This book was so lovely to read. It is so vivid and pleasing. Zhao created such a wondrous and imaginative world with characters you are equally as obsessed with.

Unfortunately this one wasn’t for me. It sounds so good and I absolutely loved the beginning of it but it lost me around 150 pages in.

thank you netgalley for this arc!!
this book kind of reminded me of the poppy war!! the world building was such a good job and the characters are really interesting, but i feel like something was missing for me. maybe because many things were just talked about and not shown. THE ENDING THO? i’m seated for the second book!!

I got this from NetGalley last year and never got around to reading it but had also preordered the UK edition so I went between those two formats AND also got the audiobook from Libby. I ended up enjoying this a lot. There definitely was as a lot of information but it is the first book in a series and a magic system and society that don't exist so it was necessary but having Zen know everything and Lan know nothing was kind of...ugh really, the man knows all and must teach the innocent, naïve woman? But later on, I liked the team they made. Looking forward to the second book!

This was rough going at first, but stick with it because it picks up! I think I had a hard time following all the technical terms for the magical elements portrayed in this book, but once you become familiar with them, they take more of a back seat comprehension-wise. Excited to read more by this author! Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

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.