More of the same as the first book. Unfortunately, the main character's PoV just isn't that interesting, and I'm not a fan of the flat-chested body-shaming as well.

This novel had the same flaws that I discussed in book 1. This book had a lot of potential but was not executed well.

As much as I couldn't handle Kaiya in the first book, she has grown a lot over the 2 years between Songs of Insurrection and Orchestra of Treacheries. There are a lot of characters to keep track of in this one and it made it difficult to connect with any of them. I don't love Jie as much as everyone else seems to either and grew tired of the constant references to her being flat chested.

I considered this to be an improvement on the 1st book in the series but I don't think I'll be reading any more of them.


Thanks so much to Netgalley and the Author for the e-arc!

this was a great sequel as I really enjoyed going through this book. The characters were great and I enjoyed the world that was built in this.

I was still riding on the high of Songs of Insurrection when I started this one, and Orchestra of Treacheries did not disappoint, and in fact, took all the positives from the first book to a whole new level.
This sequel came out fighting from the start and turned all expectations on its head in the best possible way. This is epic fantasy in every sense of the world, and it has the grit and brutality, and a healthy dose of action that bleeds through the pages. OoT was an emotional and narrative rollercoaster from start to finish, and as soon as I got to the end I wanted to jump on again, and this one left me with quite a hefty book hangover.
Full review to come on my YouTube channel.

This is the second book in the legends of tivara series, and I have to say it wasn't as good as book 1. Overall, the writing was great but thee characters failed to hook me. I didn't care for the action in this one, and it let me down, sadly.

Without giving spoilers for the first book. The Second picks up the pace now that the world is a bit established and escalates things nicely. Looking forward to the next one.

"What can we trust more than that which comes from within ourselves?"

Orchestra of Treacherieshas spanned two years after the events in Songs of Insurrection wherein readers are now introduced to a more mature, more knowledgeable, and more well-rounded Princess Kaiya as she continues to learn her magic and destiny of keeping the dragon Avarax at bay. Not only are we following her story, but we are also following the villians and scheming politicians' point of views. This second installment was just so jam-packed with that familiar drama, action, and plots that I've come to know in the author's works, but this one just took it up to whole new level. The character work was splendid, and while I couldn't care that much towards a couple of characters' POVs, the amount of character development, dynamics, and conflicts among everyone were truly fulfilling, and I had so much fun following them from start to finish. If you're a fan of heavy politics in your fantasy novels, you'll enjoy this one because it's very detailed and musing, and it might feel a bit clunky for anyone who minds it.

I absolutely adored how we finally got a more expanded world in this story. Sure, the first book was already expansive, but the second book definitely reached further across its borders and finally introduced a lot of the places and cultures that were mentioned in the previous books. The reimagined Asian countries and their respective cultures in this series is really the huge selling point for me, because everything was done meticulously and anyone can fully appreciate it. Also, I enjoyed how we got to see more of how Kaiya's power of music and song come into play in the story.

This is definitely a stronger and more enjoyable follow up for Songs of Insurrection, but there are some few flaws that took away a bit of that enjoyment for me. Nevertheless, I'm still pretty pumped to read the next book in this beautiful series.

Full review to be posted soonish.

I would like to thank the publisher and netgalley for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

ARC from NetGalley

Okay this one was better than the last one, but it still had some failings. It put me in a bit of a reading slump. It's pretty long for a book where not a whole lot actually happens. There were several times that I was totally lost and had to go back and still couldn't make heads or tails of anything. A lot of the names in this book are similar enough, at least to my eye, that they sort of ended up merging. We don't get to know any of the characters well enough to really give much of a shit about them. It feels like this book exists only to set up books to come. Nothing is well fleshed out. There really isn't any worldbuilding. It seems like the author is relying on pre-existing cultures and hoping that's enough. There is a whisper of romance in this book, but it's barely there. Again, just to set up future books.

Also, I get it, Jie is flat-chested. JIE IS FLAT OKAY. FLAT AS A BOARD.

I don't think I'll be reading the next ones. There isn't anything about it that hooks me. There isn't a romance I want to see come to fruition. There isn't a bad guy I desperately want to see suffer. There isn't fascinating magic and whimsy. No nail-biting mysteries. It's not bad, it's just hollow.

Amazing!

This book took place 2 years after the first one, so it took me a moment to get oriented in the world and reintroduced to characters.

There was so much political intrigue, and strategy interwoven in this book and I was along for the ride.

Definitely shocked by a few reveals and twists, and loved the sprinkling of action scenes throughout to break up the less exciting moments.

Definitely excited to get my hands on the next book!

Thank you so much to JC Kang for reaching out to me and gifting me an e-copy in exchange for an honest review!

trigger warning
<spoiler> trauma, grief, being drugged, being kidnapped, mention of rape, mention of suicide, misogyny </spoiler>

Two years have passed, and Kaiya has been fending off marriage proposals, waiting for Prince Hardeep's return. For various reasons which depend on whom you ask, she is send as and envoy to far away lands.

I had trouble getting into this one, and yes, in part it was due to me and my health, but I had problems with the sheer amount of people who got their own PoVs. In book one, for the most part, we had three people who were easy to differentiate. This second installment start introducing and introducting and keeps on till I lost any orientation I had. It returned on the final pages, but I still think it could have been handled better.

What I liked was that we venture out of Cathay to see more of the world.
It's fun to see so many different Asian countries represented in fictional cultures and learn more about the people living in it.

I don't have much to say. I didn't like this one as I Iiked the first book but still want to read on if possible.
The arc was provided by the publisher.

mentioned why i won’t be reading this series or anything from this author in my review of the first book: it contains prominent racist comments that are not addressed in a way to combat alike mindsets but to encourage it.

Rating: 4 ⭐

Well, that’s what I call a turn... I don’t regret giving the author a second chance! Second book of #LegendsOfTivara has so much improvement story and character vise!

My issues with the first book were that there wasn’t much of the action, and everything was rather naïve and slow. In the second book though, characters have developed so well, that even main heroine Kaija wasn’t annoying anymore. We get to travel outside Cathay and explore beautiful territories with their own magic and creatures.

We get to know more about dragons and their powers and what can song of the special person do to them. As I wrote before, I LOVE the fact that author has used Indo-Chinese territories and mythology, as well as their traditions, it somehow makes this story stand out and unique (I haven’t read anything with this combination before, however, to make it perfect book needed more details).

There are many political “games”, intrigues as well as war and trading issues.

Language vise it was also more pleasant and smooth, I enjoyed it. Thank you, JC Kang.

Thank you #Netgalley for E-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Dnf at 23%. (I shouldn’t give it a rating at all since its so early on) Book 1 was a disaster on itself but i thought id just see whether it gets better here, but this story is just not for me. Apart from the writing style itself that I didn’t care much for, the characters really weren’t that appealing and i just lost interest in the world building itself as well :((.

Note: i got an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.