This was slight letdown for me but still a good book. I just missed some of the tension and epicness from the first book and though I love the characters, its not my favourite in the series. But the things I do like are the descriptions of nature, the relationship betweem these two strong women and the writing style is so unique! I would gladly recommend it to people who love similar writing styles and saphic epic love stories. Hopefully love the last installment even more than this!

A sequel that exceeds expectations. Shefali and Shizuka are a reunited force, with the Empress taking center stage. Lush, vibrant, melancholy, and just so well-realized. The characters pop, the story is fresh, the writing strong. Rivera misses no steps in her sequel.

When I started reading The Phoenix Empress I hoped that the issues I had in the first book would be addressed, but that didn’t happen. Somehow it stayed the same and became worse in some aspects? I really don’t know how to explain it properly. I really didn’t enjoy my experience of reading The Phenix Empress.

The world building was expanded in this book and I’m not sure that was a good thing. Somehow it felt even more scattered and confusing than in the first book. There were many gaps in time and events that were just mentioned. It was honestly hard to follow what was going on in the story at points. The world building in The Phoenix Empress just wasn’t well done. The side characters still weren’t developed. This is something that bothered me in the first book and even more in this second one. There are just so many characters that I find interesting and that I think have the potential to be great, but there is just nothing being done with them.

I still enjoyed reading about Shefali and O-Shizuka, but I had some problems with them as well. There was a very long time gap in their relationship, but when they came back together it was as if no time had passed. That seemed like a strange choice to me, as a lot can happen and change in those many years. It would have been interesting to see their relationship build back up, rather than just jumping straight into it. Their relationship just stopped being believable to me.

Overall, The Phoenix Empress was a disappointing book to me. I just had so many problems with it. I don’t plan on reading the third book, I have just lost all interest in this series.

I read The Phoenix Empress partly as an e arc and then as the physical book, i love this world and writing so much i couldn’t bring myself to finish it without the actual book in my hands.

While the The Tiger’s Daughter is a tale of growing up and discovering yourself and the world around you and the power within yourself, it is a love letter at heart, The Phoenix Empress is quite a different tale.
In this book we experience through Shizuka’s mind the traumas of war and its after effects, albeit a rather supernatural war.

It is a tale of power struggle and failure, of dealing with this failure and learning to better oneself and never ever give up.
We follow Shizuka’s journey as she reluctantly leads inexperienced warriors into a battle against the world's greatest enemy. Breathtaking imagery mixed with poetically emotional prose make for action sequences and massive scale battle scenes that will leave you breathless, quite literally.
Chapters alternate from her recount of the war to the present day where Shefali has returned from her own harrowing journey. Our noble Qorin warrior is still suffering from the blackblood infection and upon reuniting with her wife, both women realize they have changed in their time apart. Shizuka and Shefali each have to learn to deal with their own past ordeals and help each other face their demons, so to speak.
I found this book left me somewhat emotionally rung out, simply because Arsenult’s writing reels you in and makes you experience everything as the characters do, to full effect.
I never tire of the writing style and smooth almost comforting pacing of this series and cannot recommend these books highly enough.
If you have not read The Tiger’s Daughter yet, then make it your next read followed by The Phoenix Empress

I tried to read this book. I really did. But the way the author wrote threw me out of book every time I tried to read. When I requested this book to review, I didn't know that it was book 2 so I tried to read book 1. Could only make it halfway through until I realized that I felt cold toward the main characters because of how much of a chore it was to read.

Maybe you, other readers, could get through this series but I couldn't.

DNF 8%

I made a mistake with The Phoenix Empress: I didn’t realise it was the second in a series until I’d started it. By then, I was far enough in that I didn’t want to backtrack.

It didn’t take long to pick up the back-story though, or understand what drove these two strong, powerful women. The world-building took a little longer but I blame that on the names: nearly everything starts with s. By the time I got it straight in my head who was who without having to read each name twice, the story was progressing.

What tripped me up, however, was connecting to the characters. I could see their strengths and weaknesses, but I struggled to connect to them. If I had gone on this journey with them, got to know them as they grew up, then perhaps this wouldn’t have been an issue.

But I think the narration style didn’t help. The narration switched between third and first person, past and present. At first, there were glimpses of the past as one character filled the other in on everything that had happened while they were apart. These flash-back scenes took up a considerable amount of the story.

It helped get to know that character; how she developed and tackled the problems she was facing. But because she was telling the story from the future, it undermined the tension. You knew she got through it but were also aware of the consequences of her actions before the other characters had the truth revealed. As you never feared for the character, there was never an increase in tension.

When the narration returned to the present day, I wanted things to move on. I guess it might have been a more emotional read if you had connected with the characters and been with them the entire time. But despite one character only having a few weeks left to live, there never felt any real urgency.

Shizuka – the empress – seems self-absorbed and, in a way, childish throughout the book, despite what she has been through. Shefali feels distant – it’s hard to connect to what she is feeling. Despite the distance between them, the endearing names the pair use for each other feels overdone: like it’s a forceful reminder that the pair love each other as half of the narration focuses on just one.

The secondary characters had the potential to be more: they had fire, determination and a cool and collective nature to deal with a headstrong empress. But they were never given the chance to truly develop, which was a shame.

Maybe this is my fault for not reading the first book. But I struggled to connect to the characters and felt the plot had no climax, just a steady pace throughout. I never felt absorbed in the book. Despite the cliff-hanger, I’m not sure I was engaged enough to follow the story on, which is disappointing.

Has anyone else had a different experience having followed the series from the beginning?

The Phoenix Empress continues to wow fans of K. Arsenault Rivera's writing with the scope of it's epic world building and mythology weaving, Often bittersweet to think that the main characters of Shefali and Shizuka were apart for so long, but now reunited prove that the two characters are better together than apart.

If you want a story that is fast, and comes at you hard with constant action- this maybe isn't the fantasy epic for you. If you are here for the characters, and to be immersed in another world- the Their Bright Ascendancy series continues to be a gold star edition to the genre. Really looking forward to book three!

So disjointed and difficult to follow. Indulgent and completely lost on me.

The reader was a secondary element to this long and challenging novel.

This was a real struggle to read. Thoroughly unenjoyable and challenging. Unable to draw the reader in.

I did not like this book as I did the first. It was much darker. I didn’t like how the characters were in this novel and they seem like different people. The story itself was very slow and seemed like a filler for a sequel. Hopefully, the third will be much better!

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Phoenix Empress is the sequel to The Tiger’s Daughter. O Shizuka is Empress now. Where the first book focused on her childhood and up until the point where she becomes Empress, this book is about her reign as Empress. Barsalyya Shefali was exiled at the end of the first book, and returns to her love Shizuka in this book.

I loved the relationship between Shefali and Shizuka in the first book. It was full of passion and loyalty. In this book, you start to see their relationship mature. Shizuka is dealing with the burden of being an Empress. Shefali is dealing with her condition which is basically a demonic darkness that overcomes her at times. These aren’t normal problems that people deal with in a relationship, and it was heartbreaking to see the strain these issues put on their relationship.

The one issue that I had with the book wasn’t a big deal at first. The two characters write letters to each other, and you have the story told through their letters. I loved that idea initially because it was unique was to convey information and see the feelings that each of the characters were experiencing as they wrote the letters. As the story continued; however, and the letters kept being used as a mechanism, I grew tired of it. It just seemed like flat story-telling where the author could have shown more.

Overall, though, this book is a slow-burn read that I loved ,and I am eagerly awaiting the next one!

The story K. Arsenault Rivera weaves with Shizuka and Shefali grabs you and sucks you in completely, even months later you'll still be able to feel it's claws in you. It's incredibly difficult to find LGBT fantasy and The Tiger's Daughter/The Phoenix Empress not only delivers in that regard, it sets a high bar for those that will follow. Arsenault Rivera's writing style is absolutely unique to her and I think any fantasy fan should be giving The Tiger's Daughter a read because it will be unlike anything you've read before.

K Arsenault Rivera continue the Tiger's Daughter in the Phoenix Empress. Shefali is dying and her wife Empress Shizuka is distracted with keeping her empire together and correcting wrongs done by her ancestors. A demonic army is massing to invade. What could possibly go wrong? A well constructed alternate oriental fantasy world.

The Phoenix Empress is a book I thoroughly enjoyed. I adored The Tigers Daughter so I was really excited to lean more about the characters and the world K Arsenault Rivera has created.

The strongest aspect of The Phoenix Empress is the characterization. The two main characters are exceptionally well drawn and their personalities are complex and interesting. Their romance is believable and often adorable, and the scenes I enjoyed the most were the the two of them just spending time together. This installment also expands the world quite a bit which was really interesting. I especially enjoyed the expansion of the mythology/religion of the world and seeing as it plays a major role in the plot development I'm glad we'll probably see more of it in future installments. One issue I had with the first book was that it took the form of a letter written by one character to another rehashing the events of the past. It took most of the tension out of the story which was disappointing. This entry is told similarly, but this time in the form of a story mixed in with contemporary happenings. It works a bit better this time around and from the way it ended I'm guessing the next book will do away with it entirely.

While I enjoyed this book overall, it wasn't without its flaws. The main characters are well fleshed out, but most of the secondary characters are a bit flatter--or at least significantly less memorable. I found myself really struggling to remember who some people were and honestly by the end of the book I still hadn't figured it out for some of them. This is a series I would really recommend reading in rapid succession rather than waiting between volumes. Or at least keeping a character chart! The two protagonists also have very similar names and multiple different names depending on who they're interacting with so writing things down is highly recommended. The action scenes also loose a lot of impact simply because of the way they're conveyed in the narrative--they almost never take place in the present. Someone is always describing the events to someone else which can be aggravating if you're a firm believer in "show don't tell."

But if you can overlook those flaws you're in for a treat! I can't exactly put my finger on why I like these books so much, but I do. There's just something about them that makes me so invested in whats going to happen and I can't wait for the next one.

[this review will be up on my blog, acquadimore.wordpress.com, on 12/01/2018]

I didn't like this sequel as much as the first book. There are many reasons for that, and I'm going to get into them soon, but the main one is that I'm reading this series for its f/f romance more than the plot, and at least 40% of this book follows the years Shizuka spent alone.

What I Liked:
- The writing is, as usual, beautiful.
- I loved reading Shizuka's perspective. She has more depth as a character than Shefali's narration in the first book made me think. She is overconfident to the point of being irritating, and I love her for that in a way, but I also liked that this book addressed this aspect of her personality.
- There are so many complex female characters. Not only this book focuses on an f/f romance, the side characters - like Baozhai, Sakura and Daishi - are also really well-written and interesting.

What I Didn't Like:
- There is a flashback that takes up at least 20% of the book following a tragic event in Shizuka's past. I already knew who died and who didn't, I already knew how it affected Shizuka, and it's 20% of a fantasy romance book that is completely without romance, as one of the two main characters isn't in it. Why was it even there? It felt so much like filler that I skimmed most of it, and I don't feel like I lost anything by doing that.
- I felt like there was a lot of filler in general - this book as a whole felt watered down.
- I'm glad that this book, unlike The Tiger's Daughter, addressed that imperialism isn't a good thing (in the first book, that's only mentioned in a throwaway line, which... well, the reviews that talk about that and the misrepresentation of Asian cultures are worth reading) and I'm glad Shizuka freed conquered lands like Xian Lai (Baozhai rules, now literally). However, it all seemed too easy. I'm not saying everything needs to be dark and sad, but things like these have long-lasting consequences, and this book basically acts like they don't.
- I also felt like this book was trying way too hard to be dark and tense, but it just didn't work. I don't know how to explain, but it's not the right kind of book for that.

Since she was a child, the divine empress O Shizuka has believed she was an untouchable god. When her uncle, ruler of the Hokkaran Empire, sends her on a suicide mission as a leader of the Imperial Army, the horrors of war cause her to question everything she knows.

Thousands of miles away, the exiled and cursed warrior Barsalyya Shefali undergoes trials the most superstitious would not believe in order to return to Hokkaran court and claim her rightful place next to O Shizuka.

As the distance between disgraced empress and blighted warrior narrows, a familiar demonic force grows closer to the heart of the empire. Will the two fallen warriors be able to protect their home?

Goodreads

So when I saw The Phoenix Empress on NetGalley I thought it sounded like my cup of tea, so I requested it. When my request approved, I started reading, only to quickly feel lost. I was pretty sure I was missing something. So I looked and sure enough, it was the second book in a trilogy. WHOOPS! I hurriedly purchased the first book, The Tiger’s Daughter, and well anyway, now K Arsenault Rivera owes me two weeks of my life because her books consumed me.

The Bright Ascendancy trilogy is epic fantasy inspired by Japan and Mongolia…

Ok, no, I’m going to stop right there. If The Bright Ascendancy isn’t Legend of the Five Rings fan fiction given a makeover, I will eat my hat.

The setting of these books has so much in common with Rokugan, the Japanese-inspired setting of the L5R card game, roleplaying game, and board games. It’s not just that they’re both Japanese-inspired lands with a much bigger geographical foot print, it’s also the fact that both feature an enemy force of magically tainted people who find themselves compelled to go beyond the wall to serve their dark master. I don’t care if the wall is in the south of Rokugan and in the north of this Empire.

But please don’t take this as a criticism! I enjoy the Legend of the Five Rings roleplaying game and I am 100% here for a queer romance between the Imperial heir and a Unicorn bushi.

These books are incredibly well-paced. The world building is solid — yes, I totally see the L5R influence, and where the author drew from historic cultures in our own world, but she’s also put a lot of work into her own mythology and the history of her world and the politics. The characters are flawed but still relatable. And everything is just so. frickin. epic.

I suspect these books will not work for everyone. They may be a bit too epic and dramatic at times. Also, both books are written switching between a standard narration and a more epistolary style. This works better in the first book than in the second.

But aside from all of this, the important thing for me is that these books are full of badass women. Not only are Shizuka and Shefali powerful female heroes in their own right, but they are each the daughter of the previous generation’s awesome female heroes. This felt so rare to me, to witness strong women who come from a legacy of strong women, and who have to contend with their mothers’ reputations and what their mothers want for them. There’s also the amazing element of strong female friendships, as the mothers themselves were friends, Shizuka and Shefali have a friends to lovers story, and there are other female friendships woven throughout both books.

So often, our badass women have to fight to be respected despite their gender. The Bright Ascendancy gives us a world with a history of women fighters and leaders. Shizuka and Shefali do have to fight to get some respect due to other elements of their heritage or personality, but not because of their gender.

I’ll be impatiently waiting for The Warrior Moon, the proposed final chapter of this trilogy. I hope you’ll be waiting right alongside me.

Thank you to Tor for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley!

I genuinely loved The Tiger's Daughter, devouring it over the span of four days despite its large page count. When I received a galley copy of The Phoenix Empress I expected to love it just as much and be taken on a fresh adventure fueled by love and mythology. Instead, a month of reading has resulted in frustration and disappointment.

Writing a book is no easy feat and having to give negative reviews is not pleasant when I think about all of the work that goes into the writing and publishing of a book. However, I have to agree with many of the other negative reviews I read on Goodreads. At over 500 pages, 75% of this book could have been cut out. It served no purpose and for the first half of the book I felt as if literally nothing was happening. Reading pointless material is not encouraging and I can see many readers DNFing this book. If all of the more pointless material had been cut and the small amount of relevant material been added to the next book (which I genuinely hope to enjoy) I think the story would have flowed so much more smoothly.

Unlikable character development, a sluggish plot, and pointless flowery phrases made this book impossible for me to love.

The Phoenix Empress is the second novel in Their Bright Ascendancy adult fantasy trilogy. This series is very unique in a lot of wonderful ways. The main characters are female warriors and leaders prosperous despite cultural norms. There is also a prominent female/female relationship even though this was not easily accepted in this world. I also enjoyed the setting of this epic historical fantasy series. There are not many fantasy novels with an Asian like setting. These are the elements that completely won me over with this series.

The main characters Shefali and Shizuka are by far the strongest part of this novel. They were brought up by strong leader warrior mothers, and they were trained to be the same. Their story seems like they are a legend. They beat so many odds in order to be together. Their relationship is beautiful with a very solid foundation. This second book explores some of the details of the hardships they have faced during a time apart, and also loads of political intrigue that ensues when they are together.

Another big positive aspect of this series is the setting. I really enjoyed the Asian based world that K Arsenault Rivera has built. She put in the time to make an expansive world with several different groups of people with different customs, norms, and political atmosphere. This is the kind of world that is perfect to get lost in, and absorb all the nuances.

I would recommend the Their Bright Ascendancy and therefore The Phoenix Empress to fantasy fans that like a slow burn character focused story with a lot of atmosphere, political intrigue, and a lovely romance.

This was a riveting sequel to The Tiger's Daughter. This series does not get enough hype, it is a fantasy f/f relationship set in an Asian setting. Absolutely brilliant.

“The Phoenix Empress, the sequel to K Arsenault Rivera’s wildly buzzed about The Tiger’s Daughter, an epic historical fantasy in the vein of Patrick Rothfuss and Naomi Novik.” – Goodreads blurb

Well, I mean… of course if you tell me that I HAVE to read it right? Unfortunately, I did not get in on the ground floor with this one, so I had to read the first book before I started number 2. The Tiger’s Daughter was excellent. Highly imaginative, beautifully written and an unapologetic queer love story for the ages. It’s so good seeing a story where a romance between two women is treated in grand fashion. Barsalai and O-Shizuka love one another their entire lives. They are fated to love one another. They are in fact gods not just love-struck girls. That doesn’t mean life is easy for them. They are dealing with a world that is quickly falling part around them. Corruption is spreading in their kingdom, turning people into horrible creatures and ravaging the land.

The first book was a slow build. The kind of book where for chapters nothing happens and then everything happens all at once. I love a book where I am counting the hours until I can go to bed and read the next chapter. Tiger was that kind of book for me. Unfortunately, I feel like this second installment suffers from a little bit of middle book syndrome. There is a great deal of setup and waiting for promises made by the author in the beginning of the book to pay off by the end. Expectations are high and not completely met. I did like seeing a more in depth treatment of the character Shizuka so as to understand more of her motivations. I’m hoping that the third book will tie everything together and make this more of an arc. I have the feeling that the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts when it comes to this series. Looking forward to the next installment.

Song for this book: 12 Kingdoms Opening

In The Phoenix Empress we finally learn what happened to O Shizuka in the eight years that she and her wife Shefali were separated. 

Shizuka and Shefali are together at last, but they've both changed so much. Shefali wonders if Shizuka has changed too much, and struggles with Shizuka's imperial duties. Shizuka haltingly, painfully shares her story with Shefali who grows to understand that her wife did not live eight years in pampered safety while Shefli was exiled from the Empire. She learns just how strong her wife is, for all that their strengths are opposite.

The Phoenix Empress expands upon and fleshes out the racism that was first introduced in The Tiger's Daughter between the Hokkarans, Xianese and Qorin. It's pretty violent and bloody and The Phoenix Empress explores those feelings from all sides. Shizuka is a benevolent ruler who tries to improve things by breaking up the Empire and allowing conquered lands to become sovereign again, to the horror of the Hokkarans. 

Unfortunately for the reader, Shizuka is not as interesting a storyteller as Shefali so the story dragged on somewhat during her retellings. The Phoenix Empress bounces between the past and present struggles better than The Tiger's Daughter did, and the present-day struggles were are more compelling than those of drunk Shizuka from the first novel which almost makes up for Shizuka's storytelling style. 

This book won't be for everyone, but I enjoyed it enough that I'm looking forward to the third book. 

The Phoenix Empress was released October 9 and is on shelves now. 

Thank you to Tor Books for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.