{Review} Girls of Paper and Fire
13:55
Title: Girls of Paper and Fire
Author: Natasha Ngan
Editor: Jimmy Patterson Books
Pages: 336
Blurb
Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It's the highest honor they could hope for...and the most cruel.
But this year, there's a ninth girl. And instead of paper, she's made of fire.
In this lush fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most oppressed class in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards still haunts her. Now, the guards are back, and this time it's Lei they're after--the girl whose golden eyes have piqued the king's interest.
Over weeks of training in the opulent but stifling palace, Lei and eight other girls learn the skills and charm that befit being a king's consort. But Lei isn't content to watch her fate consume her. Instead, she does the unthinkable--she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens the very foundation of Ikhara, and Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide just how far she's willing to go for justice and revenge.
TW: violence and sexual abuse.
Review
I am very passionated about this book. It might honestly be my favorite release of the year.
First thing I’ve got to say is watch out for the trigger warnings (violence and sexual abuse), but that’s in the blurb so we’re good.
“Salt, sea. With those two words comes another one. Escape.”
This novel takes us to a different world. There, babies’ fates are hidden in a pendant that will only open when they’re 18 year-old. Lei (the protagonist) is 17.
People are divided into different castes. Paper castes, who are fully human. Steel castes who are half human half demon. And moon castes who are fully demon.
“Our feelings. Our thoughts. None of them will ever be able to control the way we feel.”
This world is ruled by a Demon king. He’s terrifying. He takes pleasure in seeing people suffering, in breaking them. He’s curious about Lei, and that’s how she ends up being one of his concubines.
See, our girl has gold eyes, which bring a lot of questions. Why? How? Is she part demon? What are those eyes hiding?
The world building in this book is insane.
“Falling in love is the most dangerous thing women like us can do.”
When Lei’s taken to be one of the King’s concubines, she meets the other Paper Girls. We don’t know much about them, but trust me, you’ll want to protect Aoki at all cost.
The romance in the book is so well thought. The book isn’t driven by it, it’s driven by Lei’s hate for the Demon King, and her needs to find out what happened to her mum.
I love it when the romance is there, but the book is not only about it. ALSO this relationship brings so much softness to the story, it’s amazing. It’s like a breathe of fresh air in between all the violence.
“I don’t want an easy life. I want a meaningful one.”
I loved everything about this book. The world, the story, the characters. Everything.
I really hope it’ll get hyped, because it really deserves it.
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