Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"She knew her own worth. She would seize her destiny with all the strenght and spirit within her, and bend them all to her will: every man kneeling and every woman overshadowed."

 This was amazing, I literally don't think I have words to describe just how much I loved this book. Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is a reimagining of The Evil Queen's story, with it's world inspired on East Asian culture, and it's so beautifully written I already wish I had the second book on my hands.

"Beauty is all very well. But it is merely the gleam of the sword,"the chief eunuch said. "It is the mind that provides the sharp blade, and without that, well. We have a pretty piece of metal and not a weapon at all."

 The story follows Xifeng, a young woman who has lived under the care of her abusive aunt for eighteen years, trapped in a forgotten town and dreaming of the great destiny the cards have forseen for her, as according to them, she is to be the Empress of Feng Lu and rule over thousands. But for destiny to become a reality she must first seize dark magic and eliminate her enemies, which, at the Emperor's palace means almost everyone.

 Antiheroines will always have my heart, they are complex and ruthless and bound to make all the choices the common protagonist never does. Xifeng is delightfully dark and unafraid, she considers power to be above all kinds of love and affection, she was reaised to be an Empress and to endure. Even at times when her thoughts seem vain and jealous I can't help to relate to her in a way, after all she is trapped in a men's world and her beauty and intelligence are what set her appart from all others.

 Forest of a Thousand Lanterns feels more feminist than any other similar books I've read this year, as most characters are female it provides an interesting view inside the city of women, the place where all the concubines and girls at the service of the Empress live. These women's personalities go from cunning and seductive to motherly and kind, shining a light not only on the brilliant aspects of court, but also on the desperation that comes from becoming a possesion, ready to be set aside when Emperor grows tired.

"Life is difficult when you're born a woman in this world," the concubine murmured. "You've entered a game you can't win. Men make the rules and we are left to be used by them or claw our way to whatever scraps they've left behind."

 On top of this, the writing style is rich and detailed, painting a gorgeous background for the story in such an lush way that makes Feng Lu come alive in the most elegant way possible. It is rare, I think, to come across a retelling that is so well crafted, creative and is inspired on Asian culture, when most books of the sort lean towards European these days. I especially enjoyed how it explores motherly love over the romantic kind, it's a nice change, it feels fresh.

 I cannot recommend this book enough, I'm so glad I came across it.

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Bunheads by Sophie Flack
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"The company is a collection of one hundred very different people, from all over the world, but we all believe in the power and importance of art. That's what binds us, keeps us together, through the effort and the intensity of the competition."

 If there’s something you should know about me, it’s that I love ballet. I love it more than cereal or Netflix, or sleeping on a bed. And it’s not often that you come across a realistic portrayal of it, most TV or film incarnations are overly dramatized (I’m looking at you Black Swan) and focus on unimportant things, probably because they’re written by people who are not part of that world, have never taken a class or experienced it as anything more than entertainment. Bunheads on the other side, is honest and raw for a change.

 Nineteen-year-old Hannah is a corp de ballet member in one of the most prestigious companies in the world. She has dedicated her life to her trade, training everyday and neglecting both her familiar and social life for the chance of a lifetime at dancing surrounded by the best dancers and choreographers in her country. She loves what she does, the rush of entering the stage is like stepping into a different world, and those fleeting moments when every step is precise, when her body forgets exhaustion and pain, and just glides over the stage make all the hard work worth it. But then Hannah meets Jacob, whose life as a musician couldn’t be more different than hers if he tried. Him entering her life challenges everything she believed is important and makes her wonder if her love of dancing is enough to make up for what she’s been missing on the outside world.

"My body arches over his. I see the rows of lights spinning overhead, and I feel like I'm flying.
Suddenly I forget that I'm not wearing stage makeup and that I wasn't even warmed up. I lose myself in the music."

 As I said, I don’t think I’ve encountered a more honest portrayal of what it takes to succeed in the ballet world, where you can’t sleep with the artistic director to get a part, you need to have actual talent. Flack describes life as a professional ballerina in a very detailed way, and she doesn’t shy away from the uneasy parts, but she doesn’t neglect the good either, the opportunity of being part of something amazing, to know all the hard work, sweat, blood and tears will eventually mean something more, to transcend, like some like to say.

 In the end the question isn’t about whether ballet is worth it, but if the protagonist loves it enough to give up everything else in order to become a great dancer.

 It made me nostalgic in the best way possible, I truly loved it.

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Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

She hated hearing her sisters' names, her mother's name, on his lips. Diana raised a brow. "A wise warrior learns from her mistakes." She adjusted her stance. "And you're forgetting who taught me to fight.”

 I'm not quite sure where to start, I guess I should first let you know that I don't read a lot of contemporary, fantasy has always appealed more to me than almost any other genre. That said, when this book first came out I was frantic to get it and when I finally got a copy I must admit I was very excited, I had such high hopes for it, unfortunately it just wasn't my cup of tea.

 The book's narration is split in two, on one side is Diana, my favourite Amazon; however, she is not Wonder Woman yet, this incarnation of her is still a girl, gorgeous and strong and bright but a little insecure, struggling to find her place among her sisters and come to terms with her own existence on Themyscira, the island of the Amazons. On the other side is Alia, the last of the Warbringers, an ancient line of cursed woman destined to bring conflict and war into the world, the first of which was Helen, as in Helen of Troy. The two girls join forces and try to reach a magical spring which will clean Alia of her curse and stop World War Three before it begins.

 The thing is, I was so excited for this book I failed to read the description first and so the setting caught me completely by surprise, because of course this book is basically Contemporary with Fantasy elements. I found myself disappointed from the beginning almost, when I realized that the beautiful island of Themyscira and the world of the Amazons wasn’t going to be explored anymore than as backdrop for the first few chapters, while the rest of the story progressed in Alia’s world, surrounded by Alia’s friends and obnoxious brother Jason.

 And the thing is, I didn’t like Alia very much, she felt very basic and her friends, though funny, failed to reach the category of epic in my mind, unlike in Bardugo’s previous Fantasy works. I should mention though that I loved Diana but felt like her role was relegated to the back and that didn’t sit very well with me.

 Last but not least, I really wished the author hadn’t given Diana a love interest, which was very obvious and more than a bit tedious (even with how everything turned out in the end). All things in consideration, beyond the occasional epic quote, Amazon ass kicking and delightfully feminist air the novel has, the result felt kind of plain and very honestly, a little bit boring.

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