I'm going to write this review with spoilers so be warned! I just want to remember what happened so I can remember for when the next book comes out and I do hope that next book comes quick!

This book follows both Lan and Zen as they meet up in order to figure out what kind of powers Lan has. Lan has been working at a Teahouse, not by will, where she is trying to figure out why her mother was killed and why she has a certain symbol on her arm. Zen notices her and helps her escape when Elantian angels try and take her. They both escape to Zen's school where Lan tries to learn the Way and hone her powers. Lan has a vision that she must visit the Guarded Mountain, which Zen helps her get to. There they find the ocarina, which becomes Lan's tool for her practitioning. When the Ocarina is played, it shows the map of the 4 Demon Gods' locations. Zen is able to figure out the Black Tortoise's location and lies to Lan about saving the village. He takes on the demon, like he has done before, and wipes out a lot of the Elantian army. Lan is also being hunted by the man who killed her mother, because her mother actually sealed the silver dragon into her. In the last part of the book, Lan and Dilaya and Tai must flee in order to save their kingdom. The Elantians have knocked out the school and find out that the Azure Tiger had been kept in the school and protected, but now it has been released. Lan and her friends must now find the Godslayer to kill the demon gods and also use her dragon demon god to fight the Elantians. Zen must also find a way to control his Black Tortoise demon or else he will lose his body, mind, and then soul.

Okay now for my review of the book. I really enjoyed the book. Since the first chapter, I was hooked. I knew Zen and Lan would get together and somehow find a way to fight against the Elantians but also of course go against the masters. The writing was easy to follow and very descriptive. I could visualize everything pretty well. I enjoyed the action scenes and the magic was very intricate. The history of the Kingdoms was a bit confusing, but it didn't take away from the story. When Zen was revealed to be part of the Monsurian clan, oh man that was a twist. I also did not expect Lan to stab Zen in the chest, even though it made sense for her to do so. I hope we get a resolve between those two in the next book. I like Lan and Zen together. I can't wait for the next book and this book isn't even technically out yet.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯.

Monsters & Demons: 100/5
Redemption: We're not there yet
Sacrifice: 100/5
Plot Twists: 100/5
Love: 4/5

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Random House Children's in exchange for an honest review.

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night promises you a story unlike any other, one you won't forget, and this begins immediately with the author letter right at the beginning of the book highlighting the Chinese heritage, legacies and mythos that build up this story.

Fans of fantasy C-Dramas with wuxia 武俠 martial arts and xianxia 仙侠 immortals will find the richness of it wrapped in the texts of Song. Reading this book is akin to watching a C-Drama unravel before your eyes mostly from the rich imagery that the author weaves into her storytelling.

As an Asian reader, I loved how the story wrote in hanyu pinyin (romanisation) of various words and phrases spoken by the Hin, alongside the translated meanings which didn't hinder the pace of reading at all. At the same time, whenever I read it I would subconsciously switch to hearing the characters speak whole sentences in Mandarin 😂, especially if they were using formal language, odd phrases or curses.

From the beginning of the story, we are immediately thrust into this elaborate world, following Lan on her journey to discovering the mysteries surrounding her identity while uncovering the mysticism of the long lost world of magic practitioning. Every character, even Lan herself carries secrets within them, known and unknown. While some secrets slowly build up into realisation, others you don't see even from a mile away as they pile up high into the mountain of plot twists.

Zen is your typical dark MMC with the secrets and burdens of lifetimes thrust upon his character and his struggle between descending into darkness or fighting to stay in the light. We spend most of the book discovering his nature, rather than witnessing much of how this plays out in his mind. There is more potential to truly delve deeper into his psyche and for him to discover properly the real consequences and choices between good, evil, and sacrifice. Lan herself has a firm grip on these moralities but further into it, she does realise that situations are not as black and white as they seem to be.

I won't give too much away on the plot and it's mysteries because it is so much more exciting to discover during the read. If you like school-based settings and rivalries, there are hints of that toward the middle of the story when we meet a myriad cast of characters, who too hold their own stories and burdens. This book felt a bit longer to read than most YA novels but I didn't feel that it was draggy, rather, it built up the world that much more clearly for you to better understand what is at stake.

Do we end up with more questions than answers? Yes of course! The twist of events towards the end of the book does set up a whole road ahead of diverging paths, on the road to darkness and light.

I'm already excited for the second book even though this is still months ahead of release! The pre-order campaign for this book is still running with super cool goodies featuring the cast!

I really love this author so I was very excited to review this book! It did not disappoint and I could not put it down all day! The story was full of adventure and depth but fast paced enough that I never felt bored. I will be purchasing this book and recommending it to all of my family and friends.