Initially, the story was VERY close to Disney’s Mulan retelling, perhaps too close. I didn’t need to put much energy into learning the characters/ world because it was so close to that story. BUT I think it did step away from that moving towards later parts of the book and I became much more invested and interested in the story. Once Meilin experiences the freedoms afforded to men through enlisting in the war, she continues to aspire for more, redefining the parameters of her potential; this book considers what our ambitions cost us and how far we are willing to go to to gain power.

That being said, I absolutely devoured this book. I was constantly itching to pick it up and continue the story. I will always enjoy books where the FMC is trying to gain power in a world where men are determined to keep it from her and this story is exactly that. Meilin finds out she is to marry an abusive man to help pay off her father’s debts and she decides to disguise herself as a man and enlist in the war. She inherits a jade pendant from her mother which connects Meilin to a sea dragon spirit, granting her deadly powers which she harnesses in the war and in her attempt to gain power.

I enjoyed the elements of trust and betrayal in this story. Meilin grows close with Liu Sky, the commander prince, yet she cannot afford to reveal her true identiy. The sea dragon spirit has his own agenda, yet promises Meilin everything she desires. Meilin also encounters an enemy prince, who makes her question her own kingdom (and her heart). She must navigate who she can trust in a world acting against her.

I did enjoy aspects of the romance, though for the most part I was much more interested in Meilin’s venture for power.

I will definitely be reading the next book! I’m really interested in where the story will go from here - I feel like the it will become much more oriented around Meilin’s powers and it will step away from the original story a bit further.

Mulan is one of my favourite Disney movies. If you loved the secret identity and training aspect of Mulan , you’d enjoy this book. Those were the parts I ultimately enjoyed. Meilin as a character fell flat for me. Initially, her motivations were understandable, but then the author started attributing everything to greed. This reminded me of Rin from "The Poppy War," but unlike that book, the reasons here felt flat and unconvincing.

It was an entertaining read, very engaging and the chapters are short too. I just wanted more from this book, both in terms of plot and characters. I was expecting a big plot twist or reveal, but none ever came. Despite starting off with high stakes and a promising beginning, many aspects fell short and left me disappointed.

One thing that really annoyed me was a scene between her and her potential love interest. It felt like lazy writing, for the sake of creating ‘tension’ between the characters. It was weirdly sexual and added nothing to the plot. There’s a love triangle situation too so I’d like to see who she ends up with even though I think it’s very obvious.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC.

After reading the blurb of this book, I was really excited for it.

However I really struggled to get into it. I feel like there was a lot of telling rather than showing and I just couldn't connect with it.

It also felt more YA than Adult to me.

The writing itself was good and I had no issues with it, but it just didn't do it for me unfortunately 😞

DNF @ 35%

Mulan is my fave Disney movie EVER, so I was excited to read this book.
Alas, I wasn't able to finish it. I couldn't connect with the characters and the writing style didn't work for me. For being marketed as an Adult fantasy, it read more like a YA.

3.5 ⭐️

I think my favourite part of this book is our MCs relationship with her stepmother. It's a vibe that continues throughout the book, women helping women avoid the brutality of men. Meilin is a strong woman, that's for sure.

Plotwise, we have a lot happening. There's a war plus spirit magic involving dragons and a hunt for a broken seal. It's keeps the book moving at a pretty fast pace despite taking place over months. The magic system is interesting, and I hope we get more of her using it in the next book.

I enjoyed the training montage towards the beginning of the book. So often in fantasies our MC has no training but suddenly wins battles, so it's nice to have them spend months learning how to fight in formation, etc. It also presented an opportunity for her to spend some time with Sky and get to know each other even in her disguise.

Sadly, I seem to no longer be in my love triangle phase, and the series appears to be heading in that direction. Both men are complex characters, but both also seem to have fallen for her at their first encounter with her as a woman. The romantic plot was a little lacking in development for me personally because they're barely alone. Sky thinks she's a man for months, and they're with a literal army, and Lei keeps her prisoner and lies the whole time, plus theres guards.
Lei's side seems more lust driven, and Sky is possibly more in love with the idea of her.

Overall, I enjoyed the first half a little more than the second, but I will probably check out the next one since it's a duology. I do want to see where the triangle leans, but I have a theory we may all be surprised.

I received an advance review copy of this book, and this review represents my honest opinion. Thank you to netgalley, K. X. Song, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

Devoured this book in 2 days! Great story and easy to follow, with plenty of turning points to keep you interested. Definitely aimed at a certain demographic who like the kind of slight fantasy and Disney retelling with more realism but perfect for me.

I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Yeah, uhh, this book really wasn't for me and I'm really sad about it because I was so excited about it. Instead, it near put me in a slump :-(

I just didn't like any of the characters except for Xiuying? There was like some semblance of romance, but also not, and then I didn't like either of them? And then the supporting characters like Tao or Sparrow were barely any support, they just seemed to be there to further the story and didn't seem to "live off-page".

The story unfortunately also just didn't make me want to continue reading. Even at the end, I just wasn't interested in how it would go and how the introduction to the sequel would be set up? It took me 4 days to finish the last 8 chapters…

I'm really sad about it, but alas, this story really wasn't for me.

A big thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this novel.

The Night Ends With Fire by K X Song is a Mulan retelling that fits somewhere between YA and Adult. It follows the main character Meilin who's family life is less than ideal. Her father is addicted to opium and has gambled their family money away. The only way for her family to survive is an arranged marriage - but the only suitor available is a man that is even older than her father and who's previous wives have all disappeared under mysterious circumstances. That is, until war breaks out. Meilin then sees an escape in enlisting in her father's place and choose death on her own terms.

But family secrets that have been kept from her will cause her fate to take sharp turns from the path that she wanted for herself. With the fate of the Three Kingdoms in her hands, will she be able to harness the strength within herself and choose the right side?

This book was not bad. However, the first few chapters already made a few things very clear. And the book just did not grip me as much as I would have loved it to. I think it was due to a lot of impractical elements just being glossed over to make the overall plot work. A lot of the story just felt too convenient.

Another aspect that confused me a little bit was the target market for this book. A lot of it felt like it was meant for a younger audience, however here and there the writing had mentions of war crimes and other acts committed to the characters that felt like it was trying to be a bit like Poppy War. I appreciate the attempt to be realistic about what war can do, but it felt very different from other areas of the book. Especially since the details of how a girl of 18 can blend in as a boy for months on end was just glossed over.

Overall I think it was a good story, but the writing could still grow a bit. I'm curious about where this story will go. We'll see if I will continue with this series when the next installment comes out.

Mulan is one of my favorite Disney retellings, so I was very excited to jump into this one. Please note it has a much more serious undertone than Disney, with mature themes. I really liked to see the evolution of the FMC from the beginning to the end, though it does not end at the end this book. The MMC was an interesting character, maybe foreshadowing some changes in the way the kingdoms are ruled. I would recommend it if you're looking for some morally grey characters.

Mulan inspired and dragons all in the same book?!! I loved everything about this book, the romance and the growth of the FMC. The cover of this book is what grabbed my attention right from the begining!

Thank you to Hodderscape and NetGalley for providing me an eARC to review!

This cover is absolutely gorgeous, and I am a Mulan and Poppy War stan, so was excited to get into this but unfortunately I just really didn't mesh with it. While being billed as an Adult Fantasy, the tone and style felt very YA and elements like the abuse felt almost tacked on to bump it up an age bracket. I don't think the content around abuse, sexual assault or mental illness was handled particularly well, and it felt like the protagonist was being elevated because she was 'not like other girls' which I really dislike.

The beginning also stuck pretty closely to the key plotpoints of the Disney Mulan, which because I love that movie made me just think I'd rather be experiencing that.

Sadly a disappointment for me, but I think this could appeal to YA readers looking to transition into Adult Fantasy.

Thank you netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review of the Night Ends with Fire by #kxsong

A Mulan reimagining where Meilin, the main protagonist, shows how the story changes when she embraces her ambition to be more than what society allows for women. It handles well the societal expectations and gives realistic reactions to Meilin as she progresses through her journey.

I found the mention of her kung-fu ability cheesy. Thankfully it didn't imped my enjoyment as this book has an interesting magic system and doesn't fall into the usual plot of the main character having immense power without training. We see her struggle with the different nature's of magic and trying not to be corrupted by it.

I liked the writing style and found it easy to engage with. This could almost be a standalone book if you like open endings. However, we do have a sequel to look forward to, so I'm interested to see where it goes.

#thenightendswithfire #fantasy #mulanreimagined #netgalley #hodderscape #magic #fiction

The Night Ends With Fire is a Mulan/Romance of the Three Kingdoms retelling. When Meilin’s father refuses to join the imperial army, she takes his place (both out of duty or piety but to escape violence from him and an arraigned marriage) disguised as a man. But she does not simply want to blend in, she wants to standout and succeed with the help of a sea dragon spirit and the magic it bestows on her. She draws the attention of two opposing princes and the eyes of two warring god spirits whose conflict threatens the Three Kingdoms.

I thought the framing of Meilin (our Mulan substitute) as selfish in joining the army was such a strange choice because it was about survival, escaping her abusive father and the abusive husband-to-be chosen for her. That’s not selfish at all. Did she possibly go too far in wanting to be the best and to outshine everyone? Maybe, but I still would only call that just slightly selfish and more of a foolish choice to draw attention to herself. I also thought Meilin was far too competent from the start (she is a staff and kung fu master) so we don’t get to see her grow into herself and faced far less adversity in the army than the book suggests (she gets an instant best friend and she he prince privately tutors her).

This book also felt like it had an agenda and it was not gracefully executed because it’s never subtle about it. Every man here is bad (except of course her two love interests who are flawed but have understandable redeeming qualities). Otherwise, if you are a man, you are bad from the beginning or the author will tack on a completely unnecessary twist at the end to make you bad. The book also confuses whether her being a woman or her being a spirit medium is what makes her wrong in their world so it just doubles down on both so it’s confusing if she is being discriminated against for either or both when that distinction is absolutely necessary to the story it is telling.

I can’t help but compare this book to similar recent Asian fantasies. Its comp title Six Crimson Cranes has the whimsical fairytale quality to it with its YA fantasy. Song of Silver, Flame Like Night delivered the sort-of starcrossed romance with shifting allegiances and conflicting ideologies. Another comp The Poppy War treaded the line between YA and adult fantasy so well with its mixture of YA tropes and grimdark storytelling. She Who Became the Sun has the grit and darkness of an adult Mulan-esque story this is trying to go for. All this just left The Night Ends with Fire to read like a Disney’s Mulan retelling and feeling like just a more mature derivative of it and still coming across very YA rather than adult. I don’t know if I’m being unfair to it, but that’s just how I felt.

I wouldn’t say that The Night Ends with Fire is a bad or unreadable book. It’s just a bit misguided in its messaging and execution.

I was initially very excited by the premise of this book. Meilin escaping an abusive father and abusive husband to be, seeking freedom and glory while hoping to subvert the traditional patriarchal rules.
Unfortunately, Meilin turned out to be incredibly unlikeable. I understand developing a flawed character and internalised misogyny, but there were just pages and pages of it. So much so, other characters barely got any development. There was no explanation for some of the characters motives or actions, beyond giving the FMC information that she would not have otherwise had. The ending felt rushed and the set up for a sequel felt very forced. The romance she was meant to have with the prince felt very forced, whereas the rapport she had with the enemy prince was much more believable. The spirit dragon premise was largely unexplored, her ability to use his power seemed to grow from nowhere, even despite being manacled in iron for weeks.
Plus many conclusions takes Meilin until near the end of the book to reach that the reader reached much earlier, even some that Meilin is told explicitly.
Overall it was a disappointing book and I won't be reading the sequel

The Night Ends with Fire is a Mulan retelling set in a secondary world that resembles ancient China. Instead of a full retelling, it takes the premise of Mulan and the name of the main character, Hui Meilin (once even using the alias Mulan), and sets her on a more fantastical and less heroic path.

A war is about to break between three warlords, and all men are drafted. Meilin’s father is a violent opium addict and he has no intention to serve. Meilin is forced to marry an old, violent man, and to escape her fate, she disguises herself as a man and joins the war.

She soon discovers that it’s not easy to be a soldier. But she has help. Prince Sky takes interest in her solitary training and starts to train with her. But more importantly, she’s possessed by an ancient spirit of a dragon that offers her help when she needs.

But it’s not a noble dragon, and the help comes with a price. She doesn’t mind. She’s not a noble person either. She’s greedy and selfish, and willing to do anything to survive.

She’s not the only person in possession of a powerful spirit. The enemy army has one too, and she and her dragon make it their business to destroy the other spirit. It’s not an easy or straightforward path to a victory. And she’s not the only one after the other spirit.

This was an interesting story. It’ll likely be marketed as a YA fantasy, but it avoids the most clichéd tropes. There’s a hint of romance, even a triangle drama, but it doesn’t dominate the story or serve as the driving force of Meilin’s actions. She’s not a good, moral, or noble person, and the dragon spirit makes the most of her greed to bend her to his will, but it was easy to sympathise with her need to be free from the fate chosen for her as a woman. The love interests weren’t good or noble men either, and it was difficult to choose between them. The magic took a heavy toll, and it wasn’t an all-powerful force that she could use at will.

The book was a bit too long and complicated though. The plot kept twisting and turning, bringing new players in the game, and making life unnecessary difficult for Meilin. Regardless, I found myself slightly bored with the middle part of the book, and it was difficult to care for the story or the people. The adversary wasn’t interesting enough, despite his destructive power, and in the end, he was a rather pitiful creature and his demise didn’t feel a triumphant victory.

The biggest twist was saved for the end. The world is stacked against Meilin, and it finally catches up with her. But she’s not about to give up. How she will survive is the story for the next book. I’d be interested in reading more.

"Would you surrender yourself to the world, or would you make the world yours?"

The Night Ends With Fire is an amusing Mulan retelling, sprinkled with splendid twists here and there, that makes it so entertaining to read. Instead of willingly returning to her destiny of confinement pre-war, our main character, Hai Meilin, yearns to lead─to rule as a general, for she has tasted the sweet taste of freedom and learnt that she wields a power so great it feels impossibly wrong to sit back and watch men decide how she should navigate the course of her life.

When the Three Kingdoms are declared to be at war and his father refuses to partake, his eldest daughter takes the matters into her own hands and enlists in her father's place, faking an identity to be a boy named Hai Ren. Her initial resolution was simple, escape her abusive soon-to-be husband, and be granted a few more months to live. It is no longer so simple then, once the sea dragon spirit consistently calls out for her, demanding to be heard. How is it so wrong wanting to break free from restrictive gender boundaries of the society?

This was such a good page-turner, I ended up loving it more than I thought I would. I resonate with her unending greed and desires, her longing to belong. Some parts frustrated me and the ending left me craving for more, I can't wait to read the second book.

I loved this mash up of Mulan, Chinese history of the Three Kingdoms, and Chinese mythology. It felt like Song weaved together aspects of all these into one new story that she made her own.

I loved that our protagonist's worldview expanded as she saw more of the world, how she became aware of her naivety and constantly kept growing. I loved the understanding of power and who has it, of how there are no good sides in a war. I loved the conflict within her and her ultimate decision that she wanted to be selfish, to get her own way, while also maintaining this hope in other people's goodness.

Definitely for readers of Sue Lynn Tan and Joan He, and if you found the Molly X Chang a massive disappointment, this was everything I'd hoped that could be.

This was an exquisitely written and ferociously angry retelling of Mulan. As the author’s note states, we’re used to the Disneyfied version of the story and not the original ending – here Mulan is determined to change the narrative. It is resplendent in its rage.

This was one of my most anticipated reads for the year. I read the blurb and was so excited for it.
I think I may have overhyped it in my head maybe, but it just fell a bit flat for me.
Mulan was one of my favourite Disney movies (along with Hercules) - I am aware that the Disney version is an idealised version of the story of Mulan but hey I loved it as a kid and I still love it now.
I feel like parts of this story were just a bit too elongated to the point where I got quite bored. But I persevered and I'm not happy with that ending. I mean it makes sense but it's not a good ending for Meilin.
Liu Sky annoyed me, I get that he puts duty and honour above all but he took that too far.
Sparrow and Tao eurgh.
I feel like Meilin would have been better off taking her chances with Lei.

I had very high expectations of this book and I enjoyed it, but didn't love it quite as much as I had hoped.

The Night Ends With Fire is an interesting retelling of Mulan, where the protagonist Meilin is driven by her desire for freedom, as well as her greed for power and recognition. While I sympathised with her story and her starting motivations, I didn't so much with her growing greed throughout the book. I can understand her wanting to prove that a woman could be powerful and "the best", though. So I was a bit divided on the protagonist 😅 Her relationship with the sea dragon was an interesting one - I liked reading about its complicated development and the intricacies of accepting his power.

Meilin gets quite close to two rival princes - one commanding the battalion she is a part of, and an enemy prince who holds her prisoner but appears to really value her intellect and military skills. The two princes are both quite intriguing characters, at odds with their respective fathers and/or their beliefs. I particularly liked the enemy prince and hope to read more about him in the sequel!

The book was beautifully written and the pacing was quite fast, especially once the dragon "awakened". I got confused a few times by explanations of situations or by who was speaking/acting at some points. However, the book kept me guessing about characters' motives and who would turn out to be trustworthy, so I really liked that!

I'd recommend this to lovers of fantasy and retellings.