Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Teen, and Colored Pages Book tour for the early copy of The Blood Phoenix!

The Blood Phoenix was the perfect follow up to Of Jade and Dragons. It was so lovely getting to be back in this world with my favorite characters Ying, Ye-Yang, and Ye-Kan. We also got to hear from a new POV👀

This book was full of allllll the (good) drama at every turn. All of the characters had to make hard choices at some point. Sometimes it worked out, other times it didn’t. But I think that’s what makes a good story- no character is perfect, and how they deal with adversity is so important.

I loved The Blood Phoenix and can’t wait to read more from Amber Chen🥹💗

The Blood Phoenix picks up 2 years after Of Jade And Dragon ends. Events force Ying to go back to Fei where she teams up with those from the Engineers Guild to save the empire.

Unfortunately, until the 50% mark I was kind of bored. I understand why the first part of the book was there, but it kind of felt like filler. The second half has a lot more action and political scheming, which is why this is a 3 and not a 2. That being said, even in the second half I felt like we were moving on from things very quickly. Something happens and then readers are immediately moved to the next thing without really giving the time to process it. The ending felt rushed and also left it open for future installments, which is interesting considering this is labeled as a duology.

I really enjoyed Nian's chapters and wish we could have spent more time with her. Watching her and Ye-kan's relationship form was really sweet. I would read an entire book on them! I also wish we could have spent more time with the pirates. They were really cool and instead I felt like they were just kind of there on the side to move the plot forward. Which isn't necessarily bad, but spending more time with them would have really enhanced the reading experience. I also HATED Ying and Ye-Yang's relationship. He is extremely toxic and I was never rooting for the two of them to get together.

Overall, I'm glad I read it to know what happens to the characters in this world, but I think the first installment could stand on its own if people don't mind an open-ended conclusion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC for exchange for an honest review!

I had to take a minute to process this book. It is very different from the first with the tone and pacing. this book does add her sister's POV and does bounce between the 2 quite a bit and does jump into the future. I enjoyed Nian's view of the city and the politics and her friendships with those around her. To me it just isn't the same as the fast paced engineering school, academy setting. The story turns into a more action adventure story line which isn't bad it's just wasn't 100% expected.
Ying's character is complex. it was interesting reading her train of thought and loved the love/hate relationship of Ye-Yang and her. the world is expanded on and you learn more about the political.dilemna of everything. The chain of events had me sitting rereading some parts trying to figure out if I actually read it correctly and I love the surprises and twists this story brings. so sad the story is over and would have loved more about this world.

This was a fine book and conclusion to the duology.

I mostly enjoyed book 1 although I didn't really love the ending and this one seems to be no different.

I think when it comes to it, I like the characters that burn the world down for each other, not the ones that make sacrifices for the greater good at the extent of being together. If you can mix those two, then great!

Most of this book, I was annoyed with all the characters as to where their heart lies because it was so obvious to me and the characters just wouldn't speak to each other.

I did like that we also got Nian's POV so we could see more of what was happening.

I'm not satisfied with that ending, but maybe there will be another series set in this world? It seems like it still has places to go.

Thank you to Penguin Teen and Netgalley for the eARC. My thoughts are entirely my own.
finish date: 6/14/25, release date 6/17/25

I absolutely loved this series. I enjoy a lot of YA novela but this one for me was a great read. I loved following Ying's journey. There was so much that she had to discover not only about what happened to her father and the secrets of the guild but about herself as well. This book picks up two years after the first book. Ying has left the guild. I love that I got to learn more about Ying as well as her sister. I thought that the first book had a lot of plot twist in it, but for me that was nothing compared to this book. I definitely recommend everyone read this series. it had good story and character development.

I would like to sue for emotional damage over that ending.
I flew through The Blood Phoenix (after a brief pause to flip through Of Jade and Dragons to remind myself of who Ye-Yang and Ye-Kan were since it’s been a hot minute) and I loved every second of it. Especially the seconds where tears were pouring down my cheeks.
This was a well-done ending to the duology and I am excited to see what Amber Chen has in store next. Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!

Thank to you PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Viking Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I was excited to read the conclusion to this story. Of Jade and Dragons was my first foray into Asian folklore and it hooked me from the start. I loved the characters and their story. I loved the action. It was great to read the conclusion of their story with this title.
This book picks up two years after the first one ends. Ying and Ye-yang are thrown into each other's paths when the mysterious Blood Phoenix pirates attack her new home. She returns to the capital to help secure the palace. She is reunited with her old friends, her sister, and even her brother.
This book is told from the dual POVS of Ying and her sister, Nian. Nian has been promised to the High Commander in marriage. But she doesn't know his past with her sister. Nor does she know him. I liked how she took on a more active role in this book, coming to the aide of so many of the characters and coming into her own romance at the same time. It was lovely to watch that bloom.
Ying continues to struggle with her relationship with Ye-yang. They parted on bad terms and she doesn't think she can forgive him for anything that occurred all those years ago. But she also can't help feeling a pull to him and they slowly rekindle the friendship they had in the first book.
It's hard to review this book without giving away things that happened in the first book as well and spoiling the story to this one. The book has a lot of action and continues to build on the steampunk aspect that was at the forefront of the first book. Ying rejoins her guild friends to help create a vessel to put the pirates out of business.
Chen infuses great action and a nice amount of humor in this book. But she also tackles some hard things like the death of parents and friends. The characters mourn the loss of people but ultimately create strong bonds between them and come together in order to combat the evil that lurks in their mist.
The world building continued to be fun. I loved the water world part of this series. That was something we didn't get much of in the first book. And Chen paces the book perfectly.
If you haven't picked up this series, I highly recommend it. I loved all the new characters she introduced as well as how great it was to reconnect to the characters I already knew. I think Nian was my favorite. Getting to know her more in this book was fantastic and definitely changed my view of her from the first book. And I can see where Chen might write more in this world.
If you're looking for a fantasy steampunk with the back set of great folklore, try this series out!

Amber Chen really pulled my heart out of my chest and crushed it with her bare hands in this one, didn’t she? Forbidden love. Pirates. Incredible feats of engineering. War. And losses so heavy the characters can never recover from them. The ending left me with several questions- what do you mean the story is complete?! In the words of that one stranger things meme, “Papa, more movie!”

The Blood Phoenix starts after a time skip in between it and Of Jade and Dragons. Even though Ying completed the goals she set out to do, she’s run away from the Engineers Guild and the boy she loves. Accepting a betrothal to a childhood friend, she resigns herself to a boring life, but at least she’ll still be able to work on her inventions. That is, until a pirate attack decimates the village she’s staying in, and Ye-Yang appears to bring her back to Fei.

Nian, Ying’s little sister, is trying her best to adapt to palace life. Now that she’s been betrothed to Ye-Yang, she’s far away from home, with no one to talk to save Ye-Kan, the new high commander’s baby brother. When Ying and Ye-Yang disappear after testing a new weapon goes wrong, Nian and Ye-Kan slowly start to uncover a plot against Ye-Yang- and a blooming love for each other.

This fantastic silkpunk fantasy releases on June 17! Thank you to Penguin Random House and Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for my review!

What a great end to this duology! Book one was more dark academia and book two leaned more into the world conflict/adventure story. The second book expanded the universe (and POV's!) and gave us many battles. (And Pirates!)

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an eARC of this book!


Slight spoiler:



I really like it when a story is left just open ended enough that it feels like an HEA but there could still be more written. I would absolutely read a spinoff series.

I got both the first and second books together to review for a blog tour and just...MMMM.

While the first book started to fall flat toward the end, there were a lot of elements I really liked: the Guild, Ying's journey, and the connections she had with her guild mates.

I felt like I didn't get any of that in this sequel book. I spent most of the time frustrated with Ying and her feelings for Ye-Yang, who I ended up really disliking. The relationship was just toxic and unimpressive. Nian's POV was a nice addition, but it wasn't enough to pull me in completely. She just isn't the type of lead I'd follow. Overall, I felt like this book was lacking and the ending felt rather convenient.

Silk-Punk Fantasy, C-Drama, YA Romantasy, Dual POV
3.75 stars

The Blood Phoenix begins two years after Of Jade and Dragons ends, where Ying walked away from Fei and all that had happened before. We catch up with Ying as she's trying to move on with her life and shut out the past. You cannot outrun your past though, and it doesn't take long before Ye-yang makes sure she's right in the middle of everything once again.

As before, her relationship with Ye-yang is complicated and it isn't smooth sailing for them at all. Honesty, their dynamic felt a bit forced and I didn't care one way or the other if they ever got together or not. They simply never felt like a love match, just a toxic attachment.

I enjoyed Nian's POV and storyline more than I did Ying's. Of the two sisters, Nian is far more likeable and easier to emotionally connect with. I loved the way she rose to the challenge of the role she'd been thrust into during Ye-yang's absence. Despite it being a very patriarchal culture where women are subservient, she managed to find her voice and also herself along the way. Her dynamic with Ye-Kan felt very natural and supportive of her in general. Unlike Wes who's more than happy to uphold the archaic culture of woman as subservient to males. (Blech!)

The world building is rich with culture and details, but not excessively so. The multiple plotlines felt a bit convoluted at times, and lagged somewhat towards the end, but overall, the pace flowed. The author deftly weaves the threads of each plotline together creating a YA fantasy full of drama, techno-steampunk type machines and more than a bit of violence and loss. Perfect for readers who enjoy action, adventure, heart-wrenching moments, challenging relationships, forbidden love and nefarious plots.

Thank you to Penguin Teen, NetGalley and Colored Pages BT for the opportunity to read this book! All opinions are my own and are freely given.

3 STARS

Steam-punk fantasy, YA, Dual POV, high stakes

Two years has passed since Ying left Fei and walked away from Ye-yang. Pirates now threaten the oceans, destroying Antaran fleets. As the Nine Isles are threatened by both inside and outside forces, Ying is pulled back to the Engineers Guild. Does Ying have what it takes to turn the tides of the war? What will happen to her relationship with Ye-yang when they see each other again?

I love how much research and culture was put into this book. I also loved that this book was dual POV. It is not too descriptive and the world-building is not too complicated that the intended audience and age range would be lost. I really liked Nian’s character (more than Ying’s). She struggled to balance her duty to her family and her own feelings. I empathize with her position, and I love that she rose to the challenge. I love her romance with Ye-kan, and I think they’d be beautiful together! Ying and Ye-yang, on the other hand, don’t feel as compatible; it felt forced. We know they love each other because it’s what we read, but I don’t FEEL it. They hadn’t spent enough time together in both the first and second books to truly understand one another, so this is mostly where I believe their romance falls short. An-xi and Chang-en’s endings evoked the most emotion of out me. Similarly with some other reviews, I was confused to learn this was a duology. I think it could have benefitted from being spread out more as a triology or four book series. I also feel the ending set up a possible next book or continuation of the series? We, unfortunately, didn’t get closure. I enjoyed the plot in the first book more. However, I did see improvement with Amber Chen’s writing, and I think she has a lot of potential for future works.

Thank you NetGalley and Amber Chen for the opportunity to read this book prior to its release. This is my honest review, and all opinions in it are my own.

Two years after Ying left the Engineers Guild, life appeared peaceful. Her sister Nian lives in the capital, awaiting her marriage to the High Commander. Nian is closest to Ye-kan and has a head for politics and intrigue, but there is a new conspiracy. The Blood Phoenix pirate attacks force Ying back to the capital, and the Engineers Guild to solve the problem. Can they defeat their enemies? And will it be worth the cost?

This is the sequel to Of Jade and Dragons, concluding this silkpunk tale. It absolutely relies on reading the first book to understand the tension Ying has with the Engineers Guild and the central island of Fei. The High Commander is now Ye-yang, and he finds Ying because of her creativity and determination to do good with her work. It's been two years since the close of the first novel, and the war has continued. Refugees are present everywhere, coffers and supplies are strained, and Ying is still hiding from her feelings and the choices they had to make.

Soon after Ying returns to Fei, she learns more about the dangers she had ignored for a time. We also get two threads of story, one for each sister. Nian is the High Commander's fiancée; the marriage was delayed to allow the proper grieving time. She learns a lot about statecraft in this time, and it's what ultimately supports the ruling nobility. Fei is in trouble, with the siblings still jockeying for power in Ye-yang's absence, traitors siphoning supplies and tainting food, and weapons getting funneled out. Ying's thread covers the time she, Ye-yang, and two friends from the Guild are with the pirates that rescued them after a storm swept them out to sea. This period of time challenges Ying's assumptions about the pirates and gives Ye-yang (and us!) more clues regarding the war and who's behind the trouble in Fei.

There is a lot of intrigue in this novel, as well as many thrilling sequences that the sisters go through. While Ying had formal engineering training and is searching for her purpose in the world, Nian is just as clever and protective of those she cares about. She tracks down conspirators and stands up for herself, something I never would have expected given how she was in the first book. The different threads come together well, with secrets revealed and a climactic battle. There is some ambiguity in the ending, which I appreciate. It gives me a little hope about a potential happily ever after, even if the odds aren't good. This is a darker book, given the nature of war and betrayals, and I like having the hope of survival to balance out the deaths we see along the way. Overall, it's an excellent close to the duology.

This was a strong sequel in the Of Jade and Dragons series, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed from previous works from Amber Chen. It uses the silkpunk fantasy element in a way that I was expecting and enjoyed in this world, it continued the storyline perfectly and was glad it was everything that I wanted. I enjoyed getting to read this and look forward to more from the author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
The whole concept of silk punk fantasy was new to me before I read the first book in this series. I’m continuing to love it!

3.5/5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Viking for the opportunity to read an eARC of this title. I was surprised by how much I liked the first book of this duology, Of Jade and Dragons, but I didn't find The Blood Phoenix as engaging as the first book. Of Jade and Dragons felt very purposefully executed, while The Blood Phoenix felt like it could have been developed a bit more. I really liked it up until about the 60-65% mark, then it felt like it kind of petered out and the ending was a bit lackluster. I do appreciate that the author didn't take the predictable route with the ending though. Overall I am glad that I read this book and I think a lot of people will enjoy it, and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy

The Blood Phoenix by Amber Chen is a third person dual-POV YA fantasy sequel to Of Jade and Dragons. Ying, Nian, and Ye-yang’s story continues as we pick up two years after where we left off: Nian and Ye-yang are engaged and Ying and Ye-yang are still pining for each other but Ying won’t let the engagement be broken. But pirates are right around the corner and Ying still hasn’t gotten vengeance for her father’s murder.

Of the two POVs, I found myself preferring Nian’s. This go around, Nian is moving through the world as an engaged young woman who has finally realized her fiancee does not love her and now she’s falling in love with his brother. She has responsibilities put on her as Ye-yang’s fiancee, responsibilities that should belong to his wife, and she fulfills them all while coming to terms with her new feelings and the romance between her sister and fiancee. There is a ton of emotional maturity in her arc and also vulnerability. It’s not the main storyline, but it does carry much of the emotional depth.

Technically, the term ‘silkpunk’ was not created to describe ‘steampunk-style ideas in an East Asian-inspired world,’ but that is what the term has come to mean for many people (Ken Liu has admitted to basically creating the term to draw a box around his own book and that he doesn’t consider the term to be synonymous with Asian-inspired fantasy). In terms of the popular definition, I think the worldbuilding really hits and does contain some aspects of what Ken Liu uses to describe silkpunk in his own words, namely the way the technology borrows from the natural world, such as ships being inspired by whales. Regardless of where you sit in how this term should be used, I think it is a strong YA representation of what it could be.

Ying and Ye-yang are still having a lot of issues, namely because Ying doesn’t feel like she can trust him. Of all the characters, he’s perhaps the most frustrating but he also is responsible for a lot of the plot and how certain things in the world are moving. I totally understand why Ying struggles with her feelings for him and I probably would as well if I was in her shoes, especially if I felt like every time I let someone in, it seemed like something new comes up that feels like I was lied to or tricked.

I would recommend this to fans of YA fantasy inspired by Chinese history and readers of YA looking for engineering characters and creative technology

The Blood Phoenix is the follow up to Of Jade and Dragons. I enjoyed the first book and pleased when I received the eARC for the sequel.

This book starts a couple of years following the end of the first book and Ying is engaged to someone new while living away from Fei. She is still processing the events of the first book and her relationship with Ye-Yang and her sister Nian. I loved how much we got to see of Nian and honestly, those chapters were my favorite in the book. The Blood Phoenix takes a different path from the first book and we see Ying going against a new enemy which are pirates and although that storyline was fun, I felt like I was reading a completely different story as opposed to a conclusion in a duology.

Despite being a concluding book, the ending felt open and there were a lot of questions I feel that went unanswered.

Although this may not be the book for me, I think YA fantasy readers would enjoy this.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Amber Chen, and Netgalley for this eARC!

This was a solid ending for the Fall of the Dragon duology, however I enjoyed the Of Jade and Dragons more. The silkpunk aspect and focus on engineering was still very strong, but then it somehow turned into a Pirate adventure?

The pacing felt a bit all over the place so I found myself not wanting to pick this one up very much. I understand this is a YA Fantasy, however, things kept being a bit *too* convenient for our characters in many instances. The last quarter definitely did all the heavy lifting getting the story back on track.

I saw that quite a few people had an issue with the ending. However, I feel that it was fitting. There were just too many unresolved issues with the main male and female of the series from book one that if it had ended another route, it would've probably made me angry. This series could've definitely benefitted in being a trilogy. Unless the author has another duology planned in this world? We'll just have to see.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the eARC.

Okay, I'm very confused. That ending was not satisfying at all. I feel like there should be a third book. The story does not feel finished to me. I really liked the first book, and it took me a while to get into this one, but then I did, but now I feel a bit betrayed and unsatisfied.