I enjoyed the story but I am not sure I will read anything else from this author. I had a hard time following because of the chronometer and some times got lost as to what was going on.

As a reader who grew up on western-fantasy, it's refreshing to read something East Asian like Forest of a Thousand Lanterns. I love windows into worlds I'm not familiar with but Dao included just the right amount of detail so I felt wholly immersed, but not overwhelmed. I loved the MC, Xifeng in the way that I didn't really like her at all at first. She is a new kind of protagonist, one who's had a hard life and she's a little rough around the edges. But I still rooted for her as she fought for a better life, for something she was promised. I love the idea of Xifeng reading the cards telling her her future her whole life and then getting up and doing something about it. It's an empowering and inspiring story that readers will follow through the trilogy.

I enjoyed this book. I like how romance was a big part of it at the beginning but wasnt a main part of the story even though i am a sucker for romance. This book was very plot heavy which meant lots of detail and interactions between character which i throughly enjoyed. It took me a bit to get into with their being so many characters and who was who but once you get into the book and understand what was happening. I liked learning about Asian and chinese culture which i dont know much about with how much detail the book goes into its easy to catch on and learn. 

I gave this book 4 stars and im excited to read the sequel.

LOVED THIS. The writing was beautiful, with such amazing descriptions and world building. The setting is so rich and wonderful. Highly recommended.

I was really excited about the prospect of reading this book. I love villains that are well written, and this book held promise. Unfortunately, the very slow pacing kept me from enjoying the book as much as I should have, so I DNFed it. I realize that at this time I feel the need for fast paced books, but once that mood passes, I shall give this book a second try.

FOREST OF A THOUSAND LANTERNS is one of those soft, slow-burning books that doesn’t hit you in the face with action. Instead, it builds up layer by layer until you’re trapped in its beautiful, sinister world. That’s to say, it may feel slow at the start, but stick with it. It’s a villain origin story, reimagining the Evil Queen from Snow White in a world inspired by historical China. A place where the Great Forest is full of mythical demons and arcane magics.





I found that so much of the punch from this story came from the interactions between the characters and the complicated web of Xifeng’s interiority. She was compelling from the start. A poor small town girl with dreams of escaping her circumstances and rising to consequence, using the only currency she has: her wit and her beautiful face. As the insinuates herself into the emperor’s household and heart, you know she’s being cutthroat and conniving. But you also can’t help rooting for her. Because she’s clever and ambitious. She was born into rough circumstances, and in her world, being ruthless is the only way to get ahead.





It’s like watching Cersei Lannister, for you GAME OF THRONES fans. Because as much as I admired Xifeng’s single-minded determination and smarts, I could also see the cracks forming. The signs that her ambition was toeing too close to a line. For Xifeng, it’s when she begins to experiment with dark magic. She begins to lose the soft parts of herself, to reject the girl who loved Wei, a soldier from her small town, who grows increasingly desperate to stop her from slipping beyond the grasp of humanity into true evil.





I don’t want to spoil too much, but the way that Julie plays with elements of the original Snow White fairytale is wicked clever. She answers some of the questions in the tale: where did the Queen get her magical power? And what was she going to do with Snow White’s heart? Much of the tension in the plot came from my own ambivalence, as a reader, between wanting Xifeng to rise to all the power she deserved, and fearing that she was going too far to ever be saved. It’s a clever writer who can make you root for the villain.





Although this is fantasy, the magic is only one layer of the story. The larger and perhaps most interesting plot centers around Xifeng’s attempts to navigate court politics and secure her place, in a palace where everyone has secrets. She joins forces with Kang, head of the eunuchs, and probably my second favorite character. He’s just as clever and conniving as Xifeng, and the two of them together are like this unstoppable secret force. Got a secret? You can bet they’ll find it out and turn it against you. It was fun to see two people from lower circumstances tricking and one-upping all the sneering courtiers. Plus Julie has a sharp, melodic writing style that adds a fairytale loveliness to every page. Her descriptions of the scenery, clothing, and food bring the world of the Great Forest to vibrant life.





I would definitely recommend FOREST OF A THOUSAND LANTERNS to any fairy tale buff. It’s a slow start, and there are some times it droops in the middle. But it’s worth sticking with, because Xifeng is such a compelling, complex narrator, ruthless and cutthroat and clever and hopeful. Julie renders her with empathy, neither shying away from her evil deeds nor ignoring the good parts of her and the wretched circumstances that made her who she is. Julie delivers a satisfying ending, which still resonates with the promise that the story isn’t over.

What Did I Think Of Forest Of A Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao?

Forest Of A Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao is based on an interesting concept. Basically it is a retelling of The Evil Queen. So like, it's set in East Asia. There's this very beautiful girl who is a peasant. Her name is Xifeng and while she comes from humble beginnings, she has a great destiny. She is destined to be empress. Only to get there, she has to give in to her internal darkness. Talk about some inner conflict, yeah? But like, is it worth it? She has to eat literal hearts of dead people to have power. Anyways, this book is pretty decent. My attention did wander from time to time, but I'll clarify why in talking about the narration. I do think the world building is exactly on point. I wasn't invested in the romance at all. I did like the ending though. Also, I probably won't return to check out the sequel via audiobook. 

How's The Narration?

The audiobook of Forest Of A Thousand Lanterns is narrated by Kim Mai Guest. It is 13 hours and 23 minutes long. I think Guest is a fine narrator. However, for this audiobook, her reading just felt SO SLOW. Even listening at 2x. I don't know. It's just a personal quirk. My attention kept wandering and it was kind of hard for me to be invested or really care. I think that if you don't need books read in a speedy manner, you will like this audiobook much more than I did. If I do read the sequel, it will not be via audio.

Loved the Asian setting and unique magic in the novel. Did not like that all the females were working against each other, Xifeng was too annoying all the time, plot went over the top sometimes--way too gruesome, not believable, novel was not enjoyable with no connection to the evil and negative characters. Storyline at times does not flow/make sense/jumps around.

Fores of a Thousand Lanterns is a beautifully written story about an ambitious girl who gets in too deep when she plays with dark forces. Ever since she was a kid, Xifeng was told by her guardian and aunt, Guma, that she was destined to be the Empress, and so was raised accordingly. The harsh treatment and abusive childhood made her want to finally be in a position she isn't powerless anymore, and Xifeng finally sets out to meet her destiny when she has had enough. Her path to the throne is lined with her clever manipulations, her subtle subterfuge, as well as the magic running in her veins that helps keep her beauty.

Xifeng's story is that of a villian, sure, but also a relatable one. For her, she is the master of her own story, and to meet her destiny, she will take whatever steps are necessary. She grows close to the old Empress (whose second husband is the current Empress) as a means of protection from the concubine who seeks to bully her; eventually, though, she has to struggle between the daughterly feelings she has towards the Empress and her ambition. Also, Xifeng is convinced that there is a 'Fool' who is supposed to obstruct her path, leading her to paranoia over this unknown entity that will be her doom. XIfeng's tale is a tragic one, sure, and a lot of it is about how she was brought up, but the story only justifies, not excuses her actions - she still choses to do those terrible things, because she wants glory and power over a happy but simple life. Her deeds are to reach a place where she isn't under the power of someone else, and the surest way for that is for her to be Empress.

The magic in this world is not a prominent part, but it does drive the plot. While Xifeng has power in her veins, she seeks to get a power independent from that of a god or a king. The characters and their relationships was one thing that was well done in the book, though it does suffer from the tragic trope of 'women being jealous of other women for no good reason'. The pace is probably where this book suffers, too; it feels long-drawn and not that impactful when it came to certain events.

On the whole, though, I loved the author's take on the Evil Queen legend, bringing in subtle allusions to the original story while also keeping the Asian setting. Additionally, it has a wonderful narrator who brings the story alive.

This is a tough book to love. The main character is not a nice person, after all. Once readers embrace the idea that the protagonist is not a "good person," the sacrifices she makes for her ambition make sense. Dao has done a masterful job of storytelling and setting up the second book.

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is a dark and gruesome, East Asian fantasy about Xifeng, a peasant girl who has always been told that she is destined for greatness,.that she is meant to be Empress of Feng Lu. But only if she embraces the darkness within her. Its a slow-paced, dark fantasy book with a morally grey characters. It had shortcomings in a lot of aspects but still was addicting enough to finish it. I recommend this to fans of Asian settings and dark fantasy.

I haven't read any Asian inspired books until this one and I have to say that it pleasantly surprised me to read about Asian elements. This story is a retelling of the origin story for the Evil Queen in Snow White. The twist on the tale is that it’s based in a fictional Asian-like setting with magical creatures and I loved these twists a lot. Everything about the story is so enthralling and romantic, from the amazing settings to the mythology and the set of characters present in it.

This author's writing is magnificent and it had me hooked to this book right away and made it for a fast-paced read. It's palpable the author pored her heart into this one. The world-building and depth written into this story and world is astoundingly well done and she has my respect for it. Getting to know this world was a thrill, especially since the Asian elements were new to me.

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns gives spotlight to women with great ambition. It's for women who believe that they are meant for greater things and aren't afraid to go after it. Seeing this being at the forefront a bit was really awesome but sometimes I also felt like this book was a bit too feminist for my taste. I love powerful woman in books but I'm not one that has need of it being so prominently present you know? It's so 'in your face' at times and that was a bit too much I think.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I'd give it a 4-star rating. As a re-telling I really liked it seeing the twists the author added in combination with the Asian elements. The character set is quite interesting and there's a lot to say about each and every one of them. Each character was one I'd found interesting for different reasons and I liked their presence in this book. Especially the personal struggles our main characters goes through was really interesting to read about. I loved the way of writing by the author regarding this. It was dark at times, and came across as realistic I think and that made this character in particular so very human - I love those kind of characters who don't always walk in the light you know? Because no one is a saint!

it's a book I'd definitely recommend to anyone who likes retellings, who likes Asian elements or wants to get acquainted with it, to anyone who likes to read about powerful women being represented in a story and loves to have that fantasy setting with magical creatures and what not being present. I'm really curious and excited to read the next book!

I gave this book three stars because I am honestly still not entirely sure how I feel about it. I like the premise, I love the atmosphere and the highlighting of Asian culture and mythology in a story I was already familiar with. But I hated the main character, not all the characters, just Xifeng.

It is not because she is "evil", I actually loved her at the end when she was straight up owning it. However, throughout most of the story she is simpering and whiny about her lot in life and attempts to excuse everything she does as something altruistic when really every decision she makes and action she takes is to get her closer to her "destiny" as Empress. And this goes on waaaay to long. I mean <spoiler> she kills a woman, eats her heart and tells herself it is because she was distressing the current Empress who she knows she will supplant.</spoiler>

I would have much preferred Xifeng acknowledging her ambitious nature and gradually falling into darkness as she continues her quest to become Empress. The way Xifeng is written feels more like a diatribe against ambition. She never fights her "destiny", she is actively trying to achieve it while telling herself that the decisions she makes are either not her own or for the benefit of others. Even internally, she does not acknowledge her ambition until the last 50 pages or so when she has already crossed the line from "ambitious" to "evil". There was no reason she needed to feel like a bad person for the early decisions which led her to the palace. <spoiler>There is no reason for someone to feel guilty for choosing security or power over love, if that is what is more important to you. Regret for what you are losing, fine, remorse for what you are putting the other party through, understandable, but guilt? If that is the choice you are willing to make, fully understanding the consequences, then own it - do not act like a damsel in distress when at no point do you truly want to be saved.</spoiler>

I did not mean for that to get so heated. There are many fantastic aspects of this book. While it is not really a go-to recommendation for me, I am not going to avoid recommending it either, especially with people who I will have the opportunity to discuss the main character with once they are done reading.

I give the book four stars. I would recommend this book to anyone. I really enjoyed the story because it is so different from other stories in the YA genre. I look forward to reading more books from this author.

It's a widely known fact that I adore my bad guys. I love the villains, the antiheroes, the morally gray characters and the villain protagonists. Villain backstories are my drug, and I'll never get tired of a good villain origin tale and the journey and making of an antagonist. So naturally, I've been dying to read Forest of a Thousand Lanterns. The backstory of the evil queen of Snow White, and with a Chinese twist? If Xifeng was destined to be empress, I was destined to love the book! And I totally did.

Xifeng was born to be empress. Beautiful, ambitious, clever and ruthless in her goals, she strives to reach the heights that is written for her, and isn't hesitant to face any and all obstacles that stand in her way. Getting away from her abusive Guma's grip and running away with her lover Wei to the Imperial City is just the beginning. When she manages to get inside the palace, she makes both allies and enemies, discovers her full potential and manifests into the empress she was destined to be, while embracing the darkness that ensures that the fairest of them all would rule them all.

Often villain backstories fail in their motive when they end up producing a sympathetic flashback. The making of the villain is founded by excuses, vulnerabilities, fate and unfortunate circumstances. I rarely come across stories where the MC owns their villainy, accepts their nefariousness and is perfectly fine with being who they are. Forest of a Thousand Lanterns gives us a villain protagonist who doesn't shy away from anything. In Xifeng I saw the creation of the perfect villain. One who knows that she's trudging in the path of evil, who is well aware that she has turned her back on morality, and yet marches on to achieve greatness in the way she sees fit, unapologetic, and I loved her for it.

The infusion of Chinese mythology into the classic world of Snow White was brilliant. I always love it when retellings are given a diverse twist, and the world building of the book was just amazing. The story was rich in culture as it was in plot and characters, and I adored every moment of it.

I guess I've told enough about how much I love Xifeng, but guys, she's just everything I wanted from a villain protagonist. Her character portrayal was tremendous, and you'll never know whether to love or hate her. She'll make you invested in her journey, and would seduce you into cheering for her in a twisted way, that by the time you are done with the story, you would realise just how masterful Julie's creation is.

I just want to push this book on ALL OF YOU. It's a must read, and one of my favourite reads of 2017, and def one of my all time favs. I'd recommend it to any fantasy fans, especially to lovers of retellings and those who love their villains, just as yours truly do, and I assure you, Forest of a Thousand Lanterns will not disappoint you.

I love a good retelling, and I love stories with an Asian flair. And I really wanted to love this, but I just couldn't. The writing was clean, the storytelling was decent, and there were some characters I liked. But I couldn't like the main character, could not find an drop of sympathy for her, could not stand how she treated others and justified it. Which is sad, because I think Dao could write a story with a character that would be worth reading--but this is not it.

Thank you to netgalley and Penguin for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Content warnings: violence, abuse, mentions of sexual abuse, animal abuse, gore, murder

Xifeng has been told from birth that she will become incredibly powerful. All she wants is to fulfil her destiny but she struggles with the knowledge that to do so she must accept the evil growing within. She doesn't wish to lose her first love but she knows that to become the Empress she knows she can be she may have to sacrifice people near and dear to her.

This book was one of my most anticipated reads of 2017 and whilst I read it in 2018 (we all know I'm a mess) it is one of the most interesting fantasy books I've read this year. An origin story of the evil queen in Sleeping Beauty, set in a high fantasy world inspired by dynastic China, sign me the heck up!

Xifeng is one of the most enthralling characters I've ever read. The gradual change from her being a kind, caring girl to an evil empress was one of the most entertaining reads I've experienced this year. I'm so excited to read the sequel from another person's perspective knowing she's going to be an absolute monster. When you read fantasy novels you can read a fair amount of unconvincing villains and it can get tiring, so reading an origin story from the POV of the villain who is multifaceted was a bit of breath of fresh air.

There was one thing I struggled with in my read of this novel and that was the pacing. The beginning moved a bit too slow, the middle was just the right pace and then suddenly the ending was a 2-year time jump. Honestly, it was a bit much and a bit confusing. The time jump was very jarring, as I was reading it and could see that there weren't many pages left and didn't know what was going to happen. Suddenly its 2 years later, everything is different and I don't know what's happening. Had the ending not happened that way and maybe the book had been a little bit longer to bridge that gap this would have been one of my faves of the year.

I really loved the whole cast of characters, there were many differing personalities and whilst there were a couple characters that were a bit interchangeable in my head, for the most part, they all held their own in the novel and felt necessary for the development of the story.

I wasn't really convinced by the relationship between Xifeng and Wei, but I do think this was intentional on the author's part. I feel like we are supposed to see the cracks and understand how their relationship falls apart.

There were proofs of the sequel to this book at YALC and I had no idea and I'm so angry because I just really need the sequel!

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is a compelling story that revolved around love, beauty, destiny, and darkness.
Tell you what, I am not familiar with the origin of the Evil Queen, I don’t even have any idea what her story is. Anyway, that’s the reason why I decided to join a blog tour for A Forest of Thousand Lanterns hosted by a co-Filipina, besides the fact that the novel has such a promising blurb.
The pacing. I honestly find it slow at the beginning up until the middle part, it was rather uneventful, but it went good enough afterwards.
For the world-building, hands down, Julie! Very well done. I loved the fables, the lore and legends, myths that were involved, stories that were told. Everything. The setting made me feel like I am familiar with its culture and tradition. Julie made it easy for her reader to be pulled in the world she created.
The novel also gave a voice to women and girls. Julie made it certain that the reader will have it figured out that women can make choices of their own, fight for themselves, be strong enough and lift herself up. Empress Lihua, Guma, Lady Sun, especially Xifeng, are strong in many different ways. As for Xifeng, I’m kind of in a love/hate relationship with her character. I disliked her arrogance and vanity, but I liked her determination and bravery. She struggled with the inner turmoil between her good and evil side, and I pity her for that. Her internal conflicts were written very well. I admire her for being courageous enough to do everything just to reach the top. And though knowing that this is a retelling of the Evil Queen, I somehow hoped for a different ending. I wanted something changed. But despite the fact that the antiheroine had been selfish, I want more stories like this. Girls who know what they want and won’t stop at anything to get it, women who put themselves first.
The plot. Obviously, this was a character-driven novel, and everything became exciting when Xifeng happened to take an action to pursue her said destiny. I’ll admit the heart-eating parts kind of creeped me out, but I find it brutally satisfying and it reminded me of Regina from Once Upon a Time series. (Though she collects the blood, not eat them.) Twists and turns were present, but I did predict some, and some almost literally blew my mind.
Overall, Forest of a Thousand Lanterns, I must say, is the kind of debut novel & retelling, that one wouldn’t want to miss. 4/5 stars for this beauty!
I liked Julie C. Dao’s writing style and I hope to read more of her novel.

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is the evil queen retelling I never knew I needed! The story follows Xifeng, an extremely beautiful girl from a poor village in Feng Lu. She may be poor, but her fate holds power: she is to be the Empress of all Feng Lu.

Now let's take a quick look at the things I liked:

 The world building. The danger with fantasy books is how the author will present the world; how do you familiarise the reader with a whole new system and ways of living? Authors take note from Mrs Dao, because she did it perfectly. It was not info dump-y at all; on the contrary you learned about the world gradually alongside the heroine. This made me appreciate and understand the magic as well as the political system of this new world.

 The descriptions. Her writing style is not exactly THE best, but she sure does descriptions so well. I felt like I was literally seeing in front of me all the things she described, it was so vivid and clear: the Great Forest, the tapestries, the palace, the characters.

 Xifeng. You know a villain is done well, when you can't help yourself from rooting for them, and that's exactly what happened to me with Xifeng. I know who she will be, I know she is selfish and manipulative but there were times in the book that I couldn't help myself from wanting her to get the throne and succeed in her scheming. Here is a quote that perfectly describes her:

."..the path she preferred would always place her own happiness"
 The political scheming. There was so much plotting in this palace I couldn't keep track. If you know me, you know I love a good political fantasy, so it is a given really I like this part of the story.

 The east asian inspired elements. !!!!!! This is an own voices novel and it shows. I loved learning little things about clothing or food or even the general way of living. Definitely one of my favourite aspects of the novel! FOATL made me crave more asian inspired fantasies!

Things I disliked:

 There's not much I did not like, apart from the fact that it did not hold my interest equally throughout the story. What do I mean: in the beginning I was ALL in (even though most people say this has a slow start). Then around 40% I started losing a little interest, then it became awesome again. The ending was a little anti-climactic and lacked that BOOM factor, but I understand that it couldn't have happened any other way since there will be a sequel (THANK GOD).

General Thoughts: Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is a dark retelling of Snow White's Evil Queen. We follow Xifeng as she leaves behind the good parts of herself and fully embraces evil. Warning: you will find yourself rooting for her but don't be alarmed.

Trigger Warning: abuse, gore.

*I received this e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review. All opinions are my own.

First things first: this review is long overdue. I received a digital copy of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns on the day of its release, and then had a lot of technical issues with the e-reader, which often ended with me having a migraine. Still, I think this book is worth the effort.

One of the things I loved most was the world-building. This world was both lush and gritty, full of wonders and yet it's also riddled with the same issues we face in real life: hunger, war, strife. I thought the prose was wonderful, too. I love how the author wove magic and mysticism into the most mundane details. I also enjoyed how morally gray the characters were. Given, this was an evil queen re-imagining, I really thought the author did a great job in building Xi Feng's character, as well as the rest of the cast. This book reminds me of Renee Ahdieh's Flame in the Mist, which I enjoyed thoroughly.

A lovely 4 stars for this wonderful debut. :)