Possibly one of THE BEST reads I've really enjoyed for the year. She Who Became the Sun is a really heavy plotted story about war, defying your fate, and doing whatever it takes to achieve your goals.

The story starts at a small village of Zhongli, where we meet Zhu Chongba and his sister, who plays a very important role throughout the rest of the story. From the tragedy that befalls her family, to her journey of being a monk and later being a part of a great war. This is a story of how a young girl that's determined to not only survive but change her fate.

I absolutely love how Shelly Parker-Chan was able to make this rich history-filled book and spun it into a nicely paced story filled with characters that are driven by their own desires and goals. It's really interesting because the last that I've been extremely hooked to a war themed novel was The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang, and the Song of Achilles, and this book is like that perfect marriage of love and loss, as well as the great narrative of a historical epic.

Shelley Parker created this wholely underdog and quick on her feet kind of protagonist and what made her stand out for me personally, is the fact that she had no name, and took on the identity of her brother who was destined for greatness, but claimed that destiny for her own.

I do feel like this book could've been a ton more gripping had it been focused on the two main characters that drive the overall plot. Which is Zhu and General Ouyang, I do get why the other characters were important, but they also somehow slowed down the pace for me in the 2nd part of the story.

What I also love about this book is that while Zhu and Ouyang are on the different sides of the ongoing war, I love how the author was able to really give them very distinct personalities at the same time this semblance of being similar with not just the struggle of their gender identity, but also how they are constantly trying to achieve their goals no matter the outcome it would do to others. In a sense, it has that morally grey area, but you also can't help but still cheer for them as well.

Overall, I am really highly recommending this book for those who are into historical fantasy, and also adult fantasy since there are some trigger warnings here and there in the book. She Who Became the Sun is definitely a worthy read if you're into character-driven plots as well. Really was blown away with this book. I like how flawed the characters are, and that they equally show both the good and the bad in their choices, and there was a ton of brutality in between the plot (but it is a war-ear story). Give this book a try, and I'd like to thank NetGalley and Tor Books for giving me an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

She Who Became the Sun is a dark and unforgiving story, about characters who will do whatever it takes to achieve their goals.

We follow Zhu Chongba and his nameless sister in a famine-stricken village in the year 1345. Both have been given their fate; Zhu Chongba is destined for greatness, and the girl is fated to become nothing. When bandits attack their house they are orphaned, and Zhu Chongba dies from grief.
His sister, not yet ready to die, decides to take her brother’s name and steal his destiny. She travels to a nearby monastery where she pretends to be Zhu Chongba to become a novice. When the monastery burns down, Zhu will do whatever is needed to survive and to become great.

She Who Became the Sun is a dense, slow-paced tale of destiny, gender, war and strategy, with powerful and evocative writing. The author expertly manages to balance the tension, dialogue and narrative, blending fiction and history in one powerful tale. This is a truly ambitious story, and I’m simply in awe how well Parker-Chan pulled this off.

I loved this book. It’s a story filled to the brim with antiheroes and strategic and political maneuverings. The characters were the main highlight for me. They are complex and real, which made their chapters a delight to read.
Zhu, the first of the two main characters, is cunning, resilient and full of desire. However, she’s also a very easy character to love. She thinks quickly on her feet, cares about her friends and can be quite cheeky. You can’t help but admire her ambition and her brilliance, even when her actions aren't moral (at all).

The other main character is Ouyang, the general of the Mongolian army. He is the last scion of a noble family, who was massacred by the Mongolians after which he was made castrated and enslaved. He has formed an unlikely friendship with the heir to the Mongol Throne, who sends Ouyang to Zhu’s monastery to burn it down after the monks refuse to support them. When Zhu sees Ouyang, she knows he is connected to her destiny.

Both of them are on opposite sides of the war, but you can’t help but rooting for both of them. They share many similarities; both are driven to prove themselves, are leaders burdened with great destinies and both have a complex relationship with being (seen as) a man in a deeply misogynistic world. Their chapters showed different aspects of the growing conflicts, and overal they were a great foil for one another.

This book is the first part of a duology, but would also work well enough as a standalone (though you’ll crave for more once you finish the story!). She Who Became the Sun is an excellent debut which will be loved by fans of The Poppy War trilogy, or people who like stories of unglorified wars, the rise to power and betrayal.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Anyone familiar with Chinese dramas will tell you there is little out there as epic in scope or drama as a based in reality retelling of Chinese history. Add to that a genderswapped protagonist with a hidden identity, a love story, and a dash of magic and you have an epic historical fantasy in every sense of the word.

She Who Became The Sun is a fantasy retelling of the founding of the Ming Dynasty – with one major twist. In this version, Zhu Chongba, the monk who would rise to Emperor, was born a woman. In the year 1345 a famine has taken it’s toll on the small village where two children – a brother and a sister – are barely managing to survive. Given two vastly different fates, the children’s lives should unfold as foretold. The brother, Zhu Chongba, born to a fate of greatness will rise above the famine and the sister will meet her fate – nothing. When bandits attack the village and their father is killed, Zhu Chongba despairs and gives up on his life. Seizing the chance to survive, the girl takes her brother’s identity – and his fate. She may not have been born with a fate for greatness, but her burning desire to live will reshape her and the Empire itself.

Easily the most hyped Tor Books release of the year, She Who Became The Sun does not disappoint. It’s hard to believe this is a debut novel. Writing an epic of this scope would be audacious from a seasoned novelist, but Parker-Chan more than stands up to the task. With intimate character writing she unfolds a meditation on desire and identity that also manages to be a love story, a historical epic, and a war saga.

The true heart of what makes the novel great is the character writing. Many of the characters are morally questionable and have major flaws, but are written compassionately. Throughout the course of the story, Zhu Chongba’s fierce desire to live slowly transforms into a passion to seize greatness by any means. This leads Zhu to commit increasingly morally grey and then outright horrifying acts. Despite this, Zhu is no less sympathetic of a character or less strong a protagonist. She desires and in desiring creates possibilities where there shouldn’t be any. Parker-Chan’s magic keeps the characters relatable so that you still root for them even when they’re doing awful things.

While Zhu Chongba is the focal point of the tale and the first part of the novel is exclusively in her point of view, in the second part Parker-Chan introduces multiple points of view. To be honest, this transition is the weakest part of the novel. While ultimately the new view points do strengthen the story, some character point of views still felt out of place in the narrative. In my opinion, it would have been better had they been limited to only Zhu Chongba and her foil in the Mongol army – the eunuch General Ouyang.

Zhu and Ouyang have a curiously intertwined fate throughout the novel. They each serve as turning points for the other multiple times throughout the story. As the novel points out, like calls to like. However, the key difference is that Zhu Chongba chose her fate and her desire for greatness is what drives her while General Ouyang is driven by revenge and a fate that he sees himself shackled to. While both inhabit non-gender conforming bodies in a society that views gender in a very strict binary, Chongba and Ouyang’s desires and motivations make their experiences distinctly unique. Parker-Chan contrasts their storylines to explore personal identity and gender but also as a way to examine the central theme of the novel – whether personal choices can change your fate and if choosing greatness for yourself is worth the cost.

In it’s long unfolding She Who Became The Sun is a book that makes you take your time and savor it. As ambitious and clever as it’s protagonist, this novel should be at the top of every historical fantasy reader’s TBR. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

My air conditioning is broken and it is literally above 80 degrees in here right now and the last line of this G-dd-mn book STILL gave me chills.

This book is...incandescently amazing.

A sweeping epoch of a novel that also manages to foster an intensely personal reader-to-character connection. Everything, I mean EVERYTHING was so mind-blowingly good, from the characters who I ached for and was shocked by and who I enjoyed hating only to pivot into pity if not sympathy. to the truly cinematic quality of the writing and visuals, to the endless layers of play with archetypes that you could spend months unraveling... It would not surprise me AT ALL if this book ends up being taught about in college literature courses, and those would be some lucky students because this book is SUMPTUOUS.

But not only all that, but to have all that AND have the main relationship be between a woman and a person who was AFAB? (I kind of feel like just saying f/f oversimplifies Zhu's relationship to gender, but even the way THAT was explored was just... I didn't know we were allowed to HAVE this kind of book).

Long story short, folx, the hype is REAL with this one.

I would’ve liked this better if it had stayed more tightly focused on Zhu’s POV. Once it started branching out, especially to Esen & Ouyang, I got bored. I can appreciate Ouyang as a foil to Zhu, but still, those POVs did not captivate me. As such while I read the first half of the book quickly, the second half was a bit of a slog.

When I say you need this book, you need this book!!

I have so...many...notes; there were so many quotes to highlight! Sometimes, I had to stop myself from highlighting whole pages, but Chan's writing style is transportive and immersive that I could not help myself!

I love books that deeply study their characters, such as The Poppy War, Pachinko, and Little Fires Everywhere. I definitely have added SWBTS onto this list. Readers just about dive straight into Zhu Chongba's head, and her pure desire to make something more out of herself and the straws of fate she was thrown. She literally convinced herself to become someone else in order to claim the greatness she wanted and believed she deserved. It was fascinating how Chan investigated how this desire changed Zhu—who is she? How does she view herself, and how do others perceive her?

Although war is always in the background, there is still so much empathy in this story. And I found that it appears when it is least expected. For example, Ma Xiuying. She balanced the scales, but her empathy and her intense feeling was never a weakness, no matter what others around her told her.

But it was through General Ouyang that I discovered the strength of Chan's writing style. They are somehow able to maintain a narrator's distance with all of the characters, but still get intimately close with them and the most vulnerable parts of themselves, often their histories. I am in awe of how Chan gently reveals their characters' hidden pieces while maintaining a firm sense of humanity in an epic reconsideration of history (transition from Mongol Yuan dynasty to the Chinese Ming) and exploring gender identity, sexuality, and building who you want to be from the ground up.

And a few other notes: genderqueer characters! queer relationships! history! epicness! the scariest but also the most spellbinding characters!

If you enjoyed The Poppy War, definitely keep your eye on She Who Became the Sun! (coincidentally these two books have the same cover artist, @jungshanink!)

Conclusion: Highly recommend! Of course, please be aware of the content warnings as there are graphic depictions of violence, consistent misgendering, and the like throughout the book.

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan is the first book in the Radiant Emperor series. Since I try not to remember blurbs, I did not realise until partway through that it was based on a historical person. This does mean that Wiki can tell you where the story is going, but this isn't much of a spoiler since the journey is very open to interpretation, as Parker-Chan shows us.

She’ll change the world to survive her fate . . .

In Mongol-occupied imperial China, a peasant girl refuses her fate of an early death. Stealing her dead brother’s identity to survive, she rises from monk to soldier, then to rebel commander. Zhu’s pursuing the destiny her brother somehow failed to attain: greatness. But all the while, she feels Heaven is watching.

Can anyone fool Heaven indefinitely, escaping what’s written in the stars? Or can Zhu claim her own future, burn all the rules and rise as high as she can dream?

I enjoyed this book a lot. Set shortly before the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, it follows a peasant girl, Zhu, who grew up in a famine and extreme poverty. Her sheer determination to survive and not have an insignificant "nothing" destiny, sees her take on her brother's identity and join a monastery. Unlike many stories with the girl-dresses-as-boy trope, it does not involve a romance with her best monk friend but rather takes a more complicated and queer direction. I really enjoyed reading about Zhu and I appreciated the lengths she was willing to go to for her goal/dream/destiny.

The other protagonist is a eunuch general on the Yuan side (as opposed to the people who are sick of being ruled over by the Yuan, which is the side Zhu is on). He is bitter and vengeful against the Yuan but in an interesting position, since he genuinely likes the Prince he serves. He and Zhu have a few run-ins, which were quite dramatic, despite the fact that they both want similar things. I didn't enjoy his point of view sections as much, especially in the first part of the book, but they got more interesting as we learnt more about him and as events progressed. In any case, he was a good foil for Zhu.

I highly recommend this book to people who enjoy historic fantasy, especially people looking for books set in Asia. She Who Became the Sun did not end on a cliffhanger, but did leave the story unfinished, so I am very much looking forward to reading the next book, when it comes out.

5 / 5 stars

First published: July 2021, Tor Books
Series: The Radiant Emperor book 1 of ?
Format read: eARC
Source: Publisher via Netgalley

I can't wait to reread this book via audiobook- I think the writing style and story lend themselves so perfectly to being read-aloud. In fact, I was so desperate to hear the words out loud that I used the "text-to-speech" option on my ebook app, and I can honestly say it heightened my reading experience! However, I did feel my attention and interest dragging in some parts of the story. I was more invested in Zhu's perspective/storyline than any of the others, and found myself getting confused during the more military-heavy parts. I think the characterization of each major character was done well, but I almost wanted even more from them regardless! I also wanted more exploration of the ghosts, and of the lore surrounding the Prince of Radiance- I found those aspects of the story SO interesting. I'm hoping the sequel (it seems like there will be one, right?) goes more in to depth about these things, and I'm very intrigued to see how Zhu handles her newfound power in tandem with her relationships. Beautiful writing, fascinating characters, and a great sapphic romance!

For those of us enamored in our youth by the tension between the soldier Mulan and Shang Li, She Who Became the Sun is an epic journey through Mongol-led China as a young girl prophesied to amount to nothing grows up to be something great.

When she was eight, Zhu lost everything: her father, her brother, and, when it was foretold that she would amount to nothing, she lost her chance at a future. Taking her fate into her own hands, Zhu buries her brother but keeps his name. With survival the only thing on her mind, Zhu disguises herself as her brother and gains admittance to the monastery, studying for ten years under the monks. When the Mongols invade, Zhu is forced to flee to conceal her true identity and wound up claiming a different fate. At the monastery, Zhu became a survivor. But with a sword at her side, Zhu became greatness personified.

There are a lot of reasons to love She Who Became the Sun, and not just because it’s the adult version of Mulan that I’ve been waiting for. First off: the writing. I was instantly pulled into Shelley Parker-Chan’s storytelling. They crafted such an epic, vivid story. The scenes were so easy to paint in my mind, I could see Zhu and Ouyang, life in the monastery and life on the battlefield, as well as if I was watching it on a screen. Parker-Chan crafts details as if they lived through these trials in 14th century China and experienced the battles firsthand. The plot itself is so thoroughly engrossing, yet there’s a lot more to She Who Became the Sun. I definitely need to dedicate part of this review to the characters. I honestly can’t think of another story (that I’ve heard of, at least) that features such sexually dynamic characters. For the most vital parts of her life, Zhu had been masquerading as a boy; her very survival in the monastery depended on it. And it was such a pivotal moment when Zhu realized that she could no longer just pretend to be her long-dead brother - she actually had to mentally think of herself as him. I also loved Ouyang; just on the other side of enemy lines is the eunuch general who is such a fantastic foil for Zhu. The two characters, the two perspectives, wove such an epic tale. I was so anxious for when Zhu and Ouyang would meet face to face, and Parker-Chan did not disappoint. And deeper than their outward struggles, I loved how both Ouyang and Zhu had to spend their formative years struggling with their genderfluidity. Those personal journeys were so poignant, especially set in 14th century China where I 1) don’t see a lot of current fiction being set, and 2) definitely don’t see stories starring genderfluid characters.

She Who Became the Sun is so well done. I cared about the plot and the characters, and both swept me away in a vibrant tale of love, personal hardships, and bravery. This book is perfect for readers who love progressive characters set against an epic backdrop of love and war.

Shelley Parker-Chan’s novel is ambitious, grand, and full of characters that truly make the story unique.

She Who Became the Sun is a beautiful, lyrical story about a young girl determined to change her fate, thus embarking on a quest which effects the lives of all those she meets. While this was pitched as Mulan meets Song of Achilles, I argue that this is perfect for fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender. While the setting is of course similar, the relationships between the characters - both those considered to be “heroes” and “villains” is deeply intertwined with the ideas of fate and honour.

I was able to easily lose myself in the Parker-Chan’s writing style, even when some of the more concrete elements became confusing. As someone who does not read much high fantasy, the similar names of characters and locations had me flipping back to make sure I was following the story. Even some of the more significant plot points had me questioning whether or not this was supposed to be a twist, or if I had merely missed something along the way. The dialogue is one of the strong points in the novel as it builds on the omniscient narration, but also further serves to distinguish the main characters and reflect their background and class.

However, one element that I found hindered the overall novel was its lack of perspective in the first three-quarters of the story. With the marketing team assigning such strong comparisons to other famous stories, I expected there to be significant queer overtones immediately. It is only later on in the novel once Zhu begins to understand the fluidity of fate that she begins to question who she really is and how she wants to live her life moving forward. The gender dysphoria seen mainly in the conjugal scene with Ma is powerful, but I was looking for this kind of commentary earlier on. The world that Zhu and the cast inhabits is realistic in the sense of assigning gender roles and the patriarchal ways. In having this be a fantasy novel, I expected the author to show some leeway and build a society different from our own. Because of this I would argue that the novel borders more on historical fiction with only a glimpse of magic.

The ending clearly outlines what will be tackled as the series progresses, and with large events taking place towards the end, I am eager to learn the downfall of these actions. I would even say I am anxious for these characters, having grown so much, but trust that Parker-Chan will conclude her story with dynamism and pride.

4.3 stars! thank you to the publisher for the arc! this story was by no means an exhilarating, fast-paced adventure with shocking plot twists and punches of emotional volatility, but more along the lines of a gradual, continuous building of tension and desire for greatness that could lead to no other outcome but this one: that those who desire the most shining future will have suffering as its heart.

this was an epic, gritty novel that served me eloquent bouts of gender dysmorphia, found family, and the alarming yet familiar recognition of meeting somebody that's of the same creature you are. the prose was heartbreaking in its simple delivery and the characters were distinct and powerful in their desires. what a evocative, haunting read.

i would caution against going into this jaded, tormented world with expectations of the poppy war series in mind because if you do, you will sorely be disappointed. the two do not compare at all — each has its own strengths, own aesthetics that firmly craft the world you delve into, so don't do this book an injustice by placing another book's expectations upon it. i've seen some people do that, which is a mistake to make; you're just deriving yourself of a raw, potent reading experience that punches in the gut and makes you lose your mind (in the best way, of course). she who became the sun is at its core: burning. it is the searing burn of heaven's eyes upon your neck, the panicked burn in your chest at seeing the greatness and nothingness of your fate, and the overwhelming burn of barely held back tears in your eyes as you watch your loved ones suffer in agony yet knowing you won't do anything to stop it because you're the cause of their suffering in the first place.

and with that ominous note, have fun reading this book! (make sure to check the trigger warnings!)

TL;DR: She Who Became the Sun is an amazing work of historical fantasy reminiscent of Mulan crossed with A Song of Ice and Fire. In it, young girl assumes the identity of her dead brother, who had been promised a great future by a fortune teller; we follow her rise through the political landscape of 14th-century China. It's out July 20th, so make sure to preorder it now or pick it up on Tuesday - you won't regret it!
Thanks to Tor Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.
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When I was about a third the way through "She Who Became the Sun" by Shelley Parker-Chan, I went to preorder it for my best friend. It's not just because her name is also, coincidentally, Shelley Chan -- but also because I knew I was reading something truly special and beyond magnificent.
Sun is the story of a little girl living with her father and brother during a famine. A fortune teller tells her brother that he has greatness in his future -- but when both men die, leaving her completely alone, she takes on her brother's name and identity and seek to take his fate for herself. She leaves her home to enroll in a monastery, and thus begins the story of Zhu's pursuit of greatness as she learns just how large -- and cruel -- the world is.
I was utterly riveted by this book and Zhu's arc. I love her ambition and resilience, her sheer determination to survive and succeed, even as we watch her understand just to what lengths she'll go to achieve it. I love the politics brewing throughout the story and seeing characters learn to navigate those treacherous waters (hence the call out to ASoIaF, though this book is about a hundred times better). I loved the "magic" in this book, which was focused on three interconnected things: ghosts/ancestors; the Mandate of Heaven as a physical manifestation; and the ideas of Heaven and fate. [[They are fantastical not as creations - the Mandate of Heaven (天命/Tiānmìng), for example, was used in ancient and imperial China to dictate the right to rule, loosely similar to the Divine Right of Kings in Europe -- but by their manifestation to (some of) the characters.]] I could feel the weight of Zhu's future pressing against her so heavily throughout the book. Most of all, I love how unapologetically queer this book is, how deeply it explores love and sex and gender just by letting us live in the characters' heads and see their relationships through their eyes.
If you're looking for a work of fantasy that's about someone learning to use their magic, this ain't it - there's no magic school, no focus on harnessing supernatural abilities in the way of many popular fantasy books. But this book is about taking control over one's own destiny, and Parker-Chan makes it clear that this is a power that's more dangerous and difficult to wield than any spell could be.
I can't recommend this book enough for readers who love historical fantasy, excellent queer rep, badass women, and people fighting their fates.

From the first chapter on, Shelley Parker-Chan has me hooked, as their words ensnare my heart, grip my soul in a vise, and keep me enthralled while I read on, breathless. It has been a good long while since a story devoured me like this. I started recommending this book ahead of publication to everyone I talked to, every co-worker and customer in my bookstore, every friend with even a passing interest in reading, while I was still only a couple of chapters in. I made sure we placed an order for more copies than we usually order for a new title from a debut author. Because if this is what they can do with their first novel, I am absolutely certain Shelley Parker-Chan is one of the new greats of SFF.

Getting to follow a character who starts out as a girl with no future, discarded and discounted by everyone because of her gender, disadvantaged by being born into strife, and then seeing her "steal" the Great Fate of a brother who despite all of the privileges granted to him chooses to just give up when tragedy strikes, is cathartic in ways I can not properly explain. The beginning of the story tells us everything about our main character's strength: she refuses to be nothing. She refuses to be ignored by fate. She has so much to offer the world, and she will make sure the world trembles as she walks its war-torn soil.

She Who Became the Sun has been marketed as Mulan meets Madeleine Miller’s celebrated tragedy The Song of Achilles, and I do agree with that description. However, this is a story that stands on its own, unique in concept and brilliant in its execution, and it absolutely does not suffer from the comparison to other great literary works. This queer take on real world history—specifically the rise of the Ming Dynasty and its first Emperor—obviously stands on a solid foundation of knowledge of 14th century China, but it is not so bound by its relation to historical events as to not do its own thing.

The way this novel integrates different ideas about gender, sexuality, masculinity as a concept, identity… it is truly amazing, and something I have not seen handled this well in a novel in what feels like ages. In fact, I can’t think of anything that I have read that comes close to this. The nuance, the depth of how these elements are intertwined with the story and the growth that the characters go through is staggering. It is just so well done.

The characters are engaging, and they feel so real. They are flawed, they evolve in ways that feel natural to who they are, and I never felt that they were "made to do things" in service of furthering the plot—their actions made sense. Add to that Parker-Chan's prose, which is poetic yet brutally real in ways that make my heart break, and this novel is an absolute success from start to finish, gracefully running laps around its competition.

You would do well to keep an eye on Shelley Parker-Chan—they, like their main character, have greatness in their future, and the SFF world will certainly quake as they rise as one of the best authors of their generation.

Thank you, NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, wow. Where has this book been all my life? I've seen this book recommended everywhere, from TikTok to Instagram and when I saw it described as Mulan meets Song of Achilles, I was sold. This book is about a girl who grew up in famine who rises to become a significant military leader. It's told from multiple perspectives over the span of several years.

Now, I'm not usually one for war stories. What made this story work for me, though, is that is isn't solely focused on war. It has an abundance of characterization, politics, romance, and isn't only focused on the fighting aspect. The main character, Zhu, is a monk, and since she isn't a fighter, she has to find other ways to win. I also appreciated how the story somehow simultaneously showed the glorified side of war, as well as the gruesome one.

I particularly liked the themes throughout the story, specifically the theme of fate. I liked how it played with the Chosen One trope. In some ways, Zhu is like the "chosen one" but she had to work, adapt, and overcome to achieve her destiny. I also appreciated how morally grey the characters are. In some parts, I wasn't really sure where the story was going to go, but due to the character-driven nature of some of it, there were some "ah-ha" moments.

Top that all off with some LGBTQ+ representation, you've got yourself an awesome story.

As always, check the content warnings before reading. There is some violence and death throughout (it is a war story), but in my opinion, it wasn't too gruesome and was done tastefully.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3960509940
https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/dfc0f08e-60de-4238-98f8-e5e888de6d7e

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan is historical fantasy set in China during the Mongol rule. Famine has emptied villages and the rest are killed in endless campaigns between the Emperor and the rebellious Chinese armies. To survive is to will it happen.

The protagonist starts as a nameless, scorned ten-year-old girl who survives on scraps her father and sole living brother of eight leave her, and her ingenuity. A fortune teller predicts greatness to her brother Zhu Chongba and nothingness for her. But when bandits attack, it’s the brother who dies while she survives.

She’s already learned that a girl is nothing, but instead of accepting it like other women around her, she finds the situation unfair. Spurred on by her will to live, she assumes her brother’s identity and outstubborns monks to be admitted to a monastery as a novice. But she assumes more than his name. She assumes his destiny to greatness too. For it to come to pass, she has to completely believe that she is Zhu and that his fate is hers, to fool the gods to grant it to her.

The story unfolds in a brisk pace. Years are skipped, and only the important scenes are told. Zhu is successful in becoming her brother, resorting to devious stunts to keep her true gender a secret. She’s becoming complacent though, believing that her greatness is found in the monastery. So when it’s destroyed, she needs to find a new way to make it happen.

She becomes a warrior, leading troops to victories against the Mongols. But it’s not enough. She needs to become the leader. And there’s nothing she won’t do to stay on her path to greatness. Nothing can stop her, not even death. It frees her from being her brother, and allows her to assume greatness as herself. The book ends when she’s halfway to her goal, to becoming the emperor.

But Zhu isn’t the only one with fated destiny. In the Mongol army, there’s a Chinese eunuch general, the right-hand man of the warlord’s son. Seemingly working towards the goal of crushing the Chinese rebels, he harbours a hatred towards the warlord and is biding his time to avenge his family’s deaths on him.

Zhu’s actions force him to act faster than he would’ve wanted, but like Zhu, he believes in the inevitability of his fate. And they share a goal: to crush the Mongol emperor.

This was a brilliant book. The pace was fast, the stakes were high, and the historical details wonderful, depicting a cruel, believable world. I wasn’t familiar with the true historical events the book is based on, but it didn’t matter at all.

The characters were oddly likeable, despite being awful people. Zhu especially manages to convey a sense of serene rightness while manipulating the events to her liking or killing people outright. She ends up marrying a woman who she repeatedly hurts by her actions, yet Ma stays by her side. The option would be worse, because at least Zhu understands what it is to be a woman without protectors.

Not that Zhu quite accepts that she’s a woman, even after admitting to herself that she’s not her brother, nor is she quite a man either. She’s Zhu Yuanzhang, the radiant one, the one who will be the emperor. I’m looking forward to reading the conclusion to her journey.

I featured this book in a round up on my blog, sent links to facebook & twitter, and created an IG story. The details will be shared with the publisher in the next round of this review process.

rounding up from 3.75 stars. firstly, i am so grateful to shelley's publicist for providing me with an eARC of one of my most anticipated releases of 2021! i've been waiting for SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN since 2020 and i was so excited to receive an ARC of it and be able to preorder a copy from my local Indigo.

the prose in SWBTS is breathtakingly beautiful. it broke my heart to read certain parts of this book and to see what certain characters had to go through to reach their conclusions in this novel. never before have i seen a character who is so unhinged and unapologetic when it comes to what they want - especially one that is written so well and in such a clever manner.

however, i did find that the characteristic of seeing ghosts, which played such an intense and pivotal role in the plot when it came to ouyang's destiny and zhu's conclusion in this book, was not sufficiently explained to me. moreover, there seemed to be a decently large stretch of part 1 and 2 wherein this quality is simply not brought up/plays no role whatsoever in relation to the plot. this is, in the end, the only thing keeping me from rating this book 5 stars.

i cannot wait to see what else shelley parker-chan has in store for their readers and i am, again, so grateful to have gotten the chance to read this book when i did.

I am not happy about this but…

DNF @ 52%.

I put about 7 hours of reading into this book and I could not get into it. It felt like it was dragging, and by the end I just started skimming. Maybe the second half is amazing, but I don’t think it’s worth another 7-8 hours of my life to figure out. It’s possible I may try again, but I’m setting it aside for now. This isn’t for me.

Amazing. Stunning. Phenomenal. The Sapphic book of the summer. The Fantasy novel that I not only wanted, but needed. I cannot wait until this book is available for everyone to purchase, because it's a book all fantasy lovers should read.

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

This book lured me in with its promise of a story of a girl who takes the place of her dead brother who had been destined for greatness.  It is set during the timeframe leading to the founding of the Ming Dynasty in China.  There is also LTGBQ+ representation.  This should have been a recipe for love.  Instead, I sadly got an abandoned ship at 32%.

To be fair, I loved the set up and the beginning of the novel.  I enjoyed how the main character, Zhu, is so determined to live that she rejects her fate and steals the path of her dead brother.  Is she really going against her fate or was the switch fated all along?  I felt that her time in the famine and the destruction of her family was extremely evocative and engrossing.  I also enjoyed her time in the monastery. 

However, there are huge jumps in time where we miss Zhu's personal development and this leads to a series of vignettes without the connective tissue.  I wanted the missing sections and, frankly, found the given plot to be rather boring.  The pace was uneven.  Then the author chose to add in some new POVs.  I didn't mind the introduction to Ma but really didn't enjoy the sections of the eunuch Ouyang which were tiresome.  The last straw for me was how easily Zhu helped win her first battle.  As the book progressed, Zhu accomplished her goals with very little insight into her thought-process and seemingly little hardship.

This book ended up not to me taste.  But given how many five star reviews I have seen, I am in the minority.  Arrr!

So lastly . . .

Thank you Macmillian/Tor-Forge!