I'm very excited for this series to continue, since this first volume certainly did not disappoint! I am a sucker for fantasy novels with qi based magic (The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation is my favourite book of all time!) and this book is no exception. And what a stunning cover to match what's inside, too!

Beautifully written magical new fantasy series based of Chinese mythology. Action packed story with stunning writing, this book hit all the marks, it is not to be overlooked in 2023!!

What a great book! I was half in half that it would be for me but I really enjoyed reading it! Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this title.

This was a captivating fantasy filled with tension, truth and a refreshing magic system that has me desperate to learn more about practitioning and the ways of the clans.

Lan has a mysterious mark on her arm that only she can see. Until one day a boy saves her life and sets her on a new path. its going to be a rough ride as she learns what it means and how it connects to her mother.

This was such a fascinating read. i loved the world building and the history told in the story. This is a brilliant start to the series and i look forward to the next book in the series. There's a lot to follow but it makes sense as the story develops. Each chapter has a quote at the start which were really interesting. Lan is a fascinating character and her strength shines throughout. I really liked her. The ending was well written and ready to lead into a second book. A brilliant read and beginning.

A nice slow burn romance between Lan and Zen, wrapped up in Chinese myth and legend. An adventure story in a well written and complex world. Beautifully done.

Thank you so much for letting me read this book. I liked this story. It reminds me a lot of Julie Kagawas shadow of the fox.

Song of Silver, Flame like Night is a beautiful and emotionally gripping Chinese inspired fantasy. I absolutely loved every second of it. The comparisons between the colonisation of China under English rule is clear with the Elantians and the Hin, and the message is strong. What is lost through colonisation? Everything. Language, culture, beliefs and even names and identities themselves lost to those with perceived power, and a perceived right to take and destroy anything that doesn’t suit their ideal. Layered with this message is the tale of two people trying to find out the truth about themselves whilst harbouring secrets that could either save their world or destroy it.

Lan and Zen’s stories are similar, both have lost the only families they’ve ever known and their identities along with them. They have both had to find ways to survive. Zen, through trying to quash his nature so that he can be accepted and Lan, through trying to scavenge for information about her past and assimilate to what it means to live under Elantian rule, even as far as shortening her name so that it is easier to pronounce for the Elantian soldiers.

The two opposing magic systems were very interesting. The Elantians take their power from metal and the Hin use ‘qi’ a balance of Yin and Yang from the world around them.

Lan and Zen’s slow burn romance is very sweet but I don’t want to go into it because of spoilers. There are moments in this book that absolutely broke my heart, and the last one hundred pages truly hurt. I cannot wait to read the second book the moment it’s released and find out what happens with Zen and Lan and the demon gods.

Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley and the author for allowing me access to the ARC for review, it has been a joy to read.

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Firstly, let me say how beautiful the writing was in this! I was gripped by the story and couldn't put it down. This is one of those books that you read and think about for ages after. I loved how this started out with a little action, and that the story flowed well throughout the rest of the story. The magical and political systems in this were complex but easy enough to follow. I found myself rooting for Lan and Zen in this, they are both driven characters, that would do anything to save their people. I am definitely interested to see where this series goes!!

I received a free copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review

One of the most anticipated reads of 2023 with its beautifully designed cover and promising plot summary. I found Song Like Silver, Flame Like Night entrancing, I heart mythology and this beautifully built world makes for a classic adventure with Zan and Lan making for likable leads and the Winter Magician chilling to the bone. It didn’t disappoint and I eagerly look forward to the next in the duology.

Song of Silver Flame like Night is an Intricately woven and beautifully crafted Chinese mythology retelling.
It was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and I’m delighted to say it didn’t disappoint.

Oh, my days! It is mesmerising and captivating. Every time I had to put the book down I immediately wanted to picked it back up. It had me wanting, no, needing to know what would happen next.

As I love to say (and because it’s true), there are a delicious array of characters. Characters that are intriguing, courageous yet flawed. Ones that you love to hate and others you just simply love!
My only disappointment was I wanted so much more from the antagonist aka the bad guy! I’m just a sucker for a baddie.

SoSFLN is a new favourite of mine. It’s a high fantasy adventure with magic, demon gods, love and peril. What more could you ask for?!

The magic (or qì) is a little more complex than other fantasy’s I’ve read, but it is creative and extremely spellbinding.

Rich, bold, fierce and heartfelt. I loved it!

Thank you, NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, for the eArc in return for my honest review.

Believe me when I tell you that I was deeply engrossed in this fantastical tale that dealt with Chinese myth and folklore that after a point, I forgot to take notes about it. I read this book back in January and I haven't stopped thinking about Lan and Zen, my brain just WANTS to know what happens in the next book.

The folklore was unknown to me, which, I think, made this one a beautiful reading experience. I don't think I can express correctly how much I loved all the characters Lan (snarky and sneaky) and Zen, along with Shàn'jūn (kindest sunshine) Chò Tài and Yeshin Noro Dilaya (absolute badass!)

Here's what you'll find (and what I loved) in this book in small points -
• magic, myth and power
• different kinds of love & friendships
• found family
• morally grey characters
• LGBTQ+ representation

I loved how this one stands out from the other YA fantasy books by telling a story of destruction of heritage and history through the violence of colonization. The fast pace keeps you hooked to the book, your mind scrambling for answers and impatient to know where the story takes you. If you love Grishaverse, I strongly feel that you'll absolutely love this one too!!

2.5 stars rounded up - I wanted to love this so much, but it really fell flat for me. After a very engaging and promising start, I found the middle section of this book so boring that I just couldn’t get back into it. Ultimately I ended up skimming the last quarter just to get it done.
Maybe it’s me, maybe I’m just done with YA fantasy. This felt middle grade too at times, with the language used by Lan.
I’m sure some people will adore this one but sadly it wasn’t for me.

I have mixed feelings about this book.

It started off very strong. The story picked up pace right from the beginning and the plot was extremely engaging. The magic system was very interesting.

I was amazed by the intricate world building. The visuals created by the author were simply breathtaking! It felt so immersive and real, as if I was actually present in that place at that moment.

Although this is set in a Fantasy world, I could clearly identify the parallels with our real world, especially in terms of the colonial conquest. A destructive, colonial empire taking advantage of the internal strife of a land rich in culture and resources, hit close to my heart. The author has painted a very real picture of the horrors of colonialism.

I wanted to give the book a full 5 stars just based on all these points.

But I had issues with the pacing of the book and especially with the switching between the scenes. There's a lot of build up for some fight/face off sequences; which led me to anticipate a good battle/fight description. But we never get that. All that expectation and anticipation, and we get to the conclusion of the events in just one line. That's it.

Also our main character Lan has no growth in this book. There is always a lot of hinting and straight out declarations that Lan is supposed to do a lot of great, big things. She, unfortunately, does nothing in this book and is always dependent on others to come to her aid.

It felt anticlimactic in a way.

I am still excited to read the next book. The plot has a lot of promise and I am hoping Lan would get some more character development in the sequel.

I received an ARC of the book from the publisher, via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

My favourite thing about this novel is its world-building. Not only is it highly-detailed, it is also thought-provoking and often times, incredibly cool.

In terms of the overall narrative, I absolutely loved its interest in the Four Guardian Beasts of Chinese mythology which I had always been very curious about. Ever since I first learnt about the Azure Dragon of the East, the Vermilion Bird of the South, the White Tiger of the West and the Black Warrior (Tortoise) of the North (from Digimon Adventures 02 no less), I had found them rather consistently, in stories all around East Asia, whether in novels, comics or games. However, concrete information about their origins had always been rather difficult to come across. While Amélie puts a spin upon them by making them the Black Tortoise, Silver Dragon, Azure Tiger and Crimson Phoenix and tells a story that’s less about them but rather, mankind’s relation with power, my appetite on that front was mostly satisfied.

The greatest achievement of this book however, is the highly-intricate magic system that Amélie had designed. A standout moment very early on which made me sit up with excitement was a brilliantly written section in Chapter Two where the deuteragonist Zen pulls some wickedly cool tricks with incense sticks. Beyond this, the novel showcases many other highly inspired acts of magic whose awesomeness I have discussed in further detail on my instagram and my website (as linked below) where I compared this novel with some other recent East Asian-centric fantasy titles through a series of infographics, following my interest in data analytics,

That aside, I was also impressed by the novel’s nuanced portrayal of cross-cultural power relations. Instead of adopting an East-West centric approach that can be reductive, Amélie also demonstrates a much appreciated awareness of intra-Asian power dynamics. What I did not like however was the way the Hin population adopted Elantian terminology such as the use of “Angels” to refer to their colonisers, which are very clearly coded as White, without any sort of linguistically centered resistance. From the way the Four Guardian Beasts are referred to as “Demons”, my guess is that Amélie is inviting us to rethink our understanding of “Good” and “Bad” but I’m not sure if it worked in the grand scheme of things.

This is largely because this novel’s potential is undermined by the convoluted manner through which it is crafted. The prose is oftentimes (to me) over-written with many thesaurus words thrown in. The narrative was also rather difficult to follow as it dwells upon cliches I don’t really care for and glosses through parts which would have been very exciting by having the main characters blank out. Altogether, I finished the book not knowing exactly what happened and it isn’t because my head was occupied by speculating over theories. I just really didn’t know what had happened. On a somewhat similar note, it also has a title that I absolutely cannot remember even though I have been very curious about it ever since I first found out about its premise.

That said, it is still a fascinating read that’s worth digging into, mostly because of how thought provoking it is. As promised, here are the links to my attempt at data driven literary reviews:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CoVqaaOqIhh/
https://nicandhisantihegemonicthoughts.medium.com/comparing-ya-fantasy-novels-inspired-by-east-asia-246cbecf7d2d

Publishing is a mighty cynical business, so a cynic watching a bunch of Chinese mythological-themed fantasy epics might think they've been commissioned with zero cultural sensitivity. I don't doubt the success of a few of them has led publishers to take a punt on something that they previously would have passed on, but there is also the fact that China has an extremely long history, and it basically has the size and diversity of Europe so you aren't going to run out of stories soon even if you're not - like - using your imagination. Having read a few recently this one has been my favourite, and sadly it's because it has a big colonialist baddie, and that grounds it in a way. This feels like opium wars or earlier, a foreign invader assimilating and stealing whatever it can. And there is a kid with a secret destiny, a power to discover etc etc.

So we get a smattering of romance, characters with big secrets, a bit of magic school (all the proper rivals are present and correct), and enough of a great evil that this could carry on for books and books (I understand its a duology - which seems to be the current fashion in dealing with the difficult middle books of trilogies). But it also commits to telling its own story enough that it is properly satisfying in its own right. Much of that is down to the good work down with its characters at the start, despite being relatively archetypal, Amelie Wen Zhao puts the effort in to identify their own hopes and fears. She also knows how to make a secret important even if the reader doesn't discover it until near the end too.

I would definitely read more of these, probably because its grand adventure is tinged with the stuff of real life - and the colonialist invaders (with their own nuance) are a deep well of antagonists. Lots of fun and my favourite of this sub-genre.

I don't even know how to start explaining how much I loved this book. The writing style, the fantasy/world building, the romance, the humor!! The whole lot was everything I wanted and so much more. The plot was really well done, some twists kind of east to guess, but overall I loved the reading.

Lan witnesses her mothers murder and she is now in mortal danger. Magic seems the only way to survive but she needs to learn ancient skills to use it correctly. Demons can help but the cost is high.

A beautifully written novel with ancient Chinese magic at its root. Lots of twists and turns as Lan evades the enemy’s army and magicians. Who will fight on and who will survive. Enjoy, I did.

This was a great beginning to a new series. I loved the fantastical setting and how the magic worked. It somewhat reminded me of the poppy war and the mistborn series both of which I loved.

Our main character was one I found myself rooting for and she wasn’t a typical all good hero. A lot of her interactions were based on trauma from previous situations in her life and learning to trust.

The plot was pretty fast paced which made for a quick and immersive reading experience.

My only complaints would be that I wished we had spent some more time on the relationships between characters and learning more about some of the side characters.

I also did not like that some of the major plot points revolves around miscommunication or characters withholding information from those that could have helped, but this circles back around the main characters lack of trust and asking others for help.

Overall I will definitely be picking up the next book in this series once it is released and will also be adding the authors previously released series onto my TBR

The concept and setting of this book was mesmerizing. The plot was pretty slow moving but made sense due to the world building and characters in the Chinese fantasy inspired world. I saw several videos about this book being ann enemies to lovers novel. However it wasn’t quite so. And I wasn’t exactly a fan of the reader baiting that it was an enemies to lovers novel.
Other than strong world building and an interesting foray into Chinese culture, especially with the pinyin spellings (romanised pronunciations of spoken mandarin) which really helped me understand them better, it was a book that could’ve been 10% shorter.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC! Can’t wait to read more books in this series.