Tuesday, February 1, 2022

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Girls of Fate and Fury by Natasha Ngan

 





Girls of Fate and Fury is the concluding book in Natasha Ngan's YA Fantasy trilogy which began two years ago with Girls of Paper and Fire (Reviewed Here) and continued with Girls of Storm and Shadow (Reviewed Here).  I liked the first of these books, although it was hard to read due to the protagonist and her friends being raped as part of the plot - them being human girls "chosen" to be trained to serve the Demon King in a world where humans (Paper Caste) are the oppressed minor-est of castes.  But the strong protagonist, the strong sapphic love story, and the way it dealt with the various girls' reactions to their situation was very well done, even if I didn't love it. 

The second book however was one I didn't quite like as much, as it tried to deal with not just main protagonist Lei suffering from trauma, but also issues of sacrifice, manipulation and how far is too far to go for freedom, and how love can exist when it stands against such a fight.  The themes and main character - as well as a few new side characters - were still very good, but the book kind of abandoned some of its most interesting themes in the end and threw in an extra conflict that to me just felt pointless.  The result of this was that I didn't reread either of those books prior to reading this one.  

And well, that makes reviewing Girls of Fate and Fury tricky, because while I remembered the major plot elements, I did not remember a lot of the minor ones or minor characters, especially ones we hadn't seen since book 1 - this is clearly not how this book is meant to be read, and so I would advise catching up on the prior books before starting this one and taking this review with a grain of salt.  And yet, I did like how this book wrapped up this story, as it splits its time evenly among our two protagonists, Lei and Wren, and their fight for freedom and their own chance at happiness in their love.  

Trigger Warnings:  There is no actual rape or sexual abuse on page this time, however this book still deals heavily with trauma as a result of the past instances of it.  If you were able to read the first two books, you know what you're in for here.  

Spoilers for Books 1 and 2 are inevitable below.  Be Warned.

-----------------------------------------------Plot Summary------------------------------------------------------
When Lei escaped from the Hidden Palace, she thought she'd never go back, and that that part of her life was over - that she had killed the Demon King, and that she was free from his horrible cruelties, and would be able to find happiness with Wren, the girl she loved, somehow.  But Lei couldn't quite get over the traumas she suffered, especially when they found out the Demon King had survived.  And now, after she fought with Wren over the lengths to which her love was willing to go, and was willing to sacrifice, for their cause of freedom, she finds herself captured once again, and taken right back to where she'd never go, back into the sadistic Demon King's clutches.  

But Lei will not let him have his way with her again, and resolves to do whatever it takes to free herself and those she left behind.  

Meanwhile, Wren finds herself shattered by Lei's capture, by their last argument and by what seems to be a devastating blow to the resistance.  But when one of her lost allies turns up alive, and determined to move forward despite her new disability, Wren vows to move forward and to do what it takes to fight for freedom....and to save Lei.  

For Lei and Wren, their experiences together - both their loves and their traumas - have made them into different people, and ones who will stop at nothing to change the world so that they can be together once more.....
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The first two books in this series were Lei's story, with the entirety of the first book told from Lei's perspective, and nearly all of the second book.  This third book, with our lovers split apart, finally gives them each an equal amount of time in control of the narrative, with the story bouncing between Wren and Lei's perspectives as things happen to each of them.  And each of them has gone through the wringer in this series, and are very different from where they were at the beginning, something we very much see now that we get to see Wren's perspective instead of just Lei's.  

I admit to being a bit worried about how this book would handle Lei being back in the hidden palace, because the abuse and rape from the first book was hard to read, even if the book treated it as seriously as it deserved.  And the storyline returns to some characters we last saw in book 1, of which a few (Basically all but Blue and Aoki) I didn't really remember as I hadn't reread book 1 before reading this.   And yet the story the book has for Lei is done really well, as Lei is determined to fight not just the Demon King, but also for the freedom and safeties of all around her - the girls she left behind, and those she also sees oppressed by the Demon King's system, even if those same people are responsible for some of her own hardships.  Lei struggles with this, as this involves her taking a larger role, facing her trauma head on, and being responsible for additional lives other than her own, and it's such a logical and perfect arc for her to take after all she has suffered and endured.  

And then there's Wren's arc, as Wren deals with the possibility that Lei is gone, and that the last words they said to each other were a fight over what Wren is guilty of doing in the name of the fight.  She deals with the results of her actions, of her father's actions, and those who have been harmed alongside her, and the struggle between fighting for a greater good and the one she loves....and learns that some things really are too much to sacrifice.  It's an arc that makes her finally worthy of Lei's love, and it's aided by a great set of minor characters, particularly the now disabled Nitta, who refuses to be downbeat despite her loss of her lower body mobility, and pushes them all forward as a result.  

The result is a plot that generally works really well, dealing again with themes of love, sacrifice, of robbing the land for power, and of making it past and dealing with traumas and abusive relationships, and coming out the other side as best as you can, with new lives and traditions to follow.  The fight for the freedom of the kingdom perhaps goes down a bit too easily, as well the resistance goes from being utterly doomed to being on the verge of success perhaps a bit too easily, and yet really that conflict was never really the focus of the series, so it still works.  And if, unlike me, you reread book 1 and remember the minor characters from that book, Lei's plotline will work even better, as some of those arcs are finally concluded after being abandoned in the second book.  

The result is a trilogy ender that I wouldn't say I love, or that the series is one I super love, but is one that I liked a good bit, and that I would certainly be willing to recommend to others.  Won't be for everyone due to the triggering content at times, but it will be for many, and will provide important context for many YA readers as well.  Well worth your time, and I look forward to Ngan's next long fiction work.  


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