The Blood Phoenix - Amber Chen - 5 Stars

I was able to read the uncorrected proof of The Blood Phoenix as an Advanced Reader’s Copy on NetGallery. It is the sequel to Of Jade and Dragons. I am aware there might be changes to the book, though they should be minor. Let’s get into the book with as few spoilers as possible

What did I love about the book? - This time it was a Dual POV between Ying (FMC of the book Of Jade and Dragons) and her younger sister Nian. The book is set two years after the events of the first book. Nian is still not married to Ye-yang, who is now the High Commander of the nine isles. He still only really has eyes for Ying, but takes Nian under his wing. The reasons for which will become evident as the book goes on.

You open in Ying’s POV, giving you a rundown of the last two years and where the war is at. You learn that the piracy in the straits has gotten out of control. The feared Blood Phoenix (the book’s namesake) is the main fear. Ying is engaged, though she and her betrothed both agreed to not go forward with the wedding so they can both have their freedom.

There is a pirate attack on the isle she’s on and Ye-yang comes to get her. You find out that he’s been planning this for a long time. But, Ying goes back to the engineer’s guild to help them come up with a defence for a weapon the pirates have. One their test run, things go bad, and they end up captured on the Blood Phoenix. The goal is to return to Fei so they can take down the pirates. They go through a trial with the pirates, with Ying learning more about the Blood Phoenix and why was really behind the attack at the beginning of the book.

Ying is an unreliable narrator and I love her for that. It keeps me on my toes.

Nian spends most of her time in the palace, befriending Ye-Kan (Ying’s friend from book 1). You can definitely tell there are mutual feelings they won’t act on. During the events of the book, Ye-Kan is put in charge. When this happens, he learns of traitors in their midsts and he and Nian figure it out and are really the ones to save the nine isles. I don’t want to go into too much detail, but Nian’s POV was wonderful every time I was on it! You see the pressures she puts herself under and I just wanted to give her a fist bump and a warm hug.

What didn’t I like about the book? - WHY ISN’T THERE AN EPILOGUE?! WHAT HAPPENED TO YING?! I was under the impression that this was a duology but the ending makes me want more and leaves me with some unanswered questions! I would be happy to get an epilogue to know what happened to Ying and who that engineering master was. I’m hopeful the final product
will have that.

Over all opinion of the book? - This was such a great second book! I loved all the call backs to the first book, which was still fresh for me as I’d only read it in December of 2024. The books is fast paced, but gives a lot of information. I thoroughly enjoyed my read!

This sequel was everything! This takes place two years after the previous book, so some time has passed, and some hurts and wrongs have dulled, or at least Ying thinks they have. And involves our favorites from the previous book, as well as a new POV from Nian, Ying’s younger sister!

I absolutely devoured this book. I loved the first one so much and it ended on a bittersweet note. And I needed to read this sequel while it was fresh in my mind to see how Ying’s story would continue. Plus, pirates!!!

Once again, love this world with its unique machines and airships. Made for a steampunk-like world that I would love to see.

The heartache, the devastating romance, the action, the loss and grief in here was a lot. My emotions were everywhere. Nothing seemed to go right up until the end even.

I loved reading Nina’s POV because she reminds me of myself. She has the more grounded and logical mind and I appreciate how she handled a lot of things that were thrown at her. She was a surprising and lovable character and I adored her relationship with Yekan.

But Yekan is my favorite character so I am biased 🤣 I adore that boy(man? 😆). He was the same as always and him and Nian made for an awesome team 🙌🏻

The romances in here were so different from the other. One was oh so devastating and heartbreaking and I wanted it to work and yet I understood how Ying felt and I was okay with how it may or may not turn out. The other was so hopeful and healthy and lighthearted. And just gave you that happy fuzzy feeling.

The way this ended was once again bittersweet, but I loved it. There are not enough books out there with unique endings like this one. This felt realistic, (to a point I mean it is a fantasy 😆)but even though it put my heart through the ringer, the ending to me was perfect and I’m curious to know if there will be more stories in this world 👀

I highly recommend this duology!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This was a pretty disappointing sequel for me - most of the first 65% felt like randomly chosen filler until it did eventually start to tie into the threads of the first book, but that's far too long to be wondering "what are we doing here?" For it to supposedly be a contained duology, the storyline across the two books wasn't very strong, instead feeling like two separate stories with these characters which both ended in unsatisfying ambiguous endings.

Chen does do a good job with building atmosphere, and readers who enjoy pirate stories will be much more entertained while the plot builds to its climax than I was! Also, Nian and Ye-kan definitely carried this story for me - their plotline was much more of what I was hoping for and expecting from this book, and I really enjoyed their dynamic.

As soon as I got the notification that I was accepted for the eARC, I could not resist and read it immediately. I have been dying to read what happens next from, "Of Jade and Dragons."

What I liked:
1. The story had dual POVs, Jing's and Niang's. It made it more interesting and easier to comprehend what was going on politically with Niang at the palace, while Jing was with the others dealing with the pirates.
2. There was an instance that shocked me but I had a feeling it was going to happen. I hoped it did not. The way Amber wrote it, it was foreshadowing. I was right.
3. The relationship between Niang and Yekan was so comforting. It gave me something to hold on to while Jiang and Ye-yang were killing me with their angst despite their love and yearning for each other.


As much as I love happy endings, I could understand why the author wrote it like that. It is up to you as the reader to decide how to interpret it.

The way Amber Chen writes fantasy is simply stunning. The way empire is interrogated, from the affects of on people as a whole to the affects of singular relationships, all at the same time, was truly incredible. I absolutely adored it.

Though, I will say that I think this would've worked beautifully as a trilogy. I wanted more from certain plotlines, and I would've been so willing to explore them further in another book. There is a lot of room for a spinoff, and I am begging Penguin to buy them.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this ARC.

This book focused more on Nian and Yekan in my opinion which was expected since its start and while I enjoyed this book overall and the development of their relationship, I am left very unsatisfied considering this is a duology and the book ends with an open ending not knowing what becomes of Ying and Yeyang. is Ying alive, is she not? Does she and Yeyang live together the life they dreamed of? It's kinda upsetting shifting the focus to Nian and Yekan and disregarding our two main characters with whom we started this journey to begin with.

On a side note, the mask trick with Monggu was very silly in my opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and PRH for giving me an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review!

1.5 Stars, rounded up to 2.

You ever read a sequel that makes you wish you hadn’t read the first book? Yeah. This was insanely disappointing, given how much I had enjoyed the first book in this series. There was way too much going on, and it barely tied into the first book at all— it’s like the first book was being used as backstory to fuel the plot of this book. In addition, because there was so much going on, it didn’t feel like there were any stakes. One character would go, “Okay, we have to do this thing!” And then ‘Three Weeks Pass,’ “Okay we did the thing!” And that happened multiple times. There was so much time skipping it got disorienting, and, again, ruined any hope of there being meaningful, time-sensitive, stakes. And, once again, the ending! I had gripes about the first book’s ambiguous, cop-out ending— but I gave it some grace because it was only the first in the series. This ending was somehow even worse and MORE ambiguous, and it was supposed to be the end of the series. Part of me honestly wants to go back and edit my review for the first one, just warning people that this series isn’t worth it— don’t waste your time.

This healed my heart, broke it, put it back together again, broke it, and.... I'm not sure what the state of my heart is, only that I'm so glad I read it. There is a death in particular that just BROKE me, and I still can't believe it happened. Also I know the ending is controversial but I thought it was great, almost perfect even. It felt like the right way to end things and to wrap up the main quartet's character arcs.

I love Yeyang and he will always be special to me. I love love love this series.

This was a wonderful ending to a well written duology. I enjoyed getting to see more of the side characters in this book and how all the characters, especially Ying, developed. There were a lot of moving pieces so you definitely need to give this your full attention. In the end everything was nicely wrapped up.

I really enjoyed the first book last year, and had been anticipating this book ever since I finished. I was so extremely ecstatic to receive this arc and whizzed through it so quickly that I stayed up all night reading it(no small feat after a 12 hour shift lol) and thoroughly enjoyed this installment as well! The character development felt stronger than book 1 and it was easy to follow along with book 1 still fresh in my mind. I absolutely adore Ying and loved being in her world again. I am curious though, is there a book 3 coming out soon? Because I refuse to believe I was left hanging for the end. But I guess we will find out soon, for now a solid 4 stars!!!

The way that I immediately dropped everything that I was doing and started this book right away. I could not wait another minute until I read every last page. The first book in the duology left me hanging and starving for more, especially between Ying and Ye-yang. I needed to know what was going to happen between them after not seeing each other for two years. And let me tell you that the build-up, the tension, the angst, and the feels were everything and more! Now, I am left without anything. I don't know what to do. The ending for this duology left me speechless. I just don't know what to do now. I am still in my thoughts and will continue to be so. I have so many emotions, but I don't want to say anything because I don't want to spoil anything. The only thing that I will say is that it definitely outdid itself. It didn't leave me disappointed; it left me wanting more.

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.