Thank you to Net Galley and Titan Books for the ARC. I really liked the prose and the world building. I just wish this was a full length novel instead of a novella because there is so much going on that I wish was explored more.

This is one where I didn't mesh with the writing style. I think I liked the point it was trying to make, about society trampling all over natural beauty and tradition in the face of "progress" for progress's sake - rather than out of any real need. About how whole families and ways of life can be swallowed up and mangled and villainized.

But the writing itself is stilted and awkward, and any grounding facts were obfuscated by vagueries. The measure of time wasn't clear, so any mention of the passage of time caused me to pause and think it through. We never get a description of Lufeng or her family members, only strange plant terms standing in for an equivalent thing on a human, so it was hard to conceptualize just what Feng people looked like (or anyone else for that matter).

Lufeng is the eldest daughter in the Feng royalty bloodline, and to be married to a human king. Her mother and sisters before her have been offered as brides to the king in the past, as part of the negotiations to spare the trees and the land. Lufeng finds there is more than expected behind the walls of this foreign kingdom.

The writing itself is whimsical, blending the romanticism of nature and fear of technology. Unfortunately, due to it being a novella, the beautiful writing fell flat on many emotions and descriptions, to the point where messages became very muddy. Although this is the first of a series, there should have been more time given to the writing, as some parts became rushed. The story itself is very intriguing and has so much potential to be a great piece, but unfortunately, there were too many factors that kept it from its full potential.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Two and a half stars (rounded up).

This sci-fantasy novella follows Lufeng as she leaves Feng, a naturalist society, to join the industrial Palace. What follows is a tale of patriarchy, assimilation, and resistance. My main problem with this novella is that I have read all of these themes executed better in other stories. I think this needed a much larger page count to explore the society and themes looking to be explored. Secondly, the prose style just did not quite work for me. It was quite clinical throughout that did a lot to undermine moments of tension and emotion. I'll be honest, I read the whole thing quite passively, and if it had been longer than 120 pages, I would have dnfed.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this novella, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Okay, so I have to admit that I read like 75% of this and then just decided I didn't care enough to finish and I really didn't care enough when I found out that this is actually part of a duology or series and that it ends on a cliffhanger. I just felt very disconnected to what was going on in this book. The writing was very lyrical, but it was one of those that it was so thick that sometimes it felt like it was obfuscating the point or maybe the fact that there isn't really enough plot for two books because for how short this was, it dragged.

It was glacially paced for me. All this talk about a royal marriage and by the time that we got there I just didn't really care. At all. The big reveal didn't even make me feel anything, I was just like, "Okay. And..." So, no I probably won't be reading the next one.

There were a few things in here that I found interesting. I like the idea of the "wind walkers", some parts of the world-building were interesting, and I like themes about protecting the planet. However, I beg people to stop comparing this to Princess Mononoke, T. Kingfisher and Nghi Vo. Please, stop, I beg you. The ties between the three are not strong enough to ensure that fans of any of them will enjoy this. Please stop. I get the Princess Mononoke comparison the most out of the three, I really don't understand the other two, other than the fact that they also write fantasy novellas.

So, who would I recommend this to? I mean, I don't like telling people not to read a book, so I would say, if it sounds interesting to you check it out and have a look at some of the glowing reviews for it. It just didn't work for me in execution and writing. If you think that tree people, multiple family members being arranged to marry the same king, and ... protecting the environment are interesting then this could be for you. I guess? I don't know. I'm not really selling it. I do feel bad as I received an eARC of this, but as I said, all thoughts and opinions are my own. And if you loved it: I'm so happy for you.

As I began my reading journey into A Palace Near the Wind, I wasn't sure what I was expecting.

A fantasy story set in an Asian backdrop was in my mind. But as I delved further into the story, it became clear this was more than just. There was a modern element to this, fantasy crossed over with present day technology/sci fi.

The story follows Lufeng, a Wind Walker (tree creature/person), who is married off to the king of The Palace to keep them from developing into her kingdom of Feng.

I had a hard time navigating through the story with what my mind wanted to portray from the pages of this story. Our main protagonist is a "Wind Walker" - aka a tree type creature/person, so mentally I was attempting to picture her without appearing too human. The concept of having to keep up with changes in a growing world, losing track of nature, but trying to keep roots where one hails from. There were a few plot twists in this, which I was able to catch onto before said twists were revealed.

The ending felt a bit rushed as well, which is my one gripe. I wished for some more character development from these other characters that were brought into the story.

I know this is just the first part in a duology, so I hope there is some more depth to what happened as we were left off on a cliffhanger.

What’s to love…
- themes of family + cultural identity
- blend of fantasy + sci fi + a touch of dystopian
- novella length
- whimsy and dream like
- unique world
- duology
- lyrical prose + imagery

This wasn’t my favorite - and I think it’s a me problem. I couldn’t get into the prose or story because I was distracted by how lyrical everything was. Perhaps I’m not the intend audience/not smart enough for something so rich? I typically enjoy lyrical writing but I find that writing that skews close to the "purple prose" line is the quickest way for me to "check out" of a story. This was short but it took me ages to finish because I had a hard time staying interested for extended periods of time.

I initially liked the premise of this book, and felt there was something very classically fairytale-like about it, but the ending felt rushed and ruined that feeling for me. I think a novella length does a disservice to the story, and there should have been more time building up and getting us to understand Lufeng. I do think this was an interesting allegory for commercial development, and the world building was great—I just wish there had been more of it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was so boring. I didn't know this was also a series? It ended on a cliffhanger and I'm not interested in reading the next book. Lufeng must marry the king in order to save Feng, but then she finds out it isn't what it seems. She must find a way to stop experiments and save her family. Her 2 other sisters don't seem to care at all, which is so weird to me. I cant believe her Grandmother had something to do with it. I basically skimmed this book to finish it. I didnt care about Lufeng. I dont care about any of the characters. I was shocked about Zinc. But the story just wasn't smooth. It also isnt explained well what is really going on. Not a fan.

With thanks to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. I was in 2 minds about rounding this up to 3 stars.

I wanted to like this more than I did. The set-up is imaginative but I couldn’t quite understand how the Wind Walkers are tree people with roots, and ultimately for me it mostly fell down with our protagonist. She next in line to lead the people who are dealing with the Palace cutting down their trees (see why that’s important) and an endless conveyor belt of sisters in political marriages but all to the same King making it seems very Bluebeard. Although once at the palace it’s almost Beauty and the Beast without the romance, or a myriad of other fairytales and nothing is as it seems. I’ve kept in points for the world and the mystery aggressor but Lufeng as a narrator, the eldest sister didn’t work for me. The voice I got used to and there is no requirement to be likeable but for a novella the time it took to understand the descriptive voice was perhaps long, her motivations are repeated to the point where I stopped caring. The ending made it very clear there are more books coming without being a cliffhanger or particularly satisfying.

Wholly original and full of heart, as I've come to expect from Ai Jiang's work. Excellent worldbuilding that leaves me with the winds of Feng on my cheeks, and eager for the sequel!

Great beginning of duology. There is a lot of worldbuilding in there that justifies the fact that this is the first book in the series. I feel this can become a great series if the second book elevates the themes and ends in a great way. Ai Jiang is such an interesting author out there at the moment.

I really wanted to like this... and isn't that always a bad sign at the start of a review? Anyway. I like the theory a lot: questions of empire and colonialism, questions of familial loyalty, issues of trust and betrayal in a kind-of-magical world... all of these things are excellent.

However, this just didn't work for me. Partly it was about the length: t's a novella and for the amount of world building Jiang was doing, it really needed to be longer; new things kept being added and it was almost disconcerting to keep being told "oh yeh, and this bit!" Partly it was about the characters; I simply didn't connect with Lufeng, and again I think that was partly about the length - too much too fast, not enough development of character. I'm sure it's partly about this being an ARC, but there were also some editing issues, and I admit I'm the sort of person who gets thrown by that.

So, overall, not my favourite novella. I do still like what Jiang is doing, and I'll keep following her work; I expect that she will continue to improve.

When her family and race is threatened, Lufeng enters an arranged marriage with an intent of killing the human King. But when she is arrived at the Palace, things are not what they seem. She then is forced to learn the Script and find out how to save all of the Feng people, especially her little sister.
The concept is really nice and all, but it lacks of depth due to the book being under 200 pages. But it was an okay read.

A unique and inventive sci-fantasy novella! A Palace Near the Wind took a bit for me to get into, but but once I understood what was going on I was riveted. The sci-fi elements slowly develop through the book, but they are all seen through the eyes of a woman with no context for technology.

Lufeng is from a group of tree people essentially, with bark-like skin and deep communion with nature, able to harness the wind. Now she follows her mother and two sisters being traded to the King as a bride in exchange for their forests surviving a little longer. She leaves her home and travels to a palace made of bone to prepare for the marriage ceremony. She is deeply disturbed by the palace, and things are not as they seem...

This was fascinating and twisty. Also I'm by no means a vegan or vegetarian but the way the author describes people eating meat etc. is extremely grotesque, and clearly on purpose. It does make sense from the perspective of the main character though. I don't want to say too much and spoil anything, but I found the suspense to be very effective and I'm curious to see where the next installment might go. I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

I wish this novella was longer! I would have loved to dive more into the world, more descriptions, and a little more time with each character as we moved forward in the book. I can’t wait to read the second novella in this duology to see what happens, and hopefully this may turn into a longer novel down the line. 3.75/5

The writing style is very unique for this book and my brain had trouble understanding what was happening. As this is a shorter book and the cover is beautiful, I plan to purchase this one to have on my shelves forever. Usually the books with the most complex writing styles end up changing my perspective the most, so I want to pick this one up again.

Thank you for the opportunity to sample this book! I am leaving honest feedback voluntarily.

I tried so hard to like this book because the premise seems so interesting but in my opinion, the storyline was not done very well. It seemed very hard to follow the world building as it was all describe in a round a bout way and then to find out that she married her father half way? Yeah that sealed the deal for me unfortunately.

Rating: 4/5

Quick Synopsis
This is a science fiction novella that tells the story of Lufeng, the eldest princess of Feng Royalty as she becomes the next bride to the human king. As she learns more about the history of her people, she seeks to save her family and home from humans.

Review
Although this is a short story, I really liked this novella. I found the concept of these “tree-like” people. In the beginning I was a little bit confused about the characters but I understood more as I kept reading. This story talks about oppression and rebellion. I think the author does a good job of depicting these things. If you are interested in science fiction with non human characters as well as depictions of characters rising from oppression then I would definitely recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

As expected, this is wildly imaginative and ambitious like all of Ai's other works. I can't get enough of that brand of hers. Seriously. Give me more of these brain worms, please.

At the end of this novella, however, I was left asking far too loudly: "Why didn't they give us one complete novel instead of two novellas?"

So, while I do love Ai’s storytelling (both short form and long form) in the darkest depths of my soul, I think the chosen format doesn’t do the storytelling (read: the pacing) justice in this particular case.

When you're as impressively versatile and prolific as Ai is, I'm not surprised that the format can slip at times. It won't stop me from reading the next installment, however, and whatever else that she writes.