Wow. Just Wow.
I had a feeling this would be good but I didn’t expect to be blown away as much as I am. I was worried it was going to be one where my hopes were too high from so many people recommending it and would end up falling short. It was not over hyped what so ever. It surpassed all my expectations and now I NEED MORE. Why is this a stand alone?! I need a continuation or at least a novella… just something. I still have questions that I desperately want answers to.
That being said the author did a beautiful job wrapping up the main plot and giving us sufficient answers to the major questions by the end of the novel. The dynamic between husband & wife was written so well, especially showcasing an arranged marriage - and all the difficulties that come with one, especially when the husband & wife are from such different backgrounds. I have never wanted to scream and smack someone so much while reading a book before… If only I could reach inside the pages to smack them.
The story also showed a society where woman are only really there to bear children and very little else. If they are boys are to be raised by their mother only until they are old enough to be trained by their father. So in a sense even the children don't belong to the women. We also see, as the story unfolds, that this is not how life is everywhere in the Kaigenese Empire. It's mainly prevalent in the Kusanagi Peninsula, where the people live on the mountainside and follow older customs. Among these customs include learning the fighting techniques of raising the sea and wielding blades of ice, in addition to fighting with swords.
As much as I wanted to slap and yell at certain characters throughout this novel (for the way certain characters spoke to their wives), the ending left me sighing with satisfaction as certain things were resolved. *I am trying to keep this as spoiler free as possible*
I did created a cocktail inspired by this novel for a Booktails episode on TikTok (Coming April 1st, 2023). If you would like the recipe, or to learn more information about said cocktail keep an eye out for that blog post this weekend!
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