The tales of Rabbit as she descends into her life as the handmaiden of the Empress, In-Yo, journeying through the various stories that she brought to the young cleric, Chih, and his hoopoe, Almost Brilliant.

In The Empress of Salt and Fortune, we dive into Rabbit’s stories from a young age, filled will the hardship that she faced with the Empress In-Yo as her handmaiden. Each story within The Empress of Salt and Fortune is so different than I thought, especially when we got to learn more about Rabbit.

Book: The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
Series: The Singing Hills Cycle #1 (Review on Book Two coming soon)
Publication Date: March 24, 2020
Tags: Young Adult, Asian representation, fantasy,
Links: Goodreads | Ebook | Paperback | Hardback | Audio
Read: December 24, 2020 to December 26, 2020

With the heart of an Atwood tale and the visuals of a classic Asian period drama, The Empress of Salt and Fortune, is a tightly and lushly written narrative about empire, storytelling, and the anger of women.

A young royal from the far north is sent south for a political marriage. Alone and sometimes reviled, she has only her servants on her side. This evocative debut chronicles her rise to power through the eyes of her handmaiden, at once feminist high fantasy and a thrilling indictment of monarchy.

Spoiler Free Review

The tales of Rabbit as she descends into her life as the handmaiden of the Empress, In-Yo, journeying through the various stories that she brought to the young cleric, Chih, and his hoopoe, Almost Brilliant.

In The Empress of Salt and Fortune, we dive into Rabbit’s stories from a young age, filled will the hardship that she faced with the Empress In-Yo as her handmaiden. Each story within The Empress of Salt and Fortune is so different than I thought, especially when we got to learn more about Rabbit.

I gave The Empress of Salt and Fortune 3.5 stars. I enjoyed reading about Chih and Almost Brilliant and the stories that Rabbit shared. The one thing that I found when reading was the flow of each story. I did understand that many of the stories that Rabbit told were from various points in her life, however, I found that the stories were slightly confusing for me.

I will have to say, I love the attention to detail and enjoyed all the small things, but, the stories that Rabbit told were not something I quite understood. The only question I mainly asked myself was, “What exactly am I reading?” Because truth be told, I never really understood what I was reading. I did enjoy what I was reading, but for me, it just didn’t seem to make sense.

I think this was a terrific read, but this was something that I wish I took more of an understanding to, however, this can be a fantastic read for many others.

I hope you guys have a great day, please like and comment down below if you enjoyed this book as well or if you plan on reading it!

Loves,

Veronica Chen