Cover Image: Prince of Blue Flowers

Prince of Blue Flowers

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Thank you, Netgalley for providing an arc for "Prince of the Blue Flowers" The concept of Asian Fantasies blows my mind
It's filled with so much energy. It captures the actions of what each character went through and the consequences of their actions.

Was this review helpful?

This book was absolutely phenomenal.
It read like a fable, was quite fast paced, and aucked me in from the very first word.
I love a well written Asian fantasy book, that is rich with history and culture. Its a fun way to learn more about culture and their fables, folklore and such, while having a really good time.
This story follows a little trickster, who you guessed it, just loves to trick people and seizes every opportunity to do so.
The author captured the culture so well here, and their writing is beautiful and fun. This book was a fantasy adventure dream.

Was this review helpful?

Unfortunately this one just wasn't for me. I enjoyed the concept and the first half of the story, but then it become more and more repetitive to read. I think the world building, concept, and mythology are super cool with unique story telling structure, but some parts can be edited down so it won't be as meandering and repetitive.

Was this review helpful?

I like a story written in avfable style. And this book Made impressive. But i need more wonderful cover cause this cover looks a bit so so

Was this review helpful?

The first quarter of this book is backstory that wasn't mentioned in the overview, so I was caught a bit off guard and thought I was reading the wrong story at first, but it was enjoyable, and around the 25% mark the story shifted to being about what I expected.

It starts with the story of a stone marten who wants to touch the sun and ends up unleashing wickedness and demons on the earth.
We then get the story of Hatsukoi, a trickster boy from a small village. When he takes things too far, he gets sent to a monastery, where he keeps playing tricks. He eventually leaves, continuing to trick people as he goes.
His adventures were fun and interesting, even if I often didn't side with him.

This was a shorter read than I expected, and I loved the prose--the storytelling was really lovely.

Was this review helpful?

As a young boy Hatsukoi leaves his home and village to become a monk, but he finds the life very boring. He changes his name and with his new friend he travels the countryside and plays tricks on people including the corrupt, greedy and the ignorant. He learns not only the craft of "conning" but also the purpose thereof.

Was this review helpful?

I wanted to love this book but unfortunately it just felt so wordy and intense on the symbolism at the expense of the plot. Saying that it was an enjoyable read - it just didnt live up to expectations

Was this review helpful?

3.5

Premise: I just saw now that the title of the book is not only Prince of Blue Flowers but is to add "Adventures of Takuan from Koto". I don’t know why the author didn’t decide to put it on the cover, but in my opinion, not having it on the cover only confuses the reading. Also, it would have made sense to switch the titles because Prince of Blue Flowers is forced(?), while "Adventures of Takuan from Koto" is more in line with the plot. It kinda confuses this explanation but I promise to try to describe it later.

Prince of Blue Flowers is that kind of story that fits into Asian fantasy where they have their way of developing a story. It was a 50-50 reading because the premises didn't fully satisfy me and I seem to have been deceived(?) because of the plot and title. I was convinced that Prince of Blue Flowers was an important character or an alter ego of Takuan, the protagonist, instead, I found that it's a character that appears only at the end of the story with a basic role that has saddened me.

On the other side, Takuan is a young boy who leads the story and it was interesting to read about his adventures. It reminded me a lot of the characters of the manga who seek adventures and don't stop in front of anything to have a taste of it. Takuan is a malleable character because if his stunts seemed sensible as a child, as he grows his intentions take on a malevolent character. For this aspect, it's interesting to see how Takuan is not the classic character who despite his questionable methods performs he passes for the "good" of the story. However, in the last pages, you see that his intentions take a darker shade and then the line that separates him from the people that he scams, the selfish rich, becomes more and more subtle. Too bad that the story stops just when there were still many things to discover and many questions without answers, but probably because there will be a sequel.

The magic element in this story does not disappoint and together with Takuan are the strong points of the reading. I don't want to make spoilers on this point but I can say that if you have already read stories with Asian demons or you have read manga set in the past with demons Prince of Blue Flowers its place close.

Despite doubts about how the story and title were presented, Prince of Blue Flowers is a pleasant read. The writing recalls a fairy tale and the setting in the ancient Asian world makes everything fantastic. Probably the slowness with which events are told will be unpleasant to read but once you understand its structure the story will be much more fluid.


(minor spoiler)
The part that I have conflict with is the plot. The reason is simple: the story's beginning opens with an old folk tale about a marten trying to catch the sun. As interesting as the story was to read it was still confusing because it seemed to be in front of another story. It would have been convenient to include in the plot a premise.
(end spoiler)


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read the ebook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I received an ARC—thanks!

Genre: Fantasy

I've absolutely been loving Asian fantasy books. This book is another to add to your list.

We need more trickster characters—and this one is really something else!

Happy reading!

Was this review helpful?

Not really my preference, but maybe yours.

It's written like a fairy tale or a fable. It starts off with a tale that sketches a premise in which demons have taken over heaven and other powerful beings are on the run. Humans are providing a home for the powerful beings in exchange for a blessing of luck that protects them from the demons. However that doesn't prevent all attacks.

Takuan is mischievous and likes teasing people who give in to their worst inklings. He reminds me a little of Peter Pan (the Disney-fied version) in his unintentional meanness.

The story is a quick read with never a dull moment, but I just wasn't a fan of the style of of writing. I think I just couldn't settle down into it to enjoy it.

Was this review helpful?

I think there are people who will LOVE this book, I am not one of them.

The writing is a bit slow, and the chapters have this repetitive ending thing that just did not work for me (due to the slow writing).

I do see that this will be a loved book by many.

Was this review helpful?

Set in a Pan-Asian medieval fantasy world Prince of Blue Flowers is a light and humorous story full of adventures, action, and mischief. The protagonist of the story, a boy named Hatsukoi, goes to a monastery for his pranks but soon runs away in search of adventure. Readers join Hatsukoi’s journey, laugh at his exploits, and learn valuable lessons with him, Overall, despite some technical and translational issues, Prince of Blue Flowers is a novel replete with timeless lessons, clever foils, and a perpetual echo of mythology that is both illuminating and entertaining. Can't wait to read book two!

Was this review helpful?

This was a deeply delightful and quick read. I’m a big fan of Asian historical fantasy, and this felt like a breath of fresh air of that sort of literature, but fantastically geared towards younger readers. The authors writing is light and breezy, but communicates the characters feelings excellently, and while the characters are sweet they also aren’t perfect, they’re simply people trying their best to be good, even thought being good can be hard. A fantastic read for younger readers looking for fun fantasy!

Was this review helpful?

this was very cool!! enjoyed it being told in the style of a classic fairy tale or fable, and it's very children's lit to me. intensely readable and i loved hearing about all the trickster's exploits :)

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to #NetGalley, Ryu Zhong and the publisher of the book for the eARC copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Hatsukoi leaves his village to become a monk. He then realizes how boring this is and decides to do something else. He takes on a new name, finds a new friend, and travels the countryside tricking the greedy and wealthy people to teach them a lesson. Hatsukoi not only learns his new "craft" but what he's doing has more meaning than just playing tricks.

A Robin Hood like story that I absolutely loved! I highly recommend it!

Was this review helpful?

It starts as a fairy-tale and quickly evolves into a trickster-style fantasy adventure. Reminded me of Terry Pratchett and his Discworld series, though it is not very magic-centred, it focuses more on situational comedy.
The plot is super simple: a boy can't stand his desire of making pranks and gets into troubles, but more often make (justified) trouble for others. Language is very painted, it is a very good translation!

Was this review helpful?

I thoroughly adored this little book! It reads like a fable or a myth, the premise being entirely unique and intriguing. It was fun and exciting and new! I don't typically love shorter books/novellas, because they always leave me wanting for depth. Depth in the plot, depth in the world, depth in the characters. But I feel the setting and premise of this story fits perfectly into that shorter size.

Was this review helpful?

I had a lot of expectations for this book and was really excited!! That being said, the writing style wasn't really for me. I think the slow prologue start combined with the somewhat repetitive chapter endings didn't really help me as someone who wanted or expected more. I think I understood the myth retelling aspect the author tried to portray but it didn't really come through for me sadly. I did like some parts of it though and I think the inclusion of mythology and culture was super cool!

Was this review helpful?

[ARC provided by NetGalley & Ryu Zhong]

This book definitely exceeded my expectations, although I can't say that I knew what I was coming into. The introductory chapters confused me as they didn't allude to what was described in the blurb, and there was no hint that the first 25% was more like a prologue. That being said, upon passing the 25% mark and finally meeting Hatsukoi, I really started to enjoy reading about the tricksters adventures.

Prince of Blue Flowers is a light fantasy with a fun cast of characters. Following Hatsukoi throughout his cons was genuinely funny at times and I really loved seeing the many ways he would evade his victims. He was a very cunning character but he didn't have motivations that were truly bad. Having spent time at a monastery, he maintained some semblance of nobility and, much like Robin Hood, would mostly focus on conning those that were greedy or cruel. Although he was young and often naïve in the face of consequence, it was hard to dislike him.

I recommend this to anyone who enjoys low stake fantasy paired with prose that feels like you're reading a whimsical fable.

Was this review helpful?

Wow! This book really exceeded my expectations in the best possible way. Written in the style of a fable it’s a fast paced fantasy story following a young trickster’s adventures.

In the beginning of the book we get the world building established: a place where demons have taken over the heavens and celestials have been forced to flee. The only thing protecting humankind from demons is a blessing of luck from the gods in exchange for housing the celestials in their prayers at monasteries around the world. The premise is very cool and we learn that despite the luck blessings there are a few ways demons can get to humans, primarily through exploiting our innate weaknesses such as anger and greed.

A young prankster named Takuan very much enjoys tricking people who give in to these weaknesses and we follow him on his adventures throughout the world. He definitely has a faulty moral compass but is still an enjoyable protagonist with a compelling backstory. He’s not evil, but rather comes across as naive about the consequences of his “pranks”. Like a trickster god from old mythology I’m rooting for him and against him at the same time.

I loved the fable like prose and the fast pacing made the story flow quickly so my interest never waned. The different pranks and tricks were clever and creative and very much amped up the fable resemblance which I enjoyed. The story ends a bit abruptly and while it technically wraps up the primary plot threads it doesn’t really stand alone. I don’t mind that though, the book was a short quick read and I’m already excited to pick up the next one!

Was this review helpful?