too interested in what was going on and I wasn't disliking what was happening, but I also wasn't motivated to pick up the book to see what happens next. I struggled with the middle of the book the most, because I felt there was a big change between part 1 and 2 and it took me a while to get used to it. However, I really loved the end and all the action and twists made up for it! I haven't fully decided on a rating yet so don't be surprised if I edit this review in the future.

I have some really complicated thoughts that I'm not even sure how to articulate. While reading, I could objectively acknowledge that this is a great book and I can see why people love it. I really enjoyed the book as a whole, especially the ending. However, while I was reading I just didn't fall in love like I expected to - so many people have been raving about this book and I'm honestly sad that I didn't become obsessed with it like I thought I would. Still, I'm excited to see where the story goes! Shelley Parker-Chan included a note at the beginning with historical context that I found really helpful too, and it made me appreciate the attention to detail even more.

This was my most anticipated reads of 2021 and I am so grateful that I got to read a copy early. I was so ready to love this book and let it be my new favourite of all time, as it was pitched to me as The Song of Achilles meets Mulan.

And maybe that is why I am slightly disappointed because I had too high expectations and it wasn't quite that. Not that She Who Became The Sun isn't a good and wonderfully written book, it just didn't fulfil the space that I thought it would.

Let's talk about my favourite parts first: The wonderful worldbuilding of 1300s China! Parker-Chan has wonderfully captivated the history of a world that is cruel, harsh but also full of beauty in the places you wouldn't expect. I fell head over heels for Parker-Chan's description. of her world.
The characters also captivated me and I adored Esen, Ouyang and Wang Baoxiang. What does it say about me that I was in love with the tragic antagonist of this tale, I wonder?
I loved Ouyang's chapters and the more I read about him the more I empathised with a character who felt he only had one path to his fate. I would love to read more from his pov in the next book and see where Wang is heading as well?

I also loved how our main protagonists Ouyang and Zhu mirrored one another. Not only in their own performance of gender and queerness but also in how they understand the ones they love in relation to their own goals. I never felt that Zhu loved Ma but she performed the role of lover well. However, Ouyang loved Esen but never allowed himself to be vulnerable enough to love anyone. Parker -Chen has created a coin where Zhu and Ouyang will mirror one another as they both prepare for their fate and the end of the line.

On the subject of Zhu, I feel that this is where the book felt disappointing for me, I loved the idea of Zhu and she is a wonderful character. and yet I couldn't empathise with her in the way I did with the other characters. She comes across one dimensional as all she can see is her own greatness. She cannot empathise with others and therefore as a reader, I struggled to empathise with her and ended up really disliking her and wanted to skip her chapters.

The ending changed this book for me from a 3 star rating to 4 stars. I bawled my eyes out at the twist that I didn't see coming at all! However, the pacing was definitely an issue and there were times when I did think about putting She Who Became The Sun, down and not picking it up again. Glad I pursued as the ending was wonderfully horrific and I am looking forward to seeing where the story goes. On a side note feeling like maybe this is a duology rather than a trilogy?

Content Warnings: These can be found here, via the author - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3587386263

I really struggled to put this down. The world-building was so outstanding, I truly felt like I was wandering deeper into the world whenever I turned the page. Although a few things fell a bit flat for me, the reading experience itself was great and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Things I Liked:
♥ As mentioned, the world-building was some of the best I have ever read. Everything felt very vivid and intentional, and I had no trouble at all becoming immersed in the world.
♥ The intricate political landscape was really well explained and I felt like I had a good grasp of who everyone was in relation to one another. There were enough players that the stakes were high, but too many that it became muddled at any point.
♥ Overall, the reading experience was just fun. I enjoyed learning about the world and the history.

Things I Disliked:
♡ I feel like I’m majorly in the minority with this, but I got to the end of the book and I still don’t really know what the actual plot was. I think this, largely, has to do with some pacing issues. There were jumps in pacing that made me feel like I had missed chunks of plot, but really they just weren’t there. Pacing and content-wise, this book often felt like the build up to the big battle in long fantasy series, but we hadn’t spent enough time with the characters for this to have enough weight for me.
♡ The characters themselves were a bit of a letdown for me. Other than Ouyang, I don’t really feel like I knew any of the character’s motivations. Zhu’s initial motivation, right at the start of the book, was super clear but as the book went on, I couldn’t really grasp why Zhu was doing anything. I also struggled with the bonds between the characters. All of the relationships, romantic, political, familiar, etc., felt quite surface level and the power imbalance in some of the relationships made me a bit uncomfortable.

Overall:
Although I generally need a strong plot or lots of characterization to enjoy a book, I still really loved reading this. I’m not sure whether it was a style choice, or just the execution, that didn’t work for me as much as I’d hope, but I’m still absolutely looking forward to the next book and would recommend She Who Became the Sun to anyone who loves historical based fantasy.

3.5/5 stars

Big thanks to netgalley for giving me an arc of this book💕

“She who became the sun” tells an incredible story set in China in the 1300’s when the land is under Mongol rule. It starts when a girl loses what’s left of her family in a bandit raid on her village, and takes on the name of her brother Zhu Chongba, deciding that she will live as him and aim for the great fate that was destined for him. We read about Zhu growing up, living as a man in a monastery, and seeing how she develops in life as she chases the “greatness” she knows is waiting for her as Zhu Chongba.

On the other side we have Ouyang, a eunuch general who serves a Mongol Prince, the same man who killed his entire family and made him a eunuch. Ouyang started as a slave to the prince’s son Essen, eventually becoming his bodyguard, then general to his army. Reading Ouyang’s internal struggle of his feelings towards Essen is heartbreaking, as he cares for him deeply but struggles with it since his family is the reason his own is no longer alive.

The main chunk of the story is told from Zhu and Ouyang’s POV’s with some parts being told from Essen and Ma’s, Ma being the woman that Zhu meets later in the story. The story is broken into three parts with the first part focusing on Zhu’s youth, and then later bringing in the other characters and their POV’s. There was some POV changes within the same chapters, which felt a bit off to me sometimes because the way no big space between the paragraphs when they changed. I think it would’ve been better with a marker of some sorts just so we knew the setting/pov was changing rather than realising it after a sentence or two.

I personally felt like this book was quite character driven. There was a lot of the characters doing things, but I felt like there weren’t many impactful moments in it. I was really interesting in the story at the start, but around the middle I started to get a bit bored, and I felt like it didn’t really pick up again until the end which was really good and had me shocked and emotional. I think the issue I have belongs with me and not the book, this was incredibly well written but I just couldn’t connect super well with the characters which is what usually sets apart the books I love from I just like.

That isn’t to say that the character were bad, because they weren’t at all. I really liked Zhu and Ouyang and seeing how they both contrasted each other whilst also being similar in ways.

Zhu senses a connection between herself and Ouyang the first time they meet, knowing that they both feel wrong in their bodies. Zhu’s comes from the fact that she is trying to live as close to her brothers life as possible so that even the heaven’s don’t realise she is just an imitation, and her body is the biggest reminder to her that she is not who she says she is.

Ouyang’s dysphoria stems from being made a eunuch at young age and therefore having his body not develop the way cisgender males do when they reach puberty. He is often referred to in the book as beautiful, but always “like a woman”, and made to feel like he is no longer a man because of his lack of genitalia.

They both had similarities too in their goals as they progressed through the story, and I really liked how the author gave them that similar connection while also keeping their struggles separate and individual to themselves.

Essen and Ma had smaller roles in the story but I really enjoyed their parts too. Ma was a great addition to Zhu’s life and story and I really liked her. Essen was an interesting character since he was the one person who really “accepted” Ouyang, but also hurt him a lot because of how little he really understood him.

Most of this story focuses on character growth, politics, and taking lands, but there is a small bit of romance too which I enjoyed.

Overall I think this story was well written, the world building was good and the exploration of gender and what it to be accepted in the world was really well done. But the characters lacked the extra bit of dimension I needed to connect to them and I felt a bit bored for a chunk of the middle while there was little happening. I still recommend this book as I think a lot of people won’t have the issues I did and would really enjoy it.

Summary: She Who Became The Sun by Shelly Parker-Chan is an atmospheric and gripping tale of fate, drive and rebellion in a historical fantasy setting. Comparisons with Mulan will be likely as the protagonist tries to escape her fate by stealing the fate of her brother.

Recommended for those who enjoy an intersection of fantasy and history
Not recommended if you dislike a slightly more detached narrative voice to most
Recommended if you like stories that play with the idea of fate
Not recommended if you like your protagonists to be virtuous
Zhu is our main protagonist, a young girl who ends up joining a monastery in her brothers place. Her fate is nothing, while his is greatness. So she endeavours to steal it. Meanwhile Ouyang, the secondary protagonist, is general for the local Mongol army, local to the region and last of his family line, he has his own plans ready to set in motion.

Zhu and Ouyang probably get about equal amounts of pages for their POV chapters, and I much preferred Zhu’s, especially early on when it was less clear what Ouyang’s goals were. Both Zhu and Ouyang are willing to do terrible things, sacrifice thousands to get what they want, but for some reason it is easier to root for Zhu than Ouyang. I found myself rooting for both in the end, but Ouyang took far longer.

With Zhu we see her struggle for greatness while trying hard not to stray too far from his her brother might have acted. Her insight as a woman gives her avenues her brother never would have realised possible, but each time she takes those opportunities, she can feel fate tugging away from her. The use of fate as a near tangible force I found to be really interesting, as fate is a strong theme in this book.

The relationships in this book are great, Zhu with Ma, a woman in whom she sees a version of herself, but also a woman willing to challenge her to be better than the men she would put aside in her plans. Ouyang with Esen, son of the man who killed his entire family, but also Ouyang’s greatest and perhaps only friend, and the power dynamic there. As well as their relationship between Ouyang’s brother Baoxiang, scorned by his father because of his scholarly nature, resentful of Esen for his lack of understanding. The way those relationships play out, especially the latter, is a highlight of the book.

The writing style is slightly detached, which I think might put some people off, but worked for me as it felt like it combined well with the historical nature of the setting. There are also some pretty big time skips which felt a little abrupt – I did appreciate that they moved the story forward without lingering too long on details that weren’t necessary for the plot.

The setting worked well for me, although I can’t say how different things are to actual historical events, beyond the more supernatural elements. Those elements are so far restricted to three elements – the existence of and ability for select characters to see ghosts, the sensing of the threads of fate, and the mandate of heaven, a manipulatable light again exclusive to a very small amount of specific characters.

She Who Became the Sun gripped me from page one, the characters dripping with ambition, complex relationships and the merging of epic history and light fantastical elements. I’d recommened this book to any fans of epic or historical fantasy.

Rating: 9/10

I’ve been desperate to read this book for a while and it lived up to my expectations. I expect I’ll be thinking about this one for a while.

She Who Became the Sun is a retelling of the founding Emperor of the Ming dynasty, and it doesn’t falter in conveying the brutal actions and events that came before that triumph. The story primarily follows Zhu who was a daughter promised a fate of nothing and who took the place of her brother who was destined for greatness. Zhu is unflinching in her desire for power and grasps for it with everything she has, often making hard, morally grey decisions in that quest. She’s decidedly not a hero but you want her to succeed regardless.

There are other POV characters besides Zhu and whilst they’re all interesting, Zhu’s was the one that I was most invested in. Almost none of the characters in She Who Became the Sun could be considered heroic (apart from Ma), everyone is out for their own best interests and desires. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t tangible, profound and frankly beautiful connections between characters. I was particularly invested in the friendship between Xu Da and Zhu and the relationship between Ma and Zhu, they were spectacularly well done.

The writing was gorgeous and engrossing and kept you interested throughout the novel even when there some long, drawn-out battle scenes or political haranguing.

A large aspect of this novel was focused on gender identity and not identifying with the gender you were assigned at birth. I was leery at the beginning about how that was going to be handled but it was done very well and believably.

This is not a light, adventure fantasy it’s twisty and heavy and there are no white knights or honourable characters but it’s fantastic, nonetheless. I can’t wait for the sequel.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Fans of Mulan and Spirited Away will love this. There are a lot of characters and military battles to get to grips with but this book is exciting, fast-paced and gripping throughout. I can’t wait to read more!

This book left me breathless...I have been immersed in 12th Century feudal China for the past few days and now feeling bereft.
Our protagonist lives in a time when women are seen as weak, with set roles outside of which they should not step. Introduced as the girl living in a famine stricken region, takes up her brothers name Zhu Chongba to claim his foretold great destiny. Desperate to escape her situation Zhu travels to Wuhuang monestry ant thus starts her ascension from monk, to commander, to general and beyond.
Zhus' desire shapes every action and moment of her life, desire to survive, desire to live and her desire for inevitable greatness. The story is by turns tender and brutal (though never graphic) and whether or not you can condone Zhus actions they are all congruent with her goal.
Reading this novel brought images from my childhood from the Water Margin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Water_Margin_(1973_TV_series) to life and it is one of my top reads this year, joining The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman..
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for access to this ARC.