Thank you to NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton and Jimmy Patterson for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Please note that this is the second book in this series and will contain spoilers for the first book!
Goodreads synopsis for Girls of Paper and Fire
Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It's the highest honour they could hope for...and the most demeaning. This year, there's a ninth. And instead of paper, she's made of fire.
In this richly developed fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most persecuted class of people in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards for an unknown fate still haunts her. Now, the guards are back and this time it's Lei they're after -- the girl with the golden eyes whose rumoured beauty has piqued the king's interest.
Over weeks of training in the opulent but oppressive palace, Lei and eight other girls learns the skills and charm that befit a king's consort. There, she does the unthinkable -- she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens her world's entire way of life. Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide how far she's willing to go for justice and revenge. Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It's the highest honour they could hope for...and the most demeaning. This year, there's a ninth. And instead of paper, she's made of fire.
In this richly developed fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most persecuted class of people in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards for an unknown fate still haunts her. Now, the guards are back and this time it's Lei they're after -- the girl with the golden eyes whose rumoured beauty has piqued the king's interest.
Over weeks of training in the opulent but oppressive palace, Lei and eight other girls learns the skills and charm that befit a king's consort. There, she does the unthinkable -- she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens her world's entire way of life. Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide how far she's willing to go for justice and revenge.
Review – Again this will contain spoilers for Girls of Paper and Fire. You have been warned.
I was very behind on the hype for Girls of Paper and Fire and earlier this year I decided to finally give it a go. I absolutely loved it so when I saw an opportunity to get an advanced readers copy of Girls of Storm and Shadows I knew I would regret not trying. To my utmost surprise I managed to accepted twice by two different publishers!
This book was perfect in every sense. It made me smile, it made me laugh and it also made me cry. There are new characters introduced and I couldn’t help but feeling so attached to them all and their different personalities. I still love Lei’s character just as much as I did in the first book. She’s such a brave and strong woman who only continues to grow. This time Lei is struggling with finding love in the middle of a war where everyone’s motives are tested and doubt really starts to take a forefront.
Natasha Ngan has this amazing way with words and she has managed to build such an amazing and in-depth world that just hooks you in and makes you never want to leave. With its smooth flow and range of diversity its no wonder that this series is so widely loved.
There was never a dull moment in this book, which for me was honestly surprising because I find that the second book in some young adult fantasy trilogies tend to be my least favourite. While this book did do a lot of setting up for the next book in the series I never found myself bored, in actual fact I found it almost impossible to put down.
Honestly, I could sit here and talk about this book for hours but I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. All I can say is that after fighting through the tears I found myself desperately needing the next book in this series.
Rating: 5/5 stars
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