Welcome to Litsy!

Soft pick. A page-turning fantasy full of politics, found family, war, strategy, intrigue, & action inspired by Chinese history.

Some of my struggle is the pacing. The first half is fast paced. At half-way, there's a plot twist & the story takes a sharp turn that slows down the pacing. In fairness (without giving anything away), it makes sense but that doesn't lessen the jarring nature.

Now onto book 2, Sound the Gong.

So book buying bans don‘t count when buying a signed edition with an art print & bookmark? Right???

#amiright #failedbookbuyingban #bookhaul

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I didn't manage to get In the Lives of Puppets finished but I still read 16 books in December so not too bad to round out the year.

This retelling of a Chinese classic is a really compelling tale of loyalty and strategy in way. Zephyr is the trusted strategist of a underdog warlordess, willing to go to any lengths--including being seen as a traitor--to serve her lordess. But secrets from her past come to light and change everything when she's struck down in an ambush. My only complaint is the abrupt endinf, but as it's clearly a series I'm still on board for more.

Strike the Zither was one of those books that is clearly a five-star read from the first few chapters! I don‘t think I‘ve ever read a novel with a strategist as a protagonist before and it added a lot of new and interesting aspects to the story. Furthermore, Zephyr is such a compelling character. I was so invested in her personal story and seeing where that would take her. Finally, the plot really made this novel shine. It was a phenomenal book!

Had started taking her 1 month photos with this book but she ended up knocking it out my hand and wanting food 😂😂😂

All these maps are so pretty! Sad that I am so severely map and directionally challenged that even if I looked at the map while reading I‘d still get lost. Say hi and bye to this gorgeous image, I‘ll never look at it again lol