ambrosia

happy saturday! today, i've got... a book review................... 

today's book is celestial banquet by roselle lim! ya, a mix of fantasy and adventure with some romance. i picked it up about a couple of weeks ago, cuz like. food. magic. and a competition that could mean death or eternal curses? sign me up.

you probs already assumed from the short bit above, but basically, the entire book revolves around a once-in-a-lifetime culinary competition called the celestial banquet. it's hosted by the three major gods and the empress of the continent, as both their entertainment and to remind the people of their power. each minor god (of which there are four, who each preside over a region of the land) chooses a singular outstanding chef to participate. the chef is also joined by a guardian and an assistant.

our main character is a girl named cai. she runs a noodle stand by herself, self-supporting after her parents passed away. cooking is her entire life, and winning the celestial banquet is her biggest dream, as her father always wanted to go. winning the celestial banquet would mean giving his legacy the highest honor, and prove her high level of skill. outside of the emotional rewards, the winners receive peaches of immortality, fame, and fortune.

alongside her is her assistant seon, her friend and a flirtatious noble's son who loves learning about food, and; her guardian tala, from a faraway region that's known for their fighting prowess. kama, the minor god that rules over her region, also joins the team as is customary for the banquet, though he hasn't sent a team in many generations (he's a bit of an outcast amongst the gods). her childhood friend bo also ends up joining the competition, but acting as guardian for another team, to keep an eye on her n keep her safe.

each culinary trial involves finding and capturing the ingredients they are to prepare as the main stars of the dish. aside from having to do that, the pantries of the capital are completely open to them, with as much opulence and range they could want. reading all the descriptions of the food was definitely my favorite part, and i'm glad lim delivered so well on it. literally mouthwatering. each passage felt like gossamer and glitter: ethereal, tempting, and oh-so-vibrant.

between each chapter is a little excerpt from in-universe texts. about the gods, about the competition, the empress, etc. some of them are letters, which serve to add context in terms of international relations and the background of some characters. i really appreciated the little puzzle pieces. they were like little palate cleansers in between each chapter.

i have to admit though, i wasn't a massive fan of any of the conflict within the book, or its resolutions. a lot of the main tension ended up being from the love triangle between cai, bo, n seon, and i really hate love triangles. i thought it would end up being poly or neither, because she couldn't decide between either of them up until the very last second. they were kissing all the time and i was so confused because those kisses didn't really mean anything??? most of them were random, and while they were described as spur-of-the-moment things, explosions of passion, they don't have any weight. no build up or much of a lingering though past a few in-context hours. which makes sense because they could die in the competition, but in that case, why have it happen at all...? why not establish the tension through other means of intimacy, and then have a grander buildup to a final kiss?

on top of that, seon and bo don't really interact with each other much. they know that she can't decide between them, but they never talk to each other???? it's already established they don't talk to each other because they're so different, but i would really want to see the tension between them rather than all the emotional weight being on cai. most of the emotional depth we get from them are confessions. like of course they have their backstories, but most of the time, they're only in passing and lack weight in regards to the situation at hand again. unless i just don't get it? i read too fast? i wish they were fleshed out a bit more, is what i'm trying to say. they end up being concepts-- seon's the new guy who represents her exciting potential future, and bo was the childhood friend who represented her past and her comfort space.

as for the competition itself, i was sort of hoping it'd be a little more... i dunno. there's a lot of physical risk already, but things seem to work out too well for cai and her team. there isn't a real low point, no rock bottom to get back from that makes the ending satisfying. i wanted more danger and desperation, just the tad bit more grit to ground everything. kama's team hadn't competed in centuries, she comes from the poorest region that the empress wants to invade and wage war against, she is quite literally unknown outside of her region. the other chefs are all highly decorated, educated, have their own massive restaurants. the other minor gods have tricks up their sleeves and are more powerful. i'd expect some more struggle to occur as a result.

i also wish we got a little more about tala. she has a really interesting background story, and i loved her character the most. sharp and taciturn, with a caring and pragmatic heart. but i dunno, i feel as if she was mostly just there to add contrast at times, or to just be another character who prods cai about her romantic decision. she also has a cormorant! c'mon. give the girl with a cormorant more spotlight :(

spoilers: bo dies within the first half of the book, and i thought that would be the massive sacrifice. i thought it would be permanent. the rock bottom, the loss of childhood innocence or her longest source of comfort. but no, they just bring him back to life and he's entirely fine for the rest of the book. other than in terms of his relationship with cai, because of the triangle. like are we not even gonna talk about it? he died!!!!!!!!!!!!

does that make sense? i don't know. if you get it better than i do, i'd really appreciate an explanation. 

but, uh, yeah. those are my thoughts on celestial banquet. i know me complaining makes up, like, half of this review, but i did really enjoy reading it. the prose flows easily, and there's the perfect amount of detail.  i just would've wanted more substance, and more of a focus on the competition or other parts of the new setting they're in rather than having mostly romantic drama as the filler. originally i was going to rate it a 7/10, but after thinking about it, i'll have to lower it a little more to a 6.5/10.

as a little aside, regardless, i love how we're getting more diverse books in the ya scene. it's really nice to see aspects of cultures i'm familiar with finally showing up in the media i consume in a positive way. 

sotd: if you're lucky, no one will get hurt by daphne loves derby