Danmei Society for the Egregious Misuse of Chinese Poetry and Literature

Finally started reading this (after owning the book for at least a couple of years) and this Goodreads review was right: it IS much more rewarding and meaningful reading it as an m/m book rather than an f/f one (despite the first book in the duology being pretty heavily pushed as part of the 'sapphic trifecta' of fantasy novels that came out that year, alongside The Jasmine Throne and The Unbroken). It cares deeply about the relationships, romantic/erotic and otherwise, between its major male characters, and very little about femininity despite also having an uneasy awareness that it should, perhaps, care a little more about femininity. It cares so little about its nominally central, nominally lesbian couple that it Highlight for spoilers!*keeps them apart for large swathes of the book, has both halves of the couple sleep with men (for plot-relevant reasons, but still), and depicts relationships and sexual encounters between just about everyone else in more detail and with more emotional charge than it affords them. Also, an important plot/emotional point from end of the last book that seemed as if it was going to have a deep impact on their relationship seemed to have been dropped completely!* Most of the major male characters angsted deeply and constantly, in a sophomoric way that felt as if (as another Goodreads reviewer put it) they were Experiencing an Emotion for the first time Highlight for spoilers!*Wang Baoxiang (a man far from the epitome of masculinity), to his dead brother (the perfect embodiment of masculinity): YOU HATE ME??? FINE I WILL GO AND DEBASE MYSELF BY GETTING FUCKED UP THE ARSE BY A MAN! WE'LL SEE HOW YOU LIKE THAT!*

It also feels very much like a book not written for me, where me = person fluent in chinese language and culture (or at least one version of it) and having extensive familiarity with c-media of all kinds. This is perfectly fine; I've made my peace with the fact that a lot of genre books with Chinese historical/fantastical elements published in the West are not written for me.