*I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I read Girls of Paper and Fire (GOPAF) last year; consumed the whole thing in the expanse of a few days. I was amazed by the world that came to life amidst its pages and fell hard for its characters and the candid exploration of power, hierarchy and abuse the plot allowed. Natasha Ngan created a dark story that burned with possibility, and I was overall pleased with her handling of difficult, triggering topics. Upon finishing GOPAF, I immediately requested its sequel on NetGalley.

Girls of Storm and Shadow (GOSAS), explained the blurb, would follow Lei and Wren after they slayed the Demon King and escaped their lives as Paper Girls. With the kingdom on the brink of war and revolution, the girls must secure the support of any allies they can find.

I expected to read the sequel in a few days; instead, it took me weeks. The whole thing was a bizarre, conflicting ordeal, actually: I couldn’t stop once I started a chapter —feeling voracious and curious and utterly consumed by the story—, but I couldn’t find the energy to continue when I reached their ends. I stepped away consciously, and days passed before I wanted to read the next chapter.

On the one hand, by the end of it, I liked the tone and moral complexities of Girls of Storm and Shadow more than the first book; on the other, however, the book wasn’t as objectively good as GOPAF, nor nowhere near as strong or unique. Perhaps it comes down to that —to originality. The sequel feels like a book we’ve all read before: a makeshift band of would-be heroes must travel across the land in search of allies, while the shadows chase them, and their enemies become stronger. It proposes interesting thoughts on wars and politics and relationships, but the adventure is straightforward and familiar. There is charm in this formula, of course! Lei and Wren’s companions are likable and diverse, and their antics sneak under your skin quickly. But it is a tried and tested formula, and it falls short of what the original managed. Maybe the subjacent issues with this book are just the usual symptoms of Second Book Syndrome? It does end on a terrible cliffhanger.

It sneaked on me, regardless; Ngan’s prose is fantastic throughout, and I found myself crying and laughing and raging along with Lei.

Standouts:

• Wren. I absolutely loved how her character was developed, adding so much exquisite grayness to her actions and thoughts. I believe the first book did well in hinting that, despite Lei’s adoration, there were hidden, uglier, complex depths to Wren. The sequel proves this assertion right, in often heart-breaking, gut-wrenching ways.
• Featuring the utter ugliness of orchestrating a war, on both sides of any conflict. It’s easy to forget, when the heroes of a fantasy are contrasted with its villains, that wars are awful. All wars. Always. If anything, the whole of GOSAS is a stark reminder that there are no saints among struggles for power. This reality hits hard, but allows for some of the best scenes in the series and the most distressing revelations. Like the saying goes, the roads to hell are paved with good intentions, no? And GOSAS is full of characters with the best of intentions...
• Other Points of Views. I really enjoyed the few chapters the book included from other perspectives. In fact, I think they were my favorite. They served as a window into the overarching plot, and a reminder that a war is a giant game of strategy, with dozens of pieces moving randomly and purposely across the board. I’m excited to see how all these threads come together in the next book.
• Thought-provoking. I think a book is best when it makes you think. GOSAS does it, whether you want to or not. The end justifies the means? If yes, which ends and which means? Which actions can be justified in the name of the “greater good”, if any such thing exists?
• Abuse, in the sequel, is a lot more complex. The Demon King is a monster, both a rapist and power-hungry murderer; that was obvious and unquestionable in the first book. Some of the monsters in GOSAS can be scarier, because they are not that awful —or they aren’t, yet. Likewise, everything that happened in the first book is a prevalent shadow over the plot; the girls are not magically cured of their trauma but are scarred and hurting and slowly healing.
• The world-building. I want to see more of this world split by the gods’ blessings. After all, a world in which fiendish humans look down on plain, bereft humans feels painfully realistic; we’ve looked down on humans for less, we’ve hated each other for less. I want to know what the middle caste thinks, caught in-between as it is, neither demon nor paper. I want to see more of this world in which magic has a terrible cost. The lore is tantalizing, and I wish for clearer glimpses.

Issues:

• Pacing. I could never decide if the book was rushing from one point to the next… or dragging along. It felt sluggish, while at the same time everything seemed to complicate or resolve too quickly. The pace of Lei’s assimilation of the utter awfulness of war, tangled in her love for Wren, in particular, felt often at odds. Maybe this hot-and-cold reaction was in character, considering their world and their traumas. Regardless, I would’ve preferred a few more pages to deal with the emotional highs and lows, a few more conversations throughout —more so, because I thought the book handled the PTSD of running away from being a Paper Girl, and all that entailed, exceptionally well.
• Dialog. This is not fully a complain, but I thought the conversations among the companions —particularly Bo’s lines— were at times… anachronistic? Some phrases seemed wholly out of place. Similarly, the book had a lot more humor than the first and, while amusing, I found many of these jokes jarring, breaking with the seriousness of the situation.
• The world-building. Yes, I know I mentioned this above, too. In GOSAS, the world was both a virtue and a flaw. Somehow, while taking place outside the palace, the world seemed to lose some of its lore. To its detriment, some scenes could’ve happened in any fantastical world with an overlord.

I must conclude by praising Ngan’s inclusivity. GOSAS is a powerful testament to fantasy genres: a book can be dark and gritty and diverse; these descriptions don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

Thanks NetGalley for this amazing ARC in exchange for an honest review. Whoa! Friggin whoa! As beautiful, gut wrenching, suspenseful, crushing, and restoring as Girls of Paper and Fire. Ngan shows up and shows out with incredible world building, complex relationships, plot twists, and rich character development. I absolutely loved this book! I cannot wait for the next one!

While I enjoyed this book, I missed the action and fast pace of the previous book in this series. I wish it would have had the same suspense as Girls of Paper and Fire.

I was really excited to read the sequel to Girls of Paper and Fire, which I loved. I like where Ngan took the story in this book, but I felt like the pacing of the book was slower than the first, which was frustrating. That said, I love how deeply textured and multi-dimensional the character development felt here, and I am excited to see where Ngan takes the series in the future!

A worth reading sequel, Girls of Storm and Shadow doesn't quite surpass the loveliness that Girls of Paper and Fire dealt. Where they was resolve, purpose and a refined sense of romance in the first book, Girls of Storm and Shadow doesn't quite get there -- there are moments of excellence, but the theme of revenge overarches every bit of the story, suffocating it.

The way Ngan deals with the aftermath of trauma, and the way it follows you around in all things, especially your intimate relationships with loved ones, is stunning. It is especially wonderful considering the audience: young adults do not often see trauma detailed in this way. The uniqueness of the bare bones of this story is still there, but it is lacking. It feels a little tired, but the rep and the relatable material make it worth the read, especially if you enjoyed the first novel.

4.5 stars.
Lei and Wren deserve rights? Yes, they deserve. This book is amazing. It's good to find a good LGBT YA fantasy with well written characters.

I read this with two of my best friends and it made it a lot more fun! I’m currently on a family vacation and on the ride to Utah I listen to the last of half of this book. And it was good. Love the narrator and dying for the third book!
4/5 stars
Ps. My first book for 2020!!

A powerful second book in this series, focusing on various characters as they move beyond their abuses and also prepare to fight back. Definitely need to read book 1 first and also be prepared for absolute lack of closure which I hate in a series. I get a cliffhanger, but tie up something!! Overall, a good second novel.

I was so excited to read this book after the events of book one. I needed to know what happened to Lei and her friends. This one picks up a fews past the events of book one and goes from there. They learn early on that the king isn't dead, something that we have known for a while and we make new friends. Overall, this story has what we have come to know as book two syndrome. It was slow and nothing really happened and I have to say that I was pretty bored. Now that being said, I will go back and read book one and this one again when book two comes out. But this one really lost the spark that book one had. It lost that edge that I was hoping for. For the most part I think a lot of this book could have been cut completely made shorter and maybe just been a novella between book one and three.


Go Into This One Knowing: Book Two Syndrome, Boring, Slow

Ngan handles topics such as sexual assault, marginalization, and moral dilemma quite well. While this did feel like a "middle" book, I enjoyed the way that she explored the muddy waters of means and ends - is it morally acceptable to do reprehensible things if it means justice or liberation? The characters feel like fully-fleshed out and nuanced people who are experiencing the same troubles but with very different concerns and stakes.

This is the second book in the series. While I enjoyed the first book, this book wasn't as great. I felt like it dragged along in areas. Looking forward to the next book.

Natasha Ngan is a talented storyteller that weaves a dark and exciting tale for readers to obsess over. This series doesn’t make it to my personal favorites, but it’s a worth while addition to my public library YA collection.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and JIMMY Patterson for the advanced reading copy of Girls of Storm and Shadow by Natasha Ngan. I can't wait to start this book.


As this is the second book to a series I don't want to give to much detail, as not to spoil anyone. I will say I love the magical world that Ngan creates. Her ability for storytelling is a true gift and her gift has definitely grown in this last novel. I highly recommend you start this series.

Girls of Storm and Shadow was a great sequel to Girls of Paper and Fire and I enjoyed reading it. However, it was quite slow at times which was disappointing as I wanted it to keep moving. I found myself quickly clicking through the pages just to get to something that was a little bit more interesting. The story within the book though was amazing and I enjoyed that aspect of the book. It was a great “natural’’ progression of what had happened in the first book. It was interesting to see how Wren and Lei grew as a couple but also how they dealt with the jealousy of Wrens previous lover.

The fact that this book focuses on a POC Lesbian character is what makes it even better though and the fact it is now a sequel? EVEN BETTER. My students NEED this differentiation in books. I teach in a high diversity school with many students from many backgrounds so this book was definitely important to add to my collection, so I had to read it. I actually have both books already in and I am focusing on them in my displays. I will happily give reviews on these books any time.

The only thing I would work on was stated in my first paragraph—the pace of the novel. It was too slow for my tastes but that could be different for my readers; however, I know they love action. The more action the better the book. So maybe a few less pages of transitions and some more action? Otherwise the book was lovely and I would love to see some novellas on the girls left at the palace.

"Lei, the naive country girl who became a royal courtesan, is now known as the Moonchosen, the commoner who managed to do what no one else could. But slaying the cruel Demon King wasn't the end of the plan---it's just the beginning. Now Lei and her warrior love Wren must travel the kingdom to gain support from the far-flung rebel clans. The journey is made even more treacherous thanks to a heavy bounty on Lei's head, as well as insidious doubts that threaten to tear Lei and Wren apart from within."

My thoughts... not as good as the first book. The plot felt like it dragged. Some of it confusing.

However my biggest annoyance was Lei. She is WAY to forgiving. The things she learns about Wren were astounding. She gets mad and then a few pages later its right back to undying love. There are things in a relationship you can work through but oh boy this stuff she learned are not them... not to mentioned they lack communication. It just didn't work for me in this installment.

I still would be interested in seeing how it ends. The world she created is an interesting one.

Thank you to Netgalley and Jimmy Press for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Jimmy Patterson in exchange for an honest review.

I'm going to be honest, I wasn't blown away by Girls of Paper and Fire. I did really enjoy the book and I thought it had a lot of potential but there were some little niggles that kept getting in the way of me loving it. I was hoping the sequel would fix these niggles and bring more of what I loved, and it did to some extent.

Girls of Storm and Shadow is a very different book to the first one in the series. The plot focuses mainly on the growing threat of war and our band of heroes travelling round, trying to recruit others to their cause. I must admit, I'm not a huge fan of these kinds of plots which probably tainted my opinion a bit. What I did enjoy was the characterisation present here and the direction the characters were taken in. One of my main niggles with the first book was the relationship between the protagonist and her love interest, which was a little flat and had an unpleasant 'victim blaming' angle to it. Thankfully this is fixed in this book, and while there are other reasons I found it hard to root for the couple, I do at least find it interesting the direction Ngan has chosen to take it.

The writing in general is strong and I think there is enough happening in this book to keep you engaged. As much as I thought the relationship of Wren and Lei took a step in the right direction, there are still some very prominent issues. In this book Lei is waaaay too forgiving of Wren, to the point where it is sort of unbelievable. Lei doesn't tend to react the way one typically would to finding out certain things about her lover, and the plot suffers for it. Lei herself has somewhat questionable morals as well. At one point she refuses to kill a known enemy who is attacking her but a few chapters later, she slaughters a much more innocent person in self-defense and barely bats an eyelid.

Sadly this book did not convince me to continue on with the series, though I am still a little intrigued to see where it's all going. I wish the plot of the first book had tied in more closely to the plot of this one, and it seems the third one will have to jump a fair bit if it is going to be the last in the series. I did think the sexual assault aspects that were handled poorly in the first book are handled well in this one (although still treated as a minor plot thread) which is an improvement. Try as I might, I just can't get sucked into this world though.

Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

This was such a great follow up to Girls of Paper and Fire. I was a little nervous going into it but it was completely unnecessary. Not only does it have a beautiful cover but It also delivers a great story. It followed an epic journey full of dark magic, politics, demons, badass female characters, and much more. I can't wait to see what the next book does.

First line: Deep in the dark heart of the royal palace, the King was hiding.

Summary: In the sequel to The Girls of Paper and Fire, Lei and Wren have escaped from the palace after trying to kill the Demon King. They have joined forces with a band of rebels, intent on gaining the support of the kingdom’s outlying clans. As they make their way around they are constantly being hunted by the king’s guards and other bounty hunters.

My Thoughts: I like this series. It is definitely one I will finish even though it is not something truly groundbreaking it is still fun. I love how Ngan created this world of animal demons and different varieties. I try to imagine them but I am sure that I am not even close to how she dreamt them up.

I did get frustrated several times when Lei would learn something about a character and be really mad but then the next page she was completely fine with them again. Stay mad or be happy. But it is the teen angst which I have moved past, thank goodness!

At the beginning the author does warn about triggers that may give some readers pause. I like to read the author’s note at the end. Natasha tells how she wrote this book for her, as a way to deal with issues in her life, but how she decided to give it to the world and the people who need it.

FYI: Trigger warnings include sexual abuse, violence and self harm.

2,5*
This book was very hard to get through 😭
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Pros: Enchanting world-building. LGBT leads and focus. Immersive description and narrative style. Includes Malaysian traditions and culture. Delves into the many aspects of war.
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Cons: Stilted dialogues. Poorly-developed characters. Incredibly predictable. Too much of the making-the-character-passing-out-to-avoid-describing-scenes trope.

I received an e-ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

To see my GOPAF review, click here: https://sarahthebookmarauder.wordpress.com/2018/10/30/girls-of-paper-and-fire/

I had this epic review in mind but then I have to tone it down a bit to keep it as spoiler-free as possible. Any spoilers will be marked so you can read this in peace, hehe.

So, here it goes (in true marauder fashion).

The Issues:
1. Issue no.1 is going to be a repeat telecast of issue no.1 in my GOPAF review. WHY DOES LEI HAVE GOLDEN EYES? Have I missed something while reading this story? I hoped we would get a few details about the origin of her eyes or perhaps some info about her mother. Is it possible her mother was a Moon / Steel caste demon? What even happened to her mother after she was taken to the palace? So many questions and only one book left to answer them.
2. The Pace – The book was slower than I would have liked. Some bits dragged on but it was decent enough that I was able to breeze through it.

The Good Stuff:
1. The writing was brilliant as always. I loved the depth that the writer brought to the supporting characters.
2. I really liked the new characters that were introduced in the book. It would have been nice to have some background info about them but they were still pretty interesting. Perhaps all these will be revealed in the last book.
3. Loved Bo’s character. He brought so much life to the story! (view spoiler)

Random Thoughts:
1. Wren – (view spoiler)
2. More involvement of the Steel caste please. I would have liked to have seen more Steel clans signing up for Lei’s side of the war
3. There were a couple of shocking and sad bits but they made the story more interesting
4. That cliffhanger!!!!! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO US, NATASHA??!! I NEED BOOK 3 NOWWWWWW

Overall Impression:
As with all sequels/ middle books, I expected a bit of a plateau because middle books are often full of fillers. Although this went in that direction a bit, it was still a pretty decent sequel and set things up quite nicely for the finale. Book 3 is expected to come out next year. How will I wait that long??!!