Caroline 's Reviews > She Who Became the Sun

First read: August 13, 2022. Interesting to read after months of 'Wheel of Time.' Those books rely on a lot of vague analogues to Eastern religion/reincarnation and past lives, so reading a dynastic struggle that's specifically rooted in Chinese history and a (mostly Buddhist, I think) worldview. The 'fantasy' aspect of this is fairly light, and it mostly consists of the rulers 'divine mandate' being a visible light source. Also some ghosts.

Reread: December 25, 2023. I picked this up for a quick review before reading the sequel and ended up rereading the whole thing to remind me who's who, but also just because it's really satisfying and well-constructed, and knowing the end reinforces the ways that it works.