Here’s the thing: I get nervous before I read every new Joan He book. It’s not that I worry I will be let down it’s that I, as a reader, will fail to read the story Joan is telling because I’ve somehow lost all my brain cells or some other irrational excuse. You see, I WANT to love her stories because Joan has a particular magic and genius for storytelling and I want to be part of said magic. So, I’m proud and happy to say I 100% love every book she has written and can (and will) boast I’ve loved her stories (and the way she tells them) from her first book (which was just rereleased yesterday)!

Strike the Zither is a grand and riveting reimagining of The Three Kingdoms. I thought about reading/researching the original tales so I would know the references, catch the tributes, but as someone who prefers to go into every story as blind as possible, I finally decided I’d wait for STZ. Which allows me to confirm that you do not need to read/research anything before reading to enjoy this absolute epic tale from Joan He!

If you like ladies with weapons (!!!!), think war stories have too many men in them, cinematic writing, are intrigued by strategic kissing, and/or need fast paced and action packed stories…I have an inkling you should probably preorder Strike the Zither before October 25.

But also, if you are convinced you don’t like action-packed stories involving war, you should give STZ a try because it’s SO much more than what I could fit in this caption. It’s fun AND funny. It’s entertaining to the nth degree. HIGHLY, highly, highly recommend.

Joan, thank you for writing incredible stories. I can’t wait for the next one! I’ve said before I don’t have favorites but I can honestly say Joan He books are auto-reads. Forever.

A kind thank you to the author for running an international giveaway for the e-ARC and to the giveaway deities that showed me mercy and had me win this.

Strike the Zither is PERFECTION. Zephyr is fire and grace and brilliance. She's unforgiving and unyielding about her brilliance and her worldview. The world-building is phenomenal. I felt the author's nuanced knowledge and genuine passion about the world, the history, and how to craft the story and reimagining of Three Kingdoms in her own way that still showed grace to the original.

I have been longing to read this book because it encapsulates everything that I love. Chinese history and culture. And a brilliant main character. I have a thing for brilliant characters/people. So, I had very high hopes and expectations for this book, and it just turned them into ashes. Strike the Zither transcended all expectations and hopes. It's not often that I can say that the story is as perfect and beautiful as its majestic cover, but in this case, it is true. Everything about Strike the Zither is perfect, and I absolutely cannot wait for book 2. The wait will hurt a lot.

If you love Chinese historical dramas, this is a must-read for you that will render you speechless and yearning for more.

This book was miles different than I anticipated it to be but it impressed me at every level. I love Joan He and I'm eager to continue to support her. She's a wonderful writer and this book really pushes my love for her books. I can't wait for more from her!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The twists and turns that this book took were exhilarating and deeply fun and I absolutely cannot wait for the next book to see what it brings (although, based on the author's previous works, I get the slight feeling it won't be entirely happy for everyone- so I'm mentally preparing myself now.

The character of Qilin/Zephyr was deeply interesting to get to know, and I'm excited to potentially find out more backstory for Crow. I was only tangentially familiar with the Three Kingdoms saga before reading this book, but even I know that adding a little magic and empowering women makes any story better.

This was A DNF for me at 25%. I might pick it back up because it could be a case of "right book, wrong time," but tell me how a book about battle strategists was this boring?

I genuinely enjoyed this book a lot, and I'm probably definitely going to buy a physical copy when it releases. I loved how it felt like I was watching a historical fantasy C-drama! I also really loved Zephyr and how empowering and confident she is.

The only downside was first getting into the book, it felt like there was just a dump of characters and I would get confused with who is who because they were all introduced so quickly. (But maybe that is just a personal, me-as-a-reader flaw.)

But anyway, I always love and am blown away by Joan He's plot twists and this book is no exception. Looking forward to the sequel!! Please pick this book up and read it -- you'll be glad you did! :)

[ 4.5/5 stars ]

Year 414 of the Xin Dynasty - the realm is divided into three fractions and a puppet empress in on the throne. Zephyr is the best strategist of her kingdom and she serves the warlordess Xin Ren. Zephyr has to infiltrate an enemy camp in order to reach victory and she encounters the opposing and evenly matched strategist, Crow.

Reading STRIKE THE ZITHER felt like a process of connecting with my Chinese roots - He attributes life to the characters, who grow out of its historical figures; the battle scenes, while refreshing for some readers, were familiar/nostalgic for me. I mostly adored the poetic instances and the obsession with zither, amongst other well-known Chinese cultural elements.

He filled the pages with war politics, scheming, manipulation, found family, betrayals and loyalties; yet the rivalry and the feeling of appreciating each other's talent stood out to me, making me enjoy the story even more. Additionally, He captures the human complexity and gives us an intimate look at sisterhood. I absolutely loved the romance and I found satisfaction in following its dynamic. The plot takes an upside-down turn at the midpoint and there are so many unexpecting and jaw-dropping twists. My small complaints are that the punch of strategies in the beginning was hard to follow, but soon I was drawn in; and while I wasn't fully attached to the characters (expect the main character), I am expecting to bond with them in the sequel.

With fluid prose, this reimagining of the Chinese epic Classic "Three Kingdoms" is a book not to be missed. I am looking forward to the sequel because that cliffhanger!

(note: I loved connecting with the author's voice in her notes about identity and tokenization, plus she offers insights about the original "Three Kingdoms" that is so interesting)

cw: (graphic) violence

This was my first from Joan He and I have to say the hype that was built up totally is worth it. This book has everything: original worlds and characters and a magic system that feels fresh and new. And the political intrigue... my goodness! I was hooked from the first page.

Whew this story was a trip in the best way. I'll admit I went into this one blind, being only vaguely familiar with Romance of the Three Kingdoms. While I'm sure that a deeper familiarity of the original story would heighten the enjoyment of Strike the Zither, that lack of knowledge in no way inhibited my understanding.

Strike the Zither follows the story of Zephyr, young strategist to Xin Ren, one of three warlordesses fighting to gain control of the throne. The problem is that Ren is honorable to a fault, and that's a danger in a world at war. In order to protect her beloved lordess and help keep her followers safe, Zephyr will have to betray Ren by going deep under cover in the enemy's camp. While there, she meets the bafflingly odd enemy strategist, Crow, who might be the only one capable of matching her in wits. But feelings for the enemy are a liability during a war when you never know who might be against you...

This was a pleasant surprise of a story. The lead characters were all fun to watch grow and develop throughout the course of the book, and the setting itself is interesting to learn about through the story of a country at war. A lot of the story does feel like it is setting up the chess pieces for the sequel, which stops it from being a five-star read, and the obvious break halfway through the book makes it feel like two separate stories in a jarring way. Overall, though, a delightful start to the series and another solid book from Joan He!

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC!

This book follows Zephyr, a strategist for warlordess Xin Ren (who apparently is the only one who actually has the people's best interests in mind). In order to preserve the hopes of Xin Ren, Zephyr is willingly captured and becomes a double agent. However, there are other forces at work- and Zephyr doesn't just have to face human opponents.

I have very mixed feelings about Strike the Zither. There were parts that were incredible. Action scenes were incredibly vivid, and in general the world-building was very well done. I enjoyed how Joan He chose to have women as front and center characters in contrast with the actual historical figures. The last 1/5 of the book was my favorite, and I would've rated it higher if that's how it felt the entire time.

There were a couple of things that bothered me, though. First was Zephyr's relationship with Crow. It seems really forced, and we never really saw any fondness forming until it was apparently strong enough to impact decision making. It just seemed unnecessary- I think she was trying to incorporate the whole Enemies-to-Lovers bit, but it couldn't be the focus, so it fell flat. The different perspectives- from Zephyr the person to the goddess to Zephyr-as-Lotus left me feeling a bit disjointed.

I don't have much knowledge of The Three Kingdoms, but this retelling can definitely stand on its own. We follow the ambitious Zephyr as she strategizes to bring Ren's army to victory. But within this story, there's such nuance. The lines drawn between friend and foe, loyalist and traitor, they all become so muted throughout. And within this book is such expansive lore - from the land itself to the music, to the religious aspects, it's all so detailed. I don't want to spoil anything, but there were a few twists I didn't see coming and Joan He should be commended on that. Overall a really great book and I can't wait to finish out the duology.

*Thank you to Roaring Brook Press, Books Forward, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Joan He does it again! There is something that is just so immediately addicting to a Joan He novel that makes it impossible to do anything but finish it in one day. I was hooked from the very beginning and immediately interested in Zephyr and her big beautiful brain. The side characters were equally engaging, I had particular favorites in Crow, Cicada, and Cloud. (I swear I did not realize until this moment that they all began with the letter C.) There are also plenty of classic Joan He twists that feel so shocking but upon their reveal make so much sense. I'm still reeling from a final reveal at the end of the novel. I can't wait for book 2, I need it in my hands ASAP!

Strike the Zither is a YA fantasy based on a classic Chinese epic called the Three Kingdoms, mixed with inspirations from some other Chinese stories. This novel employs the classic trope of “pretend you’re defecting so you can join the enemy’s side and gain intel and then use that to turn around and destroy them.” We’ve all seen that done before but it was still enjoyable to read about here for the most part.

I struggled to follow the story a bit. Zephyr was supposed to be doing these grand things but I felt like I kept missing them happen and then the scenes would be over. For example, I’m still not sure how Zephyr convinced Miasma to let her join her side because I feel like it would have taken a lot to prove that she defected from her original leader, but she pretty much just walks up and is like “I’m on your side now” and Miasma believes her. It was very weird.

Zephyr conspires with different groups on different sides and I had a hard time gauging the layout of the land because these clans of people were battling and I didn’t think they were close in proximity but Zephyr travels back and forth like they are. I feel like the politics weren’t as fleshed out as they could have been, which made it a little difficult keeping track of the relationships and scheming between everyone.

I found it hard to emotionally connect with any part of Strike the Zither. For some reason, I felt very distanced from the story, like a far-away viewer of unknown people rather than an active participant. I don’t feel like I know Zephyr that well, or anyone else for that matter. I wasn’t emotionally invested when betrayals or deaths or big events happened, and that saddened me.

The story takes a drastic turn when stanza two begins, at the 50% mark. It’s like the book turns into an entirely different story with different characters in a different setting that felt narratively very disconnected from the first half of the story. I was quite confused and really didn’t enjoy it from then on, if I’m being honest.

Also, I found the romance, if you can even call it that, to be quite unrealistic. Zephyr never really liked Crow, until she one day did? I never understood where the attraction came from, especially since he poisoned her and didn’t seem to like her all that much either. I didn’t understand their connection at all.

Overall, I don’t think I’m the quite right audience for this book, and I can’t say for certain yet whether or not I will be reading the sequel. Strike the Zither ends on a cliffhanger of sorts that does pique my interest in how the story will progress in the next volume, but I don’t know if I’m committed enough to continue on with a series that I found to be just okay.

I enjoyed The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He, which is why I picked up Strike the Zither. Even though I didn’t enjoy her newest book as much as I enjoyed her sophomore novel, I’m curious to see what other stories she’ll write in the future as I enjoy her writing style overall and the types of stories she writes.

I am completely obsessed with this book!! Chinese mythology has become one of my new favorite things, so when I was sent this retelling of the Three Kingdoms, I was already sold before I read the first page. This was everything I wanted it to be and more, with a feisty heroine, a fabulous love interest, and stunning illustrations throughout! War, history, betrayal, magic, this has everything you could ever want in a book. Check it out next month!

"Blame me, or blame the heavens for placing us on different sides of this war. May we meet in another life."

sleeping on the highway tonight. it was nice knowing you guys. JOAN HE WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME??

thank you Macmillan for the arc!

you know what we don't get enough in fantasy? girls who get along and work together to conquer the world. it's my favorite thing in the whole wide world. AND THIS??? A THREE KINGDOMS REIMAGINING BUT ALL GIRLS ?? SO PERFECT. almost every single person in power is a woman. SLAYYYY

it has the perfect amount of war politics, found family, and action. if you loved the poppy war series, specifically kitay and his brilliant mind, you'll love STZ. one of the things i dislike in fantasy books is, for example, when they advertise the mc as a "deadly assassin" but she never does anything in the book to show for it. STZ PULLS THROUGH !! Zephyr is an amazing strategist who will go to lengths to serve her warlordess Xin Ren. you can tell she is really smart and earned her place. i love getting inside her mind

also, forced infiltrate an enemy camp? i was already sold in the synopsis.

to my tgcf lovers: it reminded such much of tgcf's writing style. as well as xie lian's time serving in the yong'an army. there are other tgcf bits similar but are spoilery so i won't say! (and tiny bits of mdzs but can't say what either) ALSO THERE IS THIS ONE SCENE THAT LOOSELY REMINDS ME OF THE COFFIN SCENE. WITH THE LOVE INTEREST. SCREAMING !! THAT'S ALL I'LL SAY ABOUT IT. YOU'LL HAVE TO READ TO FIND OUT🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️)

for my fantasy romance lovers: (LISTEN TO ME)
i was not expecting romance since it was not tagged here but there is a tiny bit of it! i believe 1000% that we will get more of it in the next book. IT WAS SO GOOD THOUGH. FUCK. the love interest is the strategist for the enemy. so is it enemies to lovers? I HOPE SO. PLS I NEED BOOK 2 RN. without romance, i would have loved it just as much bc the plot and characters are so well written, you will find yourself rooting for them on page one !!

I really enjoyed this book, but I also had mixed feelings about it. I could never quite decide if the main character was the hero or villain of the story. While, as I said, I enjoyed it, I’m not certain if I’m willing to find out which she is.

Thank you NetGalley For providing and arc for me!

Strike the Zither met all of my expectations. The plot, world building, and characters were all so fleshed out and lovable. They all had such strong personalities and it was easy to connect with each of them. Zephyr and Crow stole the show though!

I absolutely love how cold and calculating Zephyr could be, while still having a big heart deep down lol Something huge about her character is revealed later on in the book and I LOVED it, it was honestly so unexpected and made the story take a completely different turn from what I was expecting.

Crow is a gem and must be protected at all costs. There was definitely a small hint of a romance in this book, so I'm exciting to see how that takes off in the sequel. Something about a romance budding between two war strategist on opposing sides of the war really intrigues me and it's so exciting and refreshing. I can tell this is going to be an amazing slow burn.

Joan He has created a wonderful story and I'm excited to see what she does next!

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for approving my request to read and review this book.*
Strike the Zither is a reimagining of the Chinese Classic ‘The Three Kingdoms’ with gender bending, a women led cast, and fantasy.
The narrator of the story, Zephyr, is a strategist for the underdog of the story, Ren. The story shows the complexity of the characters so well with so many twist and turns.
The author, Joan He, showcases the subject of war and politics very well and makes it interesting and easy for the reader to follow.
I look forward to reading the sequel to this.

**THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS**

Typically I don't like to write spoilers in my review but unfortunately I won't be able to give my opinion about the book without it.

At first, I wasn't familiar with the Three Kingdoms that this book was inspired by so I went in with an open mind. After I completed the book, I went back and read a summary which didn't help too much. Luckily, Joan explained the inspiration and comparisons found in this novel with the Three Kingdoms. I could easily see where the similarities came into play but I did not let that change my perspective of the book.

Strike the Zither starts off pretty interesting. Right at the beginning, the book starts off intense as Ren is on the run from Miasma, the dangerous warlordess. The only way to distract Miasma from Ren's party is to pretend to defect to her which goes surprisingly well. Zephyr successfully distracts Miasma from Ren's party to go towards the South where Zephyr wants to convince the governess there to really side with Ren. It was all interesting and that was pretty much the first part of the book. The pacing was decent and kept me interested enough to see what was going to happen next. Then the second part happens and that's where the story completely loses me. Not lost as in I didn't know what was going on, but lost my interest and I was finishing just to finish.

The story reveals that Zephyr is actually a God who was put into Qilin as a punishment from the Masked Mother for causing the famine. As a God, Zephyr was not good. But once Zephyr was able to receive her Qi back, she couldn't get the mortals out of her mind. However, Zephyr's body was past the point of re-entry. So what does she do, but inhabits Lotus' body where the spirit had no chance of re-entering. I just did not like Zephyr as Lotus. It all felt too weird and honestly, I felt like everyone was almost dumb for not realizing that Lotus wasn't acting like herself. Seriously, the only time Zephyr sounded like Lotus was for the few sentences she caught herself on. If they were all as close as they were supposed to be, I think it'd be pretty obvious that something was off with Lotus. But anyways, I just did not like this part of the story. It felt so disconnected from the beginning and Zephyr as Lotus just did not work for me.

Then the "twist" happens. Granted, I didn't really see the twist coming, but I also didn't care enough to try and see it coming. It was alright, but definitely not unexpected. It just followed the line of bad characters that I don't care for doing more things that made me dislike them more.

And now the characters. At the beginning, it was clear the Zephyr was definitely arrogant and then the revealing of her as a God made sense. It made me like her a little more because Gods are confident but in a human form, I can tell how that confidence came off as arrogant. Even though Zephyr at the time didn't know she was a God, I'm sure some of that Qi could easily leak into her mortal self. As Lotus, though, I just couldn't take it. Zephyr said she did all this for Ren but it seemed more like she did it for herself. Clearly Ren hated this and would have never sacrificed someone in order to obtain her goals. This was made as "this is why strategists do this" but again, Zephyr absolutely went beyond Ren's beliefs but tried to justify as it was for Ren. When it boils down to it, it is absolutely clear that this was for Zephyr's ego.

Then there was the whole Crow romance, which I could have bought if there was any time put in between the two of them. The brief interactions that happened in the book, did not provide enough for me the feelings that Zephyr had gotten. And beyond that, I really didn't care for any of the other characters. I think the only one I semi liked was Tourmaline.

Overall, Strike the Zither by Joan He just was not for me. If you reached the end of this review, you can tell that I had a lot of issues with it. Personally, I did not like the decision made in the second half of the book to put Zephyr in Lotus' body. There were a whole bunch of issues with it for me. I also did not really like any of the characters or the so called romance that was budding between Zephyr and Crow. I think some people will look past everything that didn't work for me and I can't wait for other people to love this book. However, this was a pass for me and I will probably not continue this series.

Strike the Zither is a reimagining of the Chinese tale The Three Kingdoms, with genderbending, fantasy, and a women-led cast of characters. Needless to say, it immediately drew my interest (and this cover art, omg!).

Zephyr is a master strategist, and she's determined to make sure her name goes down in history by helping an underdog seize the empire. Ren is a favorite lordess of the common people, determined to make her way by honor alone. With a slew of complex side characters that each have different motives, what ensues is clever political maneuvering, backstabbing, and a wild twist halfway through the book. I'm still uncertain if I'm a fan of it to be honest.

However, Joan He handles this subject material well, making the political intrigue easy to follow and entertaining for the reader. The first half was especially compelling to me, as we get to see what Zephyr is really thinking while watching how she orchestrates her clever manipulations. The second half feels like a different book entirely, but I'm invested enough that I'll be sure to pick up the sequel when it comes out! I really hope that we'll get to see a better development of side characters such as Crow. His role in this first book almost feels like one as a placeholder to play off of Zephyr's strategy games.

Overall, a great book that I'd recommend anyone looking for a softer intro to complex political intrigue and themes of war.