She Who Became the Sun is the underrated, unheard of book you need to read right now.

This book made my chest physically ache.

I wandered around the house dejectedly for an entire evening after finishing She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan. I'm STILL not ready for the sequel.

Historical fiction (barely fantasy) about the founding emperor of China's Ming Dynasty, but make it queer and subversive. Gray morally-sketch characters you'll somehow root for anyway. Writing so immaculate it made me want to write essays AND give up writing forever.
Is it perfect? No. (The POV-jumping got me.) Do I love it anyway?
Absolutely.

Have you read this? Should I dive into the sequel or give myself more recovery time? 😭