thunkR
Contains spoilers
The story of a gullible 19 year old, coerced EASILY into killing her own people. A magic ability suppressed that had her shunned and feared for almost all her life, only to unleash it uncontrollably once she fell in love with her abductor. The Abducted as Romance trope but with Chinese elements to give it flair.
Firstly, I love a story from Hoid's narration. So many amazing puns and metaphors to search for. Secondly, I can appreciate a love story with no unnecessary need for graphic scenes nor predicaments that needed to be explicitly explored. Just enough time to get to understand each of the two main characters before digging deeper into their mission or goal. The illustrations woven into the book gave a beautiful visual that I couldn't create for myself in my head. This is why Painters exist.
The end got weird; I got lost. ..I started to dislike the characters. Then, definitely disliked the characters. Happy I read it though.
The anime does this first volume justice by sticking pretty close to the source material.
The main story was good, but it was the characters that I LOVED. After reading the first book of the series I thought it was just going to be another build up to a heist job. But coming into this second story I didn't need to learn these characters but, instead, got to know them even better. Each character different and imperfect and radiant. Can't wait to get into the third book.