Thank you to the publisher for graciously providing me with an early copy of "Song of Silver, Flame Like Night." This compelling fantasy novel immediately captivated me with its beautifully crafted prose. The intricacies of the magic system and the complex web of politics among the clans fascinated me throughout the read.

While the world-building and prose were exceptional, I couldn't help but notice that the character development fell a bit short. The relationships and individual traits seemed to blend, and I didn't find any of the characters particularly endearing. For the sequel, I hope to see more well-fleshed-out and multidimensional personalities that will truly engage readers on a deeper level.

Nonetheless, I am eagerly looking forward to how the story unfolds in the next installment. With such a promising foundation, I have high hopes for the future of this series.

I loved this book. The world building was so rich and beautiful and I loved the characters. The romance, the found family, the TWIST! I loved it all. I can’t wait to read the next book.

One tiny thing to note is that this is dense world building. I will mostly likely need a reread before reading book 2 in order to properly appreciate all of the details.

This was actually my first book by Amelie Wen Zhao and I’m certain it will not be my last.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I think my favorite part of this book was the world building and magic system. It felt like all the world building aspects of this story were very thought out and thoroughly mapped out as the story was being written. The magic is truly unique and unlike any other fantasy I've ever read. Where I kept sort of fading in and out when I was reading was the pacing not necessarily of the story but of the main characters development. It felt like she was helpless and trying to catch up for most of the book and then by the end it felt like she just comes into her power.

I definitely did love the world and I want to know more about the mythology and I'm interested in continuing the series and see how the rest of the story unfolds. This is my first Amelie Wen Zhao book and it for sure won't be my last.

4/5 stars

I received a free copy of this book, and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
 
My first impression after finishing this book was WOW. I am not too familiar with Amélie Wen Zhao’s books or with Chinese mythology/folklore, but this book was fantastic! A book has to be pretty impressive to get me to make it through 500+ pages, and I was surprised at how well this book held my attention.

This book checked off several boxes for me: Asian-inspired story, fantasy romance, folklore/mythology, dragons, and a unique magic system! Sometimes, YA fantasy romances prioritize the romance aspect so much that the plot suffers, but I am so happy to say that was not the case here! The world-building was excellent, the plot lagged at times but remained riveting throughout, and the magic system was incredibly interesting. The middle part of the book was the hardest to get through, but the ending made everything worth it!

The story is told through the dual POVs of Lan and Zen. Both of them were well-written characters, and I liked the mystery surrounding Zen and his past. I also liked the mystery behind the symbol on Lan’s wrist, left behind by her mother right before she died. Some side characters were introduced in this book, and I hope we see more of them in the second book since their roles weren’t explored much in this one. In particular, I want to see more of Tài (I hope I spelled his name right) and his powers!

I liked the dynamic between Lan and Zen a lot! They balanced each other out so well, and it reminded me of the relationships in c-dramas!

There were a few times where I felt like the plot was a little predictable, though it didn’t really prevent me from enjoying the story. I did feel like there was a lot of info-dumping, especially in the beginning. The ending was my absolute favorite part! The plot picked up speed, and the action scenes were amazing! I can’t wait to see how things will end in the sequel!

If you like the YA fantasy romance genre and/or enjoy Asian-inspired reads, I think you’ll like this one! The length and the pacing might be problematic for some readers, but I thought this was an interesting story and am looking forward to the sequel!

Content: violence, death, demonic magic, explicit language, mentions of sexual assault

I enjoyed this book and purchased for our collection. This was requested as part of a program and shared with high schoolers at a book talk.

I wish I had more knowledge of Chinese mythology. This book has sparked an interest in me that I cannot wait to explore. I found the writing style magical, and I will keep my eye on AWZ for future stories.

I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. The main character, Lan, seemed childish and whiny and petty. The book also felt long and drawn out, which I usually don’t mind in fantasy, but it really bothered me here.

As I sit to write this I am torn. Every thought I have falls into a o K“did I like this?” gap. I really, for example, loved all of the small details in the world building. I think it is clear that Zhao put more thought into the world she created than I did reading it, which isn’t true often enough. But the flip side of that is the info dumping. Just paragraphs of info being dumped - and because she wrote the book with dual POVs we often got the same info dumped twice.

I liked the characters - I thought there was enough nuance that I understood why characters made choices I didn’t agree with. But the characters also felt like Star Wars fanfiction? I don’t even like Star Wars, but it felt so much like it that I kept noticing.

The book, while the first in the series, felt like a sophomore slump - that second book in a series that just exists for transport. Having finished it, all the info dumping now feels like Zhao just wanted to get us to the end so she could do the really cool things she wants to do for the rest of the book and series - because the last quarter of the book? It popped off!

I was unsure I would finish the series at about half way through, but I finished the book and immediately looked for the publications date for the next.

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night starts out strong, however starting a few chapters in the book becomes very similar to a slew of other books on the market. The magic system is interesting and probably is the thing that helps this stand out most, but the characters fell a bit flat which made it a bit harder to read through.

If you can push through it it picks back up enough by the end to leave you wanting the sequel.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC of SONG OF SILVER, FLAME LIKE NIGHT!

Rating: 4/5 stars

Brief synopsis: Songgirl Lan enters a world of magic and ancient practices when she is forced to escape her town with the help of the mysterious practitioner Zen. With the help of Zen and other in-hiding practitioners, she discovers the mysteries behind her late mom’s legacy and the history of her land before Elantian colonizers took over.

I’ve read so many books lately that are inspired and influenced by Chinese mythology and boy I think I’ve found one of my favorite sub-genres. I’ve always been interested in mythology, culture, and history (proven by my minor in history in college), and this book is absolutely filled the brim with new things to learn and epic world-building. This book is long and well worth it, since it establishes so much and needs time to build to the climax of the story. The whole commentary on colonization by the people being affected directly by the colonizations too brought an important perspective to reflect upon.

This felt like I was in a lecture but I love learning, so it made the experience so much more enjoyable. It was so well written and the author helped the reader understand the different elements of everything with decent time to process it. It was a slow book (probably due to all the world building) and a little too long for my liking, but the length and pace were to be expected because of how much was in it.

I LOVED the cast of characters, no matter how insignificant or very significant they were. Lan and Zen’s relationship felt authentic and had great dynamics, but I felt like the romance being established wasn’t needed (at least during the first book, since I know this is most likely gonna be a series based on the ending and the Goodreads information). However, the two (maybe queer) side characters need to survive and I support that romance 10000% and I love them so much, whether they’re actually a couple or just really close friends.

One last thing I wanted to touch upon was the main characters’ character arcs. Lan’s arc was exactly what I was expecting and more (her becoming stronger and using her newfound powers/strength for good) but Zen’s arc felt really out of character for me. It didn’t make much sense, him becoming this almost anti-hero, but I’m interested to see what comes of it regardless.

Highly recommend this book for fans of Judy I Lin and Chinese mythology in general!

After taking a short unintentional break form reading secondary-world fantasy, this was my first book jumping back into it and I had so much fun while reading. While there were moments that clearly felt like “oh, it’s that trope,” the story did not suffer from it and it didn’t feel too predictable. I loved having a dual POV story and getting the chance to know Lan and Zen separately from how they viewed each other.

There were a few moments that definitely took me by surprise but didn’t feel out of place, which I both love and think is difficult to achieve. I loved the magic system and how the symbolism behind it unfolded with the story and there’s something wrapped up in this that makes me so excited for the next book. It’s been a while since I enjoyed a YA fantasy so much ❤️

Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte / Random House for an e-ARC of this book!

Amélie Wen Zhao is a master of beautiful and striking prose. If you like fantasy and adventure you should definitely give this book a try.

I wish I loved this book a little more, especially with how things ended. I think that with a little more oomph, I would have loved both Lan and Zen enough to Feel for everything they were going through. I'm not even sure what it is that didn't grab me. I think perhaps a lot of it was how slow the pacing was and how a lot of the story was having to learn alongside Lan. I don't like to study and found myself dozing a few times. An ok read

I really enjoyed this story and I loved Lan. I liked her spunk and persistence. I also found the world building and magic system to be pretty cool. My biggest complaint was that it seemed to really slow down in the middle. There was a longish travel section and I jus got really bored with.

Read this with my “fantasy frenemies” book club and I think I speak for everyone when I say that this book is a must-read for fantasy lovers. Would particularly recommend to fans of Shelley Parker Chan and Samantha Shannon.

I do not have much to say about this book. The world was well-developed with the multiple sides and the ambiguity of how everyone is prejudiced. The discussion of the tactics and results of colonization was also demonstrated well and very relevant. However, I was bored while reading this, and even though events did happen, the pace felt meandering. I did not have strong feelings of attachment to either POV, though I liked Lan slightly more, and I felt almost nothing about the side characters.

A tale of ancient demon gods and those doomed to repeat history.

A story of a girl named Lan who’s people have been colonized and forced to give up their culture, language, and power. As a song girl, Lan finds ways to hide from her past but she can only do so for so long until she is discovered by those hunting her once again.

The first chapter was dull but chapter two is where it’s at man! This is one that gets better as you go on.

This reminds me of The Poppy War, not just bc of imperialism but the powers the main characters acquire, going to a school, and the fight and war thereafter.

Definitely recommend picking this up if you haven’t already. There is a book 2 and there is an unfinished ending (that I am not too happy about the decisions that were made but shall read anyway). So be prepared when going into this. You will end up loving it.

Okay, this is a generous 4 for me, but this book had me F’ed up, fr. 😅🙈 I wasn’t totally sure in the first half, but the second got me with all the feels, especially with the found fam and disciple/master relationships.
Now backtrack - the map is amazingly gorgeous and hope we see a new one in the next book, also, the chronology really helped set the stage and was so useful to go back to as you’re learning about this world and its history.
The first third was definitely on the bumpy side, a little impenetrable with the info dumps and some personal pet peeves like repetitive words and modern phrasing (which didn’t wholly stop throughout, but got better). Watching the world, characters, and story grow did pan out and was worth it for me. Not even mad about Lan being somewhat of a speshul savior character, she kept fighting, wasn’t overly angry, and didn’t fall into giant pits of despair after setbacks, all of which felt liked worked for the YA tone. Grandmaster Dé’zi was my favorite character (and maybe Lan’s mother, would love even more about her), his dialogue and manner were comforting and inspiring, while I felt Zen was overall the weakest execution-wise, though I still liked him enough.
The details of the world and mythology were beautiful, the description of Zen’s/Lan’s dagger, That Which Cuts Stars, reminded me in a way of The Subtle Knife from His Dark Materials in a good way. The descriptive detail was more successful for me than in Daughter of the Moon Goddess, felt like it encompassed the whole world vs. focusing on a few specific things that got over-described repeatedly. Probably closer to a 3.75 in reality, but whatev, looking forward to the next one. ☺️

<b>CW:</b> colonization, racism, torture, blood, genocide (historical, mostly off page)

<i>Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte / Random House for an e-ARC of this book!</i>

I love books that incorporate mythology and fairytales so I was pretty much bound to enjoy this one especially since Chinese mythology is one of my favorites.

I’m not sure why exactly but I ended up reading this book pretty slowly. I don’t know if I was subconsciously wanting to take my time with the prose or if there wasn’t really a reason, but I often felt like I’d read a ton and then I’d glance at the page number and realize I’d only gotten through like two chapters.

Lan and Zen definitely grew on me as main characters. Lan is very feisty for lack of a better word and she will do what she needs to achieve her goal. She has a very interesting inner-conflict and I like reading her journey and seeing how she adapted to the school and how on the quest she began to learn more about herself and the world. The reveal about the characters on the Seal on her arm was amazing as well. I did not love Zen’s POV as much as Lan’s but I really did like how it felt like he was keeping secrets even from the reader. There were twists and turns all throughout regarding him and his backstory and I was never expecting all the mysteries that were uncovered about him. A lot of the other characters were interesting enough to read about in the moment, but I doubt they’re going to stick with me as much as Lan and Zen. There was a POV character added in one of the last chapters that I’m very intrigued by and I hope to read more from her in the sequel!

The story itself was super engaging. This was so chock-full of story that it honestly had series finale energy. As I was reading the second half I was thinking how this book could have been split into two installments because of how crazy and intense the latter half of the book was. There were events that felt like they could be things worthy of a closing of a story/series so I was really impressed with that and it made me very excited about what Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White will hold. The plot kept me guessing and I never really knew what to expect. I wonder if I would like the book even more on reread now that I know the trajectory of the story a bit more.

Amelie Wen Zhao really impressed me with her writing style. It’s so descriptive and the exact balance I love.

This world was probably my favorite aspect. It’s so magical and whimsical and I just adore all the Chinese mythology and the history of this world so much. The epigraphs before each chapter really helped immerse you and I loved how the magic system was all about qi and the balance between yin and yang. The tortoise, tiger, Phoenix, and dragon story is one of my favorites and I love how integral to this novel it became at the end. I’m very excited to see where it goes and how it develops in the next book.

☯️🪷🏯⚔️🐅🐉🐢🪶

Lan is a song girl in a city overrun by Elantian colonizers. All she has left of her mother is a strange mark on her arm that no one else can see but her. Until one evening, when she finds herself in a dangerous situation in the tea house, she is saved by a young boy who can also see the mark. Desperate for answers, Lan follows Zen and attempts to learn from him. Though they both have secrets, they seem connected by fate. What will it cost Lan to find the answers she seeks?

One of the biggest strengths of this work is the worldbuilding. The amount of time the author spent creating a compelling and immersive world is evident. From things as small to spices in food to as large as demon gods and cosmology, details were incorporated throughout the story to create a beautiful and engaging world. The characters were written well enough to not detract from the book although they were too archetypal/tropey for my liking (a special girl with unexplainable magic, a dark handsome dangerous boy, an aggressive by-the-books girl who hates the special girl, etc.). This story was told from both Lan's and Zen's POVs, which was well balanced and provided good insight. I disliked the romance though as there was no palpable chemistry between the characters involved.

One of my biggest dislikes in this work is related to the worldbuilding. The author relied on info dumping throughout to provide the readers with enough background information to make the plot and characters' actions understandable. Due to how expansive the world of this book is and how much depth the author included, the information provided was certainly necessary. But knowing this still didn't make the paragraphs of background information that constantly interrupted the plot/dialogue any more enjoyable. I also would have preferred if the colonization aspect of the work was less heavy handed and took up less page time. I know it made up much of the main conflicts in this work, but I've read other books where it's included in a compelling way without being spelled out so repeatedly and obviously.

There was also a great deal of repetition throughout the work, especially related to explaining things. Something would be referenced and an explanation given, then a few pages later when it was referenced again, the author included the whole initial explanation again. Between this and the info-dumping, this book was sometimes difficult to be excited to read.

All of that being said, I did enjoy this work of fantasy overall and will likely read the next book. My thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.