Fantasy

Girls of Paper and Fire

Girls of Paper and Fire

  • Downloads：1607
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-07-19 09:54:37
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Natasha Ngan
  • ISBN：0316561363
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Each year， eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king。 It's the highest honor they could hope for。。。and the most demeaning。 This year， there's a ninth。 And instead of paper， she's made of fire。

In this richly developed fantasy， Lei is a member of the Paper caste， the lowest and most persecuted class of people in Ikhara。 She lives in a remote village with her father， where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards for an unknown fate still haunts her。 Now， the guards are back and this time it's Lei they're after -- the girl with the golden eyes whose rumored beauty has piqued the king's interest。

Over weeks of training in the opulent but oppressive palace， Lei and eight other girls learns the skills and charm that befit a king's consort。 There， she does the unthinkable -- she falls in love。 Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens her world's entire way of life。 Lei， still the wide-eyed country girl at heart， must decide how far she's willing to go for justice and revenge。

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Reviews

Jacqueline ，

3。5/5

Zyle ，

https://zuleelibros。tumblr。com/post/6。。。 https://zuleelibros。tumblr。com/post/6。。。 。。。more

milly *:･ﾟ✧ ，

2。75 Stars“I don't want an easy life。 I want a meaningful one。”Objectively， this book is pretty good， and I could even see it being amazing to whoever may read it， but I do not think the story was for me。 It was a bit bland for me and I was pretty bored throughout the whole story。 It doesn't stick out from any other fantasies I've read and wasn't a big fan of。 Lei was a boring main character and I wish that her relationship with her mother was explored more。 I loved the idea of Wren and Lei's re 2。75 Stars“I don't want an easy life。 I want a meaningful one。”Objectively， this book is pretty good， and I could even see it being amazing to whoever may read it， but I do not think the story was for me。 It was a bit bland for me and I was pretty bored throughout the whole story。 It doesn't stick out from any other fantasies I've read and wasn't a big fan of。 Lei was a boring main character and I wish that her relationship with her mother was explored more。 I loved the idea of Wren and Lei's relationship， but I felt like it was rushed （maybe that's just me and my love for slowburn）， but I could definitely see how this book could be really enjoyable for someone else。 One thing about this book that I really enjoyed was the ending， so I think that if I ever have time， I will try and continue the series。 。。。more

Bianca ，

Love the lesbian couple aspect but there were many scenes that were very overwhelming。

Danni ，

I'm not actually sure how I feel about this book which is why it has taken me so long to review it。 On one hand it was a quick read with an easy writing style and a sapphic relationship。I like the idea of what the author was trying to achieve。 Her note at the start of this book regarding rape and sexual abuse was very shocking， honest and I think she did the right thing writing this in to the story。 I'm not sure it was written about in the best way but that's not for me to decide。 This happened I'm not actually sure how I feel about this book which is why it has taken me so long to review it。 On one hand it was a quick read with an easy writing style and a sapphic relationship。I like the idea of what the author was trying to achieve。 Her note at the start of this book regarding rape and sexual abuse was very shocking， honest and I think she did the right thing writing this in to the story。 I'm not sure it was written about in the best way but that's not for me to decide。 This happened to all the girls in the book。 Some feared it， some hated it， some craved the love and attention。 We were supposed to not want it to happen to the MC but I felt that way for everyone。 The idea that it was the girls "duty" and they should accept it and be proud was we'll written and I'm glad it was a narrative throughout the book。 It is awful this is still such a problem today。I feel that the fantasy element was just added to make the underlying narrative of rape， assault and control easier to read about。 I also hierarchy classification of the "casts"。 I didn't think the fantasy elements were thought out or well delivered。 I didn't connect to the characters and I don't think the romance was well done。 The only reason I saw it coming was because I knew it was。 The story was more of a mundane setup for last third of the book。 The ending annoyed me。 Perhaps the sequels will be more exciting with where the plot is heading。 I do think I will read the sequels。 ⭐⭐⭐ 。。。more

EmmaAnger ，

4。5 stars I felt that the beginning wasn't super exciting， but once Lei arrived as a Paper Girl everything changed。 The romance in this book was really beautiful and I also liked some of the friendships as well。 4。5 stars I felt that the beginning wasn't super exciting， but once Lei arrived as a Paper Girl everything changed。 The romance in this book was really beautiful and I also liked some of the friendships as well。 。。。more

Ketutar Jensen ，

I want to read it because of Natasha Ngan's gentle and lovely answer to a question about the book。 I want to read it because of Natasha Ngan's gentle and lovely answer to a question about the book。 。。。more

Mol ，

handled the issue of sexual assault very well and i feel like so many other books/shows/movies would have just forced lei into a relationship with the demon king。 i loved lei and wren's relationship and overall i was completely engrossed in this story。 got me out of my reading rut （？） and i literally read it in a single day so i'm obsessed。 when will i get a wren :| handled the issue of sexual assault very well and i feel like so many other books/shows/movies would have just forced lei into a relationship with the demon king。 i loved lei and wren's relationship and overall i was completely engrossed in this story。 got me out of my reading rut （？） and i literally read it in a single day so i'm obsessed。 when will i get a wren :| 。。。more

Tammie ，

CW: sexual assault， rape， murder， death， gore， physical violence， slaveryI did not know anything about this book other than the fact that it was a sapphic fantasy before going into it， and it was way darker than I had expected。 This is definitely not a light-hearted book， but I really appreciated that the audiobook started off with content warnings。I also had no idea that this was an imperial harem kinda situation， which happens to be one of my favourite types of dramas， so I was pleasantly surp CW: sexual assault， rape， murder， death， gore， physical violence， slaveryI did not know anything about this book other than the fact that it was a sapphic fantasy before going into it， and it was way darker than I had expected。 This is definitely not a light-hearted book， but I really appreciated that the audiobook started off with content warnings。I also had no idea that this was an imperial harem kinda situation， which happens to be one of my favourite types of dramas， so I was pleasantly surprised。 It had a lot of elements that I love about imperial harem dramas - the focus on female friendships， pushing against the social norms expected of these women， and just some good old backstabbing。 That being said， this book was a lot more than that。 I think the way that it discusses the darker sides of these types of stories， particularly in the way it discusses sexual assault， rape， sex slavery， and just abuse in general was really well handled。However， I fundamentally did not enjoy this book as much as I could have because our main character， Lei， was absolutely insufferable。 She was so irritating， and only got increasingly more annoying as the story went on。 While I found the relationship cute to begin with （again， an imperial harem where two concubines fall in love is literally one of my favourite tropes）， I ultimately ended up not caring about the romance at all because of how annoying Lei was as a character。 I'm on the fence about the writing and worldbuilding - on one hand， I really loved how lush and descriptive the writing was， and it made the world feel really vivid and alive。 I also really enjoyed the diverse cultural influences that the author included。 On the other hand， I didn't feel like the politics were very well done， and I think that the overall plot suffered because of this。 All in all， I think this was a good book， and I had a good time reading it， but I'm really not sure if I'm attached enough to the characters and the romance to continue on with the series。 。。。more

Tiasany ，

Leaning towards 4。5， but I needed a bit more from it。 I love character driven books， so this one was perfect for me in that regard。

Brittany ，

Not my favorite book by far！ I was hoping for something more along the lines of the selection and this was definitely no it！

Victoria ，

*3。5

Sophia ，

[4 stars] It was a great fantasy read and I really enjoyed it :） However I constantly felt like something was missing？ Like the story was incomplete or something？ I feel like this is a case of a book with first-book-in-a-series-disease where it is just setting the world up for the next books but isn't really book-worthy on its own？ But don't get me wrong！ it's a good book it just isn't a perfect book， which I feel like it potentially could be。 I liked it but I'm not one hundred percent sure if I [4 stars] It was a great fantasy read and I really enjoyed it :） However I constantly felt like something was missing？ Like the story was incomplete or something？ I feel like this is a case of a book with first-book-in-a-series-disease where it is just setting the world up for the next books but isn't really book-worthy on its own？ But don't get me wrong！ it's a good book it just isn't a perfect book， which I feel like it potentially could be。 I liked it but I'm not one hundred percent sure if I'm gonna read the sequel。 。。。more

ally ，

OH MY GOSHTHIS WAS SO GOODWHY DID I TAKE SOOOO LONG TO READ ITUHHH I KIND OF NEED THE SECOND BOOK RIGHT NOWLIKE HOW ARE THEY ALLOWED TO BE THAT CUTEI NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS ADJFLKSJDLKSFso sos os osososoosos goodi stayed up so late trying to finish this but had to finish it in the morning T_Tplease I LOVED THISthere was a book that I've previously read like this one but I forgot what it was calledwel[[[[pppppppls read heheheh OH MY GOSHTHIS WAS SO GOODWHY DID I TAKE SOOOO LONG TO READ ITUHHH I KIND OF NEED THE SECOND BOOK RIGHT NOWLIKE HOW ARE THEY ALLOWED TO BE THAT CUTEI NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS ADJFLKSJDLKSFso sos os osososoosos goodi stayed up so late trying to finish this but had to finish it in the morning T_Tplease I LOVED THISthere was a book that I've previously read like this one but I forgot what it was calledwel[[[[pppppppls read heheheh 。。。more

˚‧⁺。 •° vee 。•° 。。 ，

girls of paper and fire is an ownvoices asian， young adult fantasy that gives you a strong female character whose strength is emotions and the bravery that stems from love; starring queer girls and dealing with scary themes like slavery - fanna

Sarah ，

3。5 Stars

Pauline ，

2，75/5⭐was't terrible， was't great either。 wren should've got her own pov， the plot shouldn't have been so slow at the beginning （and the middle， basically up untill the last 70 pages）。 but i liked wren and lei together， there were beautiful quotes and some great moments， and the message is important， so i won't be too mean 2，75/5⭐was't terrible， was't great either。 wren should've got her own pov， the plot shouldn't have been so slow at the beginning （and the middle， basically up untill the last 70 pages）。 but i liked wren and lei together， there were beautiful quotes and some great moments， and the message is important， so i won't be too mean 。。。more

Thandi Mazibuko ，

It was good， a bit confused why such a big deal was made about the girls eyes if nothing comes of them。

Kate （Feathered Turtle Press） ，

definitely one of the better sapphic YA Fantasies but had some glaring inaccuracies I couldn't over look。 Hawks do not caw。 You know that ~classic~ eagle screech？ THAT'S A HAWK。 anyWAY full rtc。 definitely one of the better sapphic YA Fantasies but had some glaring inaccuracies I couldn't over look。 Hawks do not caw。 You know that ~classic~ eagle screech？ THAT'S A HAWK。 anyWAY full rtc。 。。。more

Nico ，

i rlly liked it it took a while to finish tho

Liz Mauel ，

I finished it！！ And thank all that is good in this world that it’s over。 I really only enjoyed reading the last 79 pages which makes the 300 before that absolutely unbearable :l

Jazmine ，

Amazing Book！！！ Would recommend for everyone to read it。 I loved the characters and I loved the relationship。

Haila M。 Moajil ，

I。 Am。 Wrecked。 Oh。 My。 God！！！！！

Vico ，

This book was pretty gay， and good so 5 stars

Nieve ，

Love it unexpected at first but cute romance with such a heart wrenching story of the lifes of the paper girls serving the king xx

Charlie Briggs ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book was so immersive and enthralling that I was captured and transported in every page to beautiful settings， smells and textures that can only be felt by an author who is good at what they are doing。 But the storyline to this book is what makes it a brilliant fantasy read！ I loved that this book is an open discussion about the harms that some traditions can do to women。 Especially younger， possibly easier to manipulate girls who know no different， and never have had to。 Lei’s character br This book was so immersive and enthralling that I was captured and transported in every page to beautiful settings， smells and textures that can only be felt by an author who is good at what they are doing。 But the storyline to this book is what makes it a brilliant fantasy read！ I loved that this book is an open discussion about the harms that some traditions can do to women。 Especially younger， possibly easier to manipulate girls who know no different， and never have had to。 Lei’s character brings those questions， questions that show this negativity in traditions， to light， opening the eyes possibly to many。 I loved this， although Lei herself is naive in certain topics， her fight and her drive is admirable to say the least。 Class is another discussion in this book that I feel is handled well， it isn’t too far away from current discussions in our world， albeit we don’t have a Bull/Demon King in ours。 It’s still believable and relatable to me， something I feel is very hard to do in any book especially in a book with magic and humanoid creatures。 TW: this book does have a king who essentially SA’s women every year in the name of tradition， one is as young as 16。 His age isn’t verified， but he’s at least nearly 30 I think。 He also at one point rapes a character but it isn’t heavily described。 He also openly beats these women to the point that they have shamans to heal them every time they ‘visit’ him。Finally， the romance in this book is utterly pure and delightful although they have to hide it for their safety。 They communicate well， and discuss things that I think leads to a healthy relationship。 And it’s sapphic， what’s not to love！？ Wren and Lei are my new OTP， I hope the second book fairs well for them。 （Yes I am buying the second book ASAP）。 Read this book， it’s so good。 With a small shaky start this book blooms into a fantastic read。 。。。more

Peach Toleson ，

I really wanted to like this because I love diverse lesbian media。 I heard so much hype surrounding this book that I got it， expecting a well rounded fantasy novel with a compelling main character。 What I got was a mediocre， repetitive， shallow story。 The writing was amateurish and off putting。 The author left nothing up to the reader to piece together。 Everything was written out directly with some fluff surrounding it。 Yes there were some very impactful quotes and I appreciate the message of th I really wanted to like this because I love diverse lesbian media。 I heard so much hype surrounding this book that I got it， expecting a well rounded fantasy novel with a compelling main character。 What I got was a mediocre， repetitive， shallow story。 The writing was amateurish and off putting。 The author left nothing up to the reader to piece together。 Everything was written out directly with some fluff surrounding it。 Yes there were some very impactful quotes and I appreciate the message of the story but it fell flat on its face for me。 Even the protagonist was bland。 Lei was a normal village girl with nothing but golden eyes to set her apart。 Looking back on her character， she was very boring。 Even the romance， as much as I loved it （I'm desperate for wlw media）， felt so awkward and fast paced。 The entire book just felt messy。 I wish the world building had been better and I had no idea how to imagine the steel/moon castes the entire time （although that may be my fault）。 It was entertaining though and I enjoyed the romance so I'm not too upset about reading it。 。。。more

brookesreads ，

this book is like the selection but demon version。 there are three castes: paper （human， the lowest caste） steel （half demon/half human middle caste） and moon （full demon and highest caste）。 some parts made me uncomfortable I’m not even going to lie and the beginning was slow for me。 but I love Wren and Lei and they are a great wlw representation。

Katie Brackman ，

3。75 Stars

Eloise Smith ，

1。5 Stars Rounded Up。Eek I'm sorry to give this book such a low rating， but it really wasn't for me。Lei is a paper girl， which is essentially a human girl who is selected for the moon caste King to sleep with。 Paper castes are full humans， considered the weakest of the castes compared with the steel and moon castes。 For many girls it is a huge "achievement" to become a Paper Girl。 For Lei it meant being forcibly taken from her home because her rare golden eyes are something that the King would l 1。5 Stars Rounded Up。Eek I'm sorry to give this book such a low rating， but it really wasn't for me。Lei is a paper girl， which is essentially a human girl who is selected for the moon caste King to sleep with。 Paper castes are full humans， considered the weakest of the castes compared with the steel and moon castes。 For many girls it is a huge "achievement" to become a Paper Girl。 For Lei it meant being forcibly taken from her home because her rare golden eyes are something that the King would love。 Understandably， Lei is not comfortable with her "destiny"， at 17 years of age she does not want to be forced to sleep with the King and needs to find a way out。 I was so intrigued by the plot， it covered the topic of sexual assault within a fantasy novel and I was expecting it to be a difficult read， sensitively covering an important topic within a YA novel。 These scenes were handled well and I really appreciated the trigger warnings at the start of the book because reading about sexual assault is not something everyone is going to want to read about。Unfortunately this book just did not deliver。 I did not like the overly descriptive writing style， the boring characters and basically the lack of plot。 In my opinion， nothing happened for about 85% of this book！ It was just Lei going to classes with her friends， talking and eating。 The romance was so bland and unbelievable - when Lei falls in love with the romantic interest after about two conversations， my eyes rolled。 I love a romantic side plot， but I need more relationship build up than I got in this， it was weak。 By the last 50 pages I was just so uninterested I skimmed over what was arguably the most exciting part of the book。 Sadly， I just did not care。 I'm not trying to detract from how important it is to stand against sexual assault。 Yet in a fantasy novel I needed more action， plot and magic！ For a big battle/war to be believable， I just needed more than I got。Apologies， but Girls of Paper and Fire was a huge disappointment for me。 And I still don't understand why books like this are desperate to kill off animals for emotional effect。 NO NEED。Trigger warning: rape/sexual assault/violence/animal killing/kidnapping 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Girls of Paper and Fire

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Girls of Paper and Fire&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Girls of Paper and Fire&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0