January is going to be a great month for new book releases. One of the books that you might be excited to read is The Girl King by Mimi Yu. I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Lu is the oldest of two siblings. She was raised from birth to be a warrior. Her younger sister, Min, has always been shy and mousy. When her ailing father decides to name Lu’s cousin, Set, as the next emperor, and decides that Lu and her cousin should be betrothed, the whole kingdom goes into an uproar.
A short distance away, Nok is growing up as an apprentice to a grandfather-like figure. When he runs into Lu and discovers that he has a gift that he didn’t know about before, his world suddenly changes.
I loved this book. For one thing, the setting was great. It was in this Asian setting that was a lot like China, but magical. You could imagine the layout of the capital city, as well as the larger layout of the entire country. There were lakes and magical places that weren’t hard to visualize at all.
Another component I liked about the book was the characters. For a time, I wasn’t sure which characters I was supposed to like. They all had some sort of charm about them, as well as their weaknesses. I could see the character growth in Lu, Nok, and Min, even though some of them didn’t develop in the most wholesome of ways. You’ll have to read the book to find out who you don’t want to root for, because I’m not giving away spoilers.
The writing was great as well. While this wasn’t a book that I absolutely couldn’t put down and kept me awake when I should have been sleeping, the writing sucked me in.
The Girl King is part of a series, and I have already added the second book to my Goodreads to-read shelf. This book won’t be released until January 8th, but you can pre-order it now. I’m glad I was able to read the ARC, because The Wicked King comes out that day too. Which do you read first? Tough choice.