Beautifully written, Strike the Zither leans into girl power that is significant and cathartic! Zephyr is smart, calculating and perfectly okay with being unlike her sisters-in-arms. Zephyr's story is one of strength, righteousness, longing and intelligence -- a perfect blend of true-to-yourself characters and action! Readers will enjoy a quick plot with a great mid-read twist!

When Zephyr becomes the strategist for Warlordess Ren, she knows her sharp mind may be the only thing standing between slaughter and salvation. However, when Zephyr decides to become a double-agent, she finds herself in more trouble than she initially thought...

Not what I expected...but not bad?

Judging on the blurb, I was NOT expecting the novel we did get! that doesn't mean it was bad- that just means it was unexpected?

All in all, it was an interesting fantasy novel with some really intriguing takes! I just think it really fell short after the first part. The first part was all in all GREAT though, and I think i could be easily persuaded to read the second book to see how things turn out.

I received this as a galley in exchange for review!

I think I need some time to properly gather my thoughts and *really* think about how I feel but here’s a list of things I’m sure about:-

- I love that every person in power here was a woman!! We seriously do not get enough of cunning women battling together to win, it was refreshing and so fun to read.
- Political intrigue, if done right in a fantasy is my utmost favourite thing and this book did it!! I loved that there was so much *good* plotting and scheming, my mouth was in a constant state of O because SO CLEVER!
- The author’s writing style was something that quickly drew me in! I was hooked from page 1 but I’ll also have to say that you need to be patient for at least 10% of the book in order to properly appreciate the story. I admit that I was kind of confused in the beginning and the only reason I kept on reading was because Zephyr, our MC, was such an interesting, complicated AND brilliant character.
- I was not at all expecting a romance but there was one and it was kind of enemies to lovers and I was VIBING with it!! I’m especially hyped for the second book to see the development on the romance front!!
- The found family was also something I didn’t expect but really appreciated. Their relationships, loyalty and connections were heartwarming and so sweet!
- There were also lots of talks of war, strategies and so much action! All the war related strategies made me feel pretty dumb because I couldn’t have thought of it myself lol.
- The whole Zither playing was such a unique concept! I’m very much intrigued and I can’t wait to get to see more of it in the next book.

To be honest, I only have good things to say about this book but the reason I gave it 4 stars is because of a plot twist at about 50% mark. It was truly WILD. It literally came out of nowhere and didn’t make much sense to me? Without spoilers, I can’t talk freely about it but nothing was implied and the story kind of lost it’s charm for me after it. Sure, there were some great scenes after that twist that I really enjoyed but that twist didn’t make much sense to me.

Will I read the sequel? Yes, of course I will. I’m way too curious after that ending.

Will I recommend this book to others? Again, yes, I will. AND will also have discussions at length.

Is it one of my favourite fantasy books to exist? Sadly, no. I had super high expectations but apart from that one huge plot twist, I loved everything else so I definitely have high hopes for the sequel!

Thank you so much to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for my e-arc and RB Media for my alc!

I had seen the cover of Strike the Zither by Joan He for so long that I didn't realize it hadn't actually been released yet when I stumbled across it on NetGalley. I was super excited to get an advanced copy through NetGalley and Macmillan (even though my insane schedule kept me from reading it for awhile) and now I'm ready to give my honest review.

This novel is a reimagining/retelling of the Chinese classic Three Kingdoms. Our story follows Zephyr, a brilliant strategist who was orphaned at a young age, as she assists warlordess Ren in defeating the prime ministress Miasma who claims to be protecting the empire (while really just trying to keep control for herself). Alongside Ren's swornsisters Lotus and Cloud, Zephyr must help Ren navigate both war and politics.

Even as a member of the Chinese diaspora in America, I had actually never heard the tale of Three Kingdoms and, I'll be very honest, I wanted to read this book strictly because of the cover. The artwork is stunning and immediately drew me in. In addition to the gorgeous cover, I was also pleasantly surprised by a beautiful map and actual character art the beginning of the book before we even get into the story. I cannot stress how much I loved this little bonus and I wish all books would do this.

The story itself had me entranced from the get go. Our protagonist, Zephyr, comes off as a bit arrogant and uncaring, but it somehow wasn't off-putting and I did genuinely like her. The majority of the main cast are women and they are all strong women in their own right. Each character has a distinct personality that made clear what the motivation was behind each action they took. Their relationships to each other (and specifically to Zephyr) were fleshed out in a way that was kind of surprising considering how many there were? I can't really explain it properly, but I absolutely adored all the characters (even the bad guys!) and loved their interactions with each other.

This is the first novel that I've read of Joan's and I am already a huge fan. There were a few surprise twists that I didn't see coming at all (truly, not even a hint - I attribute this to her excellent writing, but it could also be because I'm dumb, read for yourself and find out!) and I adore being constantly surprised when reading a book. Each of the surprises also made sense for the story and didn't feel like they were forced in just to get a surprised reaction from the reader. I am anxiously awaiting the next volume in this continuing story!

Strike the Zither is available now wherever you get your books.

Strike the Zither is filled with political intrigue as Zephyr tries to ensure victory for her warlordess, Xin Ren. As a strategist, Zephyr lacks the physical prowess of a warrior but a keen mind makes her a formidable opponent with the ability to defeat enemies despite the odds against her. Zephyr’s strategic maneuvers were some of my favorite parts of the story, showcasing how physical strength is not the only way battles are won. It’s also the significance He places on the zither and the role it plays that I especially loved.

Some patience is required to sort through the beginning, but the twists and the emphasis on themes of loyalty and sisterhood make the book well worth it. Fans of fantasy and political intrigue will enjoy Strike the Zither, whether or not they are familiar with Romance of the Three Kingdoms. (3.5 stars rounded to 4 stars)

I have no idea what I just read, and not in a good way. I definitely do not want more of it. *spoilers* The god plot was out of left field, and it felt like the whole structure of the plot collapsed there. Also, what was with the body swapping?

2 stars for uniqueness, but I didn't like anything else. Even the main character is pretty unlikable, and the supporting characters are pretty flat.

This was a bit of a difficult read for me because while I enjoyed the overall setting and world, I just couldn’t get into any of the characters. The scheming and strategizing was the best part for me. The main character Zephyr seemed a lot older and established than she actually was, which given that she’s been involved in a war for several years makes sense but her personality seemed a bit all over the place. Joan He’s writing is so good but the story kind of just starts and dithers in certain places before crashing into a cliffhanger ending and I don’t know how we got there.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Strike the Zither, the newest novel by Joan He, follows Zephyr, a brilliant strategist serving Xin Ren, one of the warlordesses fighting for control of the Xin Empire. Zephyr’s intellect allows her to outsmart Ren’s enemies, but a single misstep forces her to join the ranks of Miasma, the empire’s Prime Ministress and Ren’s preeminent adversary. Not only must Zephyr hide her true loyalties, but a stunning revelation finds her questioning how much she’s willing to sacrifice to ensure her lordess takes the throne. In this female-led reimagining of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, one of the four great classic novels of Chinese literature, He has crafted a novel filled with shifting alliances, clever strategy, and supernatural intrigue that will keep readers on their toes until the final page.

He's narrative drops readers right into the middle of the action. Zephyr and the rest of Ren’s forces are fleeing Miasma to keep themselves and hundreds of evacuating peasants from falling to enemy warriors. Zephyr’s quick thinking allows the crowds to escape the pursuit, and a second strategic decision, despite landing Zephyr in the enemy’s camp, keeps them from being subsequently slaughtered. Zephyr’s ability as a strategist is unmistakable in these opening chapters as well as in several other instances throughout the book, but overall, Zephyr’s brilliance as a strategist is told rather than shown. Many of the circumstances that allowed Zephyr to hone her abilities and gain her reputation happened prior to the opening of the book, forcing the reader to take her cleverness as fact; as this is the first book in the series, these events may be further explored in later books, but their vagueness here detracts from Zephyr’s character development.

Nonetheless, He has established that she is able to explore her characters more thoroughly as the story progresses. Some of this characterization is due to shifting identities; in a time of war, hidden identities are not unexpected, and the revelation of Zephyr’s true identity—along with the mid-story introduction of a supernatural twist—changes the dynamic between several of the main characters. These characters have different relationships with one another, largely based on how they’re qualified to serve Ren. Zephyr contributes in a mental capacity by providing strategy while Lotus and Cloud, Ren’s swornsisters, are unmatched warriors. As they have more similar temperaments and abilities, Lotus and Cloud are closer to each other than either is to Zephyr, yet changing circumstances allow Zephyr to get closer to Cloud. Consequently, Cloud’s character becomes better developed, allowing readers to finally understand her motivations and her desires as well as deepening the narrative overall.

These expanding character developments occur largely because of the liberties He has taken with the tale upon which Strike the Zither is based. The second half of the novel alters the Chinese classic significantly, bringing in the supernatural in a way that is more explicit than in Three Kingdoms and changing Zephyr’s role in the story as well as her ultimate fate. Similarly, He has indicated in her author’s note that she has changed other storylines to foreshadow a major plot point of Three Kingdoms, leading to several shocking twists in the final chapter of her novel. How these changes play out will be revealed in the second book of this planned duology.

Strike the Zither is a book filled with action and intrigue, humans and gods, loyalty and honor. Although it is a reimagining of a classic Chinese novel, Zither can be read and enjoyed regardless of a reader’s knowledge of the source material, and the list of characters and artwork included at the beginning of the book serve as helpful guides for the expansive world that He has recreated. Fans of Asian literature will appreciate the nods to Chinese mythology and culture, while fans of warfare and action will appreciate Zephyr’s strategic ability, the shifting alliances, and the well-written battle sequences.

Known as the Rising Zephyr, Qilin is the sole strategist for Xin Ren, a lordess wanting to restore peace and protect the throne, entrusting it to the rightful person. Zephyr has strategists up her sleeves and she knows when to employ them. While she infiltrated an enemy’s camp, Zephyr needs to ensure she keeps her head on her body and her wits close. Meeting Crow, the opposing strategy, wasn’t supposed to end up with them playing zithers together. Zephyr will betray. In the latter half, Zephyr will find out that her identity isn’t all that it seems. She will know why the sister she remembers doesn’t treat her as a sister but rather, as a stranger.

Joan He was inspired by Three Kingdoms (三國演義). A classic in Chinese Literature that most kids growing up surrounded by Chinese cultures would know. While the author didn’t use the names of the characters in the classic verbatim, I recognized elements of the original work like Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei. Also, familiar aspects and plots, especially the 草船借箭 scene, were pretty cool too. What a nostalgic throwback. It’s probably the most iconic and memorable strategy in the Three Kingdoms. With that, Joan He brilliantly crafted a story that surpassed all my expectations. Stanza Two was a whole other beast. I want to say more but I can’t!

Not going to lie, with how we were thrown straight into the war zone and the chaos that quickly ensued, it took a while to orient me. Not too long though. Joan He’s writing style just sucked me into the world. Zephyr’s character and her role in the story were introduced immediately so we knew who she was. The usage of the sobriquet, names given during a person’s coming of age, was interesting too. For Pan Qilin, her sobriquet is Zephyr and it is what everyone calls her instead of her given name.

Ren, despite not having a strong backing or even a proper army, refuses to employ underhanded methods. She sticks to her own beliefs, integrity, and honor throughout the whole fight against Miasma. The three swornsisters–Ren, Cloud, and Lotus–have a bond that will never break. They swore to always speak the truth to one another.

The situation between Crow and Zephyr is bittersweet. Knowing that they care for each other but can’t be together since they are fighting against one another, is painful. For them, duty first.

I just kept waiting for something bad to happen. Honestly, what can I expect during the war? Hoping for everyone to be safe and sound by the end is definitely wishful thinking. Strike the Zither is a brilliant reimagination of Three Kingdoms. I can’t even begin to imagine the stress on Joan He.

Strike the Zither was definitely a rollercoaster ride. With Ren’s weak positioning in this war, it’s pretty hard to predict if things will be positive for her camp. However, Ren has loyal generals and a strategist willing to make sure her plan will come to fruition. Not knowing what will happen, every situation is life and death. Joan He pulled me into Strike the Zither so quickly, I couldn’t stop reading.

For the first time ever, I did not give a Joan He book a five out of five star rating, which is completely out of left field for me and was definitely not on my Bingo card for 2022.

I've slowly come to terms with my disconnection to Strike the Zither due to the fact that it took me so long to finish it, and my disconnect really stems from one major thing—characters. I've always found Joan's characters to be dynamic, genuine reflections of humanity, so to not like a single one of STZ felt like a nightmare. I could see where Joan was taking each of the characters, but no matter what happened none of the characters ever drew me in. It's not even like I was left on a precipice to nearly connecting with them; no, I was back about a mile from the edge on the sturdiest ground ever. I probably should've DNF-ed this book, but again, my love for Joan's other work was so strong that I pushed my way through.

Now let's get to some of the specifics.

Zephyr aka Qilin. Where do I even start with her? Her connections to people did not make sense to me one bit. I never felt like she had any loyalty to anyone, and even with her "loyalty" to Ren, it felt disingenuous to me. I never could quite understand why she cared that much, and when the plot twist happens about halfway through, I still didn't believe it because the reasoning felt like "well fate determines all, even one's feelings for another," which is NOT what I want to hear. Zephyr keeps trying to tell us why she's loyal to Ren, but the more she does this, the less I believed it. And maybe that was part of the point—I don't know—but that's not good enough for me. I think more groundwork and development needed to happen to get me to connect with Zephyr and understand her on a deeper level. The saddest part is that Zephyr is the driving force of this book, so by not caring for her, I didn't even spare a glance to her comrades, romantic link to Crow, or even her sister. It all felt fake and weird.

The other big reason I didn't like this book was the pacing. It made ZERO sense to me. Why are we going through a war/ rebellion at a 100x speed?! I was experiencing whiplash from the amount of location jumps and strategizing with nearly every side of this fight. I never felt like I could take a deep breath to bask in this world. Zephyr does have some deep moments with other characters, but those felt like disruptions since the pacing was previously so quick. It was a back and forth jerk that I couldn't get over. All of this is leading to the big spoiler—Zephyr's "death." I don't know the source material well, so I'm open to this being an error on my own ignorance, but Zephyr being a god did not feel real at first. I know its a plot twist for a reason, but my brain could not comprehend this character I did not like now being a disgraced god for her last eighteen years on earth. Then, she came back to earth against other gods wishes to possess one of her old friends. WHAT? I already didn't believe in Zephyr's loyalty to the cause, so now her possessing someone to continue working for Ren did not feel right to me. It also didn't feel very god-like, and maybe that's because she's been a human for eighteen years... I just couldn't believe the reality of this situation.

Thank you to Fierce Reads and Netgalley for an eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Definitely a 4.5 and I’m happily rounding up.

I never did manage to read the author Joan’s second book coz I wasn’t much into sci-fi at the time of its release but I remember loving Descendant of the Crane when I read the arc and hoping so badly for its sequel despite knowing it was probably never gonna come. But when I saw the announcement of this book, I was totally over the moon, I had sky high expectations, and I’m honestly more relieved that it did live up to all the hype in my head.

I had such plans in the runup to the release of this book. I begged the author for an earc which I rarely ever do in DMs. I kept talking about it whenever I could on the blog. I wanted to read the original Three Kingdoms - atleast the abridged version - but it just proved to be a bit of a task for me and I also had so many shiny new releases to compete for my time. I also tried listening to the amazing podcast but that was a huge commitment too which I abandoned after about 7 episodes. Ultimately I had to satisfy myself by watching a few YouTube videos which summarized this classic novel for me in a couple of hours. But atleast I was glad that I knew a tad bit more than I knew before. And it was time to dive into this future favorite of mine.

The book starts off with swag and that’s the only word I can think of. That first line is instantly captivating and the rest of the book remained so for me. Joan is pretty known among us fans of hers for really tormenting her characters and having stunningly unpredictable plot twists, so I was dreading every page expecting that betrayal to happen. And when they actually did, I heaved a sigh of relief because I also knew that the writing would pull those characters back up after the twists and we’ll get more of their amazing story. But I have to say, I never saw the actual twists coming and they were such delightful and jaw dropping surprises that I needed a moment to gather myself. Even when there were moments which felt slow or maybe even fillers, there were layers to the silences, and they also gave me breathing room. The plot is not overly complicated as soon as we get a hang of the world and it’s main players, and then it’s a lot of fast paced fun. But, this is also a book which is on a constant dangerous journey just like our main character.

I have not read a protagonist like Zephyr in a while. I guess I’m used to my heroines underestimating themselves or being more modest about their achievements. Zephyr has no such false modesty. She is arrogant in the best ways that a young well learned person can be, is confident about her skills as a strategist, and has the accomplishments to back it up, alongwith some cool sobriquets to call herself. While this may make some readers feel that she is an unlikable character, I only found it refreshing. And it also helped that her loyalty to Xin Ren is unwavering despite an almost futility of their rebellion. Whether this is because their association is fated, Zephyr has no other choice, she wants to stand by the person with the right surname, or she truly believes in the righteousness of Ren’s cause - whatever might be Zephyr’s reasons, her loyalty is very commendable and I loved her for it.

Because we only get one pov, we don’t really get too many scenes with the three sworn sisters but even the limited amount is enough to see the depth of affection and trust they have among each other - it goes beyond just loyalty and I absolutely adored their dynamic. I don’t know much about the source material but I definitely know about this particular sworn brotherhood and enjoyed its depiction in the Dynasty Warriors movie, so it was nice to also read a similar dynamic in a YA fantasy book. I definitely loved Ren a lot more because she is this filial, virtuous leader who is determined to help her empress, and all the people along the way even if she has to suffer too many hardships for it. I can’t completely say I liked Lotus’s totally impulsive personality initially but it was interesting to explore her dynamic with Cloud in the second half of the book.

Now how I not mention Crow when he and Zephyr are almost like birds of the same feather - they are strategists, there’s natural mistrust between them but also a mutual respect and the way their relationship develops is almost inevitable. I was actually glad it didn’t develop into a full blown love story because that’s not the kind of people they are but there’s so much unspoken between them that the yearning is spectacular, and very signature Joan he if I’m being honest. And the less I say about their zither scenes together, the better, because I found myself lost in the beauty of those scenes and just wanted to listen to such soulful zither battles irl (the scene from Red Cliff which inspired the author definitely helped my craving).

Miasma on the other hand is still an enigma in my head because while she might be very stabby and power hungry, there was just something about her that made me intrigued and interested in her. Cicada is a total revelation because I absolutely did not expect either the way she is introduced or the later reveals about her plans - she is definitely one to look out for the most in the next book.

I don’t know if I actually have been able to articulate how much I adored this book. I actually abandoned my audiobook as well as my annotation of the hardcover a quarter way through coz it was all slowing me down, and then rushed through the ebook coz I always read faster on my kindle - I just wanted to know what was gonna happen next and I couldn’t wait. But I still have to mention the excellent Nancy Wu’s beautiful narration and how she has quickly become one of my favorite audiobook narrators.

In the end, I can only say this book felt absolutely written for me and I adored every bit of it. If you enjoy fantasies which are inspired from or are reimaginings of classics, then you should totally check this out. Even if you know nothing about Three Kingdoms, this book will still give you a fun and adventurous YA fantasy with a whole host of unique female characters, a memorable protagonist, and enough twists and turns to keep you hooked throughout. And if like me you are a guzhuang drama lover, then I think you shouldn’t miss this one. I’m very very excited to see where this story goes next, but I’m also very satisfied. And now that there’s probably an year before we get the sequel, here’s hoping I’ll get to the original book or watch Red Cliff in the meantime, maybe even be ambitious and aim for the 95 episode Three Kingdoms drama from 2010. Who knows..???

Joan He really said ROMANCE of the Three Kingdoms!!

I adore He's writing, but I will admit the first half of this left me feeling a bit unmoored. Things happen very quickly without much explanation or detail, which was weird for a book about a strategist.

A big twist occurs about midway through, and after that the book got stronger for me. I really liked that twist and found the second half much easier to follow.

Thought the romance was a little weak. It's very insta-love and even though they're "rivals" I didn't really buy their push-pull dynamic.

The ending cliffhanger is very fun though, and makes me want to read the next book for sure!!

Beautifully written, insightful, and unable to put it down. Joan He’s first installment, Strike the Zither, certainly strikes a cord for readers. So excited for the next book to unfold!

First, a big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of this book!

Having never read one of Joan He's books before, I wasn't really sure what to expect. Not all that long ago I read She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan and immediately got sucked in to the world of warring factions, god-like characters, the intrigue, and the peril inherent in struggling to the top in a war-torn world. So after reading the summary of this book, I thought it could be one I loved equally as much.

I don't know a lot about classical Chinese literature, and I love that these retellings are getting space and notoriety in English-speaking circles. I also love the willingness to re-imagine with either woman or non-binary folk as the main characters - let's be real, we have enough macho-men books out on the market.

All of that being said, this book fell a little flat for me. Maybe if I hadn't read She Who Became the Sun only a little while ago, or even never at all, I wouldn't have had such high expectations for the prose/characters/story/etc etc etc. While this book isn't bad, per se, it just feels sort of... average. The premise/idea is definitely special, and that is what makes this a 3-star review and not a 2-star review for me.

Above all else, the writing was not really as polished as I would like. Here is an example for you (now, bear in mind I read the ARC, so it is entirely possible that some edits were made after ARCs were released in this specific case): the author's favorite "fancy" words seems to be sobriquet. Cool word, definitely one I enjoy and don't see used a whole lot. HOWEVER, I counted at least 8 times this word was used, once with only a sentence between uses. I actually think there were more, but I didn't start counting until about 20% of the way through.

Listen, of course words are going to be repeated in a book, especially words that are really common/NEED to be used. That is fine! But this case... it just felt off to see a word that most often is used sparingly/infrequently used literally all the time instead of saying "nickname" (which is the word most people would probably use).

It was just really jarring and as I noticed it more and more, it made it harder for me to focus on the actual meat of the book, which is a real shame.

It seems like this will be part of a series, so I am not wholly opposed to trying again for book 2 - I know that sometimes a series can get off to a slow start. And like I said before, for the premise ALONE, the retelling of a classic story, I would be willing to give He some leeway and try again in the future.

I have to say, I am also sad that my ARC was read on my kindle, so I didn't get to see the art at the start of the book in color - but the black-and-white pictures looked wonderful - big shoutout to the artist!

I have good news and bad news.

Good news: Strike the Zither is a taught, addicting, feminist reimagining of Chinese classic Three Kingdoms, where teenaged Zephyr is a strategist for Ren, an honorable but landless wardlordess who is trying to outmaneuver two other wardlordesses, and that is full of intense political intrigue and found family-warmth and so many double-crosses and mythic proportions and a hot and clever but sickly rival – and you can read it right now.😎

Bad news: It ends on a this-changes-things cliffhanger and is the first book in a new series.🥶

But I have absolutely no doubt Book 2 will be worth the wait!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Inspired by the Chinese classic literature of 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms', this story stands on its own and is full of heart.

For those readers who are like me and aren’t familiar with 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms', Joan He does a wonderful job setting up this world for us.

The empire is divided into three factions and each has three different warlordesses leading them. Everyone wants to claim the other’s land as their own creating constant chaos for everyone. Now enter the knowledgeable strategist, Zephyr, who claims her loyalty to the one warlordess who doesn’t have any land at all. The one thing that does help her gain followers is her name, Xin Ren.

These two are the heart of this story. Xin Ren has her own strong beliefs in fighting this war that challenge Zephyr’s tactics of doing absolutely anything to win. Their views clash at times, but one thing always remains and that’s their loyalty to one another. The trust in their relationship is truly unbelievable.

When Zephyr sees an opportunity to finally gain an alliance with the South for Xin Ren she seizes the moment. Unfortunately, that means she must play the role of a defector and enter their enemy’s territory. This is when Xin Ren must put her faith in her strategist.

This book is full of morally grey characters and I think it worked well! I personally find that this makes for the most interesting stories because they are less predictable.

It took some time to adjust to being inside Zephyr’s head. She’s a hard character to love and root for at first because she is extremely arrogant. Her tactics are sometimes cruel, too. My favorite character is Crow, the strategist from the North. Crow and Zephyr immediately clash and it was so fun reading their interactions! I wish we got more of them, but I have hopes that we will see more of Crow in the next book.

As the story continues, there is a major plot twist that changes the direction of this story. The fantasy elements of this book become more prominent and I really enjoyed it!

I’ve been a huge fan of Joan He’s writing since I read 'Descendant of the Crane', and I think 'Strike the Zither' is her best book yet! Her writing has immensely improved and it’s captivating. She has a way of writing tricky worlds with fleshed-out characters. I can tell that she poured her heart into telling this story. Every relationship and character shows how much this book means to her.

There are a lot of politics and betrayals to keep readers intrigued throughout the entire story. Another huge plot twist is revealed in the final chapter that sets everything up for the next book. I’m looking forward to a certain character hopefully playing a major role in the future plot!

Overall, 'Strike the Zither' is a strong start to a promising series. If you love fantasy stories that focus on politics then this book is perfect for you!

3 out of 5 stars (3 / 5) The story is set in the Xin Dynasty where the realm is torn into three areas and three rulers. Zephyr is a war strategist under Xin Ren and is sent undercover to another area to convince the wardlordess to side with them and fight against the other. She is labeled as a traitor so all believe it’s true.

It sounds fabulous, right? Let’s just say that I came for the traitor/undercover story and it turned into something completely different. While that was still the main theme, the story took such a turn about halfway in that I most gave up. It was outlandish and I couldn’t wrap my mind around it so I quickly lost interest.

At that point, the feel of the story changed so much that the traitor theme was downplayed. Can you hear me harumph? I was unimpressed. I expected a fast-paced Chinese historical fiction and what I got was a outlandish story. Yes, a lot of fantasy is outlandish but this one didn’t jive.

“Honor is defending what you can’t bear to lose,” I say, meeting Cicada’s gaze. “It’s fighting for a family that can’t help you.”

There were moments I was interested in the story, but overall I was unimpressed. I did enjoy Crow, on the opposing side, but I did not feel the connection he supposedly had with Zephyr. He was mysterious and endearing and I would’ve loved more of a background on him.

Thank you to Fierce Reads and NetGalley for the gifted copy!

The book releases October 25, 2022.

Love this! Zephyr is amazing! I loved her thought process and how she was constantly trying to stay 10 steps ahead. Such an incredible cast of characters and range of depths, even for the villain. So, so good!!

3.5 Stars rounded up to 4

Strike the Zither is a reimagining of the Chinese classic tale of the Three Kingdoms. (You can learn more about the Three Kingdoms from the Library of Congress. Both of the stories feature military battles, political plots and power struggles in three states that emerge from a failing dynasty.

Though the premise is the same, make no mistake, Strike the Zither is unique. At the center of the story is Zephyr a morally grey character who’s willing to risk everything to achieve her goals. Author Joan He is to be commended for creating a character that isn’t likeable but is compelling enough to hook the reader.

The first half of Strike the Zither is full of politics, strategy and some battles. And then comes the huge plot twist. It’s so big that it changes everything you thought you knew and makes you look back through a different lens. This twist is such a big change that some will find it masterful and some will find it a distraction.

That said, Strike the Zither is still worth picking up. He’s a masterful storyteller who immerses readers through atmospheric prose. Her pacing is strong, though the book isn’t a particularly fast read. If nothing else, I recommend at least checking Strike the Zither out from the library.

Strike the Zither follows Zephyr, a strategist for one of the three warlordesses in conflict over the land in the realm. Zephyr goes undercover in the enemy camp to tip the scale in her side’s favor. There, she meets challenges in a rival strategist named Crow and otherworldly encounters.

I loved this. Zephyr is such an unapologetic character. She’s arrogant, but for good reason. She’s a very good strategist and I loved being inside her brain throughout this book. I got to hear all her plans and ideas. I love political intrigue and war in a book and this one had plenty of that! I loved her and Crow’s relationship and how it developed from a rivalry to something much more. Their connection was very genuine and intellectual. Joan He always done such an amazing job with plot twists. It’s always something you never see coming and could never possibly guess. Her stories are always so unique and different. The story was rooted in history and possibilities and I enjoyed the journey it took me on.