Joan He has written my favorite duology.

It’s no secret that Joan is one of my favorite authors. And with SOUND THE GONG, her sequel to STRIKE THE ZITHER, she creates a YA fantasy series as divine as it is thrilling.

Really, it’s SO riveting. This fast-paced, twisty novel has so much momentum as it follows Zephyr at her most determined — and most ruthless. (That one scene!! You’ll know it when you get to it!).

While Zephyr does incredibly questionable things, He excels at still making her sympathetic as she pushes herself past
her limit all out of loyalty. Behind Zephyr’s sacrifices is the question of if it’s worth it, making the novel as poignant as it is relatable for those who get too caught up in their goals.

While this sequel is darker than the first, it’s still incredibly fun! Sharp dialogue, deception, and war intrigue abound. He also packs in plenty of great moments from the Three Kingdoms classic that the series reimagines (the chess scene!).

And I love seeing the return of so many wonderful characters, such as Cloud and Tourmaline, and greater explorations of Crow, Miasma, and Ren. I really enjoyed getting to see more of Crow and his incredibly complex relationship with Zephyr — plus, they have such wonderful banter.

The climax is cinematic, riveting, and emotional, powerfully delivering on character arcs and tensions. And while I loved the very sweet bonus epilogue online, I’m glad the print novel caps off with its bittersweet conclusion — it perfectly fits the themes and Zephyr’s arc. Yes, I’m that reader.

SOUND THE GONG is as compelling, action-packed, and rich as its predecessor, making for a stunning series. And like Zephyr, it doesn’t hold back.

an absolutely mind-blowing conclusion. this book was filled with high stakes, tough decisions, high stakes and emotions. zephyr had to make some tough decisions, some which, won't lie, drove me insane. i'm sure i lost quite a few brain cells reading this book. (in a good way).

there were plot twists thrown left right and center i couldn't keep up!! the whole war aspect of it was really fascinating. i love reading about the strategies and the way zephyr just kept on and on adapting to a new situation, just to be loyal to ren. her loyalty was really interesting to read about.

🦚ྀི zephyr is a really interesting character. she's sort of a morally grey character, but also not. she is incredibly loyal to her cause and to her leader, ren. everything she does is for her. she has made a lot of... interesting decisions in this book. she also makes unexpected allies though, and - not to spoil anything - but one in particular was really moving. there were many such scenes with her and other characters that was so emotional i just loved it.

🪶ྀི crow. oh my god crow. first of all, love this cover of him, he's absolutely stunning. we get to know so much about him this book and oh my god i love him 😭😭 the relationship he shares with zephyr IT ACTUALLY DRIVES ME INSANE!!!!!!!! i want to slap these two so bad sometimes. but yeah the ending actually destroyed me i love crow.

ANYWAY, everyone go read this duology it's mind blowing and so so so good.

This is the second book in a YA duology, where main characters are between the ages of 15-19 years old. I have to suspended disbelief that teens are strategizing and leading armies and it seems like no one exists over the age of 21. But I know I’m not the target audience. I needed to finish this duology because I was interested in the relationship (both the rivalry and romance) between two strategists. That’s right, I didn’t care about the battling armies- I came for the Enemies to Lovers. And I ended up with Tragedy.

I’ll admit- they had us in the first half. The book struggled with some pacing issues, the first third of the book felt like it was dragging. Elements like a god inhabiting another body was fascinating in the first book of the duology, but the turn that it takes here… was not what I expected. It took me a long time to get into a nice flow with this book, but when I did it became quite a wild ride. I never predicted what came next and that in and of itself was refreshing, so I guess I need to brush up on my Chinese history. And I meant tragedy in the literary sense, because no one got the ending they wanted, including me. Still a good read!

How much would you sacrifice to win? How far would you go to achieve success? Strategist/God Zephyr has now found herself jumping between bodies, trying to manipulate the war and her lordess for the outcome that she wants... but it all comes at a price and if she achieves it, it means her own demise. Can Zephyr win? Zephry will do anything to change fate, she will pay any price for Ren, her lordess, to win... even if it means sacrificing the one person she might have feelings for, even if it means dying and losing her body and soul.... but the war and humans are ever changing, and as a god with limited powers, she'll have to find a way to navigate every single decision to her benefit before it's too late. This was definitely an interesting ending to the duology, I loved the first book and enjoyed the back to back from the two strategist, but what this book was kind of missing was that magic, that kind of compelling back to back. However, this book was very heavy on the ever changing war environment and the decisions and political moves, which isn't a bad thing, it just felt like it was a shift from the fun of the first book. I did enjoy how determined Zephyr was to get what she wanted, she was determined to adjust to every decision and to manipulate every turn to her advantage. She was relentless in her quest to achieve her goals, and she still cared and loved those around her, sacrificing herself over and over for their happiness. The ending, especially with the way the Crow x Zephry relationship was going, had me begging for an extra epilogue, just to see them face each other, and to finally FINALLY admit their feelings for each other after they had both sacrificed each other for their own kingdoms. I think this series overall, is a really fun and unique read that is such a unique take on the Three Kingdoms story! Definitely check it out if you love strategy/war stories!

*Thanks Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group | Roaring Brook Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

this is honestly my favorite last-book-in-the-series book, lol. which is so specific but i loved the way everything wrapped up, it didn't feel rushed at all,. i'm so so incredibly satisfied with the conclusion. this book gave me all the angsty moments i could ever ask for. crow clearly cares for zephyr but his loyalty to his leader supersedes that, and same to zephyr. it was so fun to read how they would hurt each other throughout the novel.

crow was so FLIRTY in this book istg. we get so much more moments between them compared to STZ! it was once again so fun to be in the mind of zephyr. she is so quick on her feet and a genius. this duology holds a special place in my heart. thank you so much to joan he and the macmillan team for the arc! this review is entirely my honest opinion <3 HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS DUO!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for allowing me this e-arc of this book.

This is the second book in the duology. We continue the journey with Zephyr and company. The stakes get higher as the climatic end approaches.

I love the characters. They are all flawed in different ways and it catches up to each of them. The give and take between Crow and Zephyr is both amazing and frustrating. The way their relationship is part of the chess game they are playing is disheartening.

The fight sequences are frequent and well done. They add to the story. Each is part of the plot and not just thrown in.

The coda at the end was definitely a surprise. Unexpected yet I was happy to see it. I hope the thoughts there are true. It would make it perfect.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes action adventure in a historical setting.

Thank you again Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and NetGalley for this awesome book.

If you liked Strike the Zither, prepare to be blown away by Sound the Gong. I'm not huge on political/war strategy but the way Joan He writes it in this book had me on edge!

In this book, Zephyr is still left in a wrong body and is trying to influence her lordess's actions without her knowing that this new body is not Zephyr. It's a whole thing. And there is so much devastation and turnarounds and things that happen, it is hard to talk about the book without spoiling something. So just know this, Joan He is in her groove and this book was even better than the first in the series.

Loved getting to see a new version of old Chinese lore (Three Kingdoms)! Super intense and I didn't want to put it down.

Thanks to Macmillan Children's and Netgalley for the e-ARC!

Sound the Gong was an excellent follow up to Strike the Zither. I recommend this duology for readers looking for Chinese inspired fantasy with complex and intelligent characters.

I wasn't sure how Joan He was going to top the awesomeness that was Strike the Zither, but here we are. Everything I loved about STZ—the rich, multi-faceted characters (CROW), the epic plot twists and spectacular schemes, and thought-provoking themes came back even bigger and better. Joan is an incredible craftswoman who can tell a thrilling story, and she's not afraid to ask hard questions; mad respect for that.

When Joan said the theme of Sound the Gong would be "people aren't pawns", I knew I needed to read it—so many YA books I've run across tend to communicate that the end justifies the means, and STG does the opposite of that. Zephyr justifies her brutality in the name of loyalty, but the consequences don't allow her to get away with it. She doesn't get neat, tidy ending (and nor would that be helpful), but she did get to redeem many of her mistakes and it was satisfying. As for Crow, I was really, really hoping we'd get more of him in STG, and the man does not disappoint. The tenderness underneath his sarcasm was just what this often-gritty book needed. I'm in love with his dynamic with Zephyr in this book. They're not sweet, they're not demonstrative, they're definitely not cute. But they're equals, they match wits, and they slowly become better people even if it's pulling teeth; and that's a relationship I can get behind. (Also, Crow's ending? No spoilers, but it's beautiful.)

The plot of STG is part roadtrip, part war epic, part battle of the minds, and while it sounds weird, it works. The focus felt a bit more zoomed-in, with fewer moving parts onscreen at once most of the time, but the broader stakes always felt clear and present. Which always impresses me, because I've seen too many books where war plotlines get short-changed in favor of individual character relationships, or vice versa. The fact that this is based on a historic Chinese classic blows my mind—it's obviously a modern homage to a source the author deeply cares about and wants to share with others.

Definitely be sure to read the content warnings Joan shared in her "review" of this book before picking it up, because it tackles some hard topics. It's thoughtfully done and far from graphic, but some stomach-turning things are implied to have happened. I personally loved how carefully she depicted them and didn't feel they were gratuitous. A necessary disclaimer—because of some of my personal beliefs certain aspects of the story, like the magic system element where characters get separated from their bodies, never sat comfortably with me. But the magic did bring some fantastic thematic depth to Zephyr and Crow's relationship, so I'm torn. All that's to say, the magic itself wasn't my cup of tea (which feels weird to say because it was a big part of the story), but it was well-crafted.

Overall, calling this a 4.5 rounded up for a sweeping story well told.

Joan completely hooked me with this duology and I'm so excited to see what she writes next!

I definitely should have reread Strike the Zither first. That being said this was really exciting and interesting, I am usually a sucker for a happy ending but I like the realistic ending this book had which makes sense given its genre. I am definitely going to have to reread asap. I love gods and human war stories and the possession. It was makes it read more like myth retelling, and despite the grave at topics the stories cover i always find them fun and interesting. I will never tire of this kind of stories,

Again love the premise, STZ is fantastic. But the pacing of this one just doesn't land for me. For the amount of time we spent doing Chi Bi in STZ having multiple historic conflicts in 1 book is a bit odd. Felt like there was a lot of padding in the middle and it could have been contained to a stand alone.

Zephyr could come for me and I'd let her. I am consistently amazed and impressed with the twists and turns from Joan He. Talk about a book where I just strap in for the ride and turn my brain off. It's a book about sabotage, battles of wits, and strategic moves. For these strategists, and most of the characters in Sound the Gong, can they ever truly have friends or loves when everything seems to be a chess game?

Thank you to Macmillan Children’s Publishing, Roaring Brook Press, and NetGalley for the ARC of Sound the Gong by the ever-talented Joan He.

WOW. JOAN HE. THE BRILLIANT STORYTELLER YOU ARE!! This end to the duology was iconic, painful, and perfect.

As Joan has said, this is a book best read directly after its predecessor Strike the Zither. In Sound the Gong, we trek along the finale to Zephyr’s hard laid plans. It is full throttle from page one and seamlessly flows to finish out the story. It took my breath away and I would’ve willingly drowned to read the tale of mortals and gods and strategists and war.

To Zephyr and Crow- I will think of you forever. May I read of you in another life too.

“But while we are here, we live. We love. We leave our marks. Rain and wind may eventually erase them, but it won’t erase the lǐ I walked with everyone.”

Sound the Gong is the sequel to Strike the Zither and it should have been titled something like "Torture Crow for 300 pages" because that's entirely what happened.

So much happens at the end of Strike the Zither, it's a political fantasy unlike anything I've ever read before - it's got cunning MC's that truly will do anything for the upper hand, will break every sacred vow, will give up their soul over and over again putting themselves into utter damnation just to see their loved ones succeed.

And Sound the Gong looked at that and said "let me show you true pain" and came up with this. It's not really fair to call this a romance since our MC's actively hate / despise each other for a majority of their lives, but the begrudging respect for how good they are exists best with this line - "Why did the universe have to make you when there was already a me?"

Crow/ Zither are two sides of the same coin, ruthless, brutal and waiting to leave a mark on history, even only as a secondary player. This book makes it so easy to get caught up in the story that you don't even see the slow slip of darkness that Zephyr goes down. Her choices become less and less "good" and more and more deadly and manipulative and I loved to see it.

This book definitely ends with an open ending and as much as I loved it... GO READ THE BONUS EPILOGUE !!! IT'S EVERYTHING

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Sound the Gong closes out Joan He’s Kingdom of the Three duology beautifully. He once again wears her influences on her sleeve, again pulling from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms for inspiration, with all its political intrigue and moral complexity.
Zephyr remains an intriguing character, even as she remains morally gray, even truly dark at times. But she is not without principles; it’s simply that she’ll do what she must to achieve her goals. Another character, Crow, also has a much more prominent role in this book, and I became as invested in his fate as I was Zephyr’s…even though I had a feeling it would not end well, even without extensive knowledge of the source material.
While not necessarily fast paced, there’s enough going on with the balance of politicking/scheming and action that I was invested throughout, and felt that He did justice to the narrative she was trying to tell.
This was an epic read, and I’d recommend both books to readers looking for an epic Chinese-inspired YA fantasy.

I loved the conclusion to the duology! Sound the Gong was a great sequel to Strike the Zither, building characters to become more complex. I usually do not like open-ended endings, but this one was the best choice for the story. I can’t wait to see what else Joan He writes in the future.

I didn’t want to put this one down. Indeed I kept making excuses to pick it up at rather inconvenient times and tearing through the story in large chunks. Unlike Strike the Zither, which I felt had a rather slow build (insofar as the “so what” for our MC was concerned), Sound the Gong hits the ground running and doesn’t stop until the end (where it unfortunately fizzles out; I understand why it ended the way it did, but honestly I wasn’t a fan of the coda/epilogue and would much rather it just have ended at the last chapter. Then again, I’m also a notorious hater of epilogues in general, so take that with a grain of salt.)

Though it certainly made the story more interesting and unique, I wasn’t a fan of how easy it was for Zephyr to escape death.

I think Ren, Cicada, and Cloud were such impressively dynamic characters in this story and it was a pleasure to read about their messy inner conflicts and how they were seen and interpreted.

I am marginally familiar with the story of Three Kingdoms - so seeing how He played with expectations was fascinating, and I think really did a service to giving modern readers a way to better latch on to the characters.

{ spoiler-free review }

SOUND THE GONG picks up right after the cliffhanger of STRIZE THE ZITHER - this conclusion feels more epic in terms of battles and war strategies and I had a highly enjoyable time delving into the characters and their mind games. In a world where Gods walk in the realms, the characters ruthlessly sacrifice to achieve their goals and rewrite destiny. He is successful at crafting reimagined and morally grey characters; and she doesn't hesitate to capture their deepest humanity. The characters are fully fleshed out, whose arc are thoroughly satisfying.

While ZITHER has more popular scenes known by Western audience - Red Cliff and Zhuge Liang's legendary arrow borrowing scene - SOUND is more political, the pages loaded with tactics, scheming, unfair odds, revenge and betrayals that offer a more clever experience. The author's strength is in the interaction between the characters/strategists, whose acts move like chess pieces (象棋) while their unspoken connections blossom, stronger than shared blood.

With confident writing and steady unwinding, SOUND is darker and more layered. Plenty of tension and tragedies drive the story committed with the principles of Confucianism, also convulsing emotions and spirit of Xianxia. The action-packed narrative doesn't detract from the emotions and I found myself attached to the characters. At last, He delivers a (tragic and) more-than-satisfying closure that almost moved me to tears.

SOUND THE GONG is a triumphant conclusion of an unforgettable duology. 'Kingdom of Three' is an extensively researched YA historical fantasy that pays homage to the classic Chinese figure 'Liu Bei'. If you are looking for a well-written novel with textured characters and bright engagement with Chinese history, I can't recommend this enough. This is my favorite Joan He and I am looking forward to reading He's next work.

SOUND THE GONG is a dazzling conclusion to the Kingdom of Three duology that answers the age-old question, "would anyone sit down for a 350+ page adaptation of the devil and bagel vine?" with a resounding yes. Jokes aside, I had an immensely good time reading this sequel and revisiting all the characters after a torturous 15 minutes of separation. I really can't recommend reading them back to back enough, especially because this book is somehow even more action-packed and doesn't spend much time doing the early chapters sparknotes.

While I got even more of what I loved from the first book (found family, political machinations, and Crow, lord the Crow content in this one), I really enjoyed the exploration of fate, choice, and the multitudes each person contains. I didn't have any basis for the story of the Three Kingdoms before diving into this world, but I can tell it was adapted with both great love and a discerning eye, and has made me even more excited to seek it out.

Overall, the fast pace and shifting alliances make for one of the most bingeable series I've read in a long time. I loved watching Zephyr's ruthlessness alongside her battling between morality and divinity, and I was thoroughly satisfied with this conclusion.

Sound the Gong is a clever, intricately plotted, political YA fantasy with layered, morally grey characters and a cracking pace. I was so excited to see more of Zephyr and Crow's interactions and I was NOT disappointed - once again, the tension between the two was excellent, the banter top notch. Joan He displays an admirable confidence in her writing, never shying away from being brutal and dark. A fantastic conclusion to a brilliant duology!