final rating: 4.5/5☆

thank you to netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the e-arc!

i like myself a good retelling, and this is one. Mulan (the disney animated one) holds a special place in my heart, so when i saw this, i knew i had request it. this book took what was originally already an empowering and captivating story of a woman taking her father's place in the army in disguise and made it into so much more.

(spoilers ahead!!)

this book started out reminding me a little too much of the live action at first, the girl Meilin with too much qi/chi who likes to flip around rooftops and will end up marrying against her will. but then that's where it all starts going whoosh in all the best ways. her meeting with Sky felt straight out of Howl's Moving Castle and i could feel the chemistry between them, something easy and exciting brewing that i needed to see come to fruition. and boy did we see that happening throughout the training arc, even thinking she's a man, Sky became her only true friend who supported her till the end (unlike Sparrow in the end, hope he gets his comeuppance in a sequel).

small note: the naming conventions took me out a bit. perhaps because i know chinese, seeing in english, Liu Winter and Liu Sky felt a little strange. i mean, i wouldn't have minded seeing Liu Xue and Liu Tian or Liu Kong, since everyone else's names romanised.

okay but, i was not expecting all the political intrigue in this one! it was all lots of fun, especially when Meilin is imprisoned by Lei, and he keeps us guessing about his intentions, towards her, towards the chancellor, and towards the war. in the end, i think he was the one who was clearest about the truth. apart from the spirits Zhuque and Qinglong, who will never reveal the truth. magic and politics in a Mulan retelling!

i can't wait to see what could happen in a sequel, with Meilin behind bars, Lei being used to negotiate a peace treaty, and the still not destroyed seal.

3 stars - I loved the inversion of the usual evil stepmother trope, and I wish there had been an opportunity to see a little more of Meilin's relationship with Xiuying. I enjoyed the quotes included at the beginning of each chapter and how they helped to give a bigger picture of the world and magic system. The plot was engaging and I loved Meilin's resilience and drive, as well as her acknowledgement of her wants and her greed without feeling ashamed. The ending was realistic to the world the author had created, and leaves the book in an interesting place for the next one to pick up from. The author's note was a lovely addition - it was so interesting to read about the author's intentions with the book!

I really struggled with the writing style in this book, as despite being written in first person, I felt so disconnected from Meilin. The love interests seemed like interesting characters, but their relationships with Meilin felt underdeveloped, and many of the side characters also felt shallow. The dialogue, writing and characters seemed more YA than Adult to me, and I would have loved some more details about the worldbuilding and magic system.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the arc!

Mark my words, this book is going to be your next obsession!

For me, this felt like a mix of Daughter of the Moon Goddess meets Mulan. There was so much weight to the story, even just behind Meilin’s identity.

I can’t wait for more people to read about this book and fall in love with the characters in the same way I did (even the bad ones 👀)

I’m eagerly awaiting book two!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Hodderscape for giving me access. This was a much anticipated read for me, and I have been aware of this book for a few months now.

I would like to preface this review: I have not read the original Mulan story, and do not know the details. Therefore, I cannot make a detailed analysis of how this books stands as a retelling.

Wow... just wow. K. X. Song has absolutely blown me away with this absolutely epic and exciting story. It deals with a variation of themes: gender inequality, inner conflict, grief, deception. I was moved by how each character had its flaws, but understandable motivations behind their actions. The dynamics between Lei and Meilin were wonderful to read. I hope we get more of them in the next book, as they have both suffered similar fates. I enjoyed learning about the lore, and the concepts behind the dragon, the phoenix etc. It was unique, and added a high fantasy element to this story.


On the note of gender, reading this book encouraged me to reflect. I haven't felt this with many recent fantasy books, but this one truly made me consider if the inner conflict that Meilin is facing is comparable to those that women face today. Seeing her grapple true difficulty with accepting the confines of her gender in this period was heartbreaking, but also realistic. Watching her find her own ways to rebel was a moment of immense pride, I felt like I was cheering her on.

K. X. Song has a special talent for writing tension between characters, especially that of anger, and attraction. I was fixated on this book in the last 35%, where the writing becomes immaculate. Though I will say that the first half, and certainly the Part One were a little slow, but it definitely paid off for the excellent run up to the climax.

An unexpected addition that I thoroughly enjoyed was the wonderfully written Authors Note at the end. K. X. Song writes 'And yet in the course of war, as Meilin gains courage and comes into her own power, she begins to redefine the parameters of her potential and re-imagine how far she can go in this world. I hope you, too, may do the same.' This was deeply moving.

I did not see this story being ended on a cliff-hanger and I am absolutely EXCITED for the next book. I have many unanswered questions.

Meillin is about to go from being the property of her abusive father to the property of an abusive husband. But Meillin would rather die than go quietly into such a life, so she disguises herself as a man and joins the Army.

After a bit of a slow start, this book becomes a gripping, epic fantasy with a brilliant plot and incredible characters. I absolutely loved it!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

A solid interrogation of the legend of Hua Mulan and an exploration of ambition within a fantastical, divided world inspired by Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Hai Meilin is greedy for autonomy and respect, but in a world where *sighs* women are to obey men and are suppressed for wanting or being their own persons, she is suffocating. So when war enlistment comes knocking on her household's rotting doors, she takes the only chance she has to have a different fate than being an abusive lord's docile wife. The consistency of her actions in pursuit of her goal is lovely to see.

So...seeing the way the supportive cast acted at the end is a little heartbreaking but emphasises the social norms that are bigger than her. I'm having hunches about where the supportive cast's arcs and the wider status quo will end up.

The romance is interesting. The two LIs parallel Meilin's desires and personality and embody social norms in different ways. One reflects her greed and ambition, the other her desire to triumph on her own merits and trust and hope for the world. The LIs have their own arcs that need to be accounted for if one is to try and foresee who'll form the endgame couple. Although...I'm inclined to say neither.

Spit-fire notes:
- I enjoyed the inclusion of the quotes at the beginning of each chapter, especially since they're well-used (you know, world-building, character-building, and foreshadowing).
-I love the author's note. PSA: please include more author's notes! It gives me insight into their minds and is more material for me to analyse the text.
-The naming conventions are inconsistent, with some having English first names (like Liu "Sky" or Liu "Winter") and others getting Chinese first names (e.g. Meilin). There weren't any in-universe or creative explanations for why. So, the reading experience was made weird with the names.
-While the magical lore is cool, I'd love additional literal worldbuilding with more place descriptions!

Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton (Hodderscape) for providing me with the e-ARC/DRC in exchange for an honest review.

P.S. making my cover predictions now...the next one is going to be blue (because plot and also how many times out of 10 does a red cover get followed up by a blue one or vice versa?)

3.5 stars. This was a solid read. There were some good aspects to this, like the worldbuilding, but I felt like it was lacking in other areas like character depth.

I don't give many books 5 stars because I reserve it for books I think are truly phenomenal, but The Night Ends With Fire definitely deserves all the stars I can give it and more!

This is a hard hitting book about the oppression of women, mysogyny, and one girl's fight to find freedom in a man's world. Billed as a reong of Mulan, I wasn't sure what to expect, but this exceeded any expectations that I may have had.

Meilin is an excellent character who strives for what she wants: a life free from abuse at the hands of men. This makes her selfish and greedy and self-serving, but she is still kind and loyal to those around her, leaving her open for betrayal.

Both princes are beautifully written, leaving open a love triangle.

For fans of The Poppy War and She Who Became the Sun or just awesome women doing great things, this book will resonate.

Just a note to the publisher, there are several formatting errors that will need to be cleared up for readibility before final release.

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. My review is my own and not influenced by others.

This night ends with fire was one of my most anticipated books coming out this year and I felt very lucky to be able to read this earc of it.
The cover is beautiful and when I read in the description that it was inspired by Mulan, I knew I had to read it because I love the story of Mulan.

In This ends with fire we follow a young woman, age 18, who’s father is addicted and who’s mother died of young age. Her father remarried and his addiction only grows, so much that they are broken and therefore demands Meilin to marry an old man with loose hands. Meilin decides to join the army because she wants to be free for a couple of months. But because she’s a woman, she has no rights and has to keep her secret close to her.

Like I said before, the story was inspired by Mulan and I can see the elements this author used for her story. The idea was good and interesting in the beginning.
The story mainly stays focused on the characters and the journey they’re on. There’s not much about the world building besides that woman are nothing and has no right to whatever they want. Meilin is someone who wants something more, something better but lacks of the strength by my opinion to do so in a good way. I couldn’t feel much sympathy for her beside that she’s being oppressed. It wasn’t only her but all the characters lacked something to feel a connection with them and quite frankly annoyed the hell out of me. Lines like ‘Woman and children are like garments, easily replaceable.’ give me so much anger that you lost me for the whole book.

Besides that, I understand that Mulan was some kind of inspiration for this story, it was one of the reasons why I wanted to read this book so much. But it was only one of the inpirations the author had while writing this book. With that in mind and with a story which is totally different than Mulans story, a FMC who was totally different than Mulan, I don’t understand why the author choose to rename Meilin at the end of the book and let her go on as Mulan. It wasn’t necessary to do this and because both caracters are different in many ways it icked the heck out of me.

Does all of this mean that this book was bad? I don’t think so, the writing was good and the pacing was good enough to keep your attention to this book. If you like the characters at the beginning of this book, I definitely think this book could work for you. For me, it was unfortunately no match.

This book!😍 when I read the synopsis, I thought it sounded similar to the story of Mulan and the author later confirms this as a retelling. But she really makes it her own and I devoured it!

There are some similarities to the story of Mulan of course; The Dragon and Phoenix spirits, being disguised as a man in the army and the scene where she is bathing. But I feel that's really where the similarities end.

This story has flawed characters, Meilin often refers to herself as overly ambitious and greedy and this just grows throughout the book. And there's a love triangle going on also (will come back to this). I loved that none of the characters were wholly good or perfect. With Meilin, I feel her selfishness is relatable because I'm sure occasionally the majority of people at least wonders about 'what ifs' and plays out scenarios of what we could do if we had freedom of choices or more power or money.

I'm not generally a fan of love triangles but I can see why she would be attracted to both men, for different reasons. I've seen a few different opinions, but personally I prefer Lei❤

I just couldn't put this book down. It was full of action and I loved Meilin's determination and relentlessness. Her goals don't align with anyone else's, she is very strong and single-minded.

Can't wait for the sequel!

Thank you to Netgalley, Hodder & Stoughton and the author for the review copy, provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

The Night Ends With Fire is utterly engrossing. It's the cross between Mulan and The Poppy War I never knew I needed. I didn't want it to end. Meilin is fierce and it's her inability to accept that it's her lot in life to be a man's punching be that propels the novel forward. Like so many women today, she doesn’t wish to be held back by her sex. She wants to fight and she wants to win. She wants the glory and acknowledgement denied to her as woman and she is willing to spill blood to get it. Despite this, throughout the novel there is still a thread of naivety remains in Meilin which is ultimately her undoing so I'm excited to her evolution in the next novel as the last vestiges of her naivety disappear and how it affects her relationships with her commander Prince Sky, the cunning sea dragon spirit who wants to control her and the intriguing Prince Lei who warns her that not all is at seems.


My main criticism is that it seems slightly too derivative of R.F. Kuang's The Poppy War Trilogy however the similarities didn't dampen my enjoyment in any way.

"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.