Member Reviews

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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!

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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

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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!!

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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.

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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!

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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!

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This book felt like the perfect ending to the duology. Kylie still managed to give tension and draw out strong emotions all while still mixing in her amazing sense of humor into the script. I loved the way this book played out. It definitely held a darker/grimmer aura as the new villain/antagonist was not who I was expecting it to be, and the way they planned things out left the characters feeling like they were in an impossible situation. But once again, Zilan has proven to be a witty and intelligent character, driven by her determination to win at all costs and that is why I love her oh so dearly. Kylie also did an amazing job of making the hated characters very likable, and one of those said characters became my second favorite in the entire duology despite their previous actions.

If you loved the first book, you'll definitely love the second book. Everything from the first book was pulled into the second book and reiterated in a way that solidified the magic system that was created. The logic following this magic system made so much sense, and I loved how it all fell perfectly together, like a little bow being perfectly tied once everything was settled.

The ending was a bit mellow/lackluster, which led to me dropping half a star (my total rating is 4.5), but at the same time, it was a topic in the book itself, how the ending played out, so I chose to go with it. I agree very much that this is how the series ended.

I want to thank NetGalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
The Blood Orchid is the second and final book in The Scarlet Alchemist duology by Kylie Lee Baker. The first book follows Zilan who dreams of becoming a royal alchemist. But when she is within the walls of the palace she finds herself surrounded by political intrigue and a court that is much more vicious then they let on to the public.
I really loved the first book in this series and found myself absolutely flying through it when I read it and this book was no different. I absolutely loved this book and was even better than the first book. The strength of this book and series really relies on the characters. I love Zilan as a main character because she is someone who is strong but can own up to her own mistakes and tries to undo them.
After the ending of the last book, I was nervous where we would start off in this book but it pretty much picks up right from where we left off. From the start, this book is full of action and it is non-stop from there. Each chapter ends in a way that makes you want to continue reading and I found myself flying through this book. I really loved the writing in this and always found myself thinking and wondering what was going to happen.
I though the writing was just as amazing in this as it was in the first book. It's clear that Kylie Lee Baker did a lot of research into this time period. Even though this book is about alchemy and has fantasy elements in it, she really made the time period shine as well and I really enjoyed seeing how she incorporated all those elements together.
I thought Kylie also did an amazing job wrapping up this duology in two books. Nothing felt like it fell flat or we were left without answers. I thought she did such a fantastic job wrapping up this duology with this book.
I would highly recommend this series if you are wanting a politically intriguing, action packed historical fantasy YA novel. This was just amazing and I cannot recommend it enough.

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What a duology. Wow. Once again, Kylie Lee Baker has rendered me speechless.

I wasn’t sure what this sequel and finale would have in store for me. How would Baker tie up all the loose ends satisfactorily? It’s a tough ask. At first, I wasn’t sure what I thought about the story and the pacing in The Blood Orchid. The majority of this book was spent traveling. Personally, the beginning felt a tad slow, but once I passed the halfway mark, the pacing sped up, and I was once again clutching my Kindle, unable to put it down.  

If you enjoyed The Scarlet Alchemist, you’ll love The Blood Orchid. Baker crafted a finale worthy of the characters we fell in love with in the first book. It’s bittersweet knowing this story is over, but I'm eager for Baker's next book. I can confidently say I will devour everything Kylie Lee Baker writes from now on.

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I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
The Blood Orchid continues where the first book left off, and is just as compelling and engrossing. Once again, I was drawn in by the fantastical twist on the Tang Dynasty intrigue and action/adventure, with the fictional characters interacting with prominent characters like Wu Zetian and other members of the Royal Family. I also enjoyed learning a bit more about alchemy as it exists in this version of the Tang Dynasty, and how the characters use it.
Zilan remains a compelling lead, and I really enjoyed learning more about her as she worked to bring down Empress Wu, and fought for her loved ones.
The secondary characters were also fleshed out in interesting ways, especially Zheng Sili, who has an intriguing redemption arc. While this installment felt a bit less balanced than the first, with the romance feeling more sidelined, I mostly enjoyed most of the character work overall.
Plot wise, there are some minor pacing issues, the byproduct of some behind-the-scenes shenanigans, with a trilogy being reduced to a duology (not to mention Inkyard Press, the original imprint the first book was published under, folded, resulting in this book being moved to HarperCollins).
While it is somewhat flawed, I enjoyed this installment overall, and would recommend the duology to readers who enjoy historical fantasy.

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I was waiting for The Scarlet Alchemist sequel for months. After that cliffhanger in The Scarlet Alchemist, I literally needed the sequel. I needed to know what’s going to happen. Is Zilan going to restore the kingdom? And how is she going to do it?
Thankfully, I was able to read the sequel, The Blood Orchid, early on. I got to say that this book blew my mind away. I literally could not put it down at all. I was blowing away the pages. I couldn’t stop at all. I needed to know what was going to happen and if Zilan was going to find justice for her fellow royal alchemists and love. 
So much happens in The Blood Orchid that it’s going to be chaotic at times, but it will keep you interested from the moment. Just pay attention to the details because they all connect one another. There is so much more to the myth of Penglai Island than I expected. And I love all of the connections to it.
I do wish we could get a backstory of the royal alchemists, because their brief appearances do intrigue me. I wouldn’t mind reading it.

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I really admire Zilan. She can get herself out of every situation by putting that big brain of hers, and some handy alchemy to work. And she really needs it in this book! Because although the empress is dead, she had far reaching plans to keep control of the empire no matter what! Also luckily, Zilan has her brother Wenshu traveling with her, and Durian (that duck has some amazing talents revealed in this book!) on their search to find Penglai Island and bring back the innocents slain by the empress and her minions. And while there is a bit of romance (a bit hard since Hong is waiting by his river, a spirit only) I love that Kylie Lee Baker concentrated again more on familial relationships (mostly Wenshu but Yufei does make an appearance farther in the book). That was just as much fun as a romance because of how strong their love is for each other, in life or death or anything in between.

Watching Zilan and the empress go head to head was fantastic because both are ruthless when something upsets their plans though Zilan definitely has a better moral compass and good reasons to go after the power of Penglai. I also liked the travel and seeing new lands and meeting some very interesting, albeit alchemists that hold their own secrets that must be ferreted out.

So, in summary, this book is fantastic, full of meaningful sacrifice for love, awesome and finishes up the duology perfectly. Just be warned the ending is full of Yes Yes! Noooooo! Yes! Ahhhh! and then Yes yes yes! And I cannot state how much I love Durian the duck!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the Publisher for giving me a chance to read this absolutely fantastic book!

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This was such an incredible journey that kept you hanging on till the ending wanting to know what was going to happen next and how would everything get resolved finally? The descriptions were so well done, it made everything seem so vivid and I had no trouble imaging what was going on, we get the same quality writing from the first book, The Scarlet Alchemist. The romance was a very small part but it was scattered throughout the book so you still felt the connection between Hong and Zilan, it was beautiful in a tragic way since they were separated the whole time. A lot of guilt kept circling with Zilan but it was understandable, it was horrific what all she'd been through from the first book to this one, so many sacrifices that there's no way she wouldn't feel the weight of it on herself. I thoroughly enjoyed the ending and how everything wrapped up, it was very fitting. The final chapter had me worried but it was a happy ending, so those of you who are worried about if it's going to be a tragedy, fear not, we get a really good ending. Durian was adorable and I love how Zilan cared for her because it was also like a piece of Hong that she had.

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