GIRLS OF PAPER AND FIRE - Natasha Ngan
Jimmy Patterson Imprint from Little Brown & Company
ISBN: 978-0-3165-6136-5 - Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-3165-6138-9 - Ebook
ASIN: B079RCLL3D
November, 2018
Fantasy

In the world of Ikhara, there are three castes of humanity. Those in the Paper Caste are purely human. The Moon Caste members are demons – human but with strong animal characteristics and appearance. The Steel Caste is a blend of the Paper and Moon Castes. They have some animal characteristics, but are predominately human. Every year members of the court of the Demon King select eight girls from the Paper Caste to serve the king as courtesans for one year. The king takes care of the girls and their families during and after their service, but many of the girls become courtesans for the court at large.

General Tu raids an herb store in Xienzo. Those inside the store are afraid. A raid seven years ago grabbed the wife of the shop's owner, and no one has heard from her since. Tu had learned of a girl with gold eyes, rare eyes believed to bring good luck. He grabs the unwilling 17-year old Lei, daughter of the shop owner, threatening her with retribution against her father and Tien, a Steel Caste person but now part of Lei's family, if she doesn’t come with him. The unscrupulous Tu (a characteristic, in general, of all the court inhabitants) has Lei’s dog killed by sword blade in front of her to reinforce his threats. On the trip to Hidden Palace, where the magic of shamans keeps out invaders, Lei discovers she is actually the ninth Paper Girl. Tu wants her to win him back the approval of the King.

Lei has an unwilling and long road to learn the intricacies of behavior within the court, and another long journey to discover herself. She trips and falls many times. Her friends are the other Paper Girls, often contentious ones, but they share the same home and duty. Lei becomes particular friends with two of the other Paper Girls, Aoka and Wren, each traveling in opposite directions. For the others, she always tries to show support and sympathy even when it is rejected. Worse, rebels and plague haunt the king and court, making all situations dangerous and tenuous in a court filled with intrigue.

A flavor of Asia fills this story. The palace and the multitude of characters are described, as is the scenery, in lush, evocative wording. Lei is an interesting character and tells her story in first person which helps involve the reader. Knotted and twisted situations control a court filled with demands for loyalty and denizens suspected to be disloyal. Seemingly all under the control of a demanding, devious, and maniacally self-serving king. There are a few minor hitches, but readers will overall enjoy this suspenseful and emotional story.

Ah! So good! I finished this book in mere days because it was such a page turner!

When Lei is chosen as a concubine for the King, she is ripped away from her home and relocated to live with several other 'Paper Girls' who become property of the King. Despite having her agency stripped from her, Lei falls in love with another Paper Girl, who gives her the strength to fight back! I loved that this novel focuses on a LGBT romance, and that the oppressed women stripped of their agency are responsible for the uprising against the King. Can't wait to read the next one!

I absolutely adored this book. The characters were heartbreaking and amazing at the same time. Between the kidnapping over her mother and the assault of the king, the main character is an incredibly strong and distinct character.

Overall the characterization was really well done with characters being well rounded and likable or not. It was a story of heartbreak and love and rebellion which was exactly what I wanted.

The preview for this story seemed like it had it all; fantasy, mystery, romance, action, and suspense; and it did. On the down side: it had everything.
The Girls of Paper and Fire started out promising, with a quick look at this fantastical world and the normal life that our heroine, Lei, was about to be torn from. The world building was quite good with a short history of where the castes came from and where everyone stands in the large scheme of things. Each setting is filled with details and can often be easily pictured by the reader.
The story’s action scenes were well put together and fast paced. I felt that these were the best parts of the novel and were too far between. These scenes were the actual action of the novel. Other parts of the book seemed to drag on to the next point of action where we could get moving again. The romance was highly drawn out and I felt took away from the forward movement of the story. It was a good romance that pushed the boundaries of social norms and would be highly welcomed if this were a romance novel instead of being promoted as fantasy. The fantasy itself, was highly lacking. There was mention of magic in the kingdom and we hear of the shamans throughout the temple, yet their magic is almost a side note in the story. The most fantasy that we see is the appearance of the Steel and Demon classes.
The characters throughout the novel are highly flat. Lei and Wren are the only characters that get much detail and even Wren is lacking. Most of the other characters are given a couple of details but are mostly stereotyped: Aoki is the sweet, nice one, Blue is the Mean one, Kenzo is the hardened warrior, etc.
I also found that the villain, the king, was highly underdone. He is supposed to be a tyrannical king with a mean temper and suspicious behaviors yet this is barely touched upon. In most of his scenes, he is portrayed as humorous and playful. His first night with Lei he shows some interest and thought at first. Even though he does bad things, they are often quick and far between while Lei and Wren’s relationship overpowers them.
I did enjoy the novel as a whole and had interest though the end, but, in this form, I would not recommend it to my readers. It needed more development in both the characters and storyline to make it strong enough for the shelves.

Natasha Ngan weaves a gorgeous, heart-wrenching queer fantasy in Girls of Paper and Fire. I fell in love not only with the protagonist Lei and her cohort, but with her sensual, many colored world and its many mysteries. This is a dark, difficult read that also radiates light. Themes of sexual abuse thread throughout the novel, forming a core of the narrative, which readers should absolutely be aware of. However, if you are able to read this, I absolutely recommend it. The writing sparkles intoxicatingly, and the unexpected queer love story made my heart grow several sizes. I have never read a book quite like this one.

I appreciated the setting, a fantasy Asia of the past, and the diverse characters. Not only are there issues of class and race, the main narrative is an lgbt love story. For that, I'd recommend it but, for hardcore fantasy lovers that want rich and supple world building, I'd pass.