★★★★★

"You have poisoned me, little scorpion, and I would gladly let you do it over and over and over again."

This book blew my mind—it hit all the marks I wasn’t expecting. The plot twists were insane, the slow-burn build-up kept me hooked, and the world-building? Absolutely stunning. Packed with demons, dark magic, and a touch of desire, it’s action from start to finish. And that ending? What just happened!?

Àn’yĩng lives with her family in Xī’lín, part of the Kingdom of Rivers in the mortal realm. Their small cottage used to feel whole, but after losing her father and part of her mother, everything changed. Now, Àn’yĩng is preparing for the battles ahead. She’s determined to save her mother, but the price of doing so means leaving her mom and sister behind. With demons—known as Mó—lurking around every corner, she can only hope her protective wards will keep her family safe while she’s gone.

Her journey to the Temple of Dawn, where immortals hold trials for those seeking eternal life, is no easy feat. The road is treacherous, filled with stronger practitioners and deadly rivals who’ll do anything to get ahead. Oh, and let’s not forget the Mó, who are always ready to devour anything in their path. Along the way, a mysterious stranger crosses her path. Is he a friend or an enemy? Even though he lends her a hand, she’s not sure if she can trust him.

Àn’yĩng’s story is one of epic battles, mind-blowing twists, and moments that will both break your heart and fill it with warmth. The Temple of Dawn is just the start of her challenges. What she’ll face inside might change everything.

The Scorpion and the Night Blossom didn't quite hit the mark for me. The main character's inconsistent portrayal and the slow pacing detracted from the story. While the writing is decent, the worldbuilding and magic system lack depth. Ultimately, the book's flaws overshadowed its potential.

The dedication is for "the C-drama girlies" and I felt that. If you ever watched any of those, parts of this book felt very nostalgic and almost comforting. We have martial arts mixed with fantasy, an epic brewing-war plotline, and (of course) a love triangle with two very handsome men.

So why am I not rating this higher? One main reason really: Àn’yīng's behavior towards Yù’chén and her initial reaction to other "halflings." Her obsession with what basically amounts to racial purity made me very uncomfortable and I really disliked her for it. Yù’chén is the superior character in the developing love triangle (if you disagree you're objectively wrong, I'm sorry, I don't make the rules), but to Àn’yīng he's half-human half-monster, and that means he should be the prime suspect in all violence committed. Àn’yīng at first prefers Hào’yáng...why? Because he helped her a lot? So did Yù’chén. Hào’yáng's handsomeness is good because he's, idk, pure? whereas Yù’chén's handsomeness is exotic and evil because he's not. One gets to be romanticized because he's fully human, the other is untrustworthy and subhuman. Maybe I'm too sensitive of a reader, but it's hard to read a book with a racist MC. (But don't worry! she gets better as the book progresses! new acquaintances teach her that halflings are people too! she's no longer racist! some of her best friends are halflings! even though they're extremely minor characters that we only see a handful of times)

(...except not really, JK! because then we get that ending! Àn’yīng should have trusted her racist instincts all along! vindication!!!)

The ending had some heavy evil monologuing and info dumping/dramatic reveal after dramatic reveal. Suddenly there's a war, a new realm to visit, and a marriage plot. Definitely a set-up for a sequel, but maybe too many moving parts for the final couple of chapters. I don't know how this is all going to be wrapped up satisfactorily in one more book. It could happen! I just feel like it'd have to be a long book.

I think I'm an easily-satisfied reader. If I'm entertained, a book is usually 4 stars. This one had the set-up for another 4 star minimum for me: C-drama/wuxia vibes, a complex MMC, a stabby heroine, trials (yes I know there are a TON of trial plotlines in fantasy now but I still eat that up). But Àn’yīng, y'all...I hated her. I could overlook other parts that didn't slap for me, but not her. I'd prefer a book with Yù’chén as the protagonist, though obviously without her as his love interest. Otherwise it'd have to be titled "How to Convince Your Racist Gf to Treat You Like a Human Being and to Not Look at You with Disgust."

Starts off slow but picks up and hooks you by the end!

Thank you Random House Children's and Delacorte Press for granting me an ARC!

5/5! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸

Um, I'm sorry? This book? What? Hello?! Easily one of my top 5 favorite reads of the year. It didn't take much for me to see this cover and know I had to immediately read it. War, demons, deadly trials, romance. What does take much though, is for a book to make me cry. I had all the feels with this. 100% exceeded my expectations and then some.

🐉 What Ya Get:
🪭Deadly trials.
🪭Enemies/rivals to lovers.
🪭Demons/Immortals/Mortals.
🪭Ethereal, dream-like world.
🪭Chinese inspired worlds/mythology.
🪭Forbidden love.
🪭Found family.

🐉 Synopsis/Plot:

After a raging war between the Kingdom of Night and the Kingdom of Rivers that took her father, Àn’yīng now takes care of her dying mother and little sister. With the promise of being granted a pill of eternal life-the one thing that can heal her mother - she enters a deadly competition called the Immortality Trials. In order to compete, she must survive the threatening journey to immoral realm. On her way, she meets Yù’chén, a handsome, secretive man who allies with her for reasons unknown to Àn’yīng. As she begins to realize things aren't what they seem in the immortal realm, she must decide who to trust and how to survive.

🐉 The Characters:

Àn’yīng and Yù’chén were both really amazing characters, and I fell in love with them easily. Àn’yīng is selfless, dedicated and definitely gives off badass FMC vibes. Yù’chén is witty, secretive and sly, and they were both perfect for each other. I loved all the people Àn’yīng gets to meet during the trials, and there's so much character growth throughout the book. Lì’líng, my little white fox, was definitely a favorite.

🐉 The World-Building/Setting:

My favorite part of the entire book! I have yet to read some of Amélie Wen Zhao's other works, but if this is how perfectly descriptive they are, sign me uppppp. What a magical world we've been thrown into. I was literally getting lost in how beautiful everything sounded. The stunning, vibrant wisteria and cherry blossoms, the in mist and filled with lurking demons. So, so good. This was like being in a dream. One you don't want to ever end.

🐉 The Plot/Romance:

I don't even have words for the plot, and the twists that came along with it. I thought I had an idea of where it was going, but I most certainly did not guess the greater bit of things. The last 75% of this book was intenseeee. The whole thing just keeps you wanting more. It never slows down, and is super fast-paced. There's romance, but it isn't the main focus of the book, and definitely doesn't need to be. There's really good tension and banter between Àn’yīng and Yù’chén, and enemies to lovers is definitely present here.

🐉 Final Thoughts:

This book gave so much. It was such a stunning, well-rounded, screw-with-your-emotions kind of book. Everything from the characters to the plot twists, the gorgeous world we're thrown into, the magic, the monsters....it was such a great read. 100% one of my top favorite books of all time. I need the next one to come out ASAP. I definitely look forward to reading more from Amélie Wen Zhao!

💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley, Amélie Wen Zhao, and the publisher for allowing me access to the e-Arc.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I loved the darker tone, trials, and monster halflings. Àn’yīng is a fiercely protective FMC. I would have liked to see her fight alone without the help of the two men who helped her over and over again. I was confused a bit in the beginning with the world-building and understanding of the cast of characters. I would have loved more world-building and interactions with the friends that Àn’yīng made before the trials. I was not expecting that ending. I look forward to reading book 2.

I highly recommend it!

I love a good c-drama and boy did this feel like one! It was so compelling from the very start. The opening chapter hooked me right away! Honestly I was expecting this book to be a love for me because it’s got all the things I love; deadly trails, a mysterious MMC, demons and a FMC I can relate too. However, I feel like the vibrancy of the writing is what really sold this book for me. The author just did such a good job of describing everything that you really feel like you’re standing there in the world experiencing it all..

A great fantasy for cdrama fans. There is a lot here that echoes the epic fantasies found in Asia and I can definitely see where inspiration comes from.

This story specifically I would recommend for fans angsty twisty melodrama. The sort that ups the stakes every chapter in an increasingly dramatic take, but that really puts you through it emotionally. I think if you're looking for a fantasy soap opera in book form you'll find it here.

Thank you to Netgalley and Delacorte Press for sending me an early copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

Who gave this book the right to make me feel the multitude of ways that it made me feel?? Who gave this book the right to be so utterly beautiful in so many ways??

From the start, you are truly drawn into the story and the action. There is no escaping, no reason to because it truly is that good, makes you need to know what is coming next. It's action packed from page one, but then the underlying schemes, the romance, the world itself shine so brightly that there's nothing you want to see more.

And don't get me started on the angst of the book. I am such a sucker for an angsty, tragic backstory love interest, and boy does this book deliver. Just because you know what's coming (in one sense or another), that doesn't make it any easier when it comes time to face the facts. Especially when faced with the facts that you never saw coming at all.

This book is going to take the fantasy world by storm, and I cannot wait to see it happen! I will be anxiously awaiting the next book and trying to not constantly think about this one for days on end!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

For me it was a so, so read. I read it based on the title, cover and description, but it failed to keep my interest.

Seems to need some more editing and word building.

Three stars.

The Scorpion and the Night Blossom took me a few chapters to get into, as there is a bit of world building and politics, but I ended it absolutely enthralled. The character development, story line, and An’ying choosing her destiny.

The last quarter of the book did go by fast for me, and I wish we could have experienced what An’ying’s training was like with Hào’yáng. At the end of the book I am not entirely sure what their relationship is. But Yù’chén?? New favorite shadow MMC. I cannot wait to read how the relationships between the three continue to grow across the battle fields.

This book seemed like a bit of a slow start for me but by the end I couldn’t put it down. Just when I was starting to really love some characters, my heart is ripped out and smashed into the dirt. This book was well written and I need the next one now!

As always, thank you to Net Galley for the free ARC and allowing me to share my thoughts.

Well written characters that do not disappoint. I need book two now! The ending ripped out my heart and I'm not sure what to feel anymore

I will scream on the mountain tops about this book! From the first page, I was absolutely hooked. The world, the characters, and the epic storytelling all blend together to create a thrilling, high stakes romantasy. I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for letting me read Amélie Wen Zhao‘s The Scorpion and The Night Blossom! So so so good! This is my first time reading this author but I’ve been aware of her name for a few years and now I’m sad I haven’t been reading her in those years! Such beautiful writing, impeccable world-building, high stakes romance and betrayals, this book is for anyone who loves a fast-paced fantasy.

This book mixes alot of different things combined. Mythology and Chinese and mystery and drama. I was sucked in at first, then it kinda flipped on me. It kept having what I call flashbacks, which is fine, but somehow I got lost in the story somehow and had to keep going back and re-reading part of it. I enjoyed the story plot, and what the author was trying to say, but it just wasn’t for me. I had too much trouble keeping up with it. It cld be because I’m not so familiar with that culture. I wld like to revisit this book in the future and re-read it and maybe it will hit different for me. I did love the storyline and the world building, it was just how it was executed that got me confused.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Random House for allowing me an ARC!

Fans of Sue Lynn Tan's Celestial Kingdom, this one should be on your radar!

Àn'yīng has spent nearly a decade of her trying to put her life back together. In the wake of a demon killing her father and nearly stealing her mother's soul, Àn'yīng has sought any way to restore her mother to her former self and help her family.

Enter the Immortality Trials held in the Sky Kingdom, the winner will be granted a pill for eternal life and Àn'yīng believes this is the best way to save her mother.

Armed with her blades and her determination, she sets off one night but runs into Yù'chén, a man also on his way to the Trials, and whose fate is so much more entwined with Àn'yīng's than she could ever guess.

This was SUCH a fantastic read, and God I cannot wait for the sequel. I need some answers!

Excellent. The plot was a wonderful blend of the old familiar story line of chosen one in trials meshed with fresh new details and nuance. I enjoyed the characters and I understood their motivations and actions. The incredibly slow burn romance was delicious and spoiler alert, we're set up for a possible love triangle involving estranged half brothers and our FMC in the next book. Absolutely scrumptious. There was great pacing with the action and plot reveals and I can't wait to pick up book 2 when it comes out. I also really enjoyed the foray into Chinese mythology and setting.

This amazing book is the first in a duology by Wen Zhao and it was FANTASTIC. Exactly what I was looking for - a book I could not put down.

Àn’yīng and her family have suffered so much at the hands of the mó, and she needs to step up to the plate and figure out what to do about it. She enters into the Immortality Trials and meets Yù’chén who turns out to protect Àn’yīng at all necessary turns. Sounds like your typical romantasy, right? While that may be true, there is plenty within these pages to make the world of the Kingdom of Rivers new and exciting. Loveable side characters, an enemies to lovers trope, adventure, secrets and lies revealed; it's a smorgasbord of information that drives the plot forward in a fabulous way.

I figured out many of the reveals that are in the last quarter of the book, but that in no way detracted from my enjoyment of this work, nor did it spoil how those things come to light. Wen Zhao has created a book that ticks all of the boxes for what makes a great fantasy, with a realistic heroine to boot. How in the world I'm supposed to wait for a second book is beyond me but it will certainly give me the chance to re-read this one before diving in.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an ARC of this book. It was spectacular.

This book was great! The fantasy world was so well done and it was so fun to read and I could not put it down! Highly recommend!