The Iron Will of Genie Lo
F.C. Yee
(Affiliate Links)
Genie Lo thought she was busy protecting the Bay Area from demons. But now, as a Heaven- appointed Guardian, even the well-being of demons is her responsibility—and their numbers are multiplying. Guanyin and Quentin are doing their best to help; but what they really need is for the Jade Emperor to get off his butt and deal with the crisis. While he’s AWOL, Genie nominates Guanyin to fill in his shoes, unaware that the role will go to the god who can defeat a mysterious threat to the supernatural order. Along with a few other contenders for the throne, including a former enemy, Genie and her friends embark on a Heavenly quest to an in-between world. But when faced with true danger, the group realizes that what will save the universe this time is sacrifice, not strength.
Like the first book, The Epic Crush of Genie Lo, this book follows the Monkey King legend and multiple characters from similar Chinese folklore and legends. It’s a great book, but I don’t think it has the same charm that the first one did.
The Iron Will of Genie Lo is a sequel, but also the end of a duology which perfectly encapsulates what it’s like to be given a lot of responsibility on top of the life you must live. Genie is a star student, has extra curriculars and is on her way to getting into a great college. In both books, she struggles with the added pressure of being a legendary sword come to life and needing to save California and the World.
Genie is genuinely a high school student, and the book isn’t all fantasy. We go to a college open day with Genie and Yunie and watch as they do normal teen activities, such as college parties. On top of this, Genie is trying to decide where she wants to go to college, if she should even go, and typical teenage dating problems. Seeing these things side by side, both makes those issues small in comparison, but it’s also great to highlight that Genie still worries about all these things. This is a good message for teens who may read this, that it’s okay to be worried about all these decisions you have to make (but it won’t be the end of the world).
Alongside Genie we had best friend Yunie and boyfriend/Monkey King Quentin to help her out. The relationship with Quentin was extremely well written, even when they were badly communicating. Whilst this can sometimes get annoying – it felt like exactly how a teenager would act and fits well into the story. Yunie is a brilliant secondary character and she got some extra page time in this book. I loved how she was given a mini sub-plot which slotted right in with the main storyline.
Alongside our human characters we also have the Gods. Guanyin makes a return as someone to guide Genie in her role. She also has a compelling story arc which created a lot of suspense, because you just weren’t sure how this would end. We also have a re-introduction of Erlang Shen from the first book, which was comical due to Genie’s reaction. We also get introduced to even more heavenly beings who have their own well-written personalities based on folklore.
Overall, the plot was really fun. It threw me some curveballs that I just was not expecting. The antagonist of the story was really well done – I loved how we found out their motivations, but also how it was kind of understandable why they were doing it. We also get a little time jump at the end and find out the perfect ending for the duology.
Positives of Iron Will of Genie Lo
- Good characters
- Easy to read plot, with good morals
Negatives of Iron Will of Genie Lo
- Second book syndrome
I received The Iron Will of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee from the publisher. This is an unbiased and honest review
