The Girl King
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Average rating3.5
A girl king without a crown; a boy wolf without a pack; a new Empress without control: their paths will clash in this sweeping YA fantasy of privilege, power and the weight of history. Princess Lu has long expected to become the dynasty's first 'Girl King' - so she is dismayed when her father announces her betrothal to her cousin Set and names him the next emperor. Lu needs an ally - and an army - if she is to have any hope of reclaiming her birthright. Nokhai was the lone survivor when his family of wolf shapeshifters was slaughtered by the empire. Nok never learned to shapeshift, until the same night he encounters the fleeing Princess Lu and their fates become ensnared. Lu's younger sister Min finds herself Empress to the new Emperor Set. But Min harbours a sinister power, one that could be the key to securing Set's reign and merging the old magics with the empire's modern military might.
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2 primary booksThe Girl King
The Girl King is a 2-book series with 2 primary works first released in 2019 with contributions by Mimi Yu.
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This is one of those books that I realized, far too late, wasn't a standalone novel. Far too few pages left for everything that still needs to be wrapped up, and yep. Only the first book. I'm not sure why I hadn't realized it wasn't a standalone. The second book, Empress of Flames, isn't due out until early 2020, which is far too long to wait! I need to know what happens to these characters!
The Girl King is mainly the story of Lu, eldest daughter of the Emperor of the First Flame. She is expecting to be named heir, and when she isn't and her cousin (and bully) Set is named instead, she decides not to placidly accept the injustice. She runs away from court, intending to find allies to help her retake the throne. Lu is single-minded and selfish. She doesn't really pay attention to how her actions affect other people - she doesn't think twice about leaving her younger, more timid sister to face the court, their mother, and Set on her own. I know that we're supposed to be cheering for Lu in this book, but in D&D terms, she's a paladin. She might be right. She's not very likable. I had far more sympathy for Min, her sister.
Actually, thinking back on it, almost none of these characters did much thinking about how their actions affect other people. The leader of the refugee Gifted did, she had her people to think about. And the triad of rulers of the mythical city were looking out for their people. But Lu really only thinks of herself. Set definitely only thinks about himself. Min is set up to be more sympathetic but is stuck inside her own head. Nok is too consumed with his own private pity party to think much about other people. I love Nok, don't get me wrong, he was probably my favorite character, but he doesn't think much about other people other than his mentor.
I feel like it's reasonable to have one or two self-obsessed characters, but when it's everyone, I think that might be a writing issue. The story was still great, and I will definitely be reading the second book, but I'm hoping for some character growth and learning about empathy as the story progresses.
You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.
