"I needed to prove that, I as a woman could be better than the rest of them. That I too could belong. That I too could be free."

This book is for all the asian girls who were told they are meant to be seen and not heard. For the ones who related to 'what was I made for'. For the archers, the mirrorballs, the masterminds, and the anti-heroes. Who lost someone special when they were young. To all those girls whose favorite disney princess is mulan and will always be better than any man. For those who'd risk anything for a second chance at life.<3

{Minor spoilers in the end}

I went into this book, expecting it to be good, but little did I know it would turn out to be my new favorite. The connection I felt with the book and characters. The way I lost myself in the world. It was an experience and I'd love to live it again. However, nothing could've prepared me for that ending or that twist...nothing.

Hai Meilin:
"I don't want to just survive. I want to be the best."

A girl with too many faces. A warrior, a fighter, and most of all a survivor. I loved her so much. I saw myself in her ambition. Her love and her trust. She was too good for the world.

All she wanted was to runaway from her horrible betrothed, only to be disappointed by more men.

She did what no feminist could ever do. I want her justice- I NEED HER JUSTICE.


Prince Liu Sky:
"If only my men riding out to war tomorrow could be half as fast and clever as you."

My insomniac little buttercup. But why? Oh why?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😭
I was screaming, crying, throwing up because of him. Smilling like a fool. Just to be betrayed with that ending. I'll always be on his team. ALWAYS AND FOREVER.

Him and Winter needed more scenes together. Him and Meilin need more scenes together. K.X Song lock your doors bsf.

Cao Ming Lei:
"You and I are the only heroes who will be remembered in this world"

You were right rina.
I hated him in the beginning. Rather... an understatement. I DESPISED HIM. But that ending damn it. He has so much potential.

A boy with a heart-wrenching background. The Fuchai in this story. (dw yall he's still breathing)
So smooth, although I hated him. But he passed with flying colors.

Sparrow and Tao:
"Ren, I'm sorry but this way we are traitors."

May they never find the Ying to their Yang. May they never find happiness. May all that is loved by them be taken away.

I won't forgive these sexist idiots. These abominations. These fools.


Sky and Meilin:
"Meilin, It is I who must ask for your forgiveness."

No because I was robbed. ROBBED I SAY. Forever and always skymeilin's no.1 stan. 😔☝️

"Sky"
"Hm?"
"Stay with me."
"Always."

This user has malfunctioned.

"I can't lose you again." BYE.

Qinglong:
"Never trust a dragon"

hahahah jokes ON ME. A disgrace in the name of mushu. Actual piece of nothing. The phoenix was better than him. He better perish in the next book. HE BETTER.

The authors note was beautiful and the quotes before the chapters were perfect.

The Ballad of Mulan and the Romance of the Three Kingdoms meet the likes of The Poppy War and Six Crimson Cranes in this first part of K.X. Song's upcoming duology: “The Night Ends with Fire” is a tale of magic, adventure, war, love, corruption, betrayal, oppression, freedom, feminism, wuxia (martial arts) - and do not forget dragons! This book really ought to spread like wildfire when it comes out because let me tell you: it is deserving of every praise it receives!

What an incredible story to read! I could not put it down. Like Meilin’s greed being the driving force behind Qinglong’s powers, my own greed to read and know more propelled me quickly through this book. The pacing was ideal with plenty of description. A few times I laughed, a few times I gasped. The world-building was excellent: K.X. Song has a way of transporting you into this world and exploring aspects of both the spirit realm and reality, as well as providing historical information about the history of the Three Kingdoms.

Also, Song very kindly provides us with a map which I always love as it helps me imagine things better!

Split into three parts, there were plenty of twists and turns: some I did not see coming, others, probably a lot of them, were predictable but enjoyable to see.

Had this been a single book, I would have rated it a 4 for the ending. Knowing that the story is to be continued, that there is a second book in the works made this even better. I do prefer being able to read a book as a standalone rather than wait for its conclusion later but I am excited to see the direction this story goes.

You can certainly see that Song has based a lot of this tale on the live-action Mulan. There are plenty of scenes that harken back to this. To name a few: our heroine knows martial arts before she even enlists, she trains at night herself away from the men, the bathing sequence, the presence of a phoenix. But there are many differences too. While I am aware some people did not finish even reading it because it felt too much like “Mulan fanfiction”, the point of a retelling is to tell a story again but it should have some unique qualities of its own. And unique qualities it did.

Song has created a whole new dynamic through the inclusion of forbidden magic and the Cardinal Spirits with their seals. Cardinal Spirits are the four spirits representing and controlling the time of day, seasons, elements and directions. These are:
• Xuanwu - north, tortoise
• Zhuque - south, phoenix - fire - gets power from vengeance
• Qinglong - east, dragon - water - gets power from greed
• Baihu - west, tiger
These are based on the mythological sacred animals of the Vietnamese culture. The two that are covered the most in this tale are Qinglong and Zhuque. Hopefully, we will get to see more of the other two and learn more about their elements and what fuels their power. It could be assumed that Xuanwu’s element is earth and Baihu’s is air. I personally like dragons and including a sea dragon in this story is everything! Again, the dragon Qinglong, is not like Disney’s Mushu in any way. Consider him less funny and more sinister and cryptic.

I really like the way Song has made these characters. Pretty much all of them are flawed, as they should be! This adds a great deal of realism, that not everything is straightforward. I love Meilin. A very well-fleshed-out character, indeed. I can see why some people would find her dull or naïve but I feel that is entirely the point. Meilin is portrayed most realistically: She is struggling as a woman in a patriarchal society who desires more than to be subservient. She has endured a lot of trauma from her childhood and adulthood, She is not perfect by any means, even after her training - even her magic is unable to help her when she wants. Essentially, everything she does, she has to work for it. I would argue it might be too repetitive in that regard. It would have been nice to see her win more victories. I did not like in the live-action Mulan that the heroine, like Song’s Meilin, already knows martial arts and I much prefer the cartoon that she learns along with everyone else and becomes very good at it.
Sky is the greenest of green flags! His temper and his prioritising of duty are his main flaws. But ultimately, he is a gentle kind person who cares very much for his people. Out of everyone, I found Lei the most fascinating. So handsome and charming yet enigmatic and indifferent toward people. He works for everyone yet works for nobody but himself. Sometimes a monster, sometimes misunderstood. Oh yes, I really like his complexity!

I am honoured to have been selected as an ARC reader for this book, and I’d like to thank K.X. Song and Netgalley for the opportunity.

Every single character was very morally grey, they all had flaws and I love how complex they are. I feel like I could write essays about the characterisations of all the characters in this book and even the plot choices, especially from how this book ended. THAT’S HOW MUCH I WAS INVESTED WITH THIS BOOK!!!

There are so many things that I love about Meilin as a protagonist. I loved the exploration of female ambition and power and the struggles that Meilin experiences as a woman in this world of dominant men and I loved her selfishness and being unsatisfied with the cards that was dealt for her and wanted more than what that world was willing to give her. She is power hungry and fed up with living under other people’s authority and desperately wants to forge her own future on her own terms.

If you like love triangles where the endgame couple is not obvious at all then this is the book for you. Obviously though, there is a ship that I am in favour of, and I am begging for them to be endgame in the sequel because his interactions with Meilin have me involuntarily giggling like a fool and cheesing so hard. Although, I can see Meilin potentially ending up with the other character too. I would also still be very satisfied if she doesn’t end up with either to be honest.

I am immediately going to pre-order this book because this is instantly one of my top favourite reads of 2024 and I am already so excited for the sequel in this duology!

prior to reading this book, my knowledge of Mulan was limited to watching the Disney animation when I was little, so I didn't know what to expect of a Mulan retelling. I didn't expect to fall in love with this story and all its complex themes painted within.

the plot is very well developed, spanning over seven months and taking us on a long journey through two out of the three existing kingdoms. what captivated me immediately was the character of Meilin, and what made this read a 5-star read was her slow but sure evolution into a selfish, unapologetic main character. growing up in an oppressive environment, she views her ambitions as a perversion and curses being born a woman in a world that celebrates men. it was amazing to witness her evolution and inner turmoils throughout the book.

as for the other characters, I was so pleased to discover that all of them can be considered, to some extent, morally gray - none of them are "good" and each of them have their own ambitions, their own selfish reasons and deeply flawed morals. this way of portraying the characters made them feel real and made me understand their personalities better.

another aspect that I loved about this book is the corrupt nature of the magic system. here, magic acts as a means to rise above others, to instil fear and demand respect. the cost is also high and power ends up being seen as a curse rather than a blessing.

in conclusion, please pick up this book when it comes out! it is stunning, and I don't think I could ever do it justice with my review.

An interesting take on the 'Mulan' story, which is overall fun! I liked the idea that the stepmother subverts stereotypes by not being evil and the family dynamics within the story. I am also an absolute sucker for any stories with dragons, especially ones with female leads with a feminist take.
However, I did find that Meilin is a difficult protagonist to get along with - she is simultaneously super naïve but also over powered. A young girl escaping an abusive household who signs up for a war not really understanding the reality of war is also a master of kung fu and qi? By the necessity of her trying to hide that she is a woman in the army it is difficult in the story to establish strong bonds with side characters outside of the Prince. I also found that the main romance lacked chemistry and meant that reading the 'romantic' scenes was more of a struggle that it should have probably been.
The story being in first person was also an interesting choice as well - one the reader gets accustomed to quickly but it didn't always work for me as a reader with the type of story.

DNF at 50%, I really tried with this one but it was such a slog to even get to the halfway point, I should’ve DNF’d earlier. The characters were so flat and there was zero chemistry between the 2 MCs. Also this wasn’t ’inspired’ by Mulan, this was a straight copy of the movie.

The Night Ends With Fire is a captivating retelling of Mulan. I couldn't put the book down and immensely enjoyed it. The writing is beautiful and the story engaging. I was just a tiny bit confused why she didn't catch the Winter thing...

The Night Ends with Fire starts off strong. It is clear from the beginning that this is a Mulan retelling, but the characters and their family dynamic deviate quite a bit from the original tale. It was refreshing and I was more than ready to experience this story through a new lens.

I loved that K.X. Song chose to subvert the evil/unwanted stepmother trope, and I thought the inclusion of a strong female friendship was a great start to Meilin's character development. I wish this had been more present for the rest of the story! But it was unfortunately brushed aside and forgotten as soon as it no longer served the plot.

Meilin is a such a confusing protagonist for me. I liked her stubbornness and her competitive edge, but ultimately felt she was being used to send very conflicting messages about feminine rage and gender equality. Meilin wants to be powerful, she wants to be feared, she wants to be successful, and she wants to be acknowledged as an equal by the male cast. These are all admirable goals, but what drives her pursuit of them should matter too.

As the story progresses it becomes clear that she believes her strength comes from the differences between her and the other female figures in her life. She does not submit to abusive men because she is more defiant than her stepmother. She does not suffer from bouts of hysteria, because she has a sharper mind than the woman who raised her. She is fearless in combat, because her yang energy (a force of action associated with masculine life forces) is not secondary to her yin energy (a force of passivity associated with feminine life forces).

In other words, Meilin believes herself capable not because women are underestimated, but because she herself is underestimated. She is 'Not Like Other Women'.

I think for younger audiences this messaging might not be so abrasive, but for me it was heavy-handed and really lacking the nuance that I was hoping for.

I also had issues with the writing. Each chapter features a new challenge or obstacle for our heroine to overcome, but the solution is always found immediately. This is both unsatisfying from a narrative perspective and detrimental to character development. I generally enjoy the use of a first-person POV in fantasy, but when the protagonist is never allowed to sit with their feelings for more than a few sentences, they never build the kind of emotional depth necessary for readers to become invested in their success.

Meilin never has to feel truly uncomfortable, she never has to contemplate her choices over multiple chapters, she never has to weigh her emotions against her better judgement. She never has be lost. Sometimes characters need to be a little lost, yknow?

Everything felt quite trivial and the story just never really hooked me. I was hoping the worldbuilding or magic system might give me something else to be excited about but it was very underdeveloped. The introduction of the villain character was equally underwhelming, but to say why would definitely veer into spoiler territory so I will leave that to other reviewers to discuss!

--Who is this for?--
On a surface level, this is a fairly faithful Mulan retelling and if you are looking to relive that story this series might hit the right note for you.

I do think this book leans on the younger side, both in tone and in content. The dialogue in particular is very YA. Teen audiences might find this story much more compelling than adult ones, but if you are a younger reader make sure you check the content warnings before reading.