Historical fiction which is loosely based on the Hongwu Emperor, with some light fantasy thrown in. In this retelling, the emperor is actually a young girl from a peasant family, who poses as her brother after the rest of her family are killed following a bandit attack. She becomes a monk, then a military commander, and gradually grows in rank and influence while being more and more ruthless.

It was fine, but I’m not sure I’d have finished the book if I wasn’t going to discuss it at book club. The author has a slightly lyrical style I didn’t really enjoy, I didn’t find myself rooting for any character in particular, and I was skimming at multiple points.

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