This book was incredible and I can't wait for the second book!! Àn’yīng decides to enter the Immortality Trials to try and win a pill to grant eternal life as her mum was left for dead by a demon after the attack on their home 9 years ago and has never recovered after losing part of her soul. Àn’yīng has been training hard to get the opportunity to compete, even though she knows not many survive. When she enters the trials she meets Yù’chén, who for some reason is doing everything he can to try and keep her alive, but she has no idea why and doesn't understand why an enemy would be helping her and why she is so distracted everytime she sees him (swoon). I loved the building connection and chemistry between the two of them as they go from rivals to lovers, and the book was packed with so much action that my anxiety was through the roof as she was competing. I loved the description of their world and their magic which is so multidimensional. I was never sure which side Yù’chén was on and the book kept me guessing the whole way through, and loved how he was teaching her how to face challenges in a 'controlled' situation under his guise. I felt as though although Àn’yīng was portrayed as this fierce warrior, this was because this was what she HAD to become and not necessarily what she WANTED to become, as she had to grow up so quickly the night the demons invaded her home and nearly killed her mum and sister, so when she meets Yù’chén she falters as she is torn between continuing the strong, fierce guise she has been masking herself behind, and allowing herself to trust enough to be saved by someone else for a change (rather having to be the one to save everyone else), which I felt was so poetic.
Thoughly enjoyed this so much!!

The Scorpion and the Night Blossom is the first in a new duology by Amelie Wen Zhao. It follows An'Ying, a mortal, as she travels to take part in an immortal trial in order to win a pill of immortality to save her unwell mother. I really enjoyed this Chinese mythology inspired book. It is a light fantasy that I found easy to follow. It has lots of adventure and intrigue as our characters compete in the trials and try to resolve mysterious deaths occurring. There is also a sub plot of romance that I really enjoyed.
Overall a really good start to this duology and I look forward to reading the next book.

This was an incredible book, and an amazing start to a series. The writing was absolutely beautiful, and the world building expertly crafted. The world described felt rich and beautiful and I felt the depth of the characters so keenly.

Not only did this book have a beautiful setting and incredible characters that you can’t help but love, the plot itself was immense. I was immediately drawn in from the first page and experienced a rollercoaster of emotions while reading. The ending of this book has set up for the next book beautifully, and I cannot wait to see where this story will go next. So thankful to have received a copy early and been given the chance to read this prior to publication. Already looking forward to book number two!

The first volume of an Asian dark romantasy duology, perfect for cdrama fans !

“I want you to look at me and see me.”

The story was entertaining and easy to picture in my mind, I always wanted to come back to the book to find out what was going to happen next. There are quite a few foreshadowing elements, but I didn't mind as I found the revelations well executed and was surprised by a particular plot twist.
It is not such a dark story but many elements reminded me of The Poppy War in a certain way.
The main character was interesting: at the same time generous and pragmatic. She is prejudiced by the society in which she lives in, but you can sense that she has half-opened her eyes to the stupidity of senseless hatred. What still anchors her in her prejudices is directly linked to the traumas of her past, so I rather liked the message conveyed by the story of accepting differences in others and seing them for who they are and not how society sees them.

The romance is not in the backseat but it doesn't submerge the story at all. Indeed, the banter is satisfying, and while the attraction is there, romance isn't at the heart of the protagonist' concerns.
In terms of the story's pace, it starts off strong and ends strong! The middle of the story is less dynamic but not boring. I ticked at a few clumsy sentences, but I understood the idea of denouncing ethnic and gender discrimination.
Unfortunately, I didn't get particularly attached to the characters, so I don't feel very invested in their fate, even though it was a very good read. I have a theory about what kind of ending the duology might have, it would make sense since a lot of sentences were not innocuous from my point of view.

I recommend this book to people who love asian fantasy and impossible love’s trope. Thank you NetGalley for this satisfying ARC !

4.5 stars - Upper YA fantasy romance.

Set within a fantasy world of mortals, immortals and demons, An Ying, a mortal, travels to the kingdom of light ruled by immortals, to compete in a deadly trial. If she succeeds, she can obtain a pill, made from the blood of the immortal, that will save her mothers soul that has been partially eaten by a demon from the kingdom of night. The two kingdoms are currently in a long war with each other that has ravaged An Yings mortal realm. Along the way An Ying meets several of her competitors - some of which are "halflings" / half demons but who can she trust?

I flew through this story, I couldn't put it down! The world was beautifully described and the action was intense. Quite fast paced with the journey to the trials and the trials themselves. There is a slight love triangle that also keeps you on your toes throughout with a forbidden romance and a future marriage of convenience teased. Twists and turns throughout.

I rated it down slightly as I thought An Ying acted too harshly towards the halflings (at first) but especially to Yu Chen but maybe I'm too forgiving!

I found it had similar vibes to the scarlett alchemist and darker by four both set within in fantasy Chinese world with mythology and folk tales.

I believe this will be a duology and I will most definitely read the sequel. I have seen it described as both Adult and Young adult fantasy so I'm not 100% which it falls into officially, but I would personally rate it upper YA . The characters are late teens - mid 20s with a non physical spicy scene, but also has some darker gory scenes and a more descriptive world building for younger YA readers.

Simply spellbinding!
When I heard this was a dark Chinese romantany I thought, sure why not? I am so glad I picked this book up. I really enjoyed this authors writing. She is so descriptive in her world building is impeccable. I love the characters the action, and while the romance was a little insta-love, I didn’t mind it. I did find the story, very creative and original, even while having all of our favorite tropes
- Rivals the lovers
-forbidden romance
-trial
And my favorite with a twist
- only one bed.
I would definitely recommend this book to anybody and I cannot wait for the sequel

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Voyager UK for the ARC!

I love Song of Last Kingdom so I was super excited to get an arc of this book! Amelie did not disappoint. The world building is simple but solid, and not to mention I love all the characters.

The words painted such a beautiful world and how beautiful or details of each character. The story is fast paced too with no slow parts I had to push through which felt good. Not to mention the yearning the two characters felt is just.

The plot twists are predictable but I enjoyed the story overall so I didn’t mind it.

Highly recommend if you love a Chinese romantasy.

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and honestly review an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

Five Stars—No Notes—More, Please!

This book hit every mark for me! It’s a breathtaking start to what promises to be a new favorite duology, set in a richly immersive world filled with heart-wrenching twists and unforgettable characters.

Àn’Yīng has spent the last nine years protecting her family and village from the demons that stole her mother’s soul and killed her father. Armed only with her crescent blades and a tenuous grasp of the magical art of ‘practitioning’, she embarks on a perilous journey to the Kingdom of Heaven, determined to survive the Immortality Trials and win a cure for her mother.

Yù’chén… my beloved. She meets him very early on, saving his life and allying with him so they can both reach the trials.
He shattered my heart in almost every scene, and I am such a sucker for a bad boy who’s completely down bad.
As for the sequel, I’d love about 50% more Hào’yáng—his scenes were some of my favourites. His stoic mask, his quiet depth, and the raw grief in the latter part of the book nearly broke me.

This was absolutely phenomenal. While I’ve enjoyed the author’s other works, I have to say—this is her best yet. If you love C-dramas, emotionally devastating pretty boys, and a fierce heroine who won’t hesitate to kick their asses, this book is for you!

This book is a c-drama in book form and I loved every second of it!!
In this we follow Anying as she travels to partecipate in the Immortality trials, to try and win a pill that could save her mother. After losing her parents and demons reigning free in the empire, this might be the only way for Anying to save her family and her village. Travelling there she meets Yuchen a handsome, but very mysterious fellow partecipant who she allies with. Will they be able to win the trials and save the humans?

Personally I loved the plot so much, it was super action packed and extremely fun to follow. Anying was a super charismatic main character, and although sometimes she annoyed me, the reason behind her actions made sense. Yuchen was absolute perfection, I’ll never accept criticism about him. The love story was really good to follow, with some scenes that were drama worthy. And although the MCs could not catch a break I’m really excited to see where we go from here.

The world building was also super fun to read about, I’m interested to know more about the magic system since some aspects stayed unsolved. Overall if you love enemies to lovers, dagger to throat scenes and trials you can’t not love this book. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved the writing and how from the very first page the lush and vivid world building is so easy to visualise and though it feels like it is a little complex you soon get a clear understanding of the world that The Scorpion and the Night Blossom is set in.

I will say the plot is very fast paced and while at some points this is a good thing in some aspects I really would have liked to see some moments slowed down to get the full impact of that scene or revelation as it felt very rushed and not expanded on fully.

This is a reverse grumpy x sunshine and it really worked, I loved the MMC Yù’chén and every scene he was in. The angst and pining he feels for the FMC is at times bittersweet and other times heartbreaking considering his story, the tension between them was so good. Though at times Àn’yīng’s persistent hatred for Yù'chén became rather tedious to keep reading especially when he's done nothing but go out of his way to look out for her and for me it made it a little hard to fully get behind the romance between them, even more so when the author took the story in a completely different direction to what I was expecting towards the end.

While I enjoyed the overall story and the vibes as well as the slow burn tension I felt like some parts dragged and it was a little too predictable in some plot points but the ending with the emotional turmoil has set up the next book perfectly.

This was an incredible book, and an amazing start to a series. The writing was absolutely beautiful, and the world building expertly crafted. The world described felt rich and beautiful and I felt the depth of the characters so keenly.

Not only did this book have a beautiful setting and incredible characters that you can’t help but love, the plot itself was immense. I was immediately drawn in from the first page and experienced a rollercoaster of emotions while reading. The ending of this book has set up for the next book beautifully, and I cannot wait to see where this story will go next. So thankful to have received a copy early and been given the chance to read this prior to publication. Already looking forward to book number two!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book!

I absolutely loved this story. The world building was complex and well done, but not difficult to follow, neither was the actual story.

the dynamic between the main characters is what really stood out to me - the banter and slow burn and all the plot twists that will let you begging for more. Not to mention the introduction of Chinese and mythology - absolutely delightful read.

I would only say that the pacing feels a bit slow at times, but that is just a very personal note.

I would 100% recommend this book. Thank you HarperCollins for this early copy!

While I wasn’t sure I would even like this, as I didn’t like her previous duology (pacing issues, mostly), this is a great start to a new duology. This dark Chinese romantasy is right up my alley. While I don’t typically care for instalove, I was able to push past that. There were some small things that bothered me but overall it was decent. I’m really excited for the first print special edition!

The beautiful writing. The coolest word. The best magic. A girl with blades. A boy who’s besotted but also sarcastic about it. What more could you want?
I enjoyed this book immensely, the whole idea was very much my thing and I think the execution was really well done. While side characters were a bit lacking, the main characters made up for it for me- they were very interesting and easy to understand- not to be confused with simple, they are both very complex. I was hooked and flew through this one- can’t wait for book 2.

Many thanks to Harper Collins UK, Harper Voyager UK and NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This opening to a new duology is described as a “dark Chinese romantasy”. It includes the tropes that I like to eat up: trials, rivals to lovers, political intrigue, forbidden romance and ‘touch her and die’ and while it was an enjoyable read, I don’t think all the elements came together perfectly.

The main thrust of the plot is The Immortality Trials but towards the end this becomes sidelined in favour of political intrigue and romance, and even shoe-horning in a love triangle. Some of the twists and revelations towards the end were predictable and I think the political subplot was underwritten.

The points in its favour are that it is an intriguing concept and the worldbuilding evokes stunning visuals with lush descriptions, an interesting magic system, and eerie creatures although I couldn’t help but detect some similarities to Daughter Of The Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tann (with the structure of the immortal/immortal realm, and completing a quest to obtain immortality through a consumable object).

I felt the FMC’S love and devotion to her family came across intensely although her relationships with most of the secondary characters were not fully flushed out. She also relies heavily on being rescued by others even though supposedly described as strong and self-sufficient.

This was a pleasant read but I did not get swept up into the story or feel a deep emotional connection to any of the characters.

3.5 stars.

That was simply amazing I adored every second of this book and the need the next one ASAP.

Read this if you love:
-Chinese mythology
-Rivals to lovers
-He falls first
-Forbidden love
-There's only one hot spring👀


Thank you Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

THE SCORPION AND THE NIGHT BLOSSOM - AMELIE WEN ZHAO

If you love a fast-paced darker fantasy then you're in for an absolute treat with The Scorpion and the Night Blossom. Primarily set in the Kingdom of Rivers, this is a rich magical world, where mortals, demons, hellbeasts, halflings and immortals all co-exist - but not peacefully!

In fact, the events of this book take place years after the start of a brutal war with the Kingdom of Night. The FMC is Àn’yīng, whose family has lost much during the conflict, and her only hope is to enter the Immortality Trials. Àn’yīng is a great FMC; she's strong, stabby (it's true) and determined.

Along the way, Àn’yīng encounters increasingly deadly obstacles, a whole bunch of mysteries to uncover, as well as a host of both allies and foes. She also meets Yù’chén, who is the MMC and her rival in the trials. This is one of the first big positives I'm going to call out: the chemistry between Àn’yīng and Yù’chén is SO good and SO believable. I would even go as far as to say that Yù’chén became my favourite character.

The worldbuilding was another aspect that blew me away, with vivid descriptions of Àn’yīng's surroundings, and the idea that there is still so much more to discover in this world. And, since this is only the first book in what will be The Three Realms duology, I feel like we'll get to do more exploring in the second book.

My one and only note is that this book is fast paced - extremely so. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, I wished that things slowed down every now and again so as to get the full impact of key events and reveals.

I can't wait for book #2! Thank you to Amelie Wen Zhao, HarperVoyager and NetGalley for granting access to this eARC.

Release date: 27 February 2025

Review score: 4.5/5

TWs: war, d*ath, injury detail, s*xual content

First of all i’d like to thank netgalley and the publisher for granting me a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Holy sh*t, where do I even start? I LOVED THIS. This was so extremly well done. The worldbuilding was extensive, yet not confusing at all. The plot was extremely fast-paced, and I was at the edge of my seat for 99% of the time (the 1% being the acknowledgements).

Àn ‘Yīng was a very strong main character aswell, which most definitely contributed to my high rating. I really admired her resilience and how she was driven by the sole purpose of protecting and saving her loved ones.

AND DON’T GET ME STARTED ABOUT Yù ‘Chen :(( My Shaylaaa. I loved him. While I kind of understand why Àn ‘Yīng treated him the way she did, I just couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He deserves the world and I hope he gets his redemption arc in the sequel <33

I’m not quite sure how to start this review because I DNF’d it half way through, but not because I hated the book. In fact, I still have so many questions, so many things I need to know. This book had me hooked, and it was because of this that I even got half way. The problem with this book was the ARC I was sent had text missing. Paragraphs had been cut off mid-sentence and even mid-word! There were several times I moved from one paragraph to the next and it felt like I had missed an entire paragraph (maybe more). The characters would start speaking about something I think I was meant to know about, but nothing in the text actually told me what. It got really frustrating. Just to add, I am the type of person who has to read every single word. I can’t skim. I tried, I failed.

So, from what I have read, I really liked this book. I am really loving the lyrical Chinese fantasy books at the moment, and this one is no different. There were a few times I felt the author slipped into overwriting instead of lyrical, but for the most part the writing was beautifully descriptive and so well done. The world is ravaged with demons, and I really felt the fear and the determination the MC had to look after her comatose mother and younger sister, so much so that she is willing to travel to The Temple of the Dawn, a temple in the immortal lands that’s supposed to train mortals in fighting and magic (I think) and give them a chance to become immortal (or in An’ying’s case, a chance to save her mother after a demon attacked her and left her essentially brain-dead). The emotions were all there, I really believed in An’ying and her fight for her family.

The twists started quite early on, when An’ying met Yu’chen. Yu’chen is the type of character that smirks a little too much, but there’s something about him that’s really endearing. And I did not see his twist coming. I did think it ramped up the excitement a lot. Wanting to find out his reason for travelling to the temple was definitely one of the things that kept me reading, because his reason is definitely not the same as anyone else’s. There is definitely feelings developing between An’ying and Yu’chen, which I love. Something about them together (rivals to lovers romance) was just fun to read. There is also another character we’re introduced to in the temple that I think could potentially introduce a love triangle. I didn’t see much of him before I stopped reading, but there are definitely signs there, and I can definitely see that being entertaining. But if I had to pick now, I could definitely be on the side of Yu’chen.

Once of my issues was that the magic system wasn’t fully developed (at least with what I was able to read). An’ying says in the beginning that her father taught her magic because her father saw something in her. In the first chapter we see her kill a demon. So we think she’s meant to be good. But when she gets to the temple, she knows nothing. So what had her father been teaching her? He studied at the temple himself, back in a time when they actually had classes. Because when An-ying gets there, she learns there are trials but not classes. So what’s the point of the temple then? Maybe there is a reason for this, but I never really got far enough to see for myself. From what I read, it seems the immortals are selecting the strongest mortals, taking them into the immortal world and leaving the mortal world as a sacrifice for the demons, which makes me really hate them. Again, I didn’t read enough to know if this supposition is actually correct, this is just what made sense with the information I was given.


I actually think this had the potential to be a really good lyrical romantasy. There is enough questions in there that will make me pick this up when it’s finally released (as long as the publisher fixes their missing words issue) but for now I don’t have enough information to be able to recommend it to anyone.

This wasn't for me, sadly. I loved the premise, I love the setting, and the ideas here are great.
But there were simply too many things that I was the wrong audience for.
For one, I simply didn't like our main character Àn’yīng. In the first few chapters I actually loved her a lot, but as soon as she leaves her home and starts going on her adventure, and really as soon as she meets the love interest, I felt my interest in her waning rapidly. She is called strong by so many other characters and the first chapters do portray her as strong, both emotionally and physically when it comes to her fighting skills, but really, the second she leaves her door step she apparently forgets all about that. She considers herself weak in comparison to everyone around her because all of them had so much more training than her, her own skills rarely coming to the surface anymore. She has to be saved constantly by one of the two hot guys in her life, often in the span of just a few chapters. And this could have been done well if portrayed as a theme in the story, but it all comes down to her lacking any real agency because it's hot to be saved by handsome guys. She's rather terrible to anyone around her, too. And the way she's pushed into the chosen one trope makes very, very little sense. There is a twist later on that actually made me groan because it took away the one thing I actually found interesting about her and her interactions with the world.
The relationship with her main love interest is very instalusty and honestly very instalovey as well. He's also basically the same kind of love interest we've seen a thousand times over, and the twists surrounding him were so obvious I groaned. I didn't feel any actual chemistry between them, the interesting conflict there was never explored deeply. But that is a general gripe I had with the relationships in this book: They never felt deep. Even the friendship group Àn’yīng finds for herself, one that I was actually excited about when they were first introduced, ends up being shallow and overlooked. That also meant that certain more tragic plot points didn't hit at all for me, because I felt nothing for any of the characters.
There was also an issue with the pacing. For a trials storyline there are very few trials, and the ones that are there are either drawn out and thus don't even feel like a trial anymore or are rushed quickly to get from plot point A to plot point B. I also never felt like Àn’yīng proved herself in any way (besides, maybe, in the first one to a degree). She gets wins handed to her or has to rely on others for help, which she's never really grateful for.

So in the end, I absolutely do admit this is in many ways a case of a book not fitting this particular reader. I'm not usually a romantasy reader, and the ones I end up enjoying are always the ones going a little bit against the grain and doing things differently. Meaning, the usual romantasy tropes are often not something I enjoy, at least in the way they play out in a lot of the books. But there are also simply some craft issues here that took me out of the story and dampened my joy of reading. I still really like the world and the ideas and I think the writing is beautiful enough but I've simply read better versions of this plot and better stories in Chinese mythology inspired worlds.
2 stars.