Wow, this book was so beautiful. The writing was so poetic and powerful. I lost myself in this book and am so excited for the next book. I loved Lan; her story and character were so complex and compelling. I was rooting for her the entire time. Zen was instantly crush worthy. He was so interesting to me and watching him and Lan interact and grow together was so much fun. The world building in this book was so vivid and perfect for some escapism. The Chinese-folklore and mythology here was what really held me captive. I loved learning about it and seeing how it all came together in this world. This is a really epic, adventurous new fantasy series that will hook you and keep you entertained the whole time you’re reading it.

This book was amazing, I felt that the storytelling of this story was magnificent and well done. I did feel that there were slower parts but overall the lore and the fantasy and the way the worldbuilding was told was so much fun to read and I could easily get stuck in this world and keep reading more. I loved the characters and their relationships, it was fun to learn more about Lan and her past at the same time as her and really understand the purpose that she was given. Overall a really enjoyable story and I’m excited and resay for the next book. Thank you to Net Galley and Random House Children’s / Delacorte Press for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the plot, the different magic, and the banter between the two main characters. I liked the mystery to the storyline and how it unravels through the book. I liked the surprises and the little hints that led you to them. enjoyed the way the first book ended and I am excited to see how it keeps going.

This story was truly a beautiful story of Chinese folklore and culture wrapped up in an amazingly descriptive world. while the world building in the first half of the book was extensive and felt a little long, it made the impact of the action and events in the second half that much more impactful.

Lan is a dynamic young woman who shows the struggles of someone trying to use the trauma in her life to become a stronger version of herself. You can truly feel the strength development from the heartache while remain vulnerable at the same time.

Zen is even more dynamic than Lan in his own internal struggles. The beauty of seeing the relationship develop between them, especially when Zen starts to see the truth half way through the boom and making the tough choices between the Way and helping Len.

I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book and dive back into this expansive and beautiful world.

thank you to netgalley and random house children’s, delacorte press for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

5⭐️

this book was absolutely mind blowing. i had big expectations for song of silver, flame like night, considering that it was one of my most anticipated reads this year.

first of all, the magic system and the use of chinese folklore were phenomenal. the world that the author built is complex and well thought out. there is no lacking point in this.

what i was mostly reminded of while reading the book was the poppy war and i think it’s perfect for fans of it, like myself.

the fact that this book made me cry and question my sanity is unreal to me still. i lived for every second of it and i can’t wait for the sequel!

3.5 stars. I enjoyed this story. I liked how the author combined Chinese history, mythology and magic. The characters were all multi-dimensional, except may the big baddie. He is only after one thing and is also incredibly powerful, and of course all he wants is more power.

I liked the magic system. It was easy to understand and was based on the concept of Yin and Yang. I’ve read other books based on Chinese folklore so I was already familiar with the concept of qi, but even if I wasn’t, the author did a good job explaining it.

The book was a little long and there were just a couple of pacing issues, but overall, the story kept me engaged. The multilayered concept of power, good and evil, balance and imbalance, was the best thing about this book in my opinion. I thought it was so interesting that this fight against power had already begun before the Elantians invaded, and now there is a need for power, but still a need to destroy that power.

I’m looking forward to the next book, even though this one just came out. This was definitely a first book in the series type book, but it has set up everything for the next book very well.

***Thank you to the author and to Underlined for this ARC. All opinions are my own. ***

Zhao does such a beautiful job of incorporating Chinese folklore in this magical story that is also filled with wonderful characters and an exciting plot. I could not put this book down, and am already counting down until I can read the sequel.

This is the perfect book to read if you've been watching C Dramas and it's gotten you in the mood to read something similar!

This was a stunningly original fantasy, and I’m super excited to read the rest of this series. There was no aspect of this story that wasn’t phenomenal—the magic system, the setting, the characters. I enjoyed this ARC so much that I immediately ordered a physical copy after finishing it. It was definitely written as the first book in the series, as there was a lot of exposition, but I was interested enough that this wasn’t the negative it would usually be. The characters, while annoying at times, were very human in their flaws and I appreciated that a lot. I really do love the elements of Chinese folklore and the magical system. I found this book very refreshing.

The world building is incredible in Song of Silver, Flame Like Night, as are the details weaved throughout that incorporate folklore and mythology that de-centers Western fantasy. The magic system was intriguing and both Lan and Zen are very memorable characters. Sometimes the writing style felt like Chinese words were being overexplained. For example, in the first chapter we get words such as dǒu’lì, yā’tou, Tiān’jīng, and Lián’ér. With context, the words were recognizable to myself as a Chinese speaker and the pauses to explain each Chinese word slowed down the pace for me personally. I imagine these moments of defining words are useful to those who don’t read or speak Chinese.

Overall, I really applaud the use of Chinese folklore & history! There is a lot of heart and soul in this book.

I highly recommend this book to those who enjoyed titles such as R. F. Kuang’s The Poppy War, Judy I. Lin’s A Magic Steeped in Poison, Xiran Jay Zhao’s Iron Widow, and Shelley Parker-Chan’s She Who Became the Sun.

First off, I picked this book because that cover is simply gorgeous. Next, this was a good fantasy read with an interesting world. I enjoyed the characters and all the magic. However, it was a bit slow which made it difficult to get into. And although the characters were interesting , I could never really immerse myself into their stories.

I really enjoyed this book however I think it should be marketed more towards young adult than for kids. I will definitely be picking up the sequel when it's released.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me a copy of one of my most anticipated books of 2023!

I finished this book SO fast, and while the middle part did drag a bit, the ending was very much worth the wait and I can't wait for the next book in this series.

First, let me start off with the writing. This story was beautiful and it just flowed so nicely. While names and ideas were inspired from a culture that I am unfortunately ignorant too, I never felt lost in the book or that I had to skim passages where I didn't know what was going on. The writing is so effortless, and even in the sections heavy on description or where the plot may have dragged a bit, Amelie Wen Zhao's writing and imagination never left me bored. This was my first book by this author, but I do own her other trilogy and this book has definitely made me want to bump those up on my TBR.

The characters did seem a bit young for me personally as a reader but I feel like they made up for that in depth and back story. Where I often times recently have found young adult to no longer be a genre that I gravitate towards, these characters (it may be from the fact that they are both a bit morally grey which is something that always intrigues me in fantasy books) were fun to follow their journey. Yes, at times Lan seems whiny and like she thinks she's so smart and such a badass which is a bit annoying. And yes, Zen is a bit too standoffish to make it easy to root for him. With that being said though, I was so immersed in the story as a whole to even care about the times that the main characters made me roll my eyes.

The plot and story itself was definitely a win for me personally. The ending especially was so packed with action that I flew through the last fifteen percent of the book so quickly. Do I think this book leans heavy on The Poppy Wars and even Mistborn inspiration? Absolutely. But I do think it's well done and entertaining enough that it's similarities are enough to overlook and make me more that willing to pick up the next book in this series.

Do I have complaints and things that I wish would have been done differently? Of course. And do I think that there are some things that definitely don't make sense? YES. Which unfortunately, because of spoilers I can't get into, but there is just a huge twist that kind of ruins things for me personally for this couple as a reader, but it's just ignored, and I hate that. Overall though, this book is wonderful and I can't wait to get a special edition of it :)

Lots to like here. It’s YA in the best way: without the protagonists angsting too much or making (many) eye-rollingly thoughtless decisions, and with all of the heart and courage and determination that made me want to work young adults.

This was, I think, my first exposure to the xianxia (gods, demons, and ghosts influenced by Taoism, Buddhism, and Chinese folklore) and wuxia (martial arts) genres, which I really enjoyed and look forward to reading more of.

The plot is evidently inspired in large part by China’s history and I appreciated the use of Mandarin terms throughout — I can’t get enough of own voices fantasy deeply rooted in non-Western cultures.

What I didn’t like: the plot was fairly slow-paced for the first half of the book. The invading conquerors had European-sounding names (Lishabeth, Alessander, Jonasson, etc.), which kept pulling me out of the story. And the story was just missing something ineffable that kept me from loving it.

I ended up DNFing this book at ~20%. It is very much written as a YA, which is fine, but it felt a little more YA to me than most, and thus I did not personally get very invested. The worldbuilding is extremely complex and feels very info-dump-y, which made me feel very confused. I could not keep the characters straight (was Zen the Winter Magician? Or was that someone else?), which felt odd to me since there were only about five named characters at the time. It was an overall interesting concept, just not for me.

I'll admit - this was a bit of a rough start for me. I think it was just my mood at the time but I found myself struggling to get through the first couple of chapters. There is a lot of information given to the reader at once and I felt a little overwhelmed. However, it only took a few more chapters for me to 'settle' into the world and characters Amélie Wen Zhao has created - and then by the halfway point, I fell in love! The magic system was absolutely incredible and the highlight of the book for me. I enjoyed the characters and am excited to see what comes next in the sequel for all of them. (Also, I have to say that cover is just GORGEOUS!) All in all, while not a new favorite book, I can't wait to see what comes next.

I am speechless after finishing this book, AWZ did such an amazing job making me feel so connected to the story. The story and characters are out of this world, and it really was hard to put down at times. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started reading this, but if you are into folklore and fantasy, with a unique magic system this is one of the most epically enthralling adventures I’ve ever read. You need to pick this book up, it made me feel so many emotions. I will be purchasing soon, because I’d love to have this in my collection so I can reread it again. 5 Star!

Thank you so much to Amélie Wen Zhao, Random House Children's, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. The characters are developed and layered with history to explain their choices. I loved following Lan and watching her discover who she really is. The world building is fantastic, again with a deep history. It is a bit slow in parts but the prose that draws you in and keeps your attention. I thought it was well done and I look forward to the second installment!

4 stars

This book was so good! I loved the epic scope of the story and the way the author wove that so well with the characterization so that it wasn't overshadowed but instead enhanced.

Speaking of characterization, the character arcs were handled so well! Even though they were dramatic character arcs, they were believable and compelling. My favorite kind of character arcs, lol!

And even though this book had some very dark moments, I really liked that there was always a thread of hope.

I really can't wait to see what happens next in this story and am eagerly awaiting the next book!

Thank you to Random House Children's and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“Power is always borrowed, never created.”

I 100% forgot I had an ARC of this, and I ended up getting another copy and absolutely DEVOURING it a couple days after it was released. This is magical and mesmerizing from page one, and is a perfectly crafted story that will pull you into the pages and wrap around you until you forget you are part of this world, not the one formed by Amelie Wen Zhao.

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night was published on January 3, 2023. Thank you to Random House Children's, Delacorte Press, NetGalley and the author for the advanced digital copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ebook arc!!

Lan is a girl from an invaded kingdom. After her mother is killed when she was a child, she grows into a woman who works as a song girl. She spends her time searching for information on the mark burned into her arm.

Zen is a practitioner -- a type of magician. When he and Lan cross paths it's clear Lan also has a similar power. He brings her to be trained and assists her in her search.

I really did enjoy this story overall. The atmosphere and feel of the prose is beautiful and have a flow to it that very much fits the locations the story portrays. The plot held my attention and the pacing stayed fairly quick despite minor world/character-building slow parts. I enjoyed Lan's humor and the trouble she finds herself in and felt that Lan and Zen were fairly flushed-out characters.

Zen's dark past definitely made me more curious about his past and what had happened to him. I found his character very interesting and was always curious about his history.



SPOILERS

I was a little disappointed at some of the plot points later in the story however they kept me coming back awaiting the next part of the story. Also, There were parts that reminded me of Anakin Skywalker or Kylo Ren. I'm not sure if that is a specific trope but it was a bit predictable. That said, I also enjoyed the trope it just didn't get executed exactly in the way I expected. The end of the book came much faster than I expected. I thought that this was going to be a stand-alone and as I flew through the last few chapters I was surprised that it ended on a cliffhanger. Lan's character surprised me in the end and I am very curious as to what is about to happen next.