This is an epic fantasy inspired by Chinese mythology. The Last Kingdom has fallen and the Hin people are now ruled by the Elantians. During the conquest, Lan's mother was murdered. Before she died, Lan's mother sealed a powerful secret into Lan's skin. But all Lan knows is that it left a symbol on her arm, visible only to her. She searches for years but cannot find answers. Until one day, she meets a Hin practitioner who can see her scar and offers a path to figuring out what it means.

I really enjoyed this story. I thought the characters were enjoyable and I'm especially fond of Shan'jun. I also liked the way right and wrong is evaluated and not exactly black and white.

There was a lot of exposition and world building but I wouldn't say too much of it. That said, I do wish this book had more closure. I prefer when each book has its own story that fits into an overall arc. This definitely seems like it goes right into book 2.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy and is ok starting a series.

4.5⭐️

<b> “But what they do not know is that, so long as we live on, we carry inside us all that they have destroyed. And that is our triumph; that is our rebellion.”</b>

Lan is a songgirl who’s mother died and left her with a strange scar on her arm that only she can see, of a symbol Lan cannot decipher. Her mother was killed during the Elantian takeover. Whereas the Hin once wielded qi, the Elantians wield metal and have used their magic to attempt to eradicate the Hin’s practices. Lan has searched for what her mother left behind, and when she comes one step closer to finding the truth, her informant, Old Wei, dies by Elantian hands after Lan gives him a metal spoon as payment for his information.

Zen is posing as an Hin courtdog, a Hin who has become a traitor and works for the Elantian government, finds Old Wei’s body, and senses a yin qi had been present in his shop, and tracks down Lan at the Teahouse to question her. But Zen is not the only one who has tracked Lan down, and when Lan kills an Elantian soldier who buys her for the night, Zen senses it and comes to find her. An Elantian Magician who Lan remembers killed her mother also finds Lan and kills everyone in the Teahouse, forcing Zen and Lan to escape together. Zen begins teaching Lan the forgotten art of practitioning, and how to use her qi as they journey to the School of White Pines for safety and to treat Lan’s wound. The story continues to follow Zen and Lan as they unlock the secrets Lan’s mother left behind.

I loved this book so much!! It is full of action and adventure and there’s so much lore to learn. Lan is so funny and I love her playfulness combined with Zen’s seriousness. Some of the fighting scenes were a little confusing to keep up with, but overall it’s really fun to read. It’s absolutely heartbreaking at the end and I can’t wait for the next book!

<b>“I wish for you to not go anywhere without me. In this world and the next. I wish for you to choose me.” A pause, and softer: “That is, if you would wish it.” </b>

I’ve read another series by this author (technically, I haven’t completed it yet) and was ecstatic to learn this is the first book in a new series.

Another author described this book as “devastatingly gorgeous”. She nailed it. With lyrical writing, rich world-building, and fully developed, complex characters, this tale will awe epic fantasy fans. It’s inspired by the mythology and folklore of ancient China, and I was completely enthralled.

Lan’s kingdom was invaded, her people’s magic outlawed, and she witnessed the horrifying death of her mother. As she was dying, her mother burned a strange mark on Lan’s arm, and several years later she still has no idea what it means. Zen is a practitioner, a fabled magician of the Last Kingdom. Upon meeting Lan, he knows she possesses a powerful hidden ability in the mark on her arm. Her best hope of understanding and developing it lies with an order of practitioning masters. Getting her there is dangerous and challenging – Zen’s and Lan’s personalities are like oil and water. He’s more the strong, disciplined, silent type and she’s… not. I laughed over some of their interactions and felt Zen’s exasperation with her. Lan’s first meeting with Dilaya, another strong personality and wonderful supporting character, is one of my favorite scenes. Let’s just say it didn’t go well and leave it at that.

Jaw-dropping twists, shocking choices, and life-threatening situations (so, so many) kept me glued to the pages. Do I really need to say I’ll be at the edge of my seat waiting for the next book? Highly recommend to fantasy, folklore, and mythology fans.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

DNF at 65%

I found it difficult to care about the characters or the story in this book. I was struggling to focus and just generally apathetic about what was happening. This book is attempting to be a lot of things that it's not, and I think it would have found more success in scaling back in a few places. Not only is trying to be this expansive fantasy story but is unsuccessfully wedging in tropes left and right. This book was marketed as Enemies to Lovers which I don't think is accurate. Zen and Lan at best are strangers to 'lovers' but any chemistry that was there was dull. I found Lan to be a rather unlikable protagonist. Her cause may be noble, but when she is calling the only person left to help her discover her powers and what happened to her mother "ratfart instructor', I find it very difficult to root for her.

There were some positives in this story like the setting, magic system, and overarching plot but often it all just fell short. I assume that I will be in the minority with this opinion. I may try again in the future, but for now, it was not the right fit for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Before I get into the review, I'd just like to say how much of a joy it has been seeing Amelie Wen Zhao grow as a writer. I've been a fan of her ever since the Blood Heir trilogy. Seeing her flourish in SONG, I can truly say that she's found her voice. I think authors writing about and taking pride in their own culture and heritage is really special because their passion shows through in their books. SONG is no exception.

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night follows the tale of Lan, a girl in a fallen kingdom who carries the key to discovering the secrets of her nation’s past—and unleashing the demons that sleep at its heart. It's nothing like any fantasy book I've ever read, and I'm going to tell you why.

This book was intricately plotted and paced--I physically couldn't stop reading. Some high fantasy books meander when it comes to plot, putting in a lot of unnecessary exposition and taking the reader out of the story. That is not the case with SONG. All the events and plot twists were relevant to the storyline and advanced the character arcs, which is something you don't find in every fantasy book.

I also loved getting to know the characters. Lan in particular was a favorite of mine, but I honestly loved all of them! They had such excellent motivations and backstories that I couldn't help but want to like them, even when they made dumb or reckless decisions (and they made their fair share). I only wish that I could've seen more of Zen's personality. Otherwise, this was an amazing cast, with realistic and messy relationships. The romance in this book had my whole heart. I would've liked to see it develop a tad more, but I'm just a hopeless romantic and love stretching out the slowburn stage as much as possible, haha.

And then there's the worldbuilding. Where do I even start? It was so refreshing to step into the world of SONG. Normally, I just tolerate worldbuilding in high fantasy books--it's okay, it's necessary, but I don't love it or anything. With this book, it was different. The magic system literally made my jaw drop, it was so well thought-out. I actually enjoyed reading about the history and lore of the world, and when I tell you that that's rare for me, I mean it!

All around, I can say with confidence that this was a five star read and one of my best books of 2022. In fact, it's one of the best books I've ever read. I won't apologize for this essay of a review because SONG is truly a masterpiece. I can't recommend it enough!

Thank you Delacorte Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book! I was so intrigued by this new fantasy story from #OwnVoices author Amelie Wen Zhao. Her world-building and storytelling threaded with Chinese folklore made this an easy read that kept me glued to the page. The emphasis on balance in the story mimics Zhao's craft; she seamlessly blends fantasy elements with Chinese culture without overwhelming the reader with excessive infodumps. It's refreshing to read a YA series with so much depth that doesn't rely so heavily on the romance side of things. I am so looking forward to what comes next for Lan and her hunt for the Demon Gods!

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night is out now!

We enter this story in a setting of a fallen kingdom. In this story we meet a girl named Lan, who once upon a time had a different name. Lan just happens to have a strange mark that her mother left on her before dying. However, the one
strange thing about this mark is that only she can see it until a random boy saves her life. This boy, Zen will help can discover her true self.

I want to thank Netgalley for granting me this book in exchange for a honest review lately I've been enjoying books that draw from mythology and folklore from China. This book was crafted well and definitely hooks you, I really enjoyed the writing style and I have to say I like the writing and storyline more than Blood Heir. I did find the pacing of this story to be slow at times, I do want
to see more chemistry between Lan and Zen. Overall I found this story to be enjoyable.

This was absolutely magical. The world building was so captivating and the characters were woven into the story beautifully. Seriösly can't recommend this one enough to those who love ancient folklore of ancient China and its mythology.

I always love reading what Amélie has in store for their readers because they never disappoint.

This was such a beautifully written story. As with any fantasy that is first in a series, there is a LOT of information dumping/world building. But the characters were enjoyable and the story really picked up around the 2/3 mark and I felt all the feels! Really looking forward to the next book in the series!

Thank you to the publisher for sending me this e-arc for a review.

This was a simply delightful read and I went through so many emotions! Gorgeously crafted tale, with likeable and relatable characters, amazing magic system imbedded in Chinese folklore (something which we know is close to the authors heart). It was action packed, intriguing and I could not get enough.
There are very important themes mentioned throughout one being colonialism. It felt like a beautiful Chinese drama going off in my head.

Lan and Zen both had my entire heart. Both so different but so similar too. Elantian Colonisers have ruined both Lan and Zen’s lives and taken all they knew and loved.

We have Lan who now lives as a orphan Songgirl and who is trying to figure out what her mother left behind. She teams up with Zen a practictioner, who recognises a mark on her arm, one which she truly has no idea what is. There were so many mysteries to solve which made for an exciting read. The plot flowed beautifully and you can just tell a lot of thought and love went into this story. It was captivating.

And by the end of the story we have learnt sooo much and I truly wasn’t expecting so much of it. They both team up and off on an perilous adventure we go. Both Lan and Zen by the end are changed, mature and willing to do whatever they need to, to protect their loved ones. The ending was not at all what I was expecting and I completely LOVED IT! Absolutely obsessed and it just left me feeling for more and more!

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night is honestly such a beautiful book. The ancient culture and language used here is absolutely beautiful. I loved how nothing in this book feels forced and there are no cliche scenes or troupes. The romance is so pure and satisfying and I absolutely love both the female and male lead. Perhaps what I enjoyed most was how realistic some of the scenes are and Lan's realization of her weakness and her resilience in the face of danger.

I 100% recommend it and you should definitely give the book a try. The only thing that you should note is that the lore is a bit confusing to get a hang of. Still, the descriptive language and scenes totally override that factor.

Thank you to NetGallery for sending me a copy of this beautiful book for me to read!

Will also be covered in a Week in Review on my Youtube Channel, link in profile

3.75? Rounded up to 4

TL;DR: If you enjoy non-stop YA fantasy this is the one for you. I really enjoyed a lot of this but found the pace a bit too fast.

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night has me on the fence. It follows, primarily two characters. Lan is a 'songbird', a girl who works in a tea parlor singing for work. The city and land she lives in has been conquered by an invading force, her culture and people repressed and destroyed. Our second character is Zen, a young practitoner who is seeking out others like him and information about the magic and culture that they've lost. The two come in contact and the book explodes (almost literally) out from there.

My biggest problem with Song of Silver is the pacing which is breakneck for me. It was so fast, there were little to no quiet moments, no moments of reprieve for the characters. One good thing would happen, or five mins of dialogue and then immediately there is an emergency or a dire situation. Fast paced books are fine, but this felt almost as if our author just did not want or know how to give the characters rest. I felt so bad for them because of how much they seemed to deal with in such fast succession. There was one period of time that the characters didn't have a pressing emergency and that was described as 'And time passed'. Which during that time we had to assume that our characters grew attached to certain things and people but we never saw it.

Past this I loved a lot about this book! I want more of the characters we were introduced to, especially the side characters and the system and world is beautiful. The themes that the author is struggling with and representing, I felt were clear and heartbreaking (as they should have been). The villains did end up feeling a little over the top, especially in a final scene, but considering the wuxia/xianxia style of the action and magic in this I think that can be forgiven. The setting and magic were incredible and really that's what kept me coming back.

So while I wish the story had more time to breath and give us a breath this was a beautiful ride. If you don't mind books that just 'go, go, go' pick this up. It's got an amazing setting, beautiful magic, and over the top fighting that will not miss if you love that sort of thing.

4 out of 5 Ocarinas.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Amelie Wen Zhao is a brand new author to me, and I was excited to dive in. Zen & Lan were really great MC's and I loved the world. I could have used a little bit more world building overall, but this was a great story as a whole.

I really loved every bit of this book. I think my favorite part of I is that is read as emotional as it is intended. I really loved that this one it is a homage to the authors culture and what is lost and to be gained. The world building was really unique and the story itself was amazing. I kept asking myself and trying to figure out what was the deal with her scar. I’ll be picking up in a few days the published cope because I need to know what changes were made and this book was so good that can be read many times.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for provising this eARC.

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night is the first installment in the Song of the Last Kingdom series, and it follows Lan -- a songgirl who has lost her family and her homeland to Elantian colonizers -- and Zen -- a magical practitioner of the Last Kingdom. When Zen recognizes power in Lan, the two embark on a journey to the Last Kingdom in the hopes of finding answers about Lan's mysterious abilities.

This book sucked me in from page one, and I feel changed having finished it. Amelie Wen Zhao paints a vivid fantasy world rich in Chinese folklore and populated with a vibrant and complicated cast of characters. She tackles colonialism, cultural assimilation, rebellion, and love at a breakneck pace, and yet not once did I feel like the story was lacking or had gaps. Rather, I was left breathless, and wishing that it hadn't ended so soon. I already cannot wait for book 2!

This book was very refreshing to read and heart-warming as much as heart-breaking. It has changed my perspectives on so many concepts, like life and death and energies, for instance. I loved all of the characters and how you get to know them layer by layer through all the novel, it is something that I love in a book.

Lan is such an amazing character, full of incongruences like her journey. It has been fascinating how much she grows through the novel and how she does so next to Zen. And Zen… what can I say about him? I don’t know enough adjectives to describe him. The only thing I’ll say is that if you’re fans of enemies as lovers, you’ll love this book.

SPOILERS!

This book was definitely action-packed and the unexpected turns by the end of the book had me on the floor. We should talk about all of them but I need to highlight Zen saving Lan from falling off the cliff and then disappearing was one of my top moments. I just CAN’T!

I devoured the book and I enjoyed Amélie´s style a lot, although there is quite a lot of world-building so it felt a bit slow at some points. However, the writing style is impeccable and so beautiful, it will leave you speechless.

I gotta say that there are so many elements to this story that were interesting, but my favourite was the qi based magic. It was such a change of perspective from what I had previously read before, it has changed my mind completely on so many different aspects.

Rating: 4/5
I received an eARC of this book for my honest opinion

If you love to read mythology/folklore, magical, young adult books then I highly recommend this book. It has action, drama, a small amount of romance, adventures, and finding oneself. I am sad that I read this book so fast because now I have a while to wait for book 2, that is how amazing it is.

I thought this book was beautifully written, Amelie really has a way with her words, she brought this beautiful world to life. The attention to all the small and big details she really knows how to wrap you up in this world to where you feel a part of it. The plot was done amazingly, and you can tell that Amelie knows/researched to get this Chinese folklore just right. The character development was amazing, to see how Lan was raised. What she had to endure and overcome. Zen is another character that I can’t wait to learn more about. You get to see small parts of him come out through the book and I loved everything that I was learning. I also really liked that the characters in this book were not perfect, the author showed their flaws. It really helped me to connect with these characters, but the small romance in the book was a little iffy about it. I didn't think that Lan and Zen had much chemistry, for me it felt like they were 2 lonely teens with a dark/scary past. The pace of the book was about 50/50 with it going from slow paced to fast paced, I did enjoy that I didn’t ever get bored or wished that it would hurry up.

As I said up there, I can not wait to see what the next book will bring us. If it's anything like this book it will be full of events unfolding, truths set free, balance of good/evil, determination to get to the truth about everything and lastly love (love for their country, love for their lost ones, and love for each other)

I want to thank NetGalley and Random House Children’s for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a lyrical and strong fantasy epic that was super enjoyable. At times humorous and warm, in others very thought provoking regarding imperialism and spoken history, this has a bit of everything while at the same time managing not to do a disservice to any of it. The mythology and historical background and context, along with the magic system was a bit unwieldy, especially in the beginning, but it quickly slicks and feels refreshing. I could actually imagine it all very clearly and could get lost in the world created.

This only expanded as Lan goes on the run and encounters others practioners that felt different and mysterious in their own ways. I wanted to know more about all of them, which I think will come in the next book. All these elements brought together were executed well and somehow didn’t feel too overwhelming. If anything, I think this could have been a bit longer just to give some elements more space, which I think would have helped, though weren’t super make or break.

For example, I think the timeline for Lan’s practioner learning is too compressed. Lan should have been learning at the school for longer, the jump in her skills from barely recognizing practitioning or believing it’s even real to being able to recognize qí, read and cast seals (not even just basic ones), and be able to recognize elements in the span of a few days of teaching was just so unbelievable it made me roll my eyes HARD. That said, is the magic still cool? YES. We’re the school teaching days really interesting to read about? Absolutely. I just wish it had a little more breathing room.

Another element I think needed a bit more time on the page was Zen’s change in the end, it felt too fast given his original intentions. I think a bit more internal dialogue would have helped smooth that out a bit, but I suspect more of that is coming in the next book.
I would caution that at times, Lan felt a bit too modern in terms of her attitude, mannerisms, or speech, especially when compared to Zen or others, but it didn’t detract too much for me. If that’s something you’re a stickler about, just note that that may come up.

These quibbles aside, I found this to be a fun book to escape into and continues the streak of strong Asian-inspired mythology fantasy for me. While Lan may not be my most favorite MC and I didn’t quite get an emotional connection to this, this was still so fun and engaging and has an important message and POV I hope many will read and experience.

Rating: 3.75/5, rounding up to 4.

Without a doubt, Song of Silver, Flame Like Night will grip fantasy readers right from the start. This book has action, a dynamic magic system, and a compelling story. I was pulled right into it and couldn't put it down. The story is complex, yet familiar (the colonizer/colonized issue akin to that of the Western empire vs. Eastern in World History). While many may feel uncomfortable with the portrayal of the Elantians (most definitely read White/European colonizer), Zhao does not paint the story as black and white, good guy vs. bad guy, but rather shows within the story's plot and its characters that power is the root of much discord and evil, that a power-grab, alone, can corrupt any individual.

I was really drawn to Lan and her plight as an orphan trying to make it in this violent, threatening colonized world, searching for the secret her mother left her. I think she is a really relatable, strong main character, who brings us into this world of qi and practitioning, is our eyes and ears as she learns about this magic structure and the true history of the Hin people. Likewise, Zen is also a compelling figure, who at once feels aloof and tortured by a dark secret, yet in Lan's presence his layers get peeled back and we learn more and more about him as the story progresses. I really enjoyed seeing the two characters interact, learn and teach each other in a push and pull. It made the ending even more fraught and tense, as the whole book brings you to root for these two.

Ultimately, I think the story is really well written, full of intrigue and developments that pull you along. The pacing, because of this, moves well, though here and there there are slower moments. While this story is action-packed and full of really cool fight scenes, magic wielding, and drama, I feel the length of it makes it a daunting prospect for any reader who looks at its size and worries that it might be too much to take on. Still, I think high fantasy fans or any fan of c-dramas, will be compelled to pick it up. I definitely recommend it, and I look forward to reading the subsequent books in the series.

A beautiful introduction to a fascinating world. The authors writing flows perfectly, the plot moves at a great pace and is so intriguing. I loved the characters, the plot, the ending, everything. I’m anxiously awaiting the sequel.