How much would you give to win the world?
Zhu Yuanzhang, the Radiant King, is riding high after her victory that tore southern China from its Mongol masters. Now she burns with a new desire: to seize the throne and crown herself emperor.
But Zhu isn’t the only one with imperial ambitions. Her neighbor in the south, the courtesan Madam Zhang, wants the throne for her husband—and she’s strong enough to wipe Zhu off the map. To stay in the game, Zhu will have to gamble everything on a risky alliance with an old enemy: the talented but unstable eunuch general Ouyang, who has already sacrificed everything for a chance at revenge on his father’s killer, the Great Khan.
Unbeknownst to the southerners, a new contender is even closer to the throne. The scorned scholar Wang Baoxiang has maneuvered his way into the capital, and his lethal court games threaten to bring the empire to its knees. For Baoxiang also desires revenge: to become the most degenerate Great Khan in history—and in so doing, make a mockery of every value his Mongol warrior family loved more than him.
All the contenders are determined to do whatever it takes.
I got an ARC of She Who Became the Sun back in May 2021 and was instantly hooked. Zhu’s and Ouyang’s stories have so many layers and interesting parts to them, it keeps you thinking about them long after the book ends. He Who Drowned the World is a fantastic sequel for that book and did not disappoint in the slightest.
The characters from SWBtS change and grow in various directions in HWDtW and some of them take some surprising turns. I liked getting to know the new POV characters too, even if it meant less page time for Zhu and Ouyang. I definitely think it’s difficult to do a sequel when the first book is so good, but Shelley definitely exceeded expectations with this book and it’s probably one of the best sequels I’ve read.
For a refresher, check out my review of He Who Drowned the World!
If you’re new to the duology, I also have a review of She Who Became the Sun.
Reading Queen E Reviews 