Definitely a 4.5 and I’m happily rounding up.

I never did manage to read the author Joan’s second book coz I wasn’t much into sci-fi at the time of its release but I remember loving Descendant of the Crane when I read the arc and hoping so badly for its sequel despite knowing it was probably never gonna come. But when I saw the announcement of this book, I was totally over the moon, I had sky high expectations, and I’m honestly more relieved that it did live up to all the hype in my head.

I had such plans in the runup to the release of this book. I begged the author for an earc which I rarely ever do in DMs. I kept talking about it whenever I could on the blog. I wanted to read the original Three Kingdoms - atleast the abridged version - but it just proved to be a bit of a task for me and I also had so many shiny new releases to compete for my time. I also tried listening to the amazing podcast but that was a huge commitment too which I abandoned after about 7 episodes. Ultimately I had to satisfy myself by watching a few YouTube videos which summarized this classic novel for me in a couple of hours. But atleast I was glad that I knew a tad bit more than I knew before. And it was time to dive into this future favorite of mine.

The book starts off with swag and that’s the only word I can think of. That first line is instantly captivating and the rest of the book remained so for me. Joan is pretty known among us fans of hers for really tormenting her characters and having stunningly unpredictable plot twists, so I was dreading every page expecting that betrayal to happen. And when they actually did, I heaved a sigh of relief because I also knew that the writing would pull those characters back up after the twists and we’ll get more of their amazing story. But I have to say, I never saw the actual twists coming and they were such delightful and jaw dropping surprises that I needed a moment to gather myself. Even when there were moments which felt slow or maybe even fillers, there were layers to the silences, and they also gave me breathing room. The plot is not overly complicated as soon as we get a hang of the world and it’s main players, and then it’s a lot of fast paced fun. But, this is also a book which is on a constant dangerous journey just like our main character.

I have not read a protagonist like Zephyr in a while. I guess I’m used to my heroines underestimating themselves or being more modest about their achievements. Zephyr has no such false modesty. She is arrogant in the best ways that a young well learned person can be, is confident about her skills as a strategist, and has the accomplishments to back it up, alongwith some cool sobriquets to call herself. While this may make some readers feel that she is an unlikable character, I only found it refreshing. And it also helped that her loyalty to Xin Ren is unwavering despite an almost futility of their rebellion. Whether this is because their association is fated, Zephyr has no other choice, she wants to stand by the person with the right surname, or she truly believes in the righteousness of Ren’s cause - whatever might be Zephyr’s reasons, her loyalty is very commendable and I loved her for it.

Because we only get one pov, we don’t really get too many scenes with the three sworn sisters but even the limited amount is enough to see the depth of affection and trust they have among each other - it goes beyond just loyalty and I absolutely adored their dynamic. I don’t know much about the source material but I definitely know about this particular sworn brotherhood and enjoyed its depiction in the Dynasty Warriors movie, so it was nice to also read a similar dynamic in a YA fantasy book. I definitely loved Ren a lot more because she is this filial, virtuous leader who is determined to help her empress, and all the people along the way even if she has to suffer too many hardships for it. I can’t completely say I liked Lotus’s totally impulsive personality initially but it was interesting to explore her dynamic with Cloud in the second half of the book.

Now how I not mention Crow when he and Zephyr are almost like birds of the same feather - they are strategists, there’s natural mistrust between them but also a mutual respect and the way their relationship develops is almost inevitable. I was actually glad it didn’t develop into a full blown love story because that’s not the kind of people they are but there’s so much unspoken between them that the yearning is spectacular, and very signature Joan he if I’m being honest. And the less I say about their zither scenes together, the better, because I found myself lost in the beauty of those scenes and just wanted to listen to such soulful zither battles irl (the scene from Red Cliff which inspired the author definitely helped my craving).

Miasma on the other hand is still an enigma in my head because while she might be very stabby and power hungry, there was just something about her that made me intrigued and interested in her. Cicada is a total revelation because I absolutely did not expect either the way she is introduced or the later reveals about her plans - she is definitely one to look out for the most in the next book.

I don’t know if I actually have been able to articulate how much I adored this book. I actually abandoned my audiobook as well as my annotation of the hardcover a quarter way through coz it was all slowing me down, and then rushed through the ebook coz I always read faster on my kindle - I just wanted to know what was gonna happen next and I couldn’t wait. But I still have to mention the excellent Nancy Wu’s beautiful narration and how she has quickly become one of my favorite audiobook narrators.

In the end, I can only say this book felt absolutely written for me and I adored every bit of it. If you enjoy fantasies which are inspired from or are reimaginings of classics, then you should totally check this out. Even if you know nothing about Three Kingdoms, this book will still give you a fun and adventurous YA fantasy with a whole host of unique female characters, a memorable protagonist, and enough twists and turns to keep you hooked throughout. And if like me you are a guzhuang drama lover, then I think you shouldn’t miss this one. I’m very very excited to see where this story goes next, but I’m also very satisfied. And now that there’s probably an year before we get the sequel, here’s hoping I’ll get to the original book or watch Red Cliff in the meantime, maybe even be ambitious and aim for the 95 episode Three Kingdoms drama from 2010. Who knows..???

Strike the Zither by Joan He
Kingdom of Three #1
Format: Audiobook
YA Fantasy/Historical Fiction

Xin Dynasty, 414: Zephyr serves as strategist to warlordess Xin Ren. She decides to do something radical but it makes her appear to be a traitor. She is convinced it will be easy to subvert their enemies' attention from Ren but she meets her match in Crow, an opposing strategist.

The story is inspired by the Chinese tale, the Three Kingdoms, for which I know absolutely nothing but have planned a dive down a Google rabbit hole immediately following the posting of this review.

Shoutout to the author for creating a world where the most powerful individuals are women! The universe in which this takes place has a historical fiction vibe with a dash of fantasy. It is mostly plot driven, primarily focusing on war strategies (but they are not overly detailed or dry in execution) and how human unpredictability throws it all out the window. Think schemes on top of schemes.

Or that is until about 50% of the way through. If you read The Ones We’re Meant to Find and enjoyed that particular plot twist execution then brace yourself, because He manages to create a twist you will never manage to see coming. So much so that I felt compelled to start the book all over again because that twist was expected and changed the entire direction of the book!!

The narrator, Nancy Wu, did a perfect job of bringing Zephyr to life. Zephyr’s ambition as a matter of survival was entirely relatable and believable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for providing an advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Tantor Audio and Netgalley for sending me an early copy of this audiobook! All opinions are my own!

Oh my goodness where do I start with how much I loved this book. From the richness of Chinese culture and mythology to the plot twists I never saw coming, every page had something for me to obsess over. It was fast-paced and a very quick read, and there wasn't a single moment that I felt bored. I did find myself wondering where the fantasy elements were going to come in, but even before that, I was fascinated by the characters and political aspects.

I absolutely loved the characters and how unique they each were. It was hard at first for me to grasp the politics, but it was so easy to relate to the characters and start to root for them and their stories. The character development was amazing as well, and I loved how each part of the book brought a new challenge for them to grow through. I also loved the way the plot gave you things you never imagined would happen and threw you curve ball after curve ball.

If you're a fantasy lover, this is the book of the year for you!

Strike the Zither is an action-packed YA fantasy novel based on classic Chinese literature. Rife with political intrigue, this story follows a young war strategist as she infiltrates the inner circle of an opposing warlordess in order to manipulate the enemy forces from the inside. The premise was unique and I really enjoyed having the story told from the perspective of the strategist.

This story wasn’t perfect for me (details in the minor spoiler section below) but I thought it was a really fun, easy, fast-paced read. If you’re looking for a clean, engaging YA read with multi-dimensional characters, interesting political and interpersonal relationship, and bit of magical music, this is one’s I would highly recommend. If you enjoyed Daughter of the Moon Goddess, you might enjoy this read!

The narration was excellent on the audiobook and it was super easy to listen to. The world building is complete but not so complicated that it’s confusing via audiobook. I think this is a great format for this story if you enjoy listening to your books!

Warning, entering minor spoiler territory:

There were many well-executed twists in the plot that I was not expecting but also weren’t completely out of left field. I really enjoyed the surprises that came my way. Though one of them does take such a sharp turn that it almost felt like a completely different story after that point. Unfortunately, I preferred the pre-twist story more than the second half of the book. Although it was still enjoyable, I missed many of the elements that were developing before the plot took a big turn. I’ll definitely still read the sequel, but the twist did lessen my enjoyment slightly. I’m hopeful that book two will bring it all together and give me the progression I’m hoping for!

I loved this book! Joan He creates a beautiful world of gods and warriors. The twist in the middle of the book was shocking but wonderful and leads the story down a wonderful path. I look forward to the next book.

I listened to the audio version and the narrator was great. She sounded just as I expected the main character to.

The plot of this story was intriguing and I liked the characters, but I didn't like this book as much as I expected to. That being said, I look forward to a sequel!

"Strike the Zither" by Joan He is a story that took turns I in no way saw coming. And I appreciate that. Inspired by The Three Kingdoms classic we follow a strategist with the sobriquet of Zephyr as she maneuvers her warlordess Ren towards victory. Just there might be more players on the board than expected.

Nancy Wu did the narration and I thoroughly enjoyed her portrayal of these characters inspired by the R3K.

Reasons to read:
-A story of conflict not from a warrior's pov
-Sassy strategists
-Didn't see that coming
-The reason everyone follows a person is the thing that makes it harder to do the work
-If you have a fondness for figuring out who is inspired by who

Cons:
-I remember when I pursed Lu Bu and it didn't go well...

I was so excited to find out that Joan He was writing fantasy again, especially because DOTC is one of my fave books ever. Of course, STRIKE THE ZITHER is not DOTC and there's nothing wrong with that. I will confess I wasn't super aware of the source material before reading this book, but that didn't really impact my enjoyment at all. I really enjoyed Zephyr as a main character with her shrewdness and confidence in who she is. It's always refreshing to have a morally grey character like her who is willing to risk everything to achieve her goals. I loved all of the political intrigue in this book and how well that He weaves these different threads together so skillfully. That was one of my favorite parts of DOTC as well and He is just unparalleled in her ability to create it. Another thing He does really well in all of her books is creating character relationships, romantic, familial and platonic, that are dynamic and complex in their own unique ways. There's a massive twist about halfway through the book I didn't see coming, and while it momentarily threw me off because I wasn't expecting it, it was handled in such a way that I was able to keep going with the book. Those kinds of massive twists (iykyk) can either make a book a masterpiece or can completely lose a reader, and this one was written well where the latter didn't happen. STRIKE THE ZITHER is a story about redemption where a strategist must navigate the greatest challenge she's ever faced, and it was yet another wonderful Joan He book that left me craving more.

Zephyr is an excellent strategist, which is how she knows her side will win the war and return the empress to her throne. The plan, unfortunately, involves Zephyr getting herself captured and convincing everyone that she's a traitor. Well, two can play that game, and Zephyr finds herself up against two of the best strategists in the country, each willing to do whatever it takes to win. The story takes a deadly turn, and Zephyr's odds are diminished when she has to find a way to communicate through a warrior who doesn't know all the facts.

This book has a lot of interesting perspective. While there were a few graphic scenes, it was generally a rather atmospheric book with compelling twists and thrilling challenges. However, I really struggled to connect with Zephyr as a character, which made the book less compelling. Some of the cleverness was fascinating, and the way the rules of war were implemented gave me a lot of perspective, but in the end, I didn't really care if Zephyr lived or died because I felt like she wasn't a real person. The second half of the book was kind of annoying because it was meant to be emotional and full of longing and frustration, but those emotions hadn't been established strongly enough in the beginning. Of course, I have to knock it down a star anyway because I hate cliffhanger endings, but this one in particular left me with more questions than answers, and with such a convoluted plot, I was unsurprised yet disappointed when it became clear that nothing would be resolved. I'm generally not a fan of Nancy Wu as a narrator, which further diminished this audiobook for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book takes place in the year 414 and there is chaos in the Xin Dyntasty. The nation is fractured and three warlordesses each have plans to take over. One strategist, Zepher, knows she is backing the underdog but has no intention of failing for her lordess. Zepher’s mission is challenged by relationships she gains or had with people in the other two camps, but she remains a zealot in her belief of her lordess, and goes to every extreme imaginable to assist her. I loved that so many of the powerful and key characters in this story were female, I honestly wasn’t expecting that given the time period that this book takes place in. I did think the book moved slowly at times and I groaned when I realized there was not enough book left to finish the story, but also I can’t wait for the sequel. I listened to the audiobook of this one and I didn’t start out liking the narrator a lot, but by the end I thought she was absolutely perfect. She gave not only the narrator but the other characters voice in such an effective way.

I don't know much at all about the Three Kingdoms tale, so this was a spoiler free read for me! I enjoyed the writing style, found the characters to have complexity, and the plot was intriguing! I want to see how this story progresses.

I received an audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

'Strike the Zither' is the first installment in a gorgeously sweeping epic of a 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' retelling. The pacing, the characterisation, the intrigue, and the use of the source material are all brilliantly done. Between reveals and new dangers, there's never any downtime, and the cliffhanger ending will leave readers dying for the sequel.

A bold choice toostly genderbend the major players of the Three Kingdoms tale, He accomplishes it masterfully by normalising the presence of women I'm power without creating an overbearing emphasis on gender that could have overshadowed the plot. If a reader has no context for 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' they may find this one takes a few wild turns, but all context is provided organically through Zephyr's internal monologue.

'Strike the Zither' made an excellent audiobook, Nancy Wu did a spectacular job.

My only warning is that this one is very firmly in the YA category, so if that's not your bag or you can't take a YA for what it is without imposing Adult expectations onto it, this one may not be for you. My rating considers this context.

Thank you to Netgalley, Tantor Media, and Roaring Brook Press for an advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review.

This one is actually 3.7. This book is like the child of “Jade Fire Gold” and “ Daughter of the Moon Goddess”, although, I was not super impressed by the plot of this one, maybe it could be in part because it was constantly reminding me of the other two books I mentioned before.
The characters are great, the plot is great, but then again it was missing a little something, I have to be honest and admit that I actually don’t know what it was missing. Asides that something that I can’t really point at, the book was great, thought all the story we can see how the main characters change, but at the same time stick to their core believes.
There are plot twists and ooooooh dear, I was not ready for that. There is definitely gonna be a a second book at least because the end felt more like the end of a chapter rather than the end of an entire book.
I’d recommend this book to the people that liked “Jade Fire gold, and Daughter of the Moon Goddess.

Upfront, my biggest issue with Strike the Zither was that as soon as the book started, I felt as if I was jumping into the middle of a story which was already halfway to it's conclusion. I became quite lost and it took awhile for me to really connect to the characters because I felt like I was playing catch-up trying to keep several moving pieces straight. I also found it hard to visualize where various meetings and battles were taking place. Part of this is because I listened to it as an audiobook, a map that would normally be found in a visual book would have made this easier.

The other reason I took off some star points is due to me being unable to connect to the characters. I found them very superficial for the most part. In this regard, the writing became better towards the end of the book. There was some introspective moments from the main character but the rest of the cast is still not developed as well as I would hope after over 10 hours of audio.

This leads me into my next point which is that I found the plot to be overall straightforward until the second "part". The introduction of the god subplot through the main plot into utter confusion. I do like that it was a twist I didn't see coming but it could have been integrated much more cohesively into the main plot. Between this and the aforementioned character development issues, I think the author would have been better off making this two books: one for the first "part" of the book and one for the second "part". This would have allowed for more in depth background and development of not just the characters but also the geography and magic of the novel. I was severely lacking the connection with playing a zither from the first half of the book, though some of that was explained later on.

Although I personally did not enjoy this novel overall, I'm sure it would still appeal to others who like fantasy.

YAY another Joan He book!!

Strike the Zither continues He's recurring themes of a heavily female cast, a focus on sisterhood and friendship, and a twisty plot. This time the setting is a gender swapped reimagining of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. As someone with no exposure to the source material, I found this book to be a really great introduction and I'm excited to see where it goes from here!

We meet a large cast of colorful characters, most of whom are clever and ruthless. Three strong women and their supportive players scheme to usurp or protect the authority of a sheltered puppet empress. Mixed into battles and political wrangling are moments of insight about characters' beliefs and natures. Main character Zephyr is a devoted strategist for her warlordess, completely unaware that everything is not as straightforward as it seems. Gods and fates have much more in store than she can predict! but I can't say much without spoilers.

While the characters mostly aren't difficult to keep straight, they also aren't all fully fleshed out. With a cast this size, it's hardly surprising - especially in a book that crafts threads for the future. Family and bonds play a huge role in storyline and character development. There is a little bit of underexplored romance, but it certainly isn't the focus.

Moreso than many books separated into sections, parts one and two of Strike the Zither feel like two very distinct books. Remembering the endings of He's other books, I fully expected this one to end at the moment when a certain item is held aloft to declare victory in the book's final skirmish. I'm not upset to have gotten two further scenes after that point, just surprised!

Nancy Wu does a good job with the audiobook narration, compounding my ongoing struggle between knowing how to pronounce words because I listened to the audiobook or knowing how to spell them because I read a physical copy. Good thing I have a preordered hard copy coming soon - best of both worlds!

I know books take a long time to write, so I'll do my best to be patient. I'm really looking forward to the sequel!

So the first half of this was... fine. Not anything bad, but I couldn't understand why the ratings for this were so high.

Then I got to the second half and it all made sense.

BUT here's the thing. The the thing that happened at the halfway point is just personally not a direction I enjoy reading about. I'm trying to keep this as spoiler free as possible, but when I got to the second half, the character development and momentum from the first half just came to a screeching halt for me.

However, despite this set back, I was surprised by how quickly the story (and the character development) picked up during the second half. Even though I was initially annoyed with the direction this was taking, it was written in the best way possible. The story became immensely more interesting, and I was much more engaged with what was happening. I will definitely be continuing this series to see what happens next.

So, I'd say that if you're bored by the first half, keep reading, and if you're annoyed by what happens at the halfway point, also keep reading because it gets better.

Overall, great start to a fantasy duology, though the second half of the book is much more interesting than the first half.

Thank you NetGalley and Tantor Audio for the audiobook arc!

I’ll start with while I know this is a retelling I am not familiar with the original tale. So I went into this with fresh eyes and it was my first time reading something by Joan He.

The storytelling was *chef’s kiss*
The exploration of greed *muah*

I loved it.

It’s beautifully written. Had really fun plot twists (don’t worry, no spoilers!) and it expertly shows how complex humans can be. You never really know what’s coming or what someone’s intentions might be. I loved how dynamic Zephyr was and that right off the bat she was quite the baddie. I also really appreciated that the story kept a nice pace and held me in its grip the entire time.

Strike the Zither by Joan He
2/5 Stars
⭐️⭐️

•••Spoiler free review below•••

I wanted to enjoy this one but I honestly just felt confused. I'm not sure if it was because I was listening and maybe I would have felt different had I been reading physically, but I could not keep the characters straight. And I could not understand their connection to each other or why the characters were making the choices they were.

40% through the book, everything completely changes and I couldn't follow the point of the plot or what was even happening.

If you give this one a try, I hope you'll like!

Strike the Zither will be released October 25th. Special thanks to Tantor Audio and NetGalley for sharing an arc with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

I did like this for the most part, I just got kind of lost a couple of times and that really pulls down my enjoyment. The first half was fairly straightforward, we meet Zephyr and follow her as she pretends to join the enemies so she can help her lordess. Then there's a change in the story that really came out of nowhere and things got complicated for me.

Zephyr isn't a very likeable character, but I was interested in her journey and how loyal she was to Ren. Crow had some intrigue about him, but needed more development and their romance didn't have much to it. I'm hoping there will be more developments in the sequel.

There's a lot of betrayal and people not being who they seem. While I like being surprised, this was maybe the main reason why I got lost. The battle scenes are also a bit clunky and I couldn't picture what was happening.

I'll likely read the sequel and maybe a reread before that to really understand what all happened.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Tantor Audio and NetGalley for the copy

3.5 stars
I had heard some good things about this book so I was excited to read it, but unfortunately it fell a little flat for me.
I enjoyed the beginning and I was really intrigued, but as we went along, I kind of got lost and my interest dwindled.
At first I liked Zephyr. I liked her plan to kind of infiltrate the enemy while still pledged to the warlord Ren and stay loyal to her. I liked the relationship she struck up with Crow and I liked the mystery surrounding her sister. Probably around the halfway mark, I got a little lost. I feel like we pivoted directions real quick and I somehow missed it. There was promise to the second part, I just wish it had kept my attention better.
I would be interested to see where the second book takes us though!