This book is not my usual genre and a bit out of my comfort zone so I will leave it to other reviewers to give a much more detailed analysis of this historical fantasy.
She Who Became the Sun is based on the rise to power of Zhu Yuanzhang, the rebel leader who fought the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty and subsequently founded the Ming dynasty in 14th century China. I know next to nothing about this period of China’s history, so can’t vouch for the historical accuracy but I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s exquisite writing and skilful storytelling. I was stunned to hear this is her debut novel.

Although there are several themes within this narrative, gender identity is at the core of the book, and it’s skilfully woven into the dual storyline. Together with Zhu’s single minded determination to achieve what she believes is her rightful destiny, whatever the cost, it makes for an intriguing and utterly gripping novel.

The characters are complex and powerfully defined, each with their own distinctive voice. They engendered some strong feelings in this reader, nothing bland or forgettable here!

Overall this, occasionally dark and brutal, tale of war, desire, love and duty, had me hooked from beginning to end and I look forward to reading the next in the series.

I would like to thank the publisher, Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this one so much!! It was such a refreshing, unique read - the characters, the plot, the setting, were all absolutely fantastic. What really made this book was the characters; they practically jumped off the page, they felt so real and nuanced. Parker-Chan's writing just shines in this novel. Thank you to Netgalley and Parker-Chan for the chance to read this, I really enjoyed!

I thoroughly enjoyed this one! A queer historical fantasy reimagining of the Ming Dynasty's founding emperor. This novel is bold and beautiful. It will hook you from the start.

There is so much beauty and wonder in this book. Parker-Chan effortlessly weaves fact and fantasy together. Her world truly leaps from the page. I was enraptured from the start by the characters so real you could touch them. This is a book that'll grab your heartstrings and pull at them as you read. You'll find yourself at the edge of your seat at times.

My only issue with this was the representation of gender. With our MC specifically saying they didn't feel like a girl, it feels a little strange that the book continues to say 'she'. I would have liked to see this either explained more clearly or rephrased. They/them pronouns could have been used, similarly a transition to he/him pronouns to show how 'she' fully became Zhu Chongba.

I wanted to live in this world. I was not ready to leave it and I'm excited to see where it will take us next! I definitely recommend this book - it has something in it for everyone.

This story was a reimagining of the rise of a young girl from a famine-stricken village in Fourteenth Century China; described as a cross between Mulan and the Song Of Achilles, it certainly lives up to this high praise. It is a truly epic tale, filled with love, loss, and betrayal and I absolutely loved it. We see Zhu rise from almost certain death as she decides to take on the fate ascribed to her brother and escapes her village to a nearby monastery by hiding the gender assigned to her at birth and training to become a monk. The story follows her life as she moves from monk to warrior, using her keen intelligence to rise to prominence. The world building is intricate and beautifully done, the characters are flawed and real and the story itself is utterly absorbing. It manages to combine tender moments with brutal ones and weaves themes of war, love, duty and identity throughout. I will be keeping my eyes peeled for the sequel. Highly recommended.

Transporting 14th century China to a magical realist setting, combining elements of 'Mulan' and 'The Song of Achilles' is no doubt an ambitious project. Well, Shelley Parker-Chan has done it splendidly. It is not flawless and I would have preferred a much more conclusive ending, but that doesn't affect the immersive pleasure we are promised.
What I loved the most about the book is the narration. The first part is told entirely from the point of view of the girl who later poses as her brother Zhu Chongba. Her name is never revealed and remains a part of the desolated life she switched with her brother: unknown and unrecognised. Her perseverance and keen intelligence which even forces destiny to give her a helping hand glows brightly throughout finally taking into a physical form.
Once the other characters, especially Ouyang, start taking important roles, the narrative switches to multiple POVs. I thought this could be confusing in the beginning, but it did present the political situation rather well. Ouyang's side of the story was something to look forward to all the time.
Basic knowledge of Chinese history might give you a better understanding of the story (after all this is a reimagining of the life of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty with genderqueer characters), though it is not necessary. My grasp of ancient Chinese history is akin to zero and so some random search on Red Turbans helped a great deal. But as I have said, this is not needed if you don't want to bother too much about the history behind it. As always, this is a universal story. If you are a believer of predestined fates, Zhu Chongba's story may convince you otherwise.

i am not the biggest fantasy reader but i thought i was going to thoroughly enjoy this book. i found it was so intriguing in the monastery and i liked how the author didn’t shy away from the aspects of puberty that would impact her ability to pass as a man but i dnfed the book. after she got to the rebels city i thought the book slowed down and i lost interest in it. i would consider reading it again in future but it wasn’t the most engaging read

4/5 stars. Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

She Who Became the Sun was a hugely ambitious book, but all the same it did not fall short of being incredible. I've seen it compared to Mulan, The Song of Achilles and The Poppy War, and it's true, She Who Became the Sun combines elements of all three, creating an extraordinarily powerful and heart-wrenching debut.

The plot and world building of She Who Became the Sun manages to be both intricate and immense. There's a close to perfect balance of action and character development, though I did find the second half to be a little bit too heavy on politics and detail at times (that said, I adored the first half, which was far more focused on the characters). Shelley Parker Chan truly manages to pack so much into this book, including but not limited to an extraordinarily detailed and well-developed setting; characters who I adored and will forever be thinking about (*coughs* Ouyang please I love you); vivid descriptions and explorations of desire, longing and yearning; complex and compelling relationships between characters; all while exploring the experiences of queer characters (both main and side) and those dealing with gender dysphoria. All in all, an astounding book.

Content warnings (provided by the author): Dysphoria, pre-existing non-consensual castration, misgendering, internalised homophobia, life-altering injury (amputation), ableist language, non-graphic depictions of death by torture, major character death, offscreen murder of a child, scenes depicting extreme hunger/starvation, graphic depiction of a person burning to death.

Really enjoyed this historically based fictional novel. Great atmosphere from village to monastery to warfare etc, A really compelling story.

A fictional fantasy story set in 14th century China, I found this story slow but gripping. I loved the Mulan aspects and found the darker tones of the story compelling. It felt like an adult fantasy even though I believe it’s ya . It felt like an epic fantasy which I just love! Would definitely read from this author again

I'm liking this style of historical fantasy. Really well-written and enjoyable and for once, I loved the romance aspect! Never thought I'd write that.

She Who Became the Sun is beautifully and carefully written, however, I found it slow-going in parts - particularly in the novel's first half. I was much more invested when the focus was on Zhu and Ma, and sometimes found myself willing the narrative to move quickly back to them. That said, the decision for which characters would provide the multiple POVs was definitely a clever one - it made for a more complete world-building, and a more well-rounded view.
I have a complicated relationship with fantasy, particularly fantasy with a more historical, warcraft heavy, focus, at the best of times - but I can certainly see why this was an immediate favourite for some people, it's a very elegantly crafted work. The pacing and plot are exemplary. I would like to go forth and read more about the real-world history which inspired the story.
I might not have loved She Who Became the Sun, but I do respect it, and I will probably continue to think about it for a while - I'll also most likely read the next installment in the trilogy.

This book left me speechless and wanting more and more and MORE.

Every now and then I had to stop reading, just so I could BREATHE.

It is a heavy book. But oh so beautiful. It's tragic and brutal.

I loved how real the characters were. How imperfect. But I felt for them.

Absolutely amazing!

I wanted to like this one more than I ended up doing. It's an interesting concept, but I felt like things happened too quickly for me to really absorb them. The amount of stuff squeezed into this book could honestly have filled a trilogy.

I did enjoy the ruthlessness of Zhu, the main character, as well as the exploration of gender and gender identity. Unsure about whether or not I'm going to read the next one - maybe a reread after a bit of distance will help me iron out some of the difficulties I had with this, because there's definitely a lot to appreciate about it.

Set during the tumultuous time leading up to the collapse of the Mongol-ruled Yuan Dynasty and the rise of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, She Who Became the Sun, tells the story of an unnamed peasant girl who steals the identity and fate of her late brother, Zhu Chongba. Following his path she becomes a monk, and her desire to fulfil Zhu Chongba’s fate of greatness and avoid her own fate of nothingness, means that she will do anything to survive.

Sitting somewhere between high fantasy and historical fiction, this novel is beautifully written and complex. Shelley Parker-Chan has drawn inspiration for her characters from real people who existed during the rise of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Chongba, the protagonist is pragmatic, cunning and resilient and although some of her actions were morally grey, the author still managed to create a main character that you cared about and wanted to succeed. By introducing multiple POVs in the second part of the book, the story took on a greater richness as we learnt more about Ma, Xu Da and General Ouyang.

A great triumph of this book was its exploration of gender identity, particularly against the backdrop of imperial China, where sons had a filial duty to their ancestors, and women had no choices. As a eunuch, General Ouyang’s character in particular explored themes of masculinity which juxtaposed with Zhu Chongba’s ambiguous gender identity.

She Who Became the Sun provides the complex world building and action scenes created by high fantasy, whilst also being set against a period of history that I knew little about. For those that enjoy either genre I honestly couldn’t recommend it enough.

Set in the 1300's in China controlled by Mongols, this is an epic narrative with complex characters who make difficult (and sometimes cruel) choices. When her brother died, the 'nothing' girl took on his identity and became Zhu Chongba with a fierce desire to survive -- no matter what. The monastery scenes are evocative, and I preferred them to battle scenes and dark moments later in the book -- though I did enjoy Ma Xiuying as a character and the relationship she develops with Zhu.

This was… not what I expected.

I went into She Who Became the Sun with high expectations and I think I set myself up for disappointment from that moment.

This was not what I imagined at all. I found it to be very, very slow and requiring a lot of focus for me to truly appreciate the world the author came up with.

The world is very rich and interesting, but I could not connect with any of the characters at all, and to be honest, I didn’t really care about any of them. I think this is the man reason why I found it so slow as the story is mainly character-driven.
I did like a couple of aspects of the world but they were background elements to the story, although it does seem they might be more important in the next book.

I can understand why so many people like it, but it simply wasn’t for me.

She Who Came the Sun is a historical/fantasy novel that sets up an epic narrative of war, fate and a sort of belonging (in your body, family, society, ancestors). I think The Song of Achilles/Mulan likeness was true, but there was so much more to this novel, it had layers and layers. It was a vivid, troubling, exciting, dramatic, and more.

I didn't see where the book was going from how it's set up, but it was fantastic to read something that felt so outside my expectations and imagination. That said, I really don't enjoy reading about war and personally I thought it lacked a likeable character (As opposed to the Song of Achilles that has Patroclus for example). I know it's not about liking characters and such, but I don't know if I would keep reading the next one since I don't feel like I care where these specific characters go. There's more a curiosity than an interest.

I did like the portrayal of the genderqueer characters. It was written so naturally and the way they tied their self-identity with fate was interesting. Especially so the mirroring and differences of the two characters, who sit at opposite sides and yet not so much.

I would definitely recommend it, but there is a warning of brutal violence.

Look, this is my perfect book. It was dark and gritty the characters were morally questionable and the plot intriguing. I just. . . I love it so much. And that COVER!!! I won't say anything because this book should be gone into blind. As other reviews have mentioned this is less the Song of Achilles and more so The Poppy War series. Anyway read it, love it, and thank me later.

This was a book that I was thoroughly looking forward to reading. It was likened to Mulan and that is one of my favourite stories and movies. However.... I just found it so hard to really get into this book. It felt like a chore to read and I just couldn't find it enjoyable. The writing was good but I just couldn't get behind any of the characters. They just didn't really have any personality and the plot was a bit dull.

I'm sure that others might enjoy this book but it was very lackluster and the characters just didn't win me over.

Such a rich and complex story. Excellent storytelling, full of info, action and twists. The characters are deep and definitely not black not white. Every single character has more going on than what it seems at first.

I can totally see why this book was compared to Mulan. I was pleasantly surprised by the similarities but happier about everything that made this story unique. We have more than one POV and, even if at first it was a bit confusing with all the characters and names of people and places, it slowly became easier as I was more and more invested in everything that was going on.

Marvellous world building with names of real people I recognized and just the magical element that made this story even better, if that was possible.

I can't wait for the sequel!