Girls of Paper and Fire (utgåvan 2018)

Interesting story! I'm glad I gave it a try. The storyline is interesting, and characters are well written. ( )

If I had to attach a single emotion on to Girls of Paper and Fire, I would call it angry. This book is rife with twisted customs, greed, selfishness, and corruption and it was so good. But it was also heartbreaking and enraging.

The introduction of Girls of Paper and Fire gives readers just enough time to become acquainted with Lei’s life before she is torn away from it. We feel some level of her anger and fear and disgust as the world of the Paper Girls unfurls around her. There are lessons and rules and not once does Natasha Ngan glorify any of it. In books similar to this – The Selection comes to mind, though the consequences are much different – the pageantry and the “becoming a woman” are polished and presented with sparkle and glamor. Ngan does no such thing, and I’m glad for it. You can hide the situation behind love and bribery and refining and opportunity – but at the end, being a Paper Girl still means being kidnapped, enslaved, and raped.

Because of how typical tropes have taught me to think, I kept expecting Lei to give in, for the king to actually be decent. That’s the story we usually get, right? You’ll have to read for yourself to see if that’s Lei’s path. For me, I was constantly surprised… and if I’m honest, relieved by the choices Ngan made in this book. The line has been drawn between disturbing and fairytale. I hope to see other authors acknowledge it.

While we get the best feel for Lei in the early pages, so much of Girls of Paper and Fire is spent by unfolding the plot and the greater world. There is a little character development in other venues, but it is quick and just a foundation. We hear a bit more about Wren and her backstory, and there’s a really beautiful scene between her and Lei about halfway through the book, but a lot of Wren’s story is through dialogue. This is a personal pet peeve. I understand why Ngan chose to deliver information this way, but as a reader, I prefer to have information inferred rather than dumped in dialogue. Aoki and Blue had more opportunity for growth as well. I believe a lot of supporting character development was sacrificed for relationship development.

As a whole, the plot pushes forward so smoothly that I didn’t really realize the gaps in development until I had finished the book and was thinking about it later. Natasha Ngan does an incredible job of wrapping the reader up in the present. The world building was interesting and Girls of Paper and Fire has the type of story and world and stakes that are screaming for a mini-series or an anime adaptation.

Girls of Paper and Fire is well worth reading. The way this book refuses to bow to harem or pageantry tropes is marvelous, and Ngan wrote in some excellent twists. While I wouldn’t go so far to say it’s perfect, I think that the rest of the series has time to make up for my few nitpicks. I know I’m late to the party on this one, but if you haven’t read Girls of Paper and Fire yet, I recommend it. ( )

3.5
I liked the characters, the plot wasn't bad. AND THE ENDING WAS FANTASTIC!
But I wasn't super into this exact fantasy world. I guess, it's not the author's fault. I'm just almost never interested in courtesans and animal magic.
I'm excited to read the sequel! ( )

Good Book, not good book - it was average for me - it was very interesting and descriptive and thought out, however, it was VERY predictable for me and with a fantasy I love being surprised! ( )

This was a really good read! There were parts of it that was a little uncomfortable to read, hence the trigger warnings at the start of the book. So if you're planning to read this book, just make sure you know that!

The story was very intriguing to me. I found the castes system, the Ikharan universe and the whole setting of the book interesting and it definitely held my attention well. The pacing of the book was decent, I never felt like the book was going too slowly or quickly and I really enjoyed that. It was a little odd imagining the characters of Steele and Moon caste with animal traits though! I like the whole premise where the main character, Lei, has a strong stance against the whole idea of Paper caste being unfairly treated. I found her words empowering. I wholeheartedly love how Lei's relationship with Wren, another concubine of the king grew from the start of the book. I didn't find their relationship written hastily or anything like that. I also liked reading and getting to know more about the other Paper girls who are also the king's concubines too. They all had different personalities and it was fascinating getting to know the reasons behind why they were chosen, how a few of them aren't there voluntarily.

There were a couple scenes I got caught by surprise and they all made sense! I'm very glad that I didn't read or watch any reviews prior to reading this. Additionally, I started reading this knowing that the author, Natasha Ngan is of mixed race(Malaysian-Chinese and English) and it was an extra bonus to read a diverse work of characters, cultures and food! Ranging from kebaya, sari, to sticky rice dumplings and even Teh Tarik! It was really fun reading about all that as it reminds me of my own Malaysian heritage.

I'm excited to see how the sequels would bring the girls. I hope they'll be as good as this one too! Would recommend this to anyone seeking to read a diverse, queer, empowering feminist story of a girl who goes against everything that was destined for her. ( )