DNF at 6%

This is an immediate DNF for me based on the writing style alone - it reads as if the author is trying to cram in as many adjectives as possible under the guise of "lyrical writing". I only managed 10 pages and even those I found confusing to read. The prose is just unfortunately not for me, but I'm glad to have discovered that early on.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for the opportunity to review this book.

The prose is worthy of all the praise it gets. A very well written book, with well thought of plot and characters. Although this book may not be for everyone, it truly is a good read.

This novella had a truly striking premise and some absolutely gorgeous prose. The world of the Feng — with bark for skin, braided branch arms, and threadlike hair — is haunting and lyrical, and Ai Jiang brings it to life in a way that’s both brutal and beautiful. There’s a quiet rage simmering beneath Lufeng’s story that I really appreciated, especially as she begins to question the cycle of sacrifice that’s been forced on her people for generations.

That said, the story felt more like a vivid dream than a fully immersive narrative. It leans heavily into atmosphere and theme, which I admire, but I found myself wanting more emotional payoff and clarity. The pacing felt uneven at times, and I struggled to connect deeply with the characters — especially given how high the stakes are.

Still, if you enjoy lush, imaginative fantasy with a strong undercurrent of rebellion, grief, and transformation, A Palace Near the Wind is worth checking out. It’s the kind of story that lingers in tone more than plot, and for some readers, that will be exactly the point.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This was a very strange book. It wasn’t un-enjoyable exactly, but it’s one that I don’t think I’ll read on with.

I liked the main character, Lufeng and I liked the Feng city in the trees. I loved the descriptions of the Feng people, being treelike and unique, something that I wish dearly had been reflected more on the cover. All that was the enjoyable stuff.

I wasn’t so keen on the Palace that Lufeng was taken to, and while it was probably the point that you were meant to side with the Lufeng and nature over the threat of urbanisation, I found some of the descriptions, especially of the food, really uncomfortable.

All that I could have dealt with though, and still given it a three star, but the book tries to turn everything on it’s head and subvert expectations. While I have enjoyed stuff like that in other books, I didn’t really like it in this one.

I don’t really feel the need to read on really. This book just wasn’t for me.

The prose is gorgeous and the world is very intriguing and beautifully drawn, but there is ultimately too much plot crammed into this little novella. It would have worked better as more of an atmospheric piece or as a full-length novel.

Ai Jiang's A Palace Near the Wind presents a richly imaginative world where nature and technology collide, and duty intertwines with rebellion. The novella introduces readers to Liu Lufeng, a princess of the Feng people, beings with bark skin and needle-thread hair, who is thrust into a sacrificial marriage to the human king, a fate her family has met before. Determined to break this cycle, Lufeng's journey unfolds within a palace that is as enigmatic as it is oppressive.

Jiang's prose is undeniably poetic, weaving a tapestry of vivid imagery that brings the world of Feng to life. The themes of environmentalism, colonialism, and the preservation of culture resonate deeply, offering a poignant commentary on the exploitation of nature and the erosion of identity. The contrast between the organic, wind-kissed existence of the Feng and the cold, industrialized human realm is stark and compelling.

However, despite the novella's potential, it falls short in execution. The brevity of the format leaves little room for character development, and as a result, Lufeng's motivations and emotional journey feel underexplored. The pacing is uneven, with significant portions of the narrative feeling meandering and lacking in direction. While the world-building is rich, it sometimes overwhelms the story, leaving readers with more questions than answers.

In essence, A Palace Near the Wind is a tale of great promise hindered by its own constraints. It's a story that invites readers into a beautifully crafted world but struggles to fully engage them emotionally. For those who appreciate lyrical prose and ambitious world-building, it offers a glimpse into a universe brimming with potential. Yet, it leaves one yearning for a deeper exploration of its characters and themes.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for the ARC copy they provided.

Unfortunately, I did not finish this book in time to leave a review before the publication date, and though a review after publication is no less welcome or useful, I feel I do not have the time or space to give this book the attention it deserves.

Though I did not manage to finish A Palace Near the Wind before its publication, I look forward to reading it at my leisure some time in the future.

Thank you to Ai Jiang, Titan Books and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review. I really wanted to love this book, the worldbuilding and characters were really interesting and well thought out, but I found the book a bit too short, and even then it felt overwhelming to read. A bit of too much to read and take in in a short novel. I’m sure this book is meant for someone, but it wasn’t quite for me. I would be interested in reading other works from the author, as I feel there are other good books to come.

uhmm I was expecting something like “the fox wife”, but I didn’t connect with the characters the same way, so even thought this story was shorter it felt twice as big as the later, I have been in a reading slump and besides audiobooks, I havent been able to concentrate and fully emerse myself in a book… so take this with a grain of salt and perhaps you will love this book…

it was ok, and it felt very lonely, most of the book, our main character was alone and dreaming of revenge… but like always I don’t give spoilers… maybe the end is not really the end haha, I hope the next volume will make things more interesting, the thing is, maybe the next will be better brought to life, so I still want to know what happens next… even though this one wasnt that great…

Thank you Netgalley and Titan Books, for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.

This was such a great allegorical tale that I wish was just a little longer.

A Palace Near The Wind is a high-fantasy novella that follows Liu Lufeng, eldest granddaughter of the chief of the Feng people, who is the new bride of the human king. She searches for answers for her family with the plan of vengeance but finds out that there is more to how things seem in the palace.

There is a lot happening in this novella that are super captivating. The Feng people are described as “tree-like”, which adds a real surreal dimension to the story. I struggled to picture them (especially with a different cover art) but I liked the metaphor that the author presented through their descriptions.

For a novella, I found the pacing to be really slow - it starts off very strong but flags a little bit before building up to the end drama. The worldbuilding is dense so its understandable why it is slower paced but it struggles to engage with the reader at certain moments.

The characters are interesting enough but do not get explored (other than Lufeng) I think due to the heavy allegories and surreal nature of the story. I agree with many other reviewers who think it should have been molded into one longer story than two novellas, mostly so we could get a more in depth look at the story and the worldbuilding in the background.

All in all, I think this has great social commentary but struggles to meet the grand promises it makes in its premise.

Thank you Ai Jiang and NetGalley for a copy of this review in exchange for an e-ARC.

I recieved an ARC copy of this book so I would like to say thank you in advance of this review to the publishers and Net-galley for that. That being said, all opinions are my own and haven't been swayed.

I wasn't the greatest fan of this book in complete honesty, but it had the potential to be a really fascinating story. It had great worldbuilding, interesting character dynamics and a good plot but every time it just all seemed to fall short of what it could be. It was like everything was so rushed that it just wasn't satisfactory, if that makes sense and by the time I finished it I felt like I'd somehow got my hands on an unfinished manuscript.

I will say I liked the writing style and the world this book is set in and would be curious to see how it continues as a series, but I can't see myself actually reading the series through to completion. Sadly I did end up giving this book a lower rating, but I do think it has potential as a series and hope others find it better.

I hate to give a bad review, but I really didn't enjoy this book. I could not finish it. I tried over and over again to continue reading it, and quitting a book is something I rarely do: out of 745+ books read since 2008, I can count how many I haven't finished in that time period on one hand. On principle, I always finish books... but I couldn't finish this one.
Why? The book, which I assume has been translated from Mandarin to English, has not been translated well. The grammar isn't correctly written in English, giving the reader mental hiccups as they read and leaving them unsure of what exactly was happening in the book, and disconnected to the story. I had to think so hard to understand what was going on in the book and had to re-read pages and paragraphs to make sure I hadn't misunderstood. That left me feeling disoriented, and I started considering not reading the book.
At this point, I went and looked at other reviews on storygraph and goodreads from peers who had also received ARCs and reviewed the book, and started to second guess myself. They gushed over it, profuse in their praise. I tried reading the book some more, wondering if I perhaps was confusing high fantasy writing for poorly translated subject matter that's at times mixed with what actually is good prose. BUT the grammar, plus the use of weirdly translated words like "annuals," "elsetime," and "tuffs;" or even two different tenses in the same sentence suggest otherwise. There were also phrases like this: "an intimate vibration against the drums within--rising the fine trichomes around" that had me completely mind boggled. What does that even mean?
In conclusion, I would call this the "Emperor's New Clothes' of books. Perhaps other ARC readers are raving about it merely because they feel trepidation about leaving a bad review, and they don't want to reduce their chances of receiving future opportunities to review NetGalley books. But I feel like it's more important to be honest and I'm reviewing it honestly.
Thank you NetGalley and Titan books for the Advanced Reader Copy.

I'm admittedly not the biggest fan of novellas/short stories anyway, so this may have not been for me. This had rich worldbuilding which I enjoyed, but there was so much packed into such a short time - this would have absolutely benefitted from being a longer book. Despite it being a short novella, it felt like a slog to read. It was completely unique and very inventive, but unfortunately not for me.

The idea of this story was really creative and had a lot of potential. However this, to me, was text book purple prose. I found myself unable to enjoy the story and follow along because of all the descriptions. They felt very repetitive to me. Due to the writing style I could not make it far into the book.

2.5 stars

I dnf´ed the book around the 30 % mark.
Even though this book is really short, it just couldn´t hold my attention. I thought the premisse war intriguing but I just still wasn´t invested in the MC at this point and some of the worldbuilding wasn’t delivered in a way that made it tangible for me personally.

This book desperately needed more pages. It’s a full novel that just took out any lore or character building and gave us cliffs notes. I don’t get it. I don’t get why the oldest daughter was given over last, I don’t get the set up of this world, I don’t get the magic system, I don’t get the family set up. I just don’t get it. I really liked the authors other novel but I was struggling to finish this book when I only had 40 more minutes left on the ebook…

None of the character beats worked for me. I don’t feel attached to any of the characters and find the MC really bland and uninteresting. I had hope when I started as the world set up felt promising but we do nothing with it. I don’t understand the purpose behind making this a novella, either make it a short story or build it out, because what we’re left with now is an underwritten and underwhelming kernel of an idea.

Really sad I didn’t like it more and won’t be continuing the series because I think the potential was there.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

The comp titles for A Palace Near the Wind excited me, as did the intrigue of a group of beings carved from nature itself but forced to submit to human rulers. However, the complexity did not live up to the Princess Mononoke comparison, though similar themes of land stewardship, Indigeneity, and modernization were prevalent.

I simply struggled with the writing style and the density of the plot within a novella frame. I felt like the timeline moved too fast, prohibiting me from connecting with Liu Lufeng as a protagonist and not just a contrast to the perils of modernity. She felt more suited to YA than an Adult high fantasy, and despite her repeatedly stating her motivations once in the palace, I did not find them compelling. Unfortunately I think a stronger central conflict is needed, though maybe this will surface in the sequel.

There is a lot of debate as to whether a review needs to spoil the reader. In many ways reviews are designed to spoil you. We tell you the plot points, what we like and do not so that you go in with some preconceptions – some of which you then agree with and others you do not. There is one school of thought that the review should be prepared to discuss everything in the story to really grapple with how it works or not and tell you it all as a book should work even if you know the big spoilers. I think I take the view that as I’m often in the privileged position of early access to a story it seems a shame I can’t leave some things for readers to experience the reveal being just as much in the dark as I was when I first turned the pages. This is long way of saying that when it comes to reviewing Ai Jiang’s fascinating fantasy novella A palace Near The Wind this is going to be difficult because this is a story where we like the main character starts to find the entire world is not quite what they thought it was. What seems a simple folk tale retelling becomes a much more complex tale in so so many ways.

Liu Lufeng is Feng loyalty amongst the Wind Walkers of the forests, a race of tree-like beings who live as one with nature and natural beauty but are increasingly threatened by an ever-expanding human settlement concreting and changing the world with technology. The solution to prevent more of the land being destroyed has been to marry one of the royal family to the human King. Lufeng’s mother and two sisters have already been married and have vanished into the mysterious palace and now it is Lufeng’s time to be married to stop a further encroachment. She says goodbye to her youngest sister and beloved grandmother, but nothing will prepare her for the strange sights of the Palace, their love of nature and how much of the world is not quite what it seems

Based on the summary above you may be thinking ah this is a folk story retelling a noble sacrifice and a bridge between two worlds? The first act certainly supports it we get Lufeng’s perspective, her emotional investment in saving her family and the beautifully described world of the Win Walkers whose non-human nature focused world is drawn beautifully in contrast to the human city dwellers who use machines, wreck land in their strange crawling devices and live in walls of bone and it feels lifeless as does the enigmatic king we meet who just sees the marriage as a political alignment. If this was a simpler tale no doubt LuFeng’s heart would melt the human word and all would be well? Jiang though much prefers to instead surprise us constantly with revelations that start to make Lufeng and the reader realise this world is not at all what we have seen in other such types of stories. The revelation of the King and their agenda is fantastically delivered and that is a reveal you deserve as readers to experience as a shock yourself its really well done and instantly darkens the whole tale.

Talking more obliquely this is a story about how two worlds collide and is a metaphor about how people can be both tempted, managed and controlled into living a very different type of life to the ones they knew. Lufeng gets shocked into a world where people eat meat, wear clothes and use technology. Some of which is horrific for her - the description of her eating a formerly living creature that likely dwelled in her first is shown to us as a moment of horror, but you can also see what for some this is a world of new experiences and delights that allows people to change and expand. But there may also be a cost too. This is a world of surveillance and one that has a lot of secret controls in place. What is the human interest in the Wind Walkers and as we find out there are more element based races around and how do they all interact together? We are moving from a folk tale of two very different worlds to a much more complex story of how a big empire can entice and subdue those of the countries it seeks to control and the price it demands if you want to experience these advantages. There are questions of cultural identity, power and control plus the ways we can try to resist and unite to oppose this. The latter half of the book is Lufeng trying to do the best for her family and people and finding exactly how big and powerful her enemies now are. It also raises questions on how her own world has been managing these situations and the pain that has itself caused her own family. This is very much a story of a young woman discovering the cruel truths of her wider world and deciding if she is prepared to follow what is expected of her or not. It very much is a book setting up its second volume but the set pieces and the tensions that erupt mean by the end we are all invested and aware more revelations and sacrifices are very likely to come.

It works very much with Jiang’s use of language in the early parts of the story that really make the Wind Walker world appear so ideal and with LuFeng’s voice we feel her anxiousness about her situation and the fates of her missing family. But the hidden depths of this world slowly emerge surprising Lufeng and watching her react to these events has more shades of horror and even dystopian drama than the first act appears to suggest. We are so used to having a princess trapped in a gilded cage in some stories this story though asks what if the whole world was the one actually entrapped. There are real world analogies with how power corrupts but also tempts its inhabitants to obey the rulers of it, that I find very well handled and am very intrigued what is in store for the final instalment.

A Palace near the Wind is not what you may think it looks like from the early chapters. Its delightfully complex and surprising the journey it takes its characters and readers on. A seemingly straightforward folk tale that hides some razor blades within it and takes us on a much darker and interesting look at the power of control and how it works subtly and with force. Hugely engaging and a further reminder Ai Jiang is an author to watch out for. Strongly recommended!

This is the first book in this new duology, which was a quick and easy read. I love the Studio Ghibli & Attack on Titan vibes.

This was the most original novel I’ve read in a while. The world-building is fascinating and unique, and the plot is filled with mysteries and twists. For such a short read, the main character faced many impossible decisions.

A Palace Near the Wind soon turned into a tale about family, the obligations towards the elders and the need to protect the youngest. It’s also a compelling exploration of the tension between tradition and progress, nature and industry.

This book is the first in a duology. I will definitely read more from this author.