The prose was too simple for my liking and the plot unengaging. The characters could have been iconic if a little attention had been paid to them

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

A Palace Near the Wind by Ai Jiang is a Chinese-inspired science fantasy novella. Liu Lufeng is next in line in her family to marry the human king and keep the human kingdom from expanding even further. But she’s not interested in creating a love match or forming a friendship with the king; her true desire is to kill him to end the tradition. But it’s not going to be easy and things aren’t always as they seem.

I rarely discuss covers, but I’m going to today because the cover is so perfect. The style uses a very traditional Chinese style of drawing clouds but the metallic color scheme directly correlates to the names of several characters in the Engine (human) empire. Lufeng is gorgeous and so soft and delicate, giving this a romantic feel that goes against her actual motivations but still plays into the premise of an arranged marriage. It’s dreamy, it’s eye-catching, the minimalist color palette uses every color to great effect and it’s easily one of my favorite covers so far this year.

The science fantasy aspects are strongly reflected in the major themes of the plot: humans vs nature, technology vs nature, and tradition vs innovation. Not all innovation is good and Lufeng sells that with her horror at eating meat and the various technologies around her. The technology feels roughly steampunk-ish, which helps sell the themes even further as the 1800s is when technology really started picking up speed in new ways and changing how people live while also doing more and more damage to the Earth.

The main word I have for this novella is that it is weird in the best way possible. I love eco-fantasy concepts where nature is personified and the use of characters with bark-like faces and other details that make Lufeng feel like she’s related to trees was very cool and interesting. I’m a Romantasy fan and normally want a romance with my marriage premises, but I liked how romance was pushed away in favor of exploring different themes, particularly ones of family and loyalty. There’s occasionally a tinge of horror that work with Lufeng’s POV during certain scenes and I would have loved a four hundred page book exploring this further.

I would recommend this to fans of science fantasy looking for something with more of an eco-fantasy bend and readers looking for a nature vs technology novella

(I received this book from the editor and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

After deeply enjoying Linghun, I was very hyped for this novella and the intriguing premise of a new world, the Fern people and all the mystery that surrounded the origin of this species. I think, as others have stated, that this novella should have been longer, a novel indeed, because everything goes by so quick the reader gets to the last pages with the sensation of knowing something about the place but maybe not enough. Some characters are not completely drawn, either, making it impossible to know if their actions are something surprising or in line with their personality.
I did not know it was a story told in two parts (which is definitely my fault) but, again, I feel like it could have been one longer novel and that is it.
Will I read the second part once is out? I am not sure, because nothing really makes me go back to this world. It feels like, after almost 200 pages, I do not care for any of the characters or the secrets that have been left unresolved.

Thank you for the opportunity to ARC this read! I found the cover extremely enticing however the story it contained didn't quite relate to it. The writing style is incredible and I really enjoyed the plot overall, but I just wish there was more. More world building, more character development, more. I fell like theres a lot left unsaid and it could have been more impactful as a novel, maybe im being a little greedy? I will definielty be looking out for more Ai Jiang works though!

This was a beautiful quick read.
The Strength of this novella is definetly the writing which felt very whimsy and vibrant. I could picture the world and characters really well.
The world is interesting and especially in the later half hinted at expansive world building which I loved.

In the first half the pacing felt pretty slow. I sometimes found myself thinking "yes I know evil technological advanced empire is slowly destroying the nature folk, I watched Avatar, get on with it" which definetly is a problem with myself struggeling with slower paced books and not the fault of the novella but alas.
The last 20% then felt a little rushed and just as I was really getting invested the book ends on a cliffhanger.
I'll definetly want to read the sequel but at least at the moment I can't really see why this is a novella and not a full length novel with the second book.

I'd give this 3,5 stars personally but if you're able to just sink into a beautifully written story more than I can than this could be the perfect book for you!

I appreciate what Ai Jiang tried to do with this book. However, I feel like this story could've been better served as a novel rather than a novella. As a novella, I would've expected it to be way more tight, with every moment, scene, and word having an impact on something - whether it's the world, plot, characters, or an emotional teachable note. That's not the case here.

We meet Lufeng at the precipice of change. She is to be married off to the King of the Land Walkers in exchange for a halt on industrialization of Feng territory. The Feng aren't described fully, but my image of them are human-sized Ents - bark for skin, a connection to nature and the wind, etc. She spends over 50% internally grousing about this marriage, fueling her anger for the Land Walkers by thinking about her mother and sisters who went before her, and marveling at, and being disgusted by, a side of the world she'd never seen before.

What bothered me was that any bit of world-building felt rushed. There were these factions and inventions and types of people that are totally new to readers, and all of that is barely explored. And what little we do see is rarely explained. I was frustrated as I read. There's only so much I can do with an internal monologue, of a person I can't picture, who is mostly confined in a palace room.

Anyways, I liked where the story went - the mystery of everything paid off - but it wasn't worth trudging through the first 60% to get there. This felt like the longest 192 pages I've ever read.

TW: describes the death of an animal, environmental destruction, propaganda, colonialism, "human" experimentation

Plot: 3/5
Characters: 1.5/5
World Building: 2/5
Writing: 3/5
Pacing: 1/5
Overall: 2/5

eARC gifted via NetGalley by Titan Books in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love A Palace Near the Wind, but it's just not for me. The plot is interesting and I think that we do need more books that talks about the environmental impact of humans. However, the writing can potentially benefit from more editing. I found the pacing to be uneven and though the writing is very whimsical, it is a bit too detailed. I got to about 50% of the story and it felt like the story was never going to get to the point. I can understand that this is likely a first book, but for how much detail there is I am still a bit confused as to why Lufeng's family had to be married off to the King. Like I said, this is probably a me problem versus the book itself. I can imagine that if you like a slower pace, detailed story with whimsical writing this is for you.

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Titan Books for the ARC. All opinions are my own. I loved the sound of the book as I'm interested in social impact and the environment in general, so I thought this would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, it missed the mark for me and I dnf'd at 66%.

There are definitely some aspects of the book I was quite interested in and I thought some of the comparisons between the natural environment vs human development were thoughtfully highlighted. I found it difficult to visualise the characters, it seemed to me that the descriptions just replaced human features in a confusing way. The cover is gorgeous but I don't know if this is our FMC. If it is, I feel it's quite misleading (or unless something changes by the end of the book that I didn't read.) As I read on, I didn't feel any emotional attachment to the characters and I was a little bored as not much happened, or if it did, it didn't encourage me to keep going.

I like what Ai Jiang was trying to do and convey, I think these stories are important and I definitely see a trend in social impact/environmental novels at the moment. I always want to support my East and South East Asian writers, but this just didn't quite give me what I wanted. Great concept but just fell short in terms of execution.

Wow, this book is weird. I felt mislead by the cover— no indication that the main characters are tree ladies. I found the pacing to be really uneven— there’s nothing happening for chapters at a time, then huge revelations. I’m sure the author/publisher has their reasons for splitting it into two novelas, but personally I’d rather read one long book.

Thank you to Net Galley and Titan Books for the ARC. I really liked the prose and the world building. I just wish this was a full length novel instead of a novella because there is so much going on that I wish was explored more.

This is one where I didn't mesh with the writing style. I think I liked the point it was trying to make, about society trampling all over natural beauty and tradition in the face of "progress" for progress's sake - rather than out of any real need. About how whole families and ways of life can be swallowed up and mangled and villainized.

But the writing itself is stilted and awkward, and any grounding facts were obfuscated by vagueries. The measure of time wasn't clear, so any mention of the passage of time caused me to pause and think it through. We never get a description of Lufeng or her family members, only strange plant terms standing in for an equivalent thing on a human, so it was hard to conceptualize just what Feng people looked like (or anyone else for that matter).

Lufeng is the eldest daughter in the Feng royalty bloodline, and to be married to a human king. Her mother and sisters before her have been offered as brides to the king in the past, as part of the negotiations to spare the trees and the land. Lufeng finds there is more than expected behind the walls of this foreign kingdom.

The writing itself is whimsical, blending the romanticism of nature and fear of technology. Unfortunately, due to it being a novella, the beautiful writing fell flat on many emotions and descriptions, to the point where messages became very muddy. Although this is the first of a series, there should have been more time given to the writing, as some parts became rushed. The story itself is very intriguing and has so much potential to be a great piece, but unfortunately, there were too many factors that kept it from its full potential.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Two and a half stars (rounded up).

This sci-fantasy novella follows Lufeng as she leaves Feng, a naturalist society, to join the industrial Palace. What follows is a tale of patriarchy, assimilation, and resistance. My main problem with this novella is that I have read all of these themes executed better in other stories. I think this needed a much larger page count to explore the society and themes looking to be explored. Secondly, the prose style just did not quite work for me. It was quite clinical throughout that did a lot to undermine moments of tension and emotion. I'll be honest, I read the whole thing quite passively, and if it had been longer than 120 pages, I would have dnfed.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this novella, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Okay, so I have to admit that I read like 75% of this and then just decided I didn't care enough to finish and I really didn't care enough when I found out that this is actually part of a duology or series and that it ends on a cliffhanger. I just felt very disconnected to what was going on in this book. The writing was very lyrical, but it was one of those that it was so thick that sometimes it felt like it was obfuscating the point or maybe the fact that there isn't really enough plot for two books because for how short this was, it dragged.

It was glacially paced for me. All this talk about a royal marriage and by the time that we got there I just didn't really care. At all. The big reveal didn't even make me feel anything, I was just like, "Okay. And..." So, no I probably won't be reading the next one.

There were a few things in here that I found interesting. I like the idea of the "wind walkers", some parts of the world-building were interesting, and I like themes about protecting the planet. However, I beg people to stop comparing this to Princess Mononoke, T. Kingfisher and Nghi Vo. Please, stop, I beg you. The ties between the three are not strong enough to ensure that fans of any of them will enjoy this. Please stop. I get the Princess Mononoke comparison the most out of the three, I really don't understand the other two, other than the fact that they also write fantasy novellas.

So, who would I recommend this to? I mean, I don't like telling people not to read a book, so I would say, if it sounds interesting to you check it out and have a look at some of the glowing reviews for it. It just didn't work for me in execution and writing. If you think that tree people, multiple family members being arranged to marry the same king, and ... protecting the environment are interesting then this could be for you. I guess? I don't know. I'm not really selling it. I do feel bad as I received an eARC of this, but as I said, all thoughts and opinions are my own. And if you loved it: I'm so happy for you.

As I began my reading journey into A Palace Near the Wind, I wasn't sure what I was expecting.

A fantasy story set in an Asian backdrop was in my mind. But as I delved further into the story, it became clear this was more than just. There was a modern element to this, fantasy crossed over with present day technology/sci fi.

The story follows Lufeng, a Wind Walker (tree creature/person), who is married off to the king of The Palace to keep them from developing into her kingdom of Feng.

I had a hard time navigating through the story with what my mind wanted to portray from the pages of this story. Our main protagonist is a "Wind Walker" - aka a tree type creature/person, so mentally I was attempting to picture her without appearing too human. The concept of having to keep up with changes in a growing world, losing track of nature, but trying to keep roots where one hails from. There were a few plot twists in this, which I was able to catch onto before said twists were revealed.

The ending felt a bit rushed as well, which is my one gripe. I wished for some more character development from these other characters that were brought into the story.

I know this is just the first part in a duology, so I hope there is some more depth to what happened as we were left off on a cliffhanger.

What’s to love…
- themes of family + cultural identity
- blend of fantasy + sci fi + a touch of dystopian
- novella length
- whimsy and dream like
- unique world
- duology
- lyrical prose + imagery

This wasn’t my favorite - and I think it’s a me problem. I couldn’t get into the prose or story because I was distracted by how lyrical everything was. Perhaps I’m not the intend audience/not smart enough for something so rich? I typically enjoy lyrical writing but I find that writing that skews close to the "purple prose" line is the quickest way for me to "check out" of a story. This was short but it took me ages to finish because I had a hard time staying interested for extended periods of time.

I initially liked the premise of this book, and felt there was something very classically fairytale-like about it, but the ending felt rushed and ruined that feeling for me. I think a novella length does a disservice to the story, and there should have been more time building up and getting us to understand Lufeng. I do think this was an interesting allegory for commercial development, and the world building was great—I just wish there had been more of it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was so boring. I didn't know this was also a series? It ended on a cliffhanger and I'm not interested in reading the next book. Lufeng must marry the king in order to save Feng, but then she finds out it isn't what it seems. She must find a way to stop experiments and save her family. Her 2 other sisters don't seem to care at all, which is so weird to me. I cant believe her Grandmother had something to do with it. I basically skimmed this book to finish it. I didnt care about Lufeng. I dont care about any of the characters. I was shocked about Zinc. But the story just wasn't smooth. It also isnt explained well what is really going on. Not a fan.

With thanks to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. I was in 2 minds about rounding this up to 3 stars.

I wanted to like this more than I did. The set-up is imaginative but I couldn’t quite understand how the Wind Walkers are tree people with roots, and ultimately for me it mostly fell down with our protagonist. She next in line to lead the people who are dealing with the Palace cutting down their trees (see why that’s important) and an endless conveyor belt of sisters in political marriages but all to the same King making it seems very Bluebeard. Although once at the palace it’s almost Beauty and the Beast without the romance, or a myriad of other fairytales and nothing is as it seems. I’ve kept in points for the world and the mystery aggressor but Lufeng as a narrator, the eldest sister didn’t work for me. The voice I got used to and there is no requirement to be likeable but for a novella the time it took to understand the descriptive voice was perhaps long, her motivations are repeated to the point where I stopped caring. The ending made it very clear there are more books coming without being a cliffhanger or particularly satisfying.

Wholly original and full of heart, as I've come to expect from Ai Jiang's work. Excellent worldbuilding that leaves me with the winds of Feng on my cheeks, and eager for the sequel!