- #1
This novel hits many of my favorite story elements.We've got a strong, bada$$ FL cross dressing as a boy. We've got an icy ML with a sad back story who is adorably confused by his growing feelings for FL. Although they're rivals for recognition and achievements, they still support each other behind the scenes, maintaining a strong unbreakable bond between them. Sounds pretty good so far, right?The only thing I can't get behind is FL's personality. Have you read any stories that have a "shameless flirt"-type character? Typically it's a man who thinks he is God's gift to woman. Every woman he meets is a delicate, gentle flower in need of his pampering, but sadly he can only satisfy a small number of the many woman on earth in his lifetime. This is FL'S attitude towards men.She shamelessly flirts with any handsome man she meets (remember she's dressed as a male so her actions typically fill their recipients with disgust), bombarding them with cheesy pickup lines and a patronizing attitude of pampering and forbearance towards the weaker and less intelligent gender. If the author approached this in a humorous way, it could have been hilarious. But unfortunately, it's executed in the normal way you see in romance novels (just the gender of the offender is opposite your expectation).FL believes woman are superior to men--but not for any legitimate female-specific reasons. This isn't a story about "celebrating woman as woman"; it's a story where all of the typical gender stereotypes associated with men and woman are flipped. So in her original world, woman are associated with high military and political achievements, domineering personalities and overtly s*xual flirtations, while men are associated with being weak, silly, overly romantic and only good for looking at and warming beds. Regardless of gender, this whole attitude is just disgusting to read and not something I wanna see in an MC. As the story continues, FL begins to respect ML and is surprised to see that he is just as intelligent and talented as herself. While the author does provide us hope that FL and ML can have an equal, fulfilling relationship in the future, I don't think I can hang on long enough to see it.Still, if the aboce points don't hit any of your pet peeves, I can recommend this novel for fans of political, historical and romantic novels.
