For May's book club, we read
The Lotus War Trilogy by Jay Kristoff. Here's what I thought!
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Let me start off by saying that I'm really glad we decided to read this series. We both had been curious about it for so long and while it's definitely an investment of your time, it's also quite worth it. It begins with a young girl named Yukikko who travels with her legendary warrior father Masaru to capture a supposedly extinct arashitora for the crazed Shõgun (aka their king). It turns out not only do they still exist but because of Yukikko's unique abilities, she is able to hear its thoughts and vice versa. Through a myriad of circumstances, Yukikko ends up stranded with the arashitora who she names Buruu. This becomes just the beginning of their bond and the dangerous quest to take down the evil surrounding them. Of course, there are many people who join them such as numerous rebels of the Kagé cabal and Kin, a young man she befriends.
As I was reading, it was clear that Jay Kristoff is committed to the details of his world and to creating complex, flawed characters. Every single character makes mistakes and every single character keeps fighting in spite of it. I loved that about them. The heart of the series is undoubtedly Yukikko and Buruu though and my main reason for reading. They bring so much love, warmth and laughter (Buruu is hilarious) to their scenes. As they grow closer, it's impossible to not succumb to the feels, especially as their journey becomes more perilous. And I felt that way about the other friendships they formed along the way (not all of them, but most!).
My biggest gripe about Kristoff's writing was admittedly his level of detail and storytelling style. But at the same time, it's also his strength. On one hand, the man knows how to make the plot twists shocking and make total sense in hindsight. It's clear he's got the ins-and-outs of his world-building down pat. On the other, he spends
too much time on descriptions. There were chapters upon chapters of exposition which could've been revealed as necessary. It just felt like too much to take in at times and dragged the story. I honestly believe each book could've been half as long and still as powerful (I texted Alexa many times with the words: OMG IS THIS OVER YET).
Still don't let those words or the length of these books deter you. What I ultimately take from this series overall are wonderful characters I enjoyed reading about and would readily recommend it to fellow fantasy lovers.
For every series we read, we'll be answering the same three questions at the end of our mini-reviews.
Favorite book |
Endsinger for sure! This made my jaw drop and my eyes unexpectedly tear up.
Favorite character | Another no-brainer! It's Buruu. I love that arashitora. (Followed closely by Yukkiko. This girl kicks butt.)
Would you read more from this author? | I think so. I don't entirely love his writing style but he made me love his characters and surprised me a lot.
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For those of you who read the series with us,
what did you think?
I'm really glad that we read this series! It was, as you've mentioned, an investment of time, but it was so, so worth it. It's such a well-written series! And of course, Buruu is the best <3
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