5/5 stars
Recommended if you like: Vietnamese mythology, science fantasy, magical medicine
The author describes this book as ‘science fantasy,’ which I think is an apt descriptor. Nhika’s powers are within the realm of fantasy, but the way she thinks about her powers is more science, as are the automatons that help run the city. There are also doctors and medical advancements, like surgery, IVs, and organ transplants. I really liked this aspect of the book and thought the combination of magic + medicine was super cool. It was interesting to see how different characters viewed medicine and heartsoothing, particularly the differences between Nhika and Kochin, and how they reconciled those views. I also really liked seeing the duality of healing. It’s not really something you see a lot with healer characters, but if you have power over a person’s body systems, healing, and immunity, then you can just as easily use those systems for damage as well as for good, and I liked seeing Le use that in this story.
The worldbuilding is neat and gives us hints of a more complex system going on in the world. We spend the entire book in Theumas, which is divided into sectors based on the zodiac. I’m definitely intrigued by the way the city is setup, though I’m not sure we’ll get an in-depth explanation for that since politics aren’t really at the forefront of the novel. We do get a look at the class system of Theumas and how the boroughs correspond to that system. I liked seeing how things differed and how certain behaviors trickled down from the wealthier boroughs to the poorer ones.
While politics isn’t at the forefront of this book, immigrants and culture are. Nhika is Yarongese, born in Theumas. Her parents and grandmother were born in Yarong but had to flee to Theumas due to war and colonialization, and then died when Nhika was young. So while Nhika learned her culture from her family, she also feels a disconnect due to living in Theumas and having to hide her heartsoothing. Nhika greatly yearns to belong and wants desperately to feel that connection to her culture, so those two things drive her actions through a lot of the book.
I liked Nhika as a character. She’s been living on her own since she was 12 and, in order to survive and make money, has turned to homeopathy remedies to heal people and stay under the radar as a heartsoother. Try as she might to be tough, she has a soft inside and cares deeply about other people, even if she’s just met them. This allows her to bond with the Congmi siblings, and later Kochin, despite slights and differences. Nhika is willing to stand up for herself and follow through on things, even when it’s dangerous or difficult, and that perseverance both helps and hurts her at different points.
Kochin was a character I liked, then didn’t, then did again. He has a very specific goal in mind throughout the novel, but he’s somewhat clumsy in how he goes about it. In the end he pulls through and I liked that he was able to be there for Nhika and share some things with her closer to the end of the book. I do feel bad for him since he definitely got in way over his head and is doing the best he can to try and mitigate the damage to everyone else.
Despite Nhika staying with the Congmis for most of the book, I feel like I don’t totally know them as characters, so I hope to see them more in book 2. Mimi is definitely a lovable character who is friendly and wants to believe the best of others. She’s heartbroken by the recent loss of her father, and she seems to enjoy having Nhika around as a friend. That being said, she’s somewhat naive about how the world works and just how much her family’s money and social standing advantage her. Andao seems to be more aware of it, but he’s got the weight of his father’s legacy on his shoulders and rivals and friends coming at him from all directions to try and influence his moves.
Trin is a friend of the family and at first is kind of mean to Nhika, but he’s a bit like Chubs from The Darkest Minds. What he really wants is for the Congmis to be safe and well cared for, and he’s not afraid of giving someone the smackdown if they seem like they might threaten that, but is much friendlier once you’re past that initial stage. I ended up liking Trin’s character a lot and think he and Nhika have the beginnings of a good friendship.
The mystery was very interesting, and the seeds of it are laid from the beginning. It’s somewhat predictable but it’s still a very enjoyable story because there are twists to the mystery that aren’t apparent at first. The last 1/3 was definitely tense since everything is coming together, and I really liked seeing how it all played out.
My one complaint about this book is that there’s some instalove going on in it. It’s very minor so I can kind of ignore it, but it seems like it might be a bigger thing in book 2 (maybe? Maybe it’s just the consequences of that, we’ll see.).
Overall I loved this book and can’t wait to see what book 2 has in store! The combination of magic and medicine was super interesting, and I liked seeing how both were dealt with. I also thought the characters were well rounded and liked reading their interactions.
Reading Queen E Reviews 