Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

This was such a fun book to read. I don’t know nearly as much about Chinese mythology as I would like, so I was excited to dig into this and see what I could learn.

One of the major things I learned: this is a sequel 🤣 I had no idea it was a sequel until I was halfway or more through the book, and I count that as a good thing! I never felt completely lost, and while there were references to past events, they felt more like they were contextualizing than calling back to past events.

The characters of this story were great! Namita brought such a great energy to the group, seeing Danny’s growth from beginning to end made my heart warm, watching Theo fight through hell (literally) to save his brother gave him such a good depth, and the dynamic between the two spirit companions - Kai and Xioahua - was hilarious.

But what made them all work was how they came to trust each other. They all had their own goals and hopes for the journey, yet they all unite and enhance their unique skill sets for each other.

The plot was smooth, not a whole lot to say there. However, something was just a little missing, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. But I wanted something a little more.

Overall, solid read and definitely fits on a shelf next to the Rick Riordan Presents family (it’s not part of that family). Now to go read the first book 🤣

I spoke about this book on a bookmail/bookhaul video and sang it's praises. It's such a great close out to the duology though I would love to see these characters again in the future.

I’ve heard so much about Jesse Q. Sutanto, so I am really excited that I was finally able to read one of her books. Kai’s character is a lot of fun. She makes snarky comments under her breath or in her mind a lot of the time, sometimes even leaving them in footnotes that appear at the end of her chapters. I liked that though she is prickly and particular, she is also loyal to her friends and will do whatever it takes to protect them.

I also loved the scene in which Theo and Jamie first reunite. It was so easy to feel the connection between them as brothers and the pain of their separation.

So much happens in the book. It was a wild ride from start to finish, and a lot of fun too. I think readers who enjoy goofy characters and stories about folklore and mythology will find a lot to love here. It reminded me a little bit of DRAGON WARRIOR by Katie Zhao, but the voice in THEO TAN AND THE IRON FAN is a little more upbeat and goofy than in that series.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.

Thanks to NetGalley & Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

A bittersweet conclusion to the Theo Tan duology--Theo & his spirit companion, Kai, travel to hell to help his brother's spirit move on. It's surprisingly dark and emotional, but it's still wrapped in fun shenanigans involving Kai and other mythical spirits, just like the first book. I really like how the story wrapped up in an emotionally satisfying way.

tl;dr
An exciting middle-grade adventure about friendship, being true to yourself, and living with grief.

Thoughts
The previous book in the series really surprised me (in the good way) with its twist on the "middle grade kid gets powers" formula by introducing a world where magic is bottled and sold like a commodity. Theo's journey to accept all facets of himself and his own internal magic continues with another twist on a middle grade favorite - journey into the afterlife to barter with gods. With Theo and his friends now able to tap into their own magic, the modern world building from the first book isn't quite as prominent here, dropped in favor of more Chinese mythology and legend. The core focus also shifts - the first book was about finding your identity in the diaspora, and this book is about living with grief, with a variety of depictions all very genuine and heartbreaking. It's a worthy closer to the story set up in the first book, with plenty of action, great character growth for all of our heroes, and a very thoughtful finale.

This was a strong sequel in the Theo Tan series, it had everything that I enjoyed from the first book and improved on this. The characters were what I expected and thought the fantasy elements were spot on. I enjoyed how everything worked overall and it left me wanting more in this universe.

I feel like it took me forever to read this book, but I really enjoyed it! I love the characters and the journey they went on was exciting. I'm sad that the author says she's done with this series. I really hope to get more Theo and Kai in the future!