#xan temurezen

[jessread-s]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

✩☄️🌙Review:

The conclusion to Lan and Zen’s story will overwhelm your tear ducts.

Following the events of the first installment, “Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White” revolves around Lan and Zen as they seek out a way save their kingdom from the Elantian colonizers. At the center of both of their journeys are the Demon Gods and the immense power they have. Only, they are no longer fighting together. Now on opposite sides, Lan and Zen will have to face each other and the choices they made to free their people. 

Inspired by ancient Chinese history and mythology “Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White” is just as lyrical and atmospheric as its predecessor. 

Having done all the heavy lifting in terms of world-building in the previous novel, Zhao focuses mainly on Lan and Zen’s relationship. Their star-crossed love was captivating, making it difficult to put this book down even as my heart was breaking. 

The internal struggle Zen faces throughout the book - losing himself completely to the Demon God devouring his soul, yet wanting to give Lan his heart - absolutely wrecked me. Seriously. Reading from Zen’s perspective was almost painful because I grew so attached to his character and understood the cause he sacrificed everything for, which is a testament to Zhao’s ability to heighten emotions in her readers.

Much like “Song of Silver, Flame Like Night,” this book’s ending is equally beautiful and devastating. While bittersweet, wrapping it up any other way would have been unsatisfying. Make sure you have tissues on hand!

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

[jessread-s]

✩🐉🌙Book Box:

“Song of Silver, Flame Like Night” was the first e-arc I ever received! To celebrate that milestone, I knew that I had to get my hands on @illumicrate’s February “Into the Fire” box and I am so glad that I did!

Illumicrate’s special edition of “Song of Silver, Flame Like Night” is by far the most gorgeous book that I own and it is all because of the absolutely stunning full color printing on the hardback by @monafinden and the beautiful endpaper artwork by @gracezhuart. The printing and endpaper artwork in combination with the digitally sprayed edges blew me away as soon as I took the book out of the box. I’m tempted to create a display case just so I can stare at this edition at all hours of the day.

Other wonderful items I received:

✨The Poppy War book jacket designed by @pauhamil ✨Glass water bottle designed by @rosdottir  ✨Legendborn pin designed by @alyesasworld ✨Daughter of the Moon Goddess book light designed by @chattynora

I am so excited to decorate my bookshelves with these goodies! 

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

[jessread-s]

✩🐉🌙Review:

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*

“Song of Silver, Flame Like Night” alternates between the perspectives of Lan, a songgirl, and Zen, one of the few surviving practitioners of the Last Kingdom. The two are brought together by fate at a teahouse in Haak’gong, a city colonized by the Elantian regime. Lan discovers that Zen is the only one that is able to see the mark on her arm left by her mother before she was killed—the mark of practitioner with a powerful ability that the Elantians seek to destroy. With danger lurking everywhere, Lan and Zen escape to the only remaining school of practitioning in hopes of finding the answers they seek to the secrets buried within.

I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the origin of Lan and Zen’s secrets whilst occupying their minds. Their distinct voices and their flaws made them all the more compelling and contributed to my love for the relationship that bloomed between them.

Another aspect of the novel I appreciated is Zhao’s world-building. It is absolutely phenomenal! She immerses the reader in her world by providing rich descriptions of the land, detailing important elements of Hin culture, and dedicating an entire section of the preface to the history of the Last Kingdom leading up to the Elantian conquest.

Zhao’s complex magic system compliments the world she establishes. She draws from the mythology and folklore of ancient China to inspire the way of the practitioners (magicians in a sense). In her fictional tale, practitioners draw qi from the natural world and channel it into Seals that have certain functions, which I found fascinating. The most skilled practitioners draw from both yīn and yáng energies, the two halves of all qi, to stay balanced. Demonic practitioners, however, wield qi consisting largely of yīn energies and bind demons to themselves to borrow their power.

The Elantians have magic of their own that matches that of the practitioners and make them formidable foes. They are able to harness the power of metal to create their magic. Bronzes and Coppers have the ability to wield only a single metal to do their bidding whereas Alloys have the ability to work multiple metals.

The end of “Song of Silver, Flame Like Night” is devastating and powerful in equal measure. I cannot wait to see where Zhao takes her readers in book two of this magical duology!

➤ 4.25 stars

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph