OMG that ending! Both Ouyang and Zhu kind of wrecked me with their choices at the end of the novel. The build up to it was so good and exquisitely done. I really enjoyed SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN and I'm excited for the sequel. It's that type of plotty, journey-to-greatness kind of build up that you see in THE POPPY WAR, but with a more historical, political bend and much more minor fantasy elements. I think it is also notably not overall a very angsty book (there are definitely moments that are angsty, however!), but instead is a very satisfying one. I love seeing the ascension of the characters and I especially loved reading the underdog-like subplots when Zhu was faced with seemingly insurmountable odds, but found a clever solution. I felt like Parker-Chan gave us a really good sense of scope and that helped us appreciate the beauty of the storylines being woven. I also really like how a lot of common motifs penetrated the different storylines without being overwhelming, especially about fate and dedication to people or causes. 

Overall, I'd definitely recommend this novel to people who like meaty fantasy novels with oodles of plot and satisfying underdog, coming-into-greatness type stories. 

The audio narration was also great -- I listened on 2x speed the whole way through, although I would have preferred a faster speed (but it was not available on the platform I used to listen).