The Girl King by Mimi Yu

The Blurb On The Back:

All hail the Girl King

Sisters Lu and Min have always understood their places as princesses of the Empire. Lu knows she is destined to become the dynasty’s first female ruler, while Min is resigned to a life in her shadow. Then their father declares their male cousinSet the heir instead - a betrayal that sends the sisters down two very different paths.

Determined to reclaim her birthright, Lu goes on the run. She’ll need an army to win back the throne.

Alone in a volatile court, Min’s hidden power awakens - a forbidden, deadly magic that could secure Set’s reign … or allow Min to claim the throne herself.

The battle for the Empire has begun.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Mimi Yu’s debut YA fantasy (the first in a duology) draws on Asian history and mythology to create an interesting world with various factions, each with their own objectives and methods. However while I enjoyed the aesthetics, the story itself of sibling rivalry and power hungry antagonists is all a bit underbaked with Min in particular being underdeveloped despite being a viewpoint character and the inevitable YA love triangle left me bored.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.