Final Rating:
Date of Completion: 15/01/2022
Cover:
This cover is certainly eye-catching with its bright orange colour. Also, the dragon is a lovely reference to the alternative Chinese history the story is set in. I just wish the design was a little more complex and striking.
As long as I keep moving towards my great fate, and keep doing what I need to do, one day I’ll have it.
Writing:
The clear writing style is easy to follow and immerse oneself within. Even the numerous time jumps are done smoothly without making the story disjointed. However, there are far too many points of view! These switched rapidly, leaving me confused and needlessly drawing out the story. What’s more, despite this book being classed as fantasy, it actually has very few fantasy elements. The worldbuilding seemed far too ordinary and shallow to keep me intrigued.
Storyline:
Somehow, despite the war, politics and other shenanigans, the storyline seemed simplistic and safe. The slow pacing and underwhelming milestones fail to generate much tension or a good climax. Still, I enjoyed the deep exploration of themes such as identity, gender norms and achieving greatness. These themes really strengthen the storyline and make it far more engaging.
Main character:
Our main character, Zhu Chongba, is a fascinating and complex character who is neither good nor bad. Her passion and determination are traits I initially found appealing, then disliked as Zhu becomes more selfish and callous in her pursuit of greatness. Despite this, I still found it interesting to observe the gradual changes in Zhu’s character as she justifies and accepts her increasingly cruel actions.
Secondary characters:
Frankly, I failed to remember and keep track of the endless list of secondary characters in this story. Most of these characters fade in and out of Zhu Chongba’s journey without making much of an impression. A few characters do experience some development, and these are skillfully used to raise points for readers to consider.
Romance:
The slow-burn romance begins as a marriage of convivence which soon turns into love. The affection and chemistry between the characters was a delight that turned sour in light of Zhu Chongba’s increasingly selfish resolve. Her actions left me feeling sorry for her partner, who is repeatedly forced to put their interests in second place and is not given room to be ambitious.
The greater the desire, the greater the suffering
In short, ‘She Who Became the Sun‘ is a nice historical fiction that does not contain many fantasy elements. Because of this, I found the world, storyline and characters rather mundane and underwhelming. It is also possible that the high expectations I had for this story prevented me from enjoying it as much as I should have.
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