Name: Bria's review of Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan
Item: Girls of Storm and Shadow
Rating: 4
Author: Bria

Natasha Ngan

In this mesmerizing sequel to the New York Times bestselling Girls of Paper and Fire, Lei and Wren have escaped their oppressive lives in the Hidden Palace, but soon learn that freedom comes with a terrible cost. Lei, the naive country girl who became a royal courtesan, is now known as the Moonchosen, the commoner who managed to do what no one else could. But slaying the cruel Demon King wasn't the end of the plan---it's just the beginning. Now Lei and her warrior love Wren must travel the kingdom to gain support from the far-flung rebel clans. The journey is made even more treacherous thanks to a heavy bounty on Lei's head, as well as insidious doubts that threaten to tear Lei and Wren apart from within. Meanwhile, an evil plot to eliminate the rebel uprising is taking shape, fueled by dark magic and vengeance. Will Lei succeed in her quest to overthrow the monarchy and protect her love for Wren, or will she fall victim to the sinister magic that seeks to destroy her? The explosive Girls of Paper and Fire was named:- A 10-week New York Times bestseller- #1 on the Indie Kids Next List- B&N's Most Anticipated LGBTQAP Books of 2018- Buzzfeed's Books You Need to Pick Up This Fall- Goodread's Ultimate Fall YA Reading List - Shondaland's Fantasy Novels You Need to Read- Bookriot's Must Read Asian Releases- Bookish's Most Anticipated YA SFF List

Girls of Storm and Shadow

Mey-Thip Mortensen

“It's just sometimes I forget that it hurts you, too, because you seem so strong”

“I told you before, that's how I was made to act. I'm not always as brave as I want to be. Not like you."

Jenny Simon

Bria

Lei really stepped up! She didn't have my attention as much as Wren in book 1, but I think it's because she was new to everything. She's starting to find her footing!

The mesmerising sequel to the NYT bestselling Girls of Paper and Fire The Girls of Paper and Fire did the impossible. They escaped. But out in the unforgiving wild, hunted like prey, Lei and Wren learn that the most terrifying prisons have no walls. 'Beautiful and heart-breaking and meaningful . . . Ngan's writing is stunning' Young Adult Reads Lei, the naive country girl who became a royal courtesan, is now known as the Moonchosen, the commoner who managed to do what no one else could. But slaying the cruel Demon King wasn't the end of the plan - it's just the beginning. Now Lei and her warrior love Wren must travel the kingdom to gain support from the far-flung rebel clans. The journey is made even more treacherous thanks to a heavy bounty on Lei's head, as well as insidious doubts that threaten to tear Lei and Wren apart from within. Meanwhile, an evil plot to eliminate the rebel uprising is taking shape, fueled by dark magic and vengeance. Will Lei succeed in her quest to overthrow the monarchy and protect her love for Wren, or will she fall victim to the sinister magic that seeks to destroy her?

Moonchild

Im loving this series. 
Its getting better and better cant wait to read the next one

so let me preface this by saying that I wasn't the biggest fan of the first book either, but I thought it was decent and I wanted to see whether the series improves after all the praise I've heard. 

There were definitely some parts I actively enjoyed, some parts made me laugh and I was a big fan of Merrin, but overall this book made me cringe more often than not.

It reads like a wattpad fanfiction, from the "dirty jokes" and weird comments to them magically finding bottles of alcohol that someone stashed away somewhere. And Lei herself infuriates me to a degree I can't even begin to explain. It's giving highschool, but in a bad way. 

I'm usually content with travel quests and books that focus on the journey, but this book didn't do it well enough for me.

Its such a shame since the author put a  lot of work into this, but she herself said that she struggled a lot with the book and where she wanted it to go. 

Saroise Cleary

so let me preface this by saying that I wasn't the biggest fan of the first book either, but I thought it was decent and I wanted to see whether the series improves after all the praise I've heard. 

Now let me tell you it. does. not. 

There were definitely some parts I actively enjoyed, some parts made me laugh and I was a big fan of Merrin, but overall this book made me cringe more often than not.

It reads like a wattpad fanfiction, from the "dirty jokes" and weird comments to them magically finding bottles of alcohol that someone stashed away somewhere. And Lei herself infuriates me to a degree I can't even begin to explain. It's giving highschool, but in a bad way. 

I'm usually content with travel quests and books that focus on the journey, but this book didn't do it well enough for me.

Its such a shame since the author put a  lot of work into this, but she herself said that she struggled a lot with the book and where she wanted it to go. 

grace richards

3.5,, i am an active hater of middle trilogy travel books. no more 400 pages of travel 50 page battle!

Moon Child

Claudia Ganea

** spoiler alert **
           "There is nothing stronger than people who endure the worst hardships in the world, and still raise their fists at the start of a new day to fight all over again.”

I absolutely did not expect this book to make me cry - and boy did it make me cry!!!!!!!!

Second books in a series are rarely as good and exciting as the first one was, but I feel like “Girls of Storm and Shadow” was a truly solid sequel!! The new characters introduced are amazing, and you can’t help but fall in love with them immediately - speaking of which, I HAVE BEEF WITH YOU MS. NGAN, you’re going to make us fall in absolute head over heels love with Bo and then kill him off??!?!?!?! Those chapters were PHYSICALLY painful!!! I was sobbing and could barely get through them!!! Justice for Bo!!!!!!!

Aside from that - I also found it very interesting to see how the characters we already knew and loved changed and grew even more in this second installment. Lei is a force to be reckoned with, and her strength will always inspire me. The fact that she’s been through so much trauma, so much hurt, and she still has the ability to get up and fight for what she believes in... that’s something that I wish I had more of myself.

Wren’s journey has also come as a bit of a surprise, but I enjoyed the development of her character. We get to see more of who she is in relation to the way she’s been raised by her father, and in finding out about her birth pendant and about the “Sacrifice” that she’s convinced she has to make, we can see why she can be a bit out of tune with her emotions, and act like the well-oiled machine that she’s been taught to become. Her power also grows exponentially, and both Wren and everyone around her have to deal with the consequences. I was extremely proud of Lei for standing up for herself and telling Wren that it’s not ok to hide so many things from her, and I absolutely felt her disbelief and rage at finding out that the woman she loves is responsible for not one, but *many* terrible things, all for the sake of the mission.

I’m excited to read the last book in the series!! Since we left off with Lei being captured by Naja and taken to the Hidden Palace, I’m very curious to see her meeting the King again, I’m excited to hear more about the new shaman-warrior hybrid army that he’s building and how that will come into play, since we only got a small snippet of it in this book, and I can’t wait to see how the story ends, even if it will be very bittersweet.

Leonor Ribeiro 

Sandra Tammaru

I remember inhaling the first book a while back and absolutely adoring it and pining over getting this book for so long. And now having read it, Im still in love with this world, with Lei and this story, but it was so different from the first book and maybe that was the reason why it didnt captivate me as much. I loved how it brought light to the fact that people change in such situations and something that one was once certain of may turn out completely different depending on how life goes. Overall enjoyed it and looking forward to book 3

Delaney Woods 

this book was meh. the plot was sorta slow and most of the characters were annoying. i will most likely not be reading the last book of the trilogy cuz i just don’t care anymore 🙃

Alexa Jade

this is so disappointing and I struggled with my rating for a full 24 hours. I felt like the story wasn’t progressing for most of the book. there was a lot of very obvious foreshadowing that I know was trying to give hints but it was over the top and not subtle at all and felt like they should just say it at that point. the ending conflicts with the last 10% of the book and the emotions being felt so it makes for a very jarring ending. what a disappointment.

Arden Kowalski

This was very good, and I have thoughts I'll write later.

Libby

I have thoughts.

What I liked
★ New characters - I really liked the new characters and their dynamic was really strong and developed well throughout the book.
★ Plot - I didn't mind the overarching plot and I understood what they were trying to do, but I found some of the smaller events that happened really irritating.
★ Pacing - I didn't mind the pacing, it was slow to start but picked up at the end.
★ The trauma of all of the different characters was written well, I liked how it showed variations in how people handle trauma and grief.
★ Really random but I like how the author describes food lol
★ There were less over-explained character movements which I appreciated. It's my pet peeve when characters flop down in every chair they come across or wet their lips too often. I remember in the first book I was getting really annoyed by how Lei kept licking her lips every other page, but she must have got hold of some chapstick since then.

What I didn't like
★(view spoiler)[Bo's death - why??? He balanced out the group really well and I didn't really see much point in his death other than for a depression fest and to make Merrin unhinged (hide spoiler)]
★ Some of the places in the plot, like Aoiki's village, weren't on the map at the front. Maybe I'm just splitting hairs but I love fantasy maps and do refer back to them all the time, especially if the plot is based around a journey.
★ (view spoiler)[The ending - huh?? I was so confused, so Merrin flew her out of the battle to keep her safe and then just leave her passed out in the sand?? Seemed just a convenient way to get her back to the palace to set up the final book. (hide spoiler)]
★ I vastly preferred the side characters to the main characters, it makes me sad that I just couldn't connect with Lei or Wren. They felt really surface level for most of the book, although there were some instances where I did feel Lei's anger etc, towards the end. I had the same problem in the first book too where I just don't believe in their relationship and I'm not rooting for them - it's almost like I've been told as a reader they love each other but haven't been given much to show me they do.

I'm disappointed as I always want to love a sapphic fantasy book but this just wasn't the one for me! I feel like I might have enjoyed it a lot more a few years ago though.

Cécile

Viry

Kristin

As I still am in an annoying reading slump, it really took some time to read this. That was NOT because the book was boring, but because of my lack of reading motivation haha!

My ranking:
(From 1 to 5)
World building: 3/5
Characters: 3-4/5 (Lei was cool tho)
Character development: 4!! (I was slightly shocked)
Lei x Wren OTP: 3/5 ... (Still, Ngan is EVIL)
Heartbreak: 4/5
Cliffhanger: 5.7/5 (Yes, evil)
Dynamic between characters: 4/5
Great side characters: 3.9/5
Witty siblings: 4/5.

The only two things that annoyed/made me sad/lacked, (view spoiler)[were Wren's character arc... I feel like her character could have been more "active" and EVEN MORE explored... (hide spoiler)] and, secondly, some parts, especially in the first half of the book, were kind of long and dull? Like I got bored... But as I actually was really unmotivated to read ANYTHING, I don't think that really is the books problem, but mine lol.

The mesmerising sequel to the NYT bestselling Girls of Paper and FireThe Girls of Paper and Fire did the impossible.They escaped.But out in the unforgiving wild, hunted like prey, Lei and Wren learn that the most terrifying prisons have no walls. 'Beautiful and heart-breaking and meaningful . . . Ngan's writing is stunning' Young Adult ReadsLei, the naive country girl who became a royal courtesan, is now known as the Moonchosen, the commoner who managed to do what no one else could. But slaying the cruel Demon King wasn't the end of the plan - it's just the beginning. Now Lei and her warrior love Wren must travel the kingdom to gain support from the far-flung rebel clans. The journey is made even more treacherous thanks to a heavy bounty on Lei's head, as well as insidious doubts that threaten to tear Lei and Wren apart from within.Meanwhile, an evil plot to eliminate the rebel uprising is taking shape, fueled by dark magic and vengeance. Will Lei succeed in her quest to overthrow the monarchy and protect her love for Wren, or will she fall victim to the sinister magic that seeks to destroy her?

Nikki K

2.5 - oh god this was such a disappointment ahhh. 
the first book is one of my absolute favourites and this one lost absolutely EVERYTHING I liked about that book. this was full of clichés and tropes and every aspect of every generic ya fantasy and it brought none of the uniqueness of the first book that i loved. 
this was one of those times that as i got closer to the end i realised there had to be another book and i was so upset ahh i don’t want to do another one. 
the first book honestly should have been a standalone with like 50 more pages and all would be right with the world

Samantha Stone

I am in love with the word that Ngan has created, and I am eager to finish reading this trilogy when the third installment comes out.

Kimi 

The first book was ok...I didn't see the trigger warnings in the book so I was totally taken aback by the rape, sexual assaults and beastiality. Thankfully the second book didn't have any of that and the plot was interesting enough. There is a slight plot twist so I am interested in reading how the 3rd book will turn out. I can appreciate the LBGT representation in this book.

Geneviève Rouleau

I really had to pull myself through this one, I simply couldn't get into it... and I'm disappointed because I LOVED the first book!! I just don't feel like much happened, even though the characters were constantly moving around. It just felt like the same over and over again : fight, flee, try to find allies. The ending was intense though, but predictable. 2.5⭐

Anyaconda

Wow. I needed to wait a few days to write my review.
I loved the first book and the message, but I had a few issues with the second.
I feel Girls of Storm and Shadow is suffering a bit from second book syndrome. 
Everytime we got to a new destination with new characters the party moved on and I felt like I wanted either more adventures on the way or more time at the palaces with the newly introduced characters.
I feel the author's strength is her characters and dialogues and that wasn't as present in this book and kind of what I expected.
What I loved though was Lei's inner turmoil after she finds out all the secrets and motives of the others.
I'll be definitely reading the third book and hoping for more from my favorite characters, political intrigue and great dialogues.

Manon van Heumen

That ending!!! Super excited for the next book now!

Kate

From the characters and the world to the society and magic system, everything about these books is beautifully crafted and captivating. 
Although I admittedly didn’t love this as much as book one (which is unsurprising, considering how much I loved book one. Although I do worry this somewhat fell to ‘middle book’ book syndrome, as I was a tad underwhelmed) I still thoroughly enjoyed it and am ridiculously excited to see how this trilogy is going to conclude. I’m just devastated I’m going have to wait yet another year to find out!

Jenny Simon &
Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan

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