This was such a lovely sequel! I loved diving back into this world to see what happens next with our favorite characters.

I have been looking forward to this book for so many months and was so glad to have the opportunity to read this early! I cannot wait to be able to talk with everyone else about the story and how things are continuing with this series!!!

I love love loved this sequel. I always worry with amazing first books that the sequel won't live up to it but THIS ONE DID!

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025, and i think i gave it too high of expectations. this was not giving the same feelings that the first book did. there were so many new characters added to this book without a chance to get to know them. they have one scene, then they’re predominantly mentioned in dialogue from then on out. it became near impossible to remember every character because I never got the chance to truly know them. Therefore, I couldn’t find myself interested in the book.

Even my favorite part of book one- Ying & Ye-yang’s relationship- didn’t give me the same feelings. my one suggestion is that the author should do something to distinguish the difference between Ying & Nian’s povs at the beginning of the chapters. like, put their name next to their chapter or change the banner. something. because it is super disorienting trying to figure it out, especially in the beginning of the book. all around, I’m grateful for my NetGalley copy, but i wish it ended differently.

Two years after leaving behind the Engineering Guild and Ye-yang, Ying finds herself thrust back into her old world when a pirate attack completely upends her new life and results in the death of her new fiancée. Returning to the capital is hard, with her sister wngaged to Ye-yang and her friends still feeling betrayed by the fact thag she left. But the hardest part is her feelings for Ye-yang haven’t changed; they were just buried. As they all work together to end the pirate scurge and doge political assasinations they discover that there might have been a traitor among them all along.

The action and engineering here was creative and exciting as usual. Sadly my problem came from the romantic subplot. I adored the growing romance between Ye-kan and Nian. They were absolutely sweet and perfect for each other. My problem was that Ying kept herself in this viscous cycle of “I love him, but he’s betrayed me, but I love him, but we cannot be together…” it felt very repetitive and irritated me. I was glad they pretty much worked it out in the end but honestly do not understand how this can be a duology when the ending was left unresolved.

Overall I enjoyed the book, even with the repetitive romantic drama, and am left wondering if maybe there will be more of Ying and Ye-yang’s story to come.

I love a good girl-power tale, and The Blood Phoenix continues in the mode set by Of Jade and Dragons with Ying's masterful engineering and inventing skills but added in the mix is her sister Nian who is clever in her own ways and then there is an all-female crew of pirates, brewing tea and adventure on the seas. Set two years after the first book of this duology, two years after Ying has left the capitol and seemingly settled into a quiet life in a seaside village away from friends, family, and Ye-yang, the new High Commander comes calling and she is swept back into the world she left behind. Meanwhile, her sister, Nian, is still betrothed to Ye-yang and has developed a strong friendship with Ye-kan. The story is packed with action, from developing amphibious craft for the engineering guild to adventuring with pirates and dealing with usurping princes, Ying and Nian are kept busy. You almost forget that there is a romantic subplot brewing. This was an entertaining read up to the end, but the ending made me question if there isn't more of Ying and Ye-yang's story left to tell. Readers who liked the first book in this series will surely enjoy this continuation.
I received access to this eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Penguin Young Readers Group, Viking Books for Young Readers) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.