With thanks to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had a feeling I was going to like this book - but as you probably know that can make or break a story. I’ve not read The Romance of the Three Kingdoms or seen any adaptations (yet) although I have seen a few works inspired by it, and similar literature. Personally I really enjoyed Strike the Zither. Again, make or break can be the narration - especially when it’s first person from a strategist who thinks they know everything (the second half when this is taken away is very well handled) - so I recommend giving it a couple of chapters before making a judgement on whether the style works.

I like the way the narrative is imagined where gender does not dictate role - hence many main figures being female, rather than just gender-swapped. The inclusion of a deity realm rather than unspecified mysticism also works well as part of the whole. Zephyr as a constructed character is even better for a modern audience. Ren the honourable, Lotus and Cloud the warriors, Crow the cunning… the characters may fit certain classic roles but their hopes and fears give them the extra depth that gives the story something for modern audiences beyond a word-for-word epic retelling. (There are extra plot changes.) When is Book 2?

4.5 stars
A delightful, intelligent, snarky historical fantasy story, inspired by the Three Kingdoms period in Asian history.

This is a story of Zephyr, an orphan turned brilliant strategist, serving Xin Ren, one of the warlordesses vying for power over the divided empire. As we begin, Ren is escaping from Miasma, the cruel, Northern lordess and her dominating forces. To secure Ren's safety, Zephyr will have to betray her mistress, conspire with the enemy and risk her life, so the right one can sit on the throne.

I enjoyed this story immensely. It was full of adventures, brilliant ploys, high stakes and betrayals. The main character, Zephyr, was arrogant, ruthless and loyal, she's not your typical heroine, which made her exciting to follow. The other characters are intriguing, with a lot of agency and spark, which added colour to the narrative. The political machinations at play are surprising and smart, but at no point did I feel lost or confused.
On the other hand, the twist in the middle of the book was very unexpected, though I wonder how necessary it was to the narrative. Maybe it will come to play a bigger part in the next books. And finally, the romance element felt slightly tropey and naïve, but it didn't spoil my overall enjoyment.
All in all, I had a lot of fun with this story and can't wait for the next part in this series.

Did I like this book? I'm still mulling over my feelings on it tbh. I liked ~elements~ of it, like the setting?.. but then it felt like not much really happened and barely any of the characters I liked were in it very often. Crow is a fine example of that... I kept reading to see if he would have more appearances but it was really quite underwhelming, and the short bursts of interaction between Zephyr and Crow were so minute, I felt kind of disappointed overall.

I think personally the writing itself was mostly solid, and the story was well told for what it was, but I had higher expectations??? It's possibly more that I'm not really a fan of military politics... I actually went into this completely blind and just looking for some good rivals to lovers romance so I think it's safe to say I was probably looking for something different. The blurb honestly sounded like something I would eat up, so it's a shame it didn't turn out as I expected.
Although there was some action scenes dotted throughout, I felt those parts in particular were lacking a little and just felt rushed and clumsily written? I also felt the book started off as though the beginning of it was missing; for example the way it just drops you straight into the story but doesn't really give much clarification as to what is going on and barely scratches the surface on who any of the characters are.

This was actually my first time picking up one of the authors books and I'm kind of saddened I didn't enjoy it like others did and I'm now wondering whether I'll get a similar experience with any of her others. But I'm willing to give them a try.

I'll be upfront and admit I've never read The Three Kingdoms though so I have no point of comparison to work with and I'm actually wondering whether this might be one of the reasons this didn't work out for me. It's definitely more of a case of it being "a me problem." I think I expected it to be like most other retellings and just explain things off the bat but I really feel like you maybe need some grounding of what the original story was in order to appreciate this, so I'm still on the fence on if I'd pick up the sequel. Maybe I can be enticed with the promise of more of Crow....

I'd still recommend this to those who like historical political stories though, and anyone who has read the Three Kingdoms and liked it.

i received a free copy of this book from the publisher, via netgalley.

i love the female characters this book and the illustrations are absolutely gorgeous! this book full of betrayal 😭😭😭😭 this book is so well written like the words and description just beautiful and i was unable to predict the plot twists !!!! politics & war strategy (PLSSSS I LOVE THIS ONE), found family, action and a bit of romance???

i love women, that’s it !! if you love the “found family” trope, read this book!! i adore these characters so much. i love a strong female character, The MC is so smart but some of the characters are … you know like there’s a lack of growth there that frustrates me and feeling kind of monotonous. but zephyr is a great character, i enjoy her role as a strategist!

Oh my word, this was so much fun. A YA fantasy of epic proportions. Both the teenage angst with a backdrop of rebellion revolution and much double-crossing.

Where poetry and playing the zither are far more important than the actual fighting. That strategists are a Lordess' most important resource.

It has everything, yearning, pining, loyalty betrayal found family. Burnt bridges. All told beautifully at a cracking pace where the reader breathlessly wishes to devour the book and see what will happen next.

An array of colourful characters. Whose soubriquets are far more important that real names. Where double crossing is standard and all the more enjoyable for it.

Zephyr is Xin Ren's strategist, an orphan who has managed to rise to the position of trusted advisor in background of warlords. Able to read the weather and utterly loyal to Ren and prepared to sacrifice everything to secure a win for her.

Miasma a cruel Lordess who is seizing control of the empire with Ren spearheading the resistance. She has her own strategist Crow who clashes with Zephyr and I absolutely loved every scene between them.

The characterisation in this novel is utterly compelling, the banter and rough and tumble of the warriors, particularly Lotus and Cloud. Zephyr's disdain for the warriors with their lack of finesse.

The idea of the Zither being an instrument that strategists use and that Zephyr is able to communicate emotions and thoughts via the music and forgive the pun is very striking.

I loved the novel deeply my only gripe and it is a small one is that it ends very abruptly with a cliffhanger, but it does mean I'm absolutely desperate to read the sequel.

This book is so good. We have politics & war strategy, found family, action and a sprinkle of romance. The MC is so smart it was very entertaining to read about her. Also, THAT'S how you do a plot twist holy shit.

Thank you Text Publishing and NetGalley for the arc of Strike the Zither by Joan He in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

This book has been described as a gender-flipped take on Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and I was intrigued, never having read The Three Kingdoms and being very unaware of classical Chinese literature. However, my understanding is that The Three Kingdoms provides a collaboration of the historical and mythical, that tells the story of three warring states that are eventually unified under one dynasty, and for some one who loves a good historical dynasty with all its politics and wars I was unable to resist!

Joan He has delivered a female driven version of the story, where women lead and command armies and kingdoms, with the focus being placed firmly on the protagonist Zephyr, loyal strategist to Xin Ren, a rebellious warlordess fighting for her Empress and Empire. Zephyr is a great character, she believes in herself, her abilities and capabilities as a strategist.

Zephyr plots, strategises and schemes to shape and coordinate Xin REN’s fight against the Prime Ministeress Miasma, who has taken control of the Empire power by subordinating the child empress Xin Bao.

Not everyone admires or likes Zephyr, in her single minded goal to take her Lordess to victory and she faces strong foes such as Miadma’s strategist Crow in her fight…and yes, there is romance and mythology thrown in that definitely takes this story on a whole new trajectory.

However, I wasn’t thrown by that, in fact for me it added a whole new dimension to the story that wasn’t unwelcome. And I think it opened the whole plot of the story up to a much wider scale that I’m keen to explore.

Joan He is very clear that this book is targeted at a YA audience, so don’t be too donated to see characters in their 30s described in crone like ways, with expectant that those in their mid 20s have the wisdom and experience of the aged.

If you enjoy historical fiction, alternate histories, female led stories and themes and of course a dash of mythology and fantasy, then you won’t go wrong with Strike the Zither.

I really loved how practically every person who was in power in this world was a woman, love to see that! There was a lot of war politics going on, but it wasn't difficult to follow which I appreciated and I really enjoyed our main character as she navigates her role as a strategist! There's a lot of backstabbing and scheming and double agenting going on which was a lot of fun to read about.

However. It is a retelling of The Three Kingdoms and as someone who is not familiar at all with the source material, I don't think that context or explanation was given to what on earth is going on. I also felt that apart from Zephyr, it was very hard to distinguish between the rest of the characters. They all felt extremely similar to one another and it ended up feeling kind of monotonous.

There is also a plot point that occurs at about 50% of the way through the book that just... baffled me. It felt very random, and who knows, maybe it's a part of the original source material, but it just left me feeling very confused and it just completely changed the whole entire narrative of the story. It felt very unnecessary, and it left Zephyr as a character coming across as very stupid, because she is not doing what a supposedly incredibly smart strategist would do in that situation.

Thank you NetGalley and Text Publishing for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was quite excited to read this as I've already read another of Joan He's novels (Descendant of the Crane) and really enjoyed it despite some quibbles, so was very upset for the author that things didn't work out with her publisher and there would be no follow up. Joan He is a great storyteller with some very nicely observed metaphors painting the worlds she creates. So when I heard she was writing a gender-flipped take on Romance of the Three Kingdoms, I was looking forward to it and so very happy to get my hands on an early copy.

I don't know too much about the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. I know it's one of the great pieces of classical Chinese literature, part historical, part mythical, dealing with a feudal era of three warring states that would eventually be unified under one dynasty. There's a lot of characters. There's a lot of wins and losses and betrayals. It makes the War of the Roses seem quite a tidy affair.

Joan He's written her own version of this story - a world where women lead and command armies and are essentially gender flipped versions of the original. Since I know next to nothing about the original characters, I can only judge them on their own merit. Zephyr leads the story - the loyal strategist to a rebellious warlordess named Xin Ren. She's refreshingly confident in her intelligence and abilities. I do love a break from YA heroines crippled with self-esteem issues. The villain of the story is an appropriately named Prime Ministeress named Miasma, who usurps power by controlling the child empress - a character we do not meet in this story, but for whom everyone is fighting.

Zephyr schemes her way through the story, almost always successfully, to make sure her boss turns out on top. Her methods aren't always appreciated, even by her allies, and she meets her match in Miasma's strategist (one of the few male characters, and her eventual love interest). About halfway though the story there is a seismic shift and the story changes quite dramatically, and what is a fairly grounded story explodes into a supernatural one. I wasn't sure I was happy about the developments, as the development of this character and her relationships stops and a new kind of story takes over.

Overall, I think I need to read on and see what happens next to fully appreciate this story. It feels very much a small part of something much larger, perhaps because of the huge scale of the conflict it's tackling.

And I'll just point out one thing that bothered me in this book and is something I noticed happening in Descendant of the Crane too: all the characters are in their teens and early twenties. When older characters are mentioned, it's often in an incredibly dismissive way. There's one strategist in her late 30s who is described as 'hunched' and particular attention is drawn to how much older this woman is compared to other strategists. This woman is not even 40 yet! Even the villainess who I think would benefit from the gravitas and experience that comes with being a mature woman is a mere 25 years old, and she's one of the oldest of the cast. I keep waiting for a real grown up to come along and tell these kids its past their bedtime. On the one hand, you expect YA to focus on young characters; on the other, that lack of diversity in ages makes the world feel a lot smaller. Somehow a 16 year old queen and her 14-15 year old adviser came off as the least believable part of a story with gods and body possession.

Still this is a small quibble and I'd still recommend this book to YA lovers who like feminist-themes and alternative histories.

First I’d like to thank NetGalley and Text Publishing for the first ever ARC I’ve ever received!

I really looked forward to this book. It is loosely based on Three Kingdoms, which I’ve loved since I was a kid. The battles and the strategies were epic and intelligent and I’d hoped that I would feel the same magic when reading Strike the Zither.

As much as I enjoyed my read and thought it was well written, I didn’t get that incredible sense of amazement that I got from reading Daughter of the Moon Goddess and The Poppy War, books I would slot into a similar category. Perhaps the issue isn’t so much with the book itself, but my high expectations of it.

The most well-known stratagems and battles in the Three Kingdoms saga, like the borrowing of arrows and burning of chained ships, were epic to say the least. I didn’t get that vibe from similar events in this book. A lot of it was glossed over. The story tells us that the ships were going to burn. It tells us that the ships did burn. It didn’t show us the ships burning as it happened. As a result, we get intelligent strategies in the build-up, leading us to anticlimactic events that fall flat.

I would also have preferred more world-building, more explanation of the lay of the land, more history of how each of the key characters rose to the stations we find them in. Some events felt disjointed throughout the story. The writing itself wasn’t as sophisticated as I would’ve liked; for instance, there was an overuse and overreliance on italics as a way of emphasis, when ideally emphasis should mostly be done through the language and word choices.

All that said, I still enjoyed this book. It was very easy to read. The pacing was fast. There were interesting twists and turns. I liked this world where women can rule and fight. I really liked the fact that—unlike many stories these days that make their female leads into flawless all-rounded heroines who can fight and do powerful magic and are also ridiculously hot—Zephyr is nothing like that; she cannot even raise a sword.

TLDR; It's not one of my favourite Asian historical fantasies out there, but I am still very keen on the sequel.

Thank you, Text Publishing, for allowing me to read Strike the Zither early!

I loved Joan He's debut and I am yet to read her other novel, but as soon as I saw this, I couldn't not request it. This reimagination was adventurous and thrilling and very interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Strike the Zither is the perfect escapist fantasy, Joan He has done it again with a marvellous magical story that you just lose yourself in. I have always loved her work and this is an excellent start to the story that is Zephyr's.

First, omg that cover! That. Cover!

I like the reimagining of the Three Kingdoms. You can't beat the map and those character illustrations. That said, I wasn't overly taken with the book. Maybe it was just me?

*Spoilers ahead! Like major spoilers*

The start of it was good and I was ready to get into this based on the blurb. I think on the whole this first book could have been just about Zephyr in Miasma's camp, navigating the north and their campaigns. Then could have picked up in the next books about...well everything else. In particular, the bit "When Zephyr is forced to infiltrate an enemy camp to keep Ren’s followers from being slaughtered, she encounters the enigmatic Crow, an opposing strategist who is finally her match. But there are more enemies than one—and not all of them are human." really makes it sound like Zephyr in the enemy camp is going to be a huge bit of the book. It's actually over quite soon.

Then for some reason there's the whole god thing, Zephyr not being Qilin, oh but now she's Lotus. Wait who is anyone? That really came out of nowhere and I don't think it really enhanced the story. What was the benefit of removing Zephyr from the equation only to bring her back and then have key allies know it was her?

As a consequence of this plot twist, everyone felt a bit one dimensional. Ren's a beloved leader because we're told she is. Lotus and Cloud are warriors and Cloud doesn't like Zephyr because she doesn't. The romance with Crow could have been so much more! I don't really feel invested in anyone's story or connect with any one character more than any other.

That second twist at the end with Cicada and November though, that was a good one. It's a shame we can't see that all play out between Zephyr and Cicada as themselves since Zephyr is now Lotus and, as I said, I'm still not entirely sure why.

Rising Zephyr wants nothing more than to use her strategist powers to help her warlordess Xin Ren claim control over the Throne. Ren's honour is what drew Zephyr too her, but it is also the thing that continually puts them in danger, especially in a war where it's betray or be betrayed. But Zephyr has a secret she's hiding even from herself, one that could help Ren to win the war, or doom them all. Three Warlodesses fighting for control of the throne, betrayal around every corner, and a strange but alluring boy that Zephyr can't seem to stay away from are the dangers she faces daily, but the biggest one may be the one she doesn't see coming, and it might not be wholly human.

Strike the Zither is SUCH a hard book to sum up without giving away spoilers. I'm sure if you've read the Chinese Poem the story is based on, you will have an idea of the events, but for those of us going in blind, it's a story filled with shocking plot twists, love, betrayal and honour. Rising Zephyr was a character whose determination weighed out all else about her. She isn't afraid of being unliked, of working in the muggy sides of the war so that Xin Ren can keep her honour, of being see as a traitor to those she works with. She's a character who you can never really get a grasp on. You know she has the best of intentions at heart, but her actions are harsh and her demeanour brash.

Because this story focuses more on the actual events of the plot, the strategy, the battles, we don't quite get the exploration of the characters that I usually love. Following Zephyr through the story we meet multiple characters from members of Xin Ren's war party, the people she is warring against as well as Crow, a rival strategist who Zephyr seems drawn too, but we never really get to explore these characters well enough to truly bond with them in any way. Normally, this is something that would take me out of the story, especially a story of war where death and betrayal await around every corner, but He's writing style, the way she tells the story ensures you stay glued to the pages despite the lack of character growth.

Strike the Zither reads like a classic hero story, someone overcoming the odds to ensure the honour and safety of those around them. How it weaves in fate, how individual choices can have far reaching consequences, the rise and fall of empires was beautifully done. He's writing style reads like a classic tale in and of itself and it's easy to see that it draws from a classic poem. There are epic battle scenes filled with war cries and death, but some of my favourite scenes were reading Zither mentally and vocally talking through her strategist plans. We don't always see her plan until it's already in play, but I loved reading the scenes where she went into a kind of planning mode, hearing her logic for making certain decisions, especially when she knows those decisions could lead to death.

If you enjoy stories that delve into war and politics, have the perfect blend of battle and strategy scenes and aren't too fussed about not getting a true deep dive into your characters then look no further. The plot twists in this story were outstanding and the ending left me desperate to get my hands on book 2.

This is one of those books which left me feeling a bit uncertain what I thought - not because it's particularly thought-provoking but partly because I just kind of couldn't see the point of what was done in it, given how it works out in the book itself.

The basic premise of Strike the Zither is that it's a historical fantasy set in a fictionalised version of China and taking the classic novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which is a bit of a sausagefest to say the least, and making all the characters women instead. So far, so good - I've been a longstanding fan of martial arts movies and love me some c-drama, so I was interested to see how this all worked out.

The thing is, it doesn't really seem to make a great deal of difference. This is gender-swapping at its most basic, just female for male but no actual change to anything beyond that as far as I could gauge. There's also an expected departure midway through into real fantasy territory where our protagonist realises/remembers that she's actually a deity, shortly before getting stuck in someone else's body. Unlike another book that this seems to be compared to quite a bit (She Who Became the Sun, in case you're wondering), this is not someone going against the flow of society but a different flow altogether which isn't explored all that well.

I guess I just wanted more. Our main character starts off interesting but soon sidles over to annoying and the body-swap situation didn't help with that. There's a nascent romantic relationship which piqued my interest a little but is doubtless being put on the back burner for later volumes. There's also a lot of clumsy titles like 'prime ministress' and 'lordess' which really irked me pretty much every time I read them.

All in all, while I enjoyed Strike the Zither in a lot of ways, I got the feeling that was mostly because of my love of c-drama bleeding in as much as for the book itself. It takes a really good idea but just doesn't push the boundaries with it - what does it mean to have women that heavily involved in warfare? How does that affect the way things work in everyday life for women? How does inheritance work in this society compared to China of that period? Do men still have multiple wives and concubines? We do get the sudden appearance of the occasional guy (an uncle and his two adopted sons, one of the strategists otherwise it's tricky to have a m-f romance subplot) but basically there's no mention of how they fit into this world which is otherwise apparently 99.5% female.

Then, when it comes to the book itself, there's a lot of hand-wavery going on to make the plot work. At one point early on, our protagonist fakes going over to the enemy so she can defeat them on behalf of her 'lordess' (ugh) but there's no real sense of why she favours one over the other much beyond it being the right thing to do. Ren, her liege lord (damnit, I'm sticking with that) is quite a thinly drawn character too and the degree of fealty being talked about just doesn't seem to stack up with what we seen 'on screen'. I guess though, having grown up in terms of my love of strategists on the likes of Mei Changsu, I was always going to be tough to impress...

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley. This is my honest review of the book in question.

Thank you to Text Publishing for providing me with an e-ARC of Strike the Zither in exchange for an honest review.

'Strike the Zither' (STZ) is a breathtaking reimagining of the classic Chinese story: 'The Romance of the Three Kingdoms'. Although this is a retelling, STZ - with a gender-flipped cast, fast-paced action, and intricately woven politics – is a story capable of drawing in readers whether they are familiar or not with the classic. He’s writing is powerful and vivid, which kept me hooked on every page. STZ is full of multiple mind-bending plot twists that had me reeling. Yet, the deeper themes of sisterhood, loyalty, and identity were never lost. I finished the book not only thrilled and surprised but with a real connection to the characters within its pages. As demonstrated in her previous books, He is a well-rounded writer. She knows how to write exciting plots as well as the complexity of people and their relationships - which is what makes her books so memorable.

Our main character Zephyr is a cunning and intelligent strategist who must use her wits to win the war for her beloved warlordess Xin Ren. I do not think I can put into words how much I love Zephyr. I have been waiting a lifetime to read about a character like her. Her ambition is limitless, she will do anything to achieve her goals. I felt both inspired and fearful of her unrivaled determination. The other characters are also interesting to read about, each one bearing their own political agenda. I absolutely loved Crow and have no doubt he will become a fan favorite. His little conversations with Zephyr made me smile and I am so excited to see their relationship develop in the second book.

I absolutely love it when music/musical instruments are important aspects of a story. He describes the playing of the zither wonderfully in this book and connects its sound to the character’s memories and emotions. Every zither scene was truly magical.

I devoured the entire story over one weekend (quick for me since this year has been FULL of reading slumps). It goes without saying that I am beyond excited for the release of the second book in this series!

Strike the Zither was a delightful YA fantasy read. I've not yet read Three Kingdoms, so I went into the book with no expectations as to the storyline. Zephyr was a fun character, and I enjoyed following her journey through the novel. The other characters were also well drawn and memorable, and there was plenty of action to keep me turning the pages. The book has a feminist slant but doesn't belabour the point and also touches on some other interesting themes. I am definitely keen to read on to the next book in the series to find out what will happen next. Recommend for fans of YA fantasy, Strike the Zither gets 4.5 stars from me.

Okay so, first up… obviously the synopsis speaks for itself and Strike the Zither sounds awesome from it; however, it still doesn’t actually capture how great this story is.

We’re introduced immediately to Zephyr, the main character who is simultaneously one of the most arrogant characters and one of the most endearing characters ever. She’s very sure of herself, and we’re thrown straight into her being trapped in a situation that she has to save herself, and a bunch of common folk and soldiers. As a strategist, it’s her job to basically come up with ideas like this and hope that they work out (which, Zephyr would probably say, they always do). Even though she sometimes has to think quick on her feet, she never really doubts her capabilities throughout the story and I think that’s part of why I enjoyed her character so much, I envy that kind of confidence!

Zephyr ends up in the enemy wardlordess’ (Miasma’s) camp, in an attempt to aid the warlordess she believes in, Xin Ren. There’s a lot of things that Zephyr can predict to have to account for, but one thing she doesn’t know how to prepare for is meeting the enemy strategist, Crow.

There’s a little yearning between the two and a lot of mistrust, but it makes for a very entertaining match up whenever the two are in the same scenes.

Joan He has written a book that most just won’t be able to put down, and though I refuse to give any spoilers, about halfway in you’ll probably be in shock for a few minutes and need to recover before you can read on because there are a couple of twists to this story, making it change direction from a wuxia to a xianxia as well and SUCH an awesome one at that.

The story is told from first person, which is brilliant for seeing more of how Zephyr’s mind actually works whilst ensuring that we’re treated to as many comments as possible about those around her!

I had a little sneak peak at some of the illustrations of the characters at the start of the eARC too, but due to formatting they got a little bit jumbled up. BUT Joan shared a proper sneak peak here, and what can be better than a book with an awesome story, beautiful cover and even gorgeous illustrations inside?!

If you enjoy fantasy stories in general, preorder this book.

I didn't really like the novel and this feeling of boredom only progressed throughout the novel. Her attachment to Ren is never really explained past the point of "it was pre-destined" and the only characters who I felt really made sen was Ku and Cicada but that might be because they weren't central characters. I do understand that this is meant to be the first volume of the series but the novel just didn't really grab my interest and kept me invested in any of the characters or the ongoing issue at hand.

Loved, loved this. Compelling and vivid prose, rich characterisations, and lively dialogue matched perfectly to an intricately layered plot of intrigue, secrets and betrayals. All I could have wanted from a fantasy and more.

4.5/5