A familiar story of daughters being married off to bring prosperity to their people, but with a twist. The people of this land are more like trees. The family’s father is long gone, and per their grandmother, best forgotten. Their mother was taken away by the leaders of the nearby kingdom as have several of the daughters. Lufeng is the daughter who is to be sent to the neighboring kingdom now and unlike a couple of her sisters, she definitely does not want to go but per her Grandmother, one of the Elders, she doesn’t have a choice. Will she conform to her new role or rebell?
A very interesting story and I look forward to reading the next book!

This didn't really click for me. I thought the prose was good and I quite liked the ideas it had about clashes of cultures and identities, but there were too many issues with the plot and world-building for it to really work.

Even though I liked the nature vs technology theme, the world-building was really weak and the book's message was a little heavy-handed. The level of technology in particular was confusing, with steampunk-esque travelling contraptions and overall a more industrial aesthetic, but also mentions of online shopping and movies (even though nothing like a phone or computer was ever seen on page). The world-building that was attempted was just confusing, and even though I liked the more original ideas about the different races in different nations, the questions that were created about how these nations coexist and communicate just created more problems and plot holes.

The plot unfortunately felt flat and contrived. The main character had little to no agency and no character arc. The plot was moved forward by her stumbling upon things and making absurd leaps of judgment about them that always turned out to be true. The fact that she could start the book devoted to a very specific goal, and then instantly rethink all her previous beliefs after a few chapters and move forward with completely new goals, made her feel inauthentic, shallow, and unrealistic.

The villain was so one-dimensional and his dialogue was laughably cartoonish and evil. There were also a few completely unnecessary plot points here that were a bit weird. I'm sure they might have more relevancy in the sequel novella but their inclusion still felt like a waste of time and quite odd.

Even though this book didn't work for me, I would still be interested to see what this author does in the future. I think the biggest fault with this book for me is definitely the world-building and as the author improves at this, her writing itself is strong enough to create a great story.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with this eARC in return for an honest review.

Very upset to say I didn’t like this. I found myself intrigued by the plot and worldbuilding to begin but bored by the two dimensional characters and flat plot by the end. I think I would’ve liked it more if it was longer and more developed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for this ARC!

The Palace Near the Wind is about Lufeng, who is a Wind Walker; a tree-like person who can control the wind and who is also deeply connected to the land. The Wind Walkers, the Feng people, are in conflict with the humans who seek to encroach on Feng lands with new technology and progress. Lufeng, like her mother and sisters before her, is due to marry the human King in order to secure some form of peace between their two peoples.

I was so interested in this story as the premise sounds so interesting, but the execution just fell flat for me. The different peoples and machines that we’re introduced to in this world are the best part, as they’re so different and unique from what I’ve read before, but I just didn’t connect to anything else unfortunately. Lufeng is quite passive and just reacts to things around her for the most part, which made me quite irritated with her character.. The writing was not for me; if you like a more flowery style then you’ll enjoy it more than I did. I also wanted more explanation as to why things were being done and why things were the way they were, which may have been better explored in a longer story.

I did enjoy the exploration of nature vs industry, and some of the internal conflicts that Lufeng goes through was really interesting. The way that the Feng people, and the other peoples of this world, were so connected to the land was really fun and I wish we’d explored that more than we did in the story.

Overall this was an okay read but not as gripping as I thought I would find it unfortunately.

I was excited to receive an ARC of A Palace Near The Wind because I loved the premise: a princess made of living wood navigating a political marriage.

There were a lot of genuinely interesting ideas but unfortunately the book felt rushed. I was fascinated by the setting (which started in a very natural forest kingdom and moved to somewhere that felt almost steampunk.) I would have liked to see more descriptions of what everything looked like, especially as it makes sense for a fish out of water protagonist to pay attention to things that were unfamiliar to her. There was also quite a lot of plot and supporting characters to get through, which meant that I didn't feel any of them got developed as much as I would have liked.

Lufeng was quite a reactive protagonist and her plans were never especially well thought through. For example, she plans to stab her betrothed at their wedding (in front of crowds of people and all his guards but okay) but is thwarted when the servants keeping clearing away the knives she's using to eat. From that description, you might imagine a desperate princess who is constantly watched and therefore unable to prepare but in fact she'd been given a surprising degree of freedom to explore the palace and come and go as she pleased. To be fair, this is possibly an intentional character flaw: Lufeng's younger sister (a missing revolutionary who escaped her own political marriage) describes her as being guided, instead of being a guide to her younger sisters. This felt like a very apt description of Lufeng but as a reader it made me wish the book was about her sister instead.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan books for the ARC in return for an honest review.

A Palace Near the Wind is an inventive sci-fi/fantasy novella that follows Lufeng as she tries to find out what happened to her mother and sisters. I found it to be an imaginative read that may have benefitted more from being extended into a longer story. There were some great ideas that were not fully explained or explored, but I still had an enjoyable time reading.

It took me a few pages to get into this novella but I soon found myself compelled to continue. Rich prose brought the story to life, with both the nature-based and industrial elements of the world brought into conflict. The overarching mystery unfolded at an interesting pace, and the ending set up the story well for the second novella in the duology. I can't wait to see what else Ai Jiang will write in the future.

Thank you Netgalley and Titan Books for the advanced copy of this book. (public review might be published closer to the publication date)

A Palace Near the Wind by Ai Jiang is a novella about a Wind Walker, Liu Lufeng, bound to marry the king to save her kingdom from destruction while plotting for a way to get revenge on the harm done to her family and country.

First, let’s talk about the Wind Walkers and the mysterious world building which is the best part of this novella. The Wind Walkers are a different race, vegetal based, master of the winds. Their skins are made of bark and they cry sap. Following Liu Lufeng, we gained understanding of this race by comparison of the humans she encounters, how they/we differ from her.
I really appreciated this point of view as it gave a feeling of uncertainty and discovery through the story. We are never sure what she will accept or be repulsed by. New values - mostly ecological - are put in the center, reminding me of some characters found in Princess Mononoke.
Unfortunately, the comparison falls short after some time in this novella. This is due to a lack of character development. Little is said of the numerous characters in this novella and their relationship with Liu Lufeng. The relationships are not developed enough for the reader to care, contrasting greatly with the world building. For example, great details are given about the repulsion from meat but little will be said about the relationship to Liu’s mother or absent father.
The reading experience became a strange one: I was really eager to read about the word and discover how it is built but I had little care about what happens to the character, every plot point feeling flat.
Overall, I am leaving the world with a bittersweet feeling and wondering if I missed something. I will revisit this world when the sequel is released. Maybe I will find my missing pieces there or have grown enough to understand characters who are not humans.

This is a novella about Lufeng eldest princess of Feng royalty who are like natural wood people. She must be married off to the king and move to the human land, slowly she discovers not all is at it seems. It really discusses nature versus industry and Jiang creates a strong world in under 200 pages. Its a powerful story that really draws you in, I loved the characters and the ability to work with wind or water. The ending leaves you wanting more and I really hope there will be a sequel as I need to know what happens to our MC. I devoured this book in a day and feel its a strong Sci-Fi/Fantasy novella that everyone who loves the genre should read.

A wonderfully written novella, that explores a lot of interesting themes in a fast paced plot. I loved reading from the perspective of Liu Lufeng as she navigates the changes and challenges being sent from her home to the King’s palace bring and her desire to protect her family.
The world building was quickly and intricately done, and I would really love to read more in this world and with these characters.
I did think this story would work even better if a little longer, but overall I’d highly recommend and will definitely be reading all I can from this author.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this book.

Thank you Net Gallery for the eARC! 3.5 ⭐️

The downfall of this novel is simply that it could’ve, and should’ve, been a full length novel. There is a whole world to explore and some very complex characters with complex relationships, but we don’t get to see much of it at all. I wanted to know more about the world Lufeng comes from—the history and intrigue of her culture. I wanted to know more about ZINC and what exactly their goals are with (spoiler warning!) experimenting of the Feng people. What about Geyser and his people? Again, spoilers, how did Lufeng’s father end up in power within ZINC? I could keep going on and on about all the questions I have and how this novella would have been much more intriguing as a typical novel.

I hope she writes something more about this world in the future—the glimpses of things I did see were interesting and a great set up to more books.

A Palace Near the Wind was such an amazing experience of a book. Loved every single detail on it. I rated it 5 stars because it really deserves.

Thank you to Net Galley and Titan for the e-ARC of this title.

A story of the union between a forest community and their industrialised neighbours to keep peace, and maintain the forest boundary.

This is a novella, and it does feel like a light version of what could be a very detailed story. The plot is fast paced with action in every chapter as the next stage of the plot is unveiled. The characters are well written with their own personalities and niche's, found myself rooting for some and plotting against others. The idea is original and genre defying with aspects of sci-fi, fantasy and a historical fiction feel.

Overall an enjoyable, quick read, but I think the story may have benefitted from being a bit longer to add greater depth to both the world building and the plot. Apparently this is part of a duology so look forward to seeing how part 2 develops.

I loved the idea of Wind Walkers and how they were used in this story, it had that element that I was hoping for and enjoyed the fact that the main character was trying to save their family. It had a great concept and the world that was created was beautifully done, it had a element that was wonderfully done. I enjoyed the use of natural world vs. the industrial revolution that was happening. Ai Jiang has a great way of telling the story and characters.

This is the story of a princess of the wood-people being married into the human world, as part of a political agreement that is intended to keep the human world from encroaching on the nature that keeps the woods alive. The majority of the novella follows the princess in her preparations for her wedding and introduction into the human world, until the point where she discovers things are not as they seem (about 70% of the way through). It is also worth saying that this is the first part of a novella duology, so there is no real closure at the end.

The thing to like here is probably the transposition of a plot reminiscent of Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver or Uprooted to China. There is much more to dislike here though. First, the worldbuilding is a bit shoddy - it's never clear why things are the way they are, the internal logic is missing, and while one could argue that it will be delivered later, other books have taken this path in a better way. Second, the characters are wooden and boring. Their structuring is almost juvenile - they don't seem to have a soul, coming across as one-dimensional caricatures of fairly simple ideas. I couldn't find myself rooting for anyone. Third, while there is a very strong environmental theme here, and the juxtaposition of nature and industrial modernity is telling, it is also fairly naively done. In some parts, it's almost saying that protecting the environment is worth doing at all costs, and that modernity is evil, in all its incarnations. This comes across as a simplistic argument, even in the world of this book, which seems to put all the things the author finds objectionable in one basked (eating meat, destroying the environment, industrialisation, globalisation, etc). Finally, the fact this is a first part of a novella duology is odd - either publish this is a proper book, or one single novella. I don't understand this decision - by the time the next instalment is published I will have completely forgotten what this part was saying. There was just no need for this.

Overall - nothing really special here, and even the writing is not particularly well done. A miss, in my view. There are better things being written today, as well as better things that have been written in the past.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this novella in return for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan for the arc! This wasn’t it, and for a multitude of reasons. It sucks ass because this was an anticipated read of mine, but it seems I’ve been left down a lot in this unholy month of November. I mean, my favorite Ghibli movie is Princess Mononoke so I did have high expectations; the result was low below the floor. Here are some of my grievances:

A note to this book: you will never be Princess Mononoke. They fucking tried it, but it lacks basically everything that made Princess Mononoke great. There was absolutely no nuance, the messaging was constantly being dropped on my head like an anvil, it was full of unanswered questions and holes, and was crammed (derogatory) with shit that simply couldn’t be well written in a novella format. Actually, I take that back: it could’ve been decently written by a more talented author. Genuinely, this book reminds me of all the essays I’d pull out of my ass on the due date at 11:59 PM. The messaging is essentially this: man bad. How fucking powerful.

The mc was horrifically stupid and even worse: annoying. I wanted to throttle her for almost the entire book. Worse still, she basically has no character arc. I can tell the author kind of tried, but they just failed. Just pure stupidity, naivety, and foolishness for the better of 200 pages.

If you’re going into this book expecting revenge, you will be very disappointed

Progression and pacing here were poorly done. I don’t care if it’s a novella, you should still be able to properly pace. Progression was either abrupt or simply not there at all. If you want your book full of Dues Ex Machina bullshit, you will be very happy.

The world building was too ambitious for this author’s current talents in this format. I love an ambitious author, but don’t let your ambition usurp your current skills.

To sum up, if I could describe this book in two words I’d say the following: overcrowded and irritating. This book either should have been a novel, or should’ve been explored much farther down the road in this author’s career. Princess Mononoke fans you will unfortunately need to look elsewhere (I will take any recs please please). - 2 oversaturated stars

I really loved this book. I loved how Ai Jiang created this really unique world and wove it all together with so many intricate details. I feel as though Jiang has such a beautiful way with words that everything just seemed to flow naturally and I felt as though the story was so easy to follow. I loved how there was a mix of lore and technology and it really created a unique world which I felt as though I was submerged in.

The book centres around Liu Lufeng who has grown up knowing what her tradition and duty is, as we navigate through the book we begin to see her understand how she needs to break this tradition for the future of her family.

In terms of a main character, I found Liu Lufeng to be refreshing as she was someone who had a purpose and was also cautious of how her plan was executed. She was written well, as were the side characters, which is always a bonus.

I loved how there were so many different twists and turns and I feel as though the book ended on a very strong note which sets us up nicely for the sequel to the book.

I would definitely recommend reading this. I liked the length of the book, but I definitely would not have complained if there were a few more pages, purely for how much I enjoyed this and wouldn’t have minded some more of the story to read.

I once again really liked the world Jiang created. I think she’s incredibly creative and I’m always excited to explore a new place with her. The contrast of nature versus industry, intertwined with conflicting loyalties, strained family bonds, and distrust, was really neat to read about. Sadly though, the plot and characters both felt… rushed and flat, I think. While I enjoy having shorter stories to read amidst my longer novels, I think this would’ve benefitted from more development in those areas.