Synopsis:
Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It's the highest honor they could hope for...and the most cruel.
But this year, there's a ninth girl. And instead of paper, she's made of fire.
In this lush fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most oppressed class in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards still haunts her. Now, the guards are back, and this time it's Lei they're after--the girl whose golden eyes have piqued the king's interest.
Over weeks of training in the opulent but stifling palace, Lei and eight other girls learn the skills and charm that befit being a king's consort. But Lei isn't content to watch her fate consume her. Instead, she does the unthinkable--she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens the very foundation of Ikhara, and Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide just how far she's willing to go for justice and revenge.
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Oh my goodness gracious, I LOVED THIS!!! From the setting, to the
atmosphere of the world, to the f/f romance, I adored just about
everything in this book. I think Natasha Ngan just claimed a spot on my
auto-buy authors list.
What's most striking to me about this novel is how self-aware it is. Based on the synopsis, this novel fools you into thinking it'll be yet another YA fantasy where the main character, Lei, falls in love with her abuser, the Demon King. But where many other YA novels have romanticized such relationships, Ngan subverts expectations entirely: the abuser is rightfully villainized, and instead romance blooms between two of his Paper Girls. By having the f/f romance happen specifically between two of the Paper Girls, Ngan also overturns the anticipated girl hate between competitors perpetuated by earlier YA novels like The Selection. Over the course of the novel, Ngan goes out of her way to show the ways in which each Paper Girl is complex and layered. When girl-on-girl hate does happen, the reader understand the motivations behind the Paper Girl's actions, rather than villianizing her just because she's female.
Additionally, I really enjoyed Ngan's commentary surrounding LGBT+ issues. Throughout the story, Lei makes subtle comments about how m/m relationships tend to be more accepted and anticipated, even if still looked down upon by the society, while f/f relationships are entirely taboo. Because I see this in my own life - and especially in publishing - the LGBT+ rep felt authentic to me. Ngan knows how her book fits into conversations around queer representation.
This is probably my favorite Asian-inspired world to date. Ngan's imagery is so lush, and made the atmosphere deliciously immersive. Usually, when I'm reading a book I'm loving, I can't help but fly through the pages. But the world of Girls of Paper and Fire was so beautifully crafted on an aesthetic level that I couldn't help but savor every page. It's a deception, but gosh is it a beautiful deception.
And the romance? Oh, don't even get me started on how much I adored it. I could wax poetic about it, shout to the stars about it. I won't get into any spoiler territory, but this is my favorite f/f romance I've read to date. As a bisexual woman, it made me feel seen. I love both of the characters, and I love the way in which their relationship develops.
I cannot wait until the second book!
What's most striking to me about this novel is how self-aware it is. Based on the synopsis, this novel fools you into thinking it'll be yet another YA fantasy where the main character, Lei, falls in love with her abuser, the Demon King. But where many other YA novels have romanticized such relationships, Ngan subverts expectations entirely: the abuser is rightfully villainized, and instead romance blooms between two of his Paper Girls. By having the f/f romance happen specifically between two of the Paper Girls, Ngan also overturns the anticipated girl hate between competitors perpetuated by earlier YA novels like The Selection. Over the course of the novel, Ngan goes out of her way to show the ways in which each Paper Girl is complex and layered. When girl-on-girl hate does happen, the reader understand the motivations behind the Paper Girl's actions, rather than villianizing her just because she's female.
Additionally, I really enjoyed Ngan's commentary surrounding LGBT+ issues. Throughout the story, Lei makes subtle comments about how m/m relationships tend to be more accepted and anticipated, even if still looked down upon by the society, while f/f relationships are entirely taboo. Because I see this in my own life - and especially in publishing - the LGBT+ rep felt authentic to me. Ngan knows how her book fits into conversations around queer representation.
This is probably my favorite Asian-inspired world to date. Ngan's imagery is so lush, and made the atmosphere deliciously immersive. Usually, when I'm reading a book I'm loving, I can't help but fly through the pages. But the world of Girls of Paper and Fire was so beautifully crafted on an aesthetic level that I couldn't help but savor every page. It's a deception, but gosh is it a beautiful deception.
And the romance? Oh, don't even get me started on how much I adored it. I could wax poetic about it, shout to the stars about it. I won't get into any spoiler territory, but this is my favorite f/f romance I've read to date. As a bisexual woman, it made me feel seen. I love both of the characters, and I love the way in which their relationship develops.
I cannot wait until the second book!
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