FGEP was my first time reading a web novel! It read like a series instead of one book. It was great to be in the FGEP world for so long, like when you find a multi-book series you stick with for a while. 

I adore badass females, and Wanyue is the perfect badass female for a novel. I longed to read anything about Wanyue. The other lead was interesting enough, but I found myself just waiting for Wanyue to come back into the text. I felt pity for the loss and manipulation Wanyue endured. I felt proud of all Wanyue accomplished despite being a woman in a man’s world. And I was consistently awed by Wanyue’s strength and determination to overcome all the obstacles. Okay, yes, I probably have a crush on the female general.

The novel was one of the slowest burns I’ve ever encountered. But I did enjoy it! There was politics, espionage, war, and love, all in one story. But the love took its time to grow, which I liked. Nothing felt rushed or unrealistic on that front.

I raced through most of the novel, squeezing in some reading time whenever possible. I did get slightly bored occasionally. Maybe it was because of the length. Perhaps it was because some of the palace politics confused me. Or it was because the battle scenes got a little repetitive. The story pulled me back every time, though! l would go to another book for a few days, but then I would miss Wanyue. Soon, I would dive right back in to visit that fantastic female general.

Having author notes was new for me. Seeing the author’s thoughts immediately after writing a chapter was like a glimpse behind the curtain! The notes didn’t provide story context; they were just interesting, that is all. Some of my favorite text of the novel was actually found in author note sections. My favorite being: “Care and love does not need extra words. You don’t need to say how much you love me because I have my own senses . . . Even if I never hear I love you for my whole life, but as long as one day, I’m old, and you’re still here, that’s enough.”

This novel also had extra “bonus” chapters after the story ended. For MDZS, it felt like these chapters were a way for the author to address fan complaints. FGEP wasn’t like that! The extras did not feel forced or out of character as they did in MDZS. They were more like another peek into the mind of the author. The chapters were the author's ideas that didn’t exactly fit into the story. The author even wrote about the extras, saying that the story of the general and princess had already ended and that the author was happy with the ending even if fans were not; the extras were not part of that story, but something different the author wanted to share.

I thought the authorized English fan translation flowed really well. Honestly, it read fifty times better than the published MDZS translations; props to the translation team!

Chinese sapphic historical fiction is now a winning genre in my book! Get it? My book? I must find more of this genre now.

It feels like this was the longest book I ever read. Although, maybe it’s just the online format that made it feel that way. Also, is this the longest review I’ve ever written?