I have taken entirely too long to get to this book! At first I just put it off and even forgot about it. When I finally decided I needed to read it, I saw it was a part 2! I put it off longer. Finally, I checked out book 1 from the public library to read first. I didn’t too much like it because it was an alternate Chinese version of the evil queen. I didn’t mind the alternate or Chinese part of the version. I just didn’t like the evil queen part. Of course, she always chose the evil, and good did not come out on top. It was definitely not uplifting. So I went into book 2 with some trepidation, but I soon saw it was going to be the Snow White part of the story and knew good was most likely going to come out on top in this one. I even hoped that the evil queen, Xifeng, might choose rightly in the end and be redeemed.

Anyway, this book redeemed the duology for me. Jade, the reluctant Snow White, came into her inheritance through many adventures, hardships, sacrifices, and sufferings but through it all she gained lasting and trusting lifelong friends. To appreciate book 2, it is probably best to read book 1 (Forest of a Thousand Lanterns) first to truly appreciate the wicked queen’s evil and what she has done to the kingdom as well as to get the full background leading to this book’s story. I flew through Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix with all the many adventures. As Jade and her friends searched for the 5 items, it made me think a bit of Harry Potter with Hermione and Ron searching for the horcruxes as well as their use of the marauder’s map. Some definite parallels there!

I thoroughly enjoyed through Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix and thank Netgalley and the publisher for the arc. I recommend it to fans of fantasy and fairy tale retellings. I will be purchasing this series for my high school library.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. I just couldn't get into it. Therefore, I won't post a review online.

This sequel to Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is an east-Asian, YA Fantasy. It weaves in story lines from Snow White to create a new story and kingdom.

Princess Jade was raised with a simple life, with monks in the forest. When she is summoned back to her home by her step-mother, the Empress, she finds her kingdom in disrepair. People are starving, women are going missing, and her father is ill under strange circumstances. Her step-mother’s explanations and tawdry claims lead Jade to distrust her step-mother, and she knows that she must save the kingdom.
The series of mini-quests keep the story fluid and changing. The host of characters are appealing. This novel stands well on its own but, does feel quite different than Forest of a Thousand Lanterns (which follows the Empress). This is a great read alike for fans of The Wrath and the Dawn and Stealing Snow. Gr. 7-12
Review copy provided by NetGalley and Philomel Books. #KingdomOfTheBlazingPhoenix #NetGalley

While "Forest of a Thousand Lanterns" gave us the backstory of the "Evil Queen" (or Empress in our case), "Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix" switches perspective to our "Snow White" aka Princess Jade. I can't lie, but I loved the dark side of Xifeng in the first book and switching perspectives to oh-so-nice Jade was a little jarring. This novel focuses more on a quest that Jade takes to retrieve five relics from old folktales that say when united, summon the Dragon Guard of the gods. It was interesting and I liked it; it just was a completely different book than the first one. This was a unique take on the fairy tale of Snow White and the Evil Queen mixed with mythology and it was a good read.