Mary Fan

Literary Merit: Great
Characterization: Good
Recommended: Yes
Reading Level: High School
A unique book with bad ass heroine. It is a genre mashup of steampunk, fantasy, and ancient China. I love that the heroine went from girl who was sent off to marry a royal to save her town and became a developed character with full agency as she fought alongside a warrior and was the one to save him from the villain and battle a bronze dragon. The plot was slow in the middle and I didn’t like the male show more character as much with so many secret twists that seemed thrown in instead of developed. But I liked their dynamic and that she was smarter than him. Fun story and I’ve never read anything else like it show less

Let Me Fly Free is the second novella in the Fated Stars series, but I can assure you that it reads excellently as a standalone. I can also assure you that you'll want to read the first novella as soon as you've finished, so perhaps you'll want to get both at the same time! As a lover of all things Fantasy related, it's always a joy to find a novella that is able to immerse me just as well as most of the tomes that I generally read. Mary Fan's writing did just that.

This story introduces us show more to Elaia, a fire nymph whose personality more than lives up to the element crackling inside her. See, Elaia is unpredictable. She's passionate, slightly stubborn, and full of the kind of deep curiosity that tends to get characters in trouble. When an unknown beast threatens her home, Elaia's first instinct is to fight back. Which, of course, goes against everything that she's ever been taught. She's supposed to sit back and be taken care of, but what great hero ever accomplished anything by doing that? Honestly, that's what I loved most about this novella. Elaia's bright and impulsive personality sang through the otherwise quiet of her homeland. Where others fled, she remained.

After doing some poking around, I realized that Kiri is the focus of the first novella in this series. Which, as I said before, means that I need to go and seek it out. If Elaia is impulsiveness embodied, Kiri is patience and kindness. Mary Fan did such an excellent job of showing the contrast between these two, and it was really Kiri who reminded Elaia that sometimes it's more important to care for others than to follow your own path. These two seemed to keep one another centered, and I have high hopes that they'll be back! show less

This anthology is about teen women who are hackers, tinkerers, scientists, ect. It is a geeky, fun anthology! Most of the stories end on cliffhangers, which is frustrating. I know the space was limited for each story.

I really liked how inventive some of the stories were. The virtual world one where the woman had to fight avatars and hack into the system was awesome.

Overall, a great anthology! And it's for charity too! Go girls, plug in!

I was given a free copy for an honest review.

Stronger than a Bronze Dragon by Mary Fan is an Asian inspired tale that follows Liang Anlei on her quest to save her village from the ravages of the demonic Ligui. Anlei is one of the few women serving in the Dailan Guard, protecting the village from the nightly predations of the Ligui. When the Viceroy of the province offers the protection of his personal army in exchange for Dailan's sacred River Pearl, the deal is sealed with a marriage pact and Anlei is chosen to be his new bride. The show more fierce Anlei is unhappy at the prospect, especially since the Viceroy makes it clear he views her as property. When the River Pearl is stolen, putting Dailan's protection at risk, she goes after the thief. Tai isn't what she expects though, and needs the Pearl just as desperately as she does to save his own people. She agrees to go with him and help, then return the Pearl to the Viceroy. In doing so, Anlei ends up on an adventure that leads her all the way to the Courts of Hell to confront Mowang and learn the truth of the Ligui, a truth more terrible than she once thought.

I rather enjoyed this story! I love the Asian inspired culture, patterned after the ancient Chinese dynasties. People from other cultures show up too. 'Westerners' in passing, and African in the form of Ibsituu, a magic user. She was one of my favourite characters. I absolutely adored the steampunk elements, with the magically driven clockwork dragons and automatons. Especially the dragons! And there are airships as well! Visiting the mythical Courts of Hell was neat, again, inspired by Chinese myth. It was a little surreal too, especially the hallucinations the demons induced.

I liked Anlei well enough. At times, her impulsiveness annoyed me. She put others at risk too often by not thinking before acting, including risking the Viceroy's protection for her people. Tai the thief, on the other hand, was too adorable and I sympathised with his feelings of being unwanted, and how it shaped his childhood, and adulthood. His carefree nature was hiding such deep wounds. While I believe that the circumstances the pair faced together could forge a bond of love quickly, I find it difficult in this case, given Anlei's personality and disposition. I believe Tai could, but I kinda feel Tai deserves better too. Anlei has dyslexia, and it was neat to see how that played into the story. It didn't feel a contrived element either, but just a part of who she was. The time felt too short for such an adventure, even given the speed the airships offered travel. Everything seemed building to reaching Mowang, but that wasn't the end of the story, and the last bit felt rushed and thrust a background character into the forefront.

If you enjoy Asian influenced fantasy, and steampunk elements, be sure to check this read out! I look forward to seeing the writer grow into her own, and I'd definitely read future books. Especially if they have the clockwork dragons!

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Page Street Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. Reviewed as part of the Fantastic Flying Book Club Blog Tour. show less