In The Blood Orchid, the highly anticipated sequel to The Scarlet Alchemist, Kylie Lee Baker takes us deeper into Zilan’s world of perilous alchemy and desperate quests. Since Zilan first stepped into the dangerous circle of royal alchemists, she has learned that every spell comes with a cost, often one paid in blood. Haunted by the memory of lost loved ones, Zilan is willing to brave even the fabled Penglai Island—a place where it’s rumored that life itself can be restored. But reaching Penglai is no simple feat. Old threats resurface, and the path is crowded with unpredictable, sometimes hostile alchemists who have their own agendas. Zilan finds herself constantly questioning: how much is she truly willing to sacrifice?

This sequel does an incredible job of building on the conflicts and choices from The Scarlet Alchemist, showing Zilan grappling with past mistakes and growing in her commitment to justice. The sibling dynamics remain a true highlight, and the banter between Zilan and her siblings is as lively as ever. It’s particularly rewarding to see her forge an unexpected friendship with a former enemy, adding fresh layers to her character.

The series shines in its character development, making you root for each of Zilan’s choices, however risky they may be. The alchemy sometimes dips into complexity, occasionally verging on convoluted, yet this aspect rarely detracts from the story’s overall momentum. The Scarlet Alchemist and The Blood Orchid stand out as one of the best YA duologies, combining powerful themes of sacrifice, resilience, and family with an irresistibly engaging story.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

This was an interesting sequel. While I think this duology would have made for a better standalone, the character development here was deep and well done. I am very pleased with the ending and am always happy to shed hopeful tears.

So I had forgotten what happened in book 1 before jumping into book 2 which was a rough start. I will say I did like this sequel better than the other sequel that Kylie Lee Baker wrote. Narratively with the different Immortals, I thought the plot itself had good pacing. I liked the characters (although I wish we got more of the sister).

I will say that I didn't love the ending and my problem is it felt like the stakes were too high during the book itself for it to be concluded the way it did.

this is the second book in the scarlet alchemist duology.

zilan has lost loved ones thanks to the evil empress, and now she aims to get them back through any means necessary. as old threats come back to haunt her, though, she begins to wonder just how far she’ll go.

i’ve been so excited to read this since reading (and, of course, loving) the scarlet alchemist last year! i enjoyed picking right back up where we left off in the previous book and continuing this journey with zilan. also, one thing i love about kylie lee baker’s books is how there’s always a strong sibling dynamic. as someone with brothers myself, this is always a great experience for me!

this was a wonderful conclusion. i can’t wait for more from kylie lee baker!

I am always so excited to see a new Kylie Lee Baker book, and I have been anticipating The Blood Orchid since I finished The Scarlet Alchemist. Blood Orchid wraps up the story of Zilan as she corrects the wrongs she committed in the first book.
Resurrection is Zilan’s specialty, and she will bring back her family, her true love, and all the alchemists who gave their lives to put down the Empress. Her answer lies in the mythical Penglai Island where life can be fully restored. She starts her journey with her cousin in the crown prince’s body leaving her other cousin in the Empress’ body. The path is treacherous, and she must confront familiar faces as well as new faces on the way. Is Zilan powerful enough to reach the island and resurrect everyone as she promised, or will she screw everything up like she did before?
The sequel’s biggest is that Zilan gets way too emo on us. I can understand some imposter syndrome; the death toll that took down the Empress would weigh on anyone. But the women made their sacrifices. And Zilan’s reflections are continuous. As readers, we understand what is going on and why she is making mistakes. The author can trust that we understand and not have so much repetition. It also made me sad to see the Scarlet Alchemist die so easily. It really weighed down the book as the Scarlet Alchemist was a character herself. Zilan’s self-deprecation didn’t have to drown so much of the book
But the story of the journey she is on pulls readers in, and each character is changed. The ending is especially tense. I was concerned for the characters and how anything would work out in a positive way. There was such a rich work Baker had created with such complex rules. Her creativity gave readers other perspectives on the world and what each character saw. It was rather enlightening. This helped build the suspense and made the story more complex instead of something cookie-cutter. I was very pleased when I shut the book.
I was when the story was over; I just always wanted more from these books. The Blood Orchid was no exception. I will just have to wait until April 2025 when Baker drops the horror book Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ BOOK REVIEW
Kylie Lee Baker did not miss with The Blood Orchid! The flow was chef’s kiss—I was completely swept away, and the humor? Perfectly placed. It gave just the right amount of lightness in between all the magic, chaos, and high-stakes drama. Kylie Lee Baker is one of my favorite authors and she never fails to create a story that puts me right into the world and time that the book is set in.

The dynamic between Wenshu, Yufei and Zilan finally makes sense to me now. Zilan’s love for Hong? UNMATCHED. The way she would move heaven and earth for him hit me right in the feels. And Durian! So much more Durian. I love that duck's evolution.

I was absolutely engulfed (obsessed, really) with the quests to find Penglai Island. Every step felt like peeling back another layer of this world, and it kept me hooked the whole time. And don’t get me started on the alchemists—meeting all the different types was such a cool touch! Plus, the banter between Zilan and Zheng Sili had me grinning like an idiot. Their back-and-forth was hilarious and gave some much-needed levity to all the tension.

This book was everything I wanted and more, and I’m beyond excited to see what Kylie Lee Baker does next. If you love magic, quests, and sharp humor, The Blood Orchid will not disappoint!

Thank you @NetGalley and @HarperCollins for the eARC.

#NetGalley #HarperCollins #TheBloodOrchid #KylieLeeBaker #eARC

I love this second book, but I am sorry I love the first most. This book feels like the consequences of what the characters have done in the first book, and it didn't write as strongly as before. But this duology is literally screaming what a duo!

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins for this advanced copy!

This title was good but I preferred the 1st more - in Blood Orchid the characters seemed flatter and the times where the story went surreal we sometimes a bit harder to follow. Still a fun read. I'd promote the first in the series over this one.

The Blood Orchid is the second and final book in The Scarlet Alchemist duology. I love this series so much. I reread the first one before reading this book, and I highly recommend binge-reading this series. It pretty much starts where the first book left off. The Blood Orchid focuses more on family and the quest, which I adore. The family banter between Zilan and her siblings was amazing to read. Also, let's not forget Durian. I adore that evil duck. I love the unique magic system the author creates using alchemy. It was so fun to read. Overall, it was a fantastic duology, and I highly recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Blood Orchid reels from the consequences of The Scarlet Alchemist. Reeling from her discovery, and the bloodshed at the end, Zilan is trying to figure out her next move. What follows is a twisty story about figuring out what powers we have, and should have. Zilan has made so many sacrifices. She's kept giving up the things she love and being forced to recoup her losses. In The Blood Orchid Zilan's story explores destiny and power. It explores unlikely alliances, revenge and retribution, and the power of love.

That dang duck Durian is my favorite. He needs his own little book.

The second and final installment in The Scarlett Alchemist duology. I despise book summaries that give spoilers for the previous books in the series so I’ll keep it brief. Go read The Scarlet Alchemist, then dive right into the nonstop adventure that is The Blood Orchid.

This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year, I devoured The Scarlet Alchemist and couldn’t wait to dive into The Blood Orchid.

What I loved…
- a quest - I LOVE quests!
- Durian 🦆 he is the star of the show and I am so glad he made a reappearance
- Wenshu is a awesome brother - it is such a treat to read a book where the FMC has the support of a man than is not the love interest.
- Overall the importance of family really shined in this book
- The vibes in this book are just as elite as the first book. Think: a little gross, a lot of necromancy, amazing alchemy and a very cool reimagining of Tang Dynasty.
- excellent side characters, both ones you love to love and love to hate
- quite a few shocking reveals that had me not wanting to put down the book.

What I didn’t love…
- The second book featured a lot less romance, and while the relationships within The Blood Orchid were wonderful to read about I really missed the Zilan and Hong dynamic.
- The prose felt choppy in this one, The Scarlet Alchemist did such a wonderful job at showing vs telling with descriptive imagery, and in comparison The Blood Orchid felt like I was being told how these characters felt rather than show.

Overall this was an enjoyable read, albeit a bit of a disappointing conclusion to the series.

One more thing I didn’t love but potentially a minor spoiler that is not specific but could be considered a spoiler if you’re sensitive to them…

I was very unhappy that a certain character got a redemption arc, specifically because in my mind what that character did in the first book during their first appearance is unredeemable, regardless of how tortured they were.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for sending this book (eARC) for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars

This one wasn’t quite as strong as the last one. It felt kind of like it lacked a driving force, like Zilan and company were kind of drifting aimlessly from place to place and solving each (smaller) problem with relative ease - and maybe that’s just because resurrection alchemy undercuts the fear of consequences (ie death).

It also wasn’t nearly as funny, which is probably a good thing tonally but made the text a bit less engaging. Though bringing Zheng Sili in allowed for some of that solid banter and witty comebacks.

I also think that Hong’s absence from the majority of the story cut the strength of Zilan’s motivation off at the knees. Wenshu claims that Zilan is moping because of Hong but we don’t really see that. She seems kind of adrift throughout the story - vaguely guilty, vaguely homesick, vaguely scared of the Empress. And we just kind of left Yufei to her own devices to the point where she’s honestly not even a major character in this book either, along with Hong.

We join our intrepid royal alchemist Fan Zilan as she goes on a journey to find the mythical Penglai Island. She hopes to resurrect everyone she has lost using the powers of the island but has to contend with a not so dead Empress as well as the increasingly steep price of alchemy.

I would follow Zilan to the ends of the earth and beyond. I'd help her bury a body if she asked. She is such a great lead character and I wish we could have more books about her. Zilan is flawed, bitchy and rough around the edges. Yet, she has a good heart and an iron will that makes you root for her. It makes perfect sense that Wu Zetian would see her as a worthy adversary. I really liked the complicated relationships between Zilan and her siblings (particularly Wenshu). It was nice to see drama between siblings instead of romantic partners.

At first, the plot came off as a bit chaotic and slow to start. I wasn't quite sure where Baker was taking us but the ending more than makes up for the weak start. I don't want to spoil it but, god damn, can Baker write an ending. The continuing theme of alchemy requiring an increasingly steep price was well done and bittersweet. I will say that the not ill defined rules of alchemy did annoy me from time to time but not enough to pull me out of the story.

All in all, a worthy sequel to the Scarlet Alchemist and I'm sad that this series is over.

Reviews going live on Goodreads, Strorygraph, Fable and Tiktok on 10/22

An amazing conclusion to this duology!

I love how much the sequel expanded on the world of alchemy, especially involving Penglai Island and the (new) alchemists involved with its discovery.

The dynamic between Zilan, Wenshu, and Zheng Sili were hilarious. I especially liked Sili’s character development and his unexpected alliance with Zilan and Wenshu. His interaction with Durian were also adorable (he takes him out for a walk and feeds him grapes 🥹) I didn’t expect to like Sili’s character but he did grow on me in this book

I also enjoyed Zilan’s character development- her overall character and personality were more fleshed out in this book; we really got to see her pain and guilt and regret over everything that happened

There was a lot less romance in this book but in place of it, there was a lot of painful longing and angst. Even though Hong was in the spirit plane , he still cared so much about Zilan and she loved him in turn

As for the villain, she was terrifying and cunning. It was so difficult to tell who to trust and who not to trust

I’ve really enjoyed reading the conclusion of this duology and Zilan’s adventure! I look forward to reading more of Kylie’s books

First off, I still think Kylie Lee Baker has a really beautiful, descriptive writing style. The approach she has taken to alchemy and how to describe it and practice it is really interesting and well-done. She also does a really great job of writing grotesque and horrific imagery in a way that is still readable for a very squeamish reader like myself. Her beautiful writing style and the intention for when and why she adds those moments makes them feel more meaningful.

But I found myself struggling a bit with this book, because the two things I loved so much about The Scarlet Alchemist–the alchemy trials and Zilan's relationship with the prince–were completely gone from this book. Obviously the alchemy trials are over, but I really wished we could have seen more of Li Hong. We did get small little tastes of him, so there were ways to bring his character and the way he interacted with Zilan into this book even while he's dead, and I really wish we could've seen more of that. And by the time we get to his chapter at the end, I felt like I had really lost touch with his character. It's hard to root for someone to be saved when you're forgetting them more and more.

Building up to the ending scared me a bit, and maybe that's on purpose. I was really worrying how everything could possibly come together, and felt us tipping towards a couple of really awful or unsatisfying possible endings, but she pulled it together in the end. I do wish we could've had more time with the results of everything Zilan did, rather than just one epilogue-style chapter that very briefly brushed over the details.

Thanks again to Netgalley and HarperCollins for giving me a copy of this book to review!

If money can make desperate people do desperate things, then the quest for immortality can make people do the unthinkable.

I read The Scarlet Alchemist for the first time the day before reading The Blood Orchid so I could keep the story as fresh as possible between one book and the next. I will not be recapping any of the plot of TSA or The Blood Orchid in this review to avoid spoilers.

While The Blood Orchid isn’t in any way a bad read, I didn’t like it as much as I did TSA and it didn’t quite hit the same way as that first book did. I did think we were going to get a little less political intrigue in exchange for a little more romantasy, and I was right on that score, but I didn’t expect the strong themes of family and grief that were so entwined within TSA to become even stronger and moving in TBO. As a duology, the family theme is actually the strongest plot and story component and I actually love that because it gives this whole story a spine that doesn’t rest on romance.

There is quite a bit more alchemy in this book than there is in the first book in the sense that you get more of a picture of alchemy as a whole and the different things you can do with it, from the beautiful to the absolutely unthinkable. You see what people are willing to do for this power and in the name of this power, and you see what this power has cost China as a whole to exist.

Our girl, Zilan? She’s an even bigger hot mess than she was in the first book and you have to love her for it. Phenomenal alchemical powers…and she has no clue what to do with them. Zilan has all the plans but no clue how to achieve them; all of the ideas but no idea how to execute them. There’s an almost manic-like energy to Zilan, this desperation borne from the idea that she’s to blame for everything and therefore only she can and should fix it. This hyper-responsibility, probably stemming from making her living as a resurrection alchemist in order to keep food on the table for her family before she became a Royal Alchemist, causes a certain myopia; in other words, Zilan can’t see the forest for the trees.

There are some subplots I would’ve loved to have dropped from this duology all together. There are some others I wished had been shored up more. There is one that surprised me completely and I was here for it. In the end, the duology as a whole is strong, but this book is weaker than TSA. I still enjoyed it.

I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: AAPI Fiction/Book Series/Dark Fantasy/Fantasy/Romantasy/Fantasy Series/Historical Fantasy/Political Fantasy/YA Book Series/Ya Fantasy/YA Romantasy/YA Fiction

thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc! I love Kylie Lee Baker’s writing. I adored the first book and was so excited to receive this arc. While it didn’t quite have that same dark pull that the first book had, this one was still magical and riveting. I missed Hong though - he was such a lovable character in the first book - my favorite of all the characters - and I just wish we saw more of him in this one. He’s such a compelling character, I missed his presence. But Zilan was still just as powerful and likable as well. Overall, a great duology and I can’t wait to read more from Kylie!!

Short and Sweet Review

Zilan thought that being a royal alchemist would be amazing it was her dream after all, but it’s caused her nothing but pain and loss. Now Zilan is traveling with Wenshu (who is in Hong’s body) in search of Penglai Island where legend has it life can be restored. The journey isn’t easy as these two have to uncover secrets and find people that will help them and avoid the people trying to kill them.

The Blood Orchid takes place after all of the events that occurred in the first book (The Scarlet Alchemist). Zilan and Wenshu are looking for Penglai Island in order to bring back Hong and her other friends who died in the palace. During the journey there’s a lot of tribulation and setbacks that our characters face. I think the pacing in this book was a lot slower and at times I got bored. It was also a little weird that Wenshu was in Hong’s body and because of that there isn’t a lot of romance in this book. I was glad that Zilan had Wenshu because he did a good job of keeping her grounded and he was the one using more logic when it came to making decisions whereas Zilan is more impulsive. I will say I didn’t really enjoy Zilan’s character in this book, I thought she would have more character growth but that wasn’t the case. Zilan would do things that would put her and the people traveling with her in more danger or she would just make decisions that could have been avoided, in other words she was selfish. I did enjoy the rivalry between Zilan and the Empress, it’s almost like they’re the same person but one of them is trying to save those around her while the other only cares about themselves. We do get to see other alchemists at work which I enjoyed and it was interesting learning about the history of alchemist and this Penglai Island.

Overall, The Blood Orchid is the finale to this duology and it wasn’t my favorite book. I liked The Scarlet Alchemist better but this book did a good job at wrapping everything up. I wasn’t a fan of Zilan or the pacing in this book but I would still recommend this duology as the first book packs a punch and the second will answer any questions from the first.

This duet is phenomenal, the history, the vividness of each scene, the storylines, and so much more makes me love every ounce of this duet. Honestly, this is a favorite series of the year for me, no questions asked. I love how original the plot line is, I’ve never read anything similar, but I definitely would like to!

Zilan has the strength, wisdom, fear, and so many more qualities that makes her the perfect lead for a YA fantasy duet, young girls can see a women so strong, yet so fearful and desperate that they will learn emotions are complex. I also love the love story in this book, it’s a delicate string connecting Zilan and Hong but it’s not a weak love either. I didn’t see so much of this book coming, especially cause I wasn’t aware this was a duet not a series, but I felt like the whole story wrapped up beautifully. It was well paced out, nothing felt left open, and everyone got an ending that worked well for their characters.

I’m sad this duet is over, but I’m also so excited for future Kylie Lee Baker books as well!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for feedback and my honest review.

The Blood Orchid was an excellent sequel and managed to capture the page-turning intrigue and heart-stopping plot twists of the first book. I was engaged from the first chapter and truly could not put this installment down. The journey the characters went through was beautifully paced and the character's relationship development had me laughing, crying, and cursing alongside Zilan, Wenshu, Yufei, and others. I especially loved the sibling relationships' depiction and the ways Zilan formed friendships in unlikely places; they were sarcastic and biting with heartwarming care and loyalty at the core.

"'It's a pretty awful world, anyway,' Yufei said, shrugging. 'Don't alchemists want to raze it all down and start again? Now's your chance. End the world, Zilan, I dare you.'"

The ending of the story was equally satisfying. It ended on a soft note of open-ended hope that both answered my questions about the plot and left room for the rest of the character's lives in a way that makes their future seem tangible.

Thank you again to Netgalley and HarperCollins for this advanced copy!