***ARC received from Del Rey and NetGalley in exchange for honest review, opinions are all my own. Thank you!***

Picking up three years after the end of the previous book the world is a mess after the prophecy was considered finished with the death of the Eternal Khan and now the Duke’s are openly fighting. The four main characters from the previous book are trying to find their place as the prophecy denied still lingers over them. This is a great character driven book continuing the story of Taishi, Jian, Sali and Qisami as they deal with the fallout.

Taishi and Jian are continuing his training and as much as I loved them in the previous book Jian doesn’t appear to make much growth. He’s strong and brave but in the three years he hasn’t really changed that much. While I appreciate that he didn’t completely evolve into a different character during the time jump between books I still wished for a little bit more and for his training to have been a little further along than it was. Taishi remains still my favorite of the bunch and as she brings in more war artists to help train it was nice to see her interact with more on her own level instead of being just a teacher. I just wish it had delved a little further into her background with characters that have a long history with her.

Sali is still dealing with the repercussions of denying her job as a Will of the Khan and it was almost hard to read. Sali is such a strong character but she is struggling in this book and even at times almost ready to give in, the weight of someone else destiny hangs heavy over Sali.

In the first book Qisami was probably my least favorite character but that was totally reversed in this book and I loved her. She is still her bloodthirsty self but her failures in the first book have not only humbled her but have taken her down several pegs from top tier assassin to lucky to get a mediocre at best assignment. Removed from her cell and forced to interact with people she would normally deem beneath her she finds friendship and that she is good at things other than just killing. Not just good but finds a measure of joy in them her interactions with children were delightful as she casts herself into a teachers role that she excels at. She has matured a lot from the first book but I want to see how all the betrayals impact in the next as there is still some growth for her.

Unlike in the previous book the four main characters don’t really cross paths like they previously did. From each characters the story expands, Sali delving more into the history of the Eternal Khan as she seeks a way to heal herself. Qisami has the court intrigue and drama that surrounds the battle of the Dukes that has waged since the end of the previous book. While Taishi and Jian explore what happens when you keep messing around with destiny and the prophecy of the great hero. It allows for the war to not just be some off page things as we get both sides from the different characters. As much as I liked when they all interacted in the previous book its fun to see them explore on their own but the book is setting it up so eventually they will converge again as the main threat is not only still there but has grown.

The writing is once again great, the scenes play out wonderfully and the action sequences while not as many are incredibly well written but it is always the characters that shine the strongest. I can’t wait to read the next book.

This book follows a few years on from the first, carrying on with the epic world building, there’s character arcs aplenty and more amazing depictions of war arts. Amongst all of this what I enjoyed the most are the interactions the characters have. They are sarcastic, savage, funny and real.
I also liked the exploration of choice and destiny.
The only thing I found difficult was the length of this book. I feel some parts could have been shorter but still enjoyed the amazing writing and appreciate that this is a masterpiece of fiction. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an E-ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

I continue to be delighted by this series. The cast of characters expands significantly from book one, but they all remain interesting people that are given full room to exist. We now see Jian a few months into his new formal training, and he is far more likeable than before. No longer an entitled child, he's trying to figure himself out in a world where he isn't universally beloved. We also get a great supporting cast of other training war artists who would be the last of their lines. This book really narrows in on the generational shift from one group of masters to the next and how everyone is impacted by that need to transfer the burden. Great characters, sprawling and intricate world. My only knock is that the world is perhaps a little too sprawling. It'll be great to have people start to move together over the course of the final book. This is more 3 plot lines moving forward at the same time, luckily all three are very well done.

This second book in The War Arts Saga is a nice follow-up to The Art of Prophecy. As with his first volume, this is a very long magical fantasy novel with many characters. Many of them we have met before in the Prophecy but as with all good series, we find out more about them and our hero Jian has matured if not totally grown up. It is several years after the first book and Ling Taishi, an older War Arts master continues to try and school Jian (supposedly The Chosen One although with the death of The Eternal Khan, his place in that religious story is unneeded and thus he has become a wanted man instead of a man to be worshipped). Several story lines are followed: Jian & Taishi, Qisami, a master assassin and her cell and Sali, a former guard, guardian of The Eternal Khan who struggles to lead the remnant of her people after The Eternal Khan's death.
Surprisingly, it was easy to pick up the story from the first book although both of them are so long. This is not a fast read but it is a satisfying continuation of The War Arts Saga.

Thank you Publisher and Netgalley for this advanced copy.

Once again, a masterpiece was created. It was entertaining and full of epic fighting. I really love how fun this book is.

The Art of Destiny is another action-packed outing from Author Wesley Chu we pick up where we left off in book one and learn more lower and more about the prophecy that did not happen we get more in depth for all the characters that we grew to love and book one and I can't reference enough the amount of times reading this book that I laughed this is everything I was wanting in a book too excellent writing great characters fast pacing and a world that's bigger than life and very interesting and action can you ask for

Once again, Wesley Chu knocks it out of the park. The Art of Destiny is an excellent follow up to The Art of Prophecy (and that cover art! ugh, Tran Nguyen is just amazing). The book is filled with fun, action packed and heart warming events.. but with a strong found family feel. Both books in The War Arts Saga are incredibly character driven, but I feel like book two even more so -- which I absolutely loved. Jian is such a mess of a hero but we cannot help but love him. He means so well, but.. lacking proper survival skills, does not do so well. Enter our loveable cast of old guard and new guard war artists to not only help our beloved Jian, but to also shine a light on how woefully unprepared he is. The relationships he develops with his new masters and peers is fantastic, and the love that grows between him and Taishi is incredibly heartwarming.

While the books also continues Qisami's and Salimande's POVs, are still Jian/Taishi were hands down my favorite. Both Qisami's and Sali's story arcs are slower and required more effort to pay attention to, but the endings were well worth the journey.

I found the story overall to be slower paced than the first, but the character development is absolutely next level. While the pacing is slower, I do not think this book suffers from second book syndrome because of this. The Art of Destiny lets the reader take a breath, while setting up the groundwork for book three, and allows us to get to know and fall deeper in love with all of the characters. I cannot wait for the next installment.

4.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book has been very conflictive for me as I reflect on it after reading finishing the novel. It has some stuff I like and some I wished was explored more.
As usual Wesley Chu has written some of the best action scenes I’ve seen on paper. With the most impressive final act that left me on the edge of my seat. His ability to draw these separate story lines to one interwoven conclusion will never cease to amaze me.

We follow the four heroes of The Art of Destiny and how their journey has progressed since we last saw them. We have martial arts, old masters passing on their knowledge to their students, and surprisingly political intrigue. If you were hoping for Jian to have a training arc it is not the focus of his story arc. Taishi’s arc is full of the martial art action readers are looking for and the threat of fate looming over her. Sali has some world altering revelations that will surely influence the third book. And sweet sweet Qisami is taken from her comfort zone and placed in a tense situation.

I would say Taishi’s storyline while full of action and master martial artists was the least impressive of the four. While it is action-packed I felt her character was pulled all over the place when she should have stayed still for moments longer, but that might actually be the intention. Jian’s, while I have liked a training arc has some satisfying personal reflection and mentors and friends to help him in his journey. Sali, while I felt slightly bored has some of the biggest world lore drops of the story that is amazing setup for times to come not to mention the most hyped action scene of the book. Qisami, with bias attached once again stole the show. The choice to take the fish out of water was absolutely perfect for our ruthless assassin.

Not to mention the one who stood out being the Lioness herself. Politics, assassins, and being cornered by three haughty men who want to claim the throne. She held our beloved characters by the throats and stole the show despite her sparse actual presence.

Overall, I would not rate this book higher than The Art of Prophecy but if this is the weakest book in the series it is built on good foundations to make a jaw-dropping third.

The art of writing a good second book in a series is not easy and the Art of Destiny was not a complete success for me, but it was still a good book. The first half of the book was rather slow and boring for me but things picked up in the second half. I wanted more action throughout the book but got more of the devious plotting and just characters. hanging out with each other. Jian still seems very much like he was from the first book but does finally start to grow at the end of this one. Didn't really have any great dislike or affection for the characters overall either way. The part of the storyline with Sali was mostly uninteresting. until the end as well until the end of the book which then of course I saw where her actions would bring everything together with the rest of the story.. This also goes for Qisami as well. This is another book that may do better on a re-read for me too. There were things that happened that were unexpected and that is something I always find fun to read. I think people will enjoy reading this book if they liked the first book. The cover art was awesome and that alone will probably make people want to buy it. The usual thinks to the publishers and netgalley for the chance to read a good book.

The Art of Destiny was a great way to wrap up this duology. Great character development, I loved the continued banter between Taishi and Jian and the amazing world building that Wesley Chu was able to achieve. I felt like I was always IN the world with the characters, fighting with them and learning what they learned. Exception details and fantastic language usage. What an epic journey to defeat the presumptions of destiny and prophecy!

I read an eARC of The Art of Destiny by Wesley Chu. Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group.

For me, this book suffered a lot from middle book syndrome.

On the positive side, I actually found the assassin's side of the story the most engaging this time. I still wish we weren’t following quite as many characters, though. Jian continued to be a disaster of a student, and his part only bored me a little. Taishi was fun to read while she was still training Jian, unfortunately, I wasn’t too interested once they separated. I continued to not care at all about Sali. Which is too bad, because she’s the only character that is from her people whose perspective we follow, unfortunately, even while she’s dying, the most interesting things are what’s around, not her.

I did like how the religious sect that used to basically worship Jian as the Hero, went to calling him a Villian. And I especially appreciated the hateful “brother” character that tries to gaslight everyone around him for his religion by using war arts to lace his words with compulsion to believe him. He was definitely my favorite villain character.

Other than that, this book stretched certain points out too long, and it became hard not to skip the parts I didn’t care about to get to the bits I did.

Keep in mind, this is from the perspective of someone who usually hates middle books, and this felt like the middle book of middle books.

I enjoyed this return to Jian's story and picking up the threads of all the characters' arcs. This book continues the funny, lighthearted tone, tense action scenes, and witty banter that characterized the first book. The student-teacher relationship also featured prominently, and I liked seeing the parallels and contrasts between each master and student. Unfortunately, the pacing dragged and the plot didn't seem to go anywhere until the very end. Prior to that, it felt like meandering around before the actual story could happen, and the excitement was hinted at but not delivered until late in the book. I also thought the ending (specifically the last sentence) felt like a poorly advertised cliffhanger. This book felt like major setup for the books to follow (and the overarching story certainly took shape here with hints to the path forward and intersection of all character arcs), but did not have any substance of its own. I am definitely looking forward to reading the next book and seeing how everything comes together (or knowing Jian, falls apart).

Haven't had a chance to read the first book yet but was immediately excited to request an ARC read for this book when I found it and man it did NOT disappoint. Thank you for the publishing company for letting me have an ARC copy.

I have never read any of Wesley Chu's books and I could barely put this book down. I am going to be running to read the first book and then re-read this book.

Book: The Art of Destiny
Author: Wesley Chu
Rating: 3 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Del Rey, for sending me an ARC.

This one picks up a few years after book one. Our characters are spread out and are trying to just make it in the world. Jian, who was once supposed to be this great hero, now must make it in the world as just a normal person. He and Taishi go to a school so he can be instructed in war arts. Taishi intends to name him her heir, but he has a lot of work to do before she can do so. Elderly teachers end up coming out of retirement so they can teach Jian in their ancient ways. Qisami is an assassin who is charged with protecting a noblewoman. As a result, she is forced to go undercover and become a completely new person. This role puts in her positions that she has never been in before and gives her something she never had: friendships. Sali’s life has also changed and it may not be for the better. She is supposed to be looking for the next Eternal Khan. As each day passes, so does her clan’s exile. She is now tasked with leading her clan to a new home. It is here that she realizes that her goal may be bigger than she thought and her role will end up changing.

In the first book, our characters are more isolated and each seems to have their own storyline. Normally, I enjoy this in fantasy books. It allows us to see more of the world and get a bigger picture of what is going on. It also allows for a bigger set-up. I feel like we got the bigger set-up here. It has given us the perfect bridge to the next book. However, one of the many things that I enjoyed about book one was how the different moving pieces came together and how everything just flowed. I felt like the isolation here didn’t allow for that. I understand that this was needed for this book, but I don’t know, it felt as if the charm of the first book was gone. Yet, this was needed for the plot. It’s difficult to put into words. How can I not enjoy something as much, but, yet, see that it was needed? I do feel that without this book as a development book book three would not work.

I enjoyed the fact that our characters have now been put into different roles. We get to see them doing things that they have never done before nor would have attempted. For example, Jian has lived a rather pampered and spoiled life. He has been told that he is this great and mighty warrior. He has never had to work and live as a normal person. Now that has all been taken away from him. He must work for what he wants. Plus, he is now wanted and he has to live the life of a man on the run. Not only that but those who are put in charge of training don’t care who he is or what his destiny was. They treat him as they would any other student. I do feel like that out of all of the point of view characters Jian’s was the strongest. Qisami was also another interesting character, but her point of view didn’t engage me as much as Jian’s. I do like that we got to see her walls broken down and see her develop core relationships with others. Sali’s, again, was okay. Her story almost felt like it was missing the heart that it had in the first book. I understand that she is lost and just trying to get by, but it felt like she was missing something.

The pacing is much slower in this one. The first one was nonstop action and fight sequences. Now, Wesley has slowed that down and given us an in-depth look into the characters. This is fine and I get why he did it. However, I was expecting the same pacing as the first book. Yet, this almost character study and seeing our characters in their new roles did need to happen. It has given them a lot of growth and development.

Overall, I didn’t enjoy this one as much as book one, but I felt like we need this book for future books.

This book comes out on October 10, 2023.

Book 1? PHENOMENAL
BOOK 2 THOUGH?! OUTSTANDING!!! This is 100% my favorite read of the year and I don't think anything will beat it. Wesley Chu is an amazing world builder and story teller

This was such a cozy, heartfelt read! One of my all time favorite reads of the year! I loved being brought back into Chu’s incredible world and connecting to his characters. Definitely going to be one of my highest reccomended books!

I was so thrilled to receive an arc of this book! I really like this series, and while this book has the burden of bearing second book syndrome, it does so with pose and grace. Chu does an excellent job of combining genres that shouldn’t necessarily mix: comedy, fantasy, and martial arts, but the book is a fun, witty, adventurous read. I look forward to the next one.

3.5 STARS

Thank you to the publisher, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey, for access to this eARC via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review!

In this second book in the War Arts Saga, Wesley Chu continues to bring the fun adventure, cinematic martial arts scenes, and zingy humor.

We continue with the same four POVs found in The Art of Prophecy (book 1): Jian, Taishi, Qisami, and Sali. Chosen one Jian has failed to fulfill his prophesied glorious fate and is now in hiding with his mentor. Legendary female war artist Taishi is training Jian to carry on her legacy in the war arts and in hopes that he might still defeat the Eternal Khan. Qisami the assassin suffers the consequences of her actions in book 1, and her crew are in the doghouse with the Consortium (assassin guild). Sali has magical sickness and is looking to find the cure.

The Art of Destiny carries forward all the strengths of the first book. However, I did think that pacing sometimes lagged. The first half of the book was kind of like set-up for the second half. Jian and Taishi were living somewhat normal life, training and hanging out with friends. Those POVs were probably the most consistent and interesting to me because the characters got to shine. Sali the Viperstrike is traveling/questing--the plotline with which I struggled the most. Qisami's had some intense moments sprinkled among the more mundane scenes. The second half of the book kicked the plot into high gear, where the pieces presented in the first half fell into place and the stakes were at all-time highs. I came out of the book feeling overall very positive about the experience despite my initial struggling.

The sweeping landscape of this story and world equally excites me and gives me issues. The world Chu has created feels endless and definitely sweeps the reader away. I am always curious to learn more about how their society and sub-cultures work. I loved the introduction of the shishi! However, sometimes the information is too much. This book contained so much plot but also had to contend with the introduction of MANY new characters, new places, and then the random world details. Some new characters--especially in Taishi and Jian's story--gave us more backstory and rich relationships for our main characters. However, the busy-ness of the book made the front-end of the book feel info-dumpy at times.

My other main critique points to the lack of cohesion of the different storylines. As a middle book, it made sense that the three concurrent storylines progressed separately. However, I would have enjoyed if there was greater or more points of convergence. It almost felt like three completely separate stories.

When Wesley Chu is writing to his strengths, the book takes you for a thrilling, fast-paced ride. I could picture the combat scenes, and they never felt dry. In the tradition of the wuxia genre, you get superhuman abilities like flying through the air. Thankfully, combat scenes occur in all three of the separate storylines.

Chu writes with a lot of heart. I did cry at one point. My favorite moments centered on the found family aspect of this series. We get a lot of bantering between sibling-type characters and comrades. You also get the parent-child humorous corralling and scowling. Behind all the wit and sarcasm is a lot of love, backed up by the many instances when these characters willingly fight for their loved ones and stand at their sides against enormous odds. Jian and Taishi in particular melted my heart.

With where The Art of Destiny leaves off, I have little idea where Chu will take the War Arts story next. Although I feel that this series sometimes suffers writing and pacing issues, the high points of the series make it worth continuing. If the martial arts are the icing, then the sweet and sassy characters and their rich relationships are the whole dessert buffet.

Publication Date: 10 October 2023
Posted Goodreads Review: 8 September 2023

Jian was once the revered hero destined to defeat the Eternal Khan, but after the prophecy failed it left the young boy with target on his back. Now on the run with his mentor Taishi, he's found a new purpose in training to become her heir. The shadowkill assassin Qisami finds herself demoted after failing to kill Jian, but her reputation earns her a special assignment protecting a noblewoman, a job that could restore her honor and provide a big payday. After being exiled, Sali searches for a new home for her people even as her obligation as a Will of the Khan is slowly killing her.

This was such a joy to read. There's more of the witty humor that I loved in the first book and Wesley Chu writes such great female characters! Every woman in this story is so well developed, each with their own motives, ambition, and flaws and this is a big reason I love this series. I especially enjoyed Qisami's arc in this book. The characters are diverse and include queer and non-binary characters. The fight sequences are awesome; each character has their own style of martial arts and every battle comes to life on the page. The pacing felt perfect; neither rushing through the story or meandering. As in the previous book, the world building is exceptional; the politics, religions, cultures, and locations are all so well developed. I love this book and highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the digital ARC.

Wesley Chu really created something special when The Art of Prophecy was published, and he was able to do it once again with The Art of Destiny. Something that I really appreciate in both of these books is the way the women are portrayed. So many times women are used as suffrage pieces to further along male antagonist story lines, or their brutalized by men to "make their character more gritty" Which I found to not be the case in this duology. With that said, the characters are really what make these stories unique and interesting. Not to say that the plot isn't, because that as well is fantastic, but the true gems in the stories are the characters and the journeys you watch them go upon. I would certainly recommend both of these books to anyone who A. Likes more character driven stories, B. Loves great action scenes, and C. wants to read about martial arts and what that would be like if you added magic.
I give the Art of Destiny 4.25 stars