Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the early review copy of this book. These opinions are my own.

My Unhinged and Messy Thoughts
This is being marketed as a YA fantasy, however, there is very adult content in it. There is spice and I found it jarring due to the fact it is being included in the YA sub for Fairyloot. Also, the characters are a bit older than the typical YA characters. Otherwise, the story was fantastic. There is a Mulan moment, if you liked that movie! I thought the concept was very unique and the writing was well done. I did find the random Chinese in it to be an odd choice though.

In Conclusion
As this does end in the middle of a story, I will be sure to pick up the next one!

This book had a really intriguing start, and I was excited to see where the story would go. The premise, especially the backdrop of war, caught my attention early on. As the plot progressed, it leaned more into political intrigue than I expected, which isn’t really my preference. I also struggled to connect with the love interests, and found myself hoping Fei would have a bigger moment of growth or revelation that never quite came. It felt more like a setup for a future installment than a complete arc on its own. While it didn’t work for me personally, I can see others enjoying it—especially if you like slow-burn political tension and character-driven plots.

The conflict between duty and desire to be free and independent shines throughout this story that is essentially what if Mulan had to choose between Li Shang and Shan Yu, oh, and Shan Yu just so happened to be a vampire. It’s a lot more complex than that, but it gets the gist of the vibes down. Each time I picked this up I didn’t want to stop reading and only did so because I had to work or no longer could read at the time.
Fei is a fantastically smart and strong FMC and knows that both men that are vying for her heart and her hand in marriage are not what she needs to keep her independence. I am really hoping she keeps her fierceness as the story develops and nothing drives her into either of their arms as neither man is quite as good as they would like to present themselves.

I really enjoyed To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods, but I think I fell for this story even more.

4.5 stars rounded up

Thank you to @getunderlined @randomhousechildrens for this eARC. All thoughts are my own.

Such a wild, whirlwind novel!

This book was honestly not at all what I was expecting. Several things were at play in this book. There was the two love interest, forced proximity, morally grey vibes, and some other tropes sprinkled throughout. I definitely think this book had some very strong points, but it wasn't without its faults.

I thought the pacing was fairly consistent which was refreshing. I also really enjoyed the Mulan vibes, mainly cause I wasn't expecting it. Fei was a very intriguing character to follow. She was very much out of the mold, and she seemed to change and grow dynamically throughout the story. Where we left her character in the end makes me very excited to see what we will see from her in the next book. She was fearless, and her growth and maturity really captivated me into her story.

However...the love "triangle" was not for me. Mainly cause once again, it's not a true love triangle. Option one was very meh to me. He was giving Gale from the Hunger Games vibes but more in the sense of thinking he "deserved" her love if that makes sense. Now don't get me wrong, both of the love interests had their flaws. Neither of them are stellar options. They both have this trait of "claiming" Fei and that was giving me the ick. I was almost rooting for her to pick herself if it came down to it. But as for option two, if I had to pick one or the other, I would pick option two. He was the more morally grey, book boyfriend material. But he still wasn't giving me the energy to like 100% back him. I'll be interested to see how it plays out in the future books. But even more so, I'm wanting to know more about Yexue and the vampires. I still have so many questions about that, and I can't wait to read more.

Overall, this book was fun. It was an easy read, and I found it enjoyable and easy to understand. I would recommend this book to readers looking for a fantasy book that gives the vibes of Mulan, Helen of Troy with a twist of vampires.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating: 4.5/5

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC

4/5 Stars

The Nightblood Prince started out a little slow but as we got further into the plot, things really picked up. All of the characters are compelling and interesting, though I definitely wish we had more of Yexue and his dramatic sass. There were a few choices I wish we got more context around but my frustrations were eased towards the end of the book as we see certain dynamics change.

The political aspects were interesting to see through Fei's eyes and how she navigated everything that was thrown at her, and what she inserted herself into. I assume there must be a second book in the works (or at least I really hope there is) and I am very intrigued and ready for the next part of the story.

This is a fantasy romance about a woman who yearns to control her own destiny despite the prophecy that has defined her life. She is torn between two princes trying to understand how the prophecy could lead to massacre of her people or peace. The story contains powerful discussion on the impact of war and women’s role in society.

I enjoyed the storyline. I found the fantasy elements interesting and fun. There are a few character interactions that were unbelievable that took me out of the story example: a tyrannical emperor who lets her out of an engagement after being asked by his son twice . Overall, these didn’t stop me from enjoying the novel. The romance is appropriate for mid-/ older- YA.

✧ Thank you to Netgalley, and Molly X. Chang for providing me with an ARC of this novel and giving me the opportunity to review it honestly! ✧

⭐️⭐️⭐️

3/5 stars

—

<i>”Empires rose, and empires fell. Life bloomed, then life withered. Nothing was eternal. Not even the greatest dynamics the continent had ever seen.”</i>

<b>summary:</b>

<i>The Nightblood Prince</i> centers itself around a girl who was blessed by fate at birth to be the empress of all empresses, cursed to only be destined to be the wife of the emperor or all emperors. The will of the fates have hovered above Fei her entire life, which has only ever resulted in her confined lifestyle. Found as a baby by the Emperor and taken from her family so that his son could be destined to be the emperor from the prophecy, she has only ever known life within palace walls.

Raised in the palace completely alone, beside the companionship of her intended, the crown prince of the most powerful empire in their known land. Siwang dotes on her, as her only friend in the kingdom, no one has ever seen a prince dote on a girl as much as he dotes on Fei, but he is not able to grant her greatest wish. Despite all his kindness, the prince is known to have a darker side to him, possessive and protective of Fei. Her position frightens those around her, other members of the palace either deem her unfit to be the empress, or they are too scared of retaliation from the crown to get close to her. Selfish and at times cruel, Siwang knows his lot in life, and intends to see it through so that he may complete the prophecy as his father always intended for him.

Being the most powerful empire in their kingdom does not change the desire for rebellion; as upset rises in the neighboring kingdom, Fei becomes restless to gain her freedom and attempt to escape the bloody visions that she has been having every night when she lays her head down. When the opportunity to gain the Emperor’s wish, she does not hesitate, but when she runs into the captive prince from the rival kingdom during his own escape, everything as she knows it starts to shift. Shocked by the similarities between herself and the strange magic that Yexue possesses, she knows that the future will not be as certain as she was wishing it would be when she is finally able to leave.

Two kingdoms, two princes, and a prophecy that Fei can’t seem to outrun no matter what she does.

<b>notes:</b>

<b>slight spoiler talk!</b>

Let me start off by saying that I generally enjoyed this book, it was a quick read with some fun characters. The descriptions of the land and the visions could have been done a bit better but no glaring issues, with scenes cutting in and out of what was reality and what Fei had seen with her sight into the future. I am hoping that the relationships in this story will be flushed out a bit more in the books to come (fingers crossed). This story reminded me a lot of others I have read/watched in the past, which is probably why I enjoyed parts of the story, but because of that a lot of it felt like deja vu of things I have already experienced. There’s one scene that is essentially a direct copy and paste of Mulan leaving for the war, completely obvious it was going to happen, but sure.. Go right ahead.

Rich culture, mythology, and story telling that I want more of! More depth more explanation into those things and really tying them into the story at every turn, you could certainly feel it in every scene already I am just greedy and want even more of it because I enjoyed it so much.

There were certainly some errors and some pieces of dialogue that felt unnatural, moments where emotions cut corners and became brash very quickly without natural build. This story fell victim to repeating dialogue, there were some scenes where it felt like entire sentences were completely copied and pasted later down the page, which is completely frustrating but I can give the benefit of the doubt.

The magic system is fun, the comparison between Fei And Yexue I found to be compelling, as her magic is based in visions of the fate of others, and Yexue comes in and seems to be able to bend fate to his own will with his own magic. Fei is sort of wishy washy about her feelings, and seemed to contradict herself quite a lot when it comes to her thoughts and actions about these men.

I don’t know if I care for either of the princes, they are both incredibly selfish/vain even if their words are saying something different. Their actions are consistently self serving, even when Siwang says that he acts for Fei. Both are controlling and uncaring about the opinions of others — when it comes down to it, they will be self serving at every turn. Naturally, I root for the polar opposites, but I haven’t read a story with a love triangle in a while, so I am interested to see if it is indeed going in that direction or if we are going down a course that will take me by complete surprise! The writing and relationships need to be flushed out, and the actions of the men need to change if I am supposed to truly root for either of them in the long run. I think both have a lot of potential for me to root for one or the other! (But I know who I will be rooting for in the end.. sorry!)

When all is said and done, not a ton happened, at least no major resolution to anything that happened, but it’s the first book of a series so that can get a pass as it’s a lot of set up for the rest of the story.

Incredibly quick book, really easy to digest, and I will await the next few to read those as well!


— Review posted to Goodreads

Really liked the book. Really enjoyed the chinese proverbs in the book. Did not enjoy the Mulan retelling as much as it is a common trope right now.

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

The Nightblood Prince by Molly X. Chang is a first person-POV YA fantasy inspired by Imperial China that reads like a C-drama. As a baby, Fei was predicted to become the empress of all empresses, which leads the emperor to engage her immediately to his son Siwang but there’s another prince who is competing for her hand, Yuxue.

I know the marketing for this is Romantasy, but I did not get Romantasy from this. Most of the development of feelings seems to happen either off-page or is already established and we go for very long stretches without seeing either of the love interests. I think this is more of a C-drama in book form that, yes, part of the plot is driven by romantic rivalry, but isn’t really seen on page in the way that I expect of a Romantasy. I find this to be similar to Molly X Chang’s previous book, To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods, where a romance does exist, but the actual story itself is more interested in being deeply introspective and exploring a specific character within a situation rather than the romance. In my book, that is not a Romantasy, it is a character-driven fantasy.

Also like To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods, this feels more like a prologue book with a lot of set-up. Because we don’t yet have the sequel to TGUWG, I’m not sure what the pay-off is going to be like in the second books, but I feel I have a strong idea of what first books in a series look like for Molly X Chang. I think if a reader really enjoys her writing style, The Nightblood Prince is going to satisfy them. If a reader didn’t enjoy her style in TGUWG or the prologue book feeling, I would give this a pass.

This moves at a fairly slow pace in terms of story but is a reasonably quick read. Multiple chapters are only a few paragraphs long and at 60 chapters long, it is pretty easy to get through in a couple hours. It’s a short read for readers who like a slower feeling to their books.

I would recommend this to fans of YA fantasy that has deep character introspection and fans of C-dramas looking for a YA fantasy that is also a character study

⚔️The Nightblood Prince⚔️

After really enjoying Molly X. Chang’s debut last year I was excited to get an opportunity to read an advanced copy of her upcoming book, The Nightblood Prince! This is the first book in what I’m assuming will either be a duology or a trilogy.

The Nightblood Prince was a book I was easily drawn into. Fei is a strong female lead who although she was raised to fulfill a prophecy, she decides to try to claim her freedom and forge her own path. She was a character I could easily find myself rooting for. There is a bit of a love triangle but it isn’t over the top and worked for the story. The romance aspect of the story was on the lighter end of the scale in my opinion. Both princes are quite morally grey and are villain’s in each other’s stories. I found Siwang to be kind of boring, and found Yuexe far more interesting.

I liked that I found the story fairly unpredictable and it broke away from the cookie cutter that I’ve found present in a lot of the “romantasy” I’ve read lately. I was quite pleased with how it ended and am curious to see where it will go next.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read and I look forward to what will come next!

Thank you to @penguinrandomhouse & @netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. The Nightblood Prince is out on July 1st!

⭐3.5/5 stars⭐

This book fully had me in a chokehold. It’s giving royal court drama, forbidden magic, war, monsters, and a prophecy that never lets anyone breathe. I’m usually not a love triangle girlie, but it actually worked here — probably because both love interests are villains in different fonts. One’s wounded ego personified, the other is morally grey with just enough mystery to make me feral (if you know, you know). Fei is such a powerful main character — constantly pushed around by the world but never backing down, not even from the gods. That said, this is very much a first book energy situation. It builds a lot, hints at a ton, but leaves you knowing there’s way more to come — especially with Yexue and the whole vampire situation. I’m stressed, intrigued, and absolutely coming back for more.

This book disappointed me.

Going in I was expecting a gripping fantasy with tension—because what’s a love triangle without tension? I usually eat up love triangles despite majority of the book community hating it, but a love triangle where both of the men are idiots, possessive, controlling, lack critical thinking skills aren’t my thing.

98% of this book is repeated conversations just in different places. All of part 1 was just Fei going on about how the men are so controlling and at first I was like “Okay, hope the men get what they deserve at the end!” Basically, thought the men would get justice for being sexist when instead we get Fei falling for a guy who also wanted multiple women and a man who literally controlled her feelings about him. Also, both claim they waged the war (because of courts they have to be enemies on opposite sides of a war) because of Fei when all she asked was for them to stop fighting. They’ve killed hundreds but when Fei asks for them to raise the white flag of surrender they say they’re fine with literally doing anything but what she wants? No.

No idea how these men survived the Earth so long but hope Fei doesn’t end up with either of them.

I wanted to like this book, but I couldn't. The beginning was really good. It flowed well and kept me intrigued. But before part 1 ended, the tone shifted, the pacing slowed, and the characters were just 1D. I wanted to like Fei for seeming so strong willed, but when it came to action there was none. She was detached even from her sister who she has such a close relationship with. I also got she didn't want to marry the Crown Prince because of her status, but at the same time she had no real plans or dreams. With her alone, it was hard to follow along and maybe it was just me. I was told it is Helen of Troy meets Mulan, but there was no such promise shown sadly.

Tropes include:
Chosen One Main Character
Villain love interest
Fated destiny
Morally gray (kind of)
Enemies to lovers (kinda)

FABULOUS. From page one, “The Nightblood Prince” grabbed me by the throat and never let go. I resented every time I had to put this book down and ultimately stayed up stupidly late to finish it. This is exactly the kind of emotional intensity I chase when reading.

With marketing promises like “two villainous love interests” and “unique vampires,” I was initially skeptical that “The Nightblood Prince” would be any more than a cheap mashup of popular tropes. But Molly X. Chang absolutely blew me away with her gorgeous writing, her layered characterizations, and the way she approached those popular tropes. Plot points like love triangles and chosen ones can become so cheesy and hackneyed, but Chang brought phenomenal freshness and nuance to these storytelling elements — i.e., her hilarious twist on the “only one bed” trope, or Siwang’s perfectly executed, incredibly compelling dark streak that had me shivering. At times, Fei was almost an annoying “not like other girls” main character (“Poor me, I was raised in luxury and a handsome prince adores me, I just want to be freeeeeee!”) but Chang grounded Fei by making it abundantly, bone-chillingly clear why she should want to escape her gilded cage. I especially appreciated that the “Mulan” elements didn’t come until well into the book, after I’d spent significant page time watching Fei struggle and change. Chang didn’t tell me that Fei is a badass runaway princess, she showed me, and I adored Fei for it.

Also, the love triangle — THE LOVE TRIANGLE. It’s such a rare love triangle that has me genuinely torn between the two love interests for so long, and so completely convinces me that, yes, this girl actually is special enough for two powerful princes to be warring over her. Siwang and Yexue both had compelling reasons for pursuing Fei, and I loved how slowly and subtly Chang established that tension. She spent real time building the relationships between Fei and Siwang and Yexue, didn’t even bring Yexue fully into the picture until over halfway through the book, and that effort paid off enormously, as evidenced through my repeatedly flushed face and pounding heart. THAT is how you do romantic tension. THAT is how you do villainous love interests.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS: Where this book lost some ground for me was towards the end, when Siwang and Yexue started to feel a little Tamlin and Rhysand-esque, respectively. I would’ve loved to see Chang keep Siwang and Yexue on similar moral ground, rather than engaging in Yexue apologetics. But I also recognize that Chang was trying to resolve the love triangle, at least to some extent, and that Fei needed solid reasons to start walking away from one man or another.

There were also a few timeline things that could’ve been clearer. i.e., at one point, there was no explanation for how two characters got to a particular place or how long it took to travel there, they were just suddenly there, and it threw me off a bit.

Overall, though, WOW, I am OBSESSED, and I’m so excited to know that book two is in the works. Huge thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC — I’ll definitely be buying a hard copy for my shelves!

“I was the Empress-to-be, but an Empress still had to bend to the will of a man.”

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read this eARC and give my honest thoughts!

This is a YA fantasy that honestly reads more like an adult fantasy. I loved the topics and themes in this book: prophecies and how they can shape lives in good and bad ways, being a woman in a world ruled by men, and consequences of our choices. This is also more of a political fantasy and it has a love triangle between the three main characters that have their own flaws and motivations.

I am a self-proclaimed lover of the love triangle trope - it has always been one of my favorites and I honestly really enjoy when they are written well. I liked that this one was messy, and by messy, I mean that our girl Fei is waffling between the two main men and still trying to figure out how she feels about them with all their good points and deep flaws. Fei herself is just trying to live her own life out from under the rule of men and this causes a lot of drama as you can imagine!

I am excited that there will be a second book because I really want to see how the rest of this story develops! If you are in the mood for East-Asian political fantasy with interesting characters, feminine rage, and ancient creatures/prophecies, then you need to pick this one up!

Thank you to publisher Random House and NetGalley for an eARC.

2.5/5 stars rounded up

This one just wasn't for me. I'm a big character reader, and when I can't get into the characters I struggle. Neither love interest is a good person, nor do they deserve Fei. I'd rather see her kick them both to the curb and find someone else, or just be alone. Fei's relationship with her family was strange. She has spent minimal time with them, but there is no resentment when their life circumstances change and in a short period of time they seem to know each other so well. I almost set it down at the beginning. I prefer my social commentary to have nuance and for us to see it within the world. We are pretty much bashed over the head with the social commentary in this one. We 'see' a small amount of war and misogyny but mostly we are just told about it. I certainly understand Fei's anger and resentment with her place in the world but I started to get a bit numb to it after a while.

Fei was born with a birthmark and a prophecy: she will one day become the Empress of Empresses. Immediately betrothed to the Crown Prince of the Empire of Rong, Fei longs to escape her fate and choose her own destiny. On a royal hunt, Fei escapes with the intent of slaying a rare tiger and thus winning a wish from the Emperor to cancel her betrothal, but unexpectedly saves the life of a captive prince trying to escape.

I was not a fan of To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods, so I went into this with low expectations and really enjoyed it. We have a fairly standard xianxia setup with a number of fantasy tropes. However, the book deliberately plays around with these tropes. There’s a love triangle here, but both princes are not portrayed well and Fei sees through a lot of their BS. Fei falls into a sort of Mulan subplot but quickly deviates from the standard storyline. My favorite is how the book portrays the one bed trope.

There’s also a lot of truly excellent feminine rage here (“You will not blame this war on me, Rong Siwang. You will not blame your selfish wants on me.” and “What if I don’t want to endure?”). I think this is something we don’t see often enough with heroines pulled in all directions by forces outside of their control, especially the so-called romantic interests.

Altogether, it’s a trope-conscious, entertaining story that I enjoyed far more than To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods. In fact, I think this might be my favorite xianxia style novel so far. Some readers will probably enjoy it as a standard romantasy, but it’s more than that.

It appears to be the first in a planned trilogy. My kingdom for more standalones!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion!

Young adult isn't usually my cup of tea, but I think Molly X. Chang is absolutely brilliant so getting approved for this book made me so happy. What made me even happier: this book is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good!!! I really enjoyed all of the characters, especially our FMC, Fei. There were definitely some Mulan vibes with certain regards to different parts of the story, I did also really enjoy there being Vampires and other magical vibes. The love triangle wasn't cringey either, which is very hard to pull off! Overall, I think that this is going to be a hit when it's published and can't wait for more!

I unfortunately cannot make myself read any further. The premise of this book is very interesting. But I can't keep reading if Fei is going to constantly talk about how she is a victim. I like my main characters to be strong, and maybe Fei finds that later in the book, but all I've read so far is how picked on she is, and how disgusting men are. I will not be posting about it on my socials, because I DNF'ed the book, and I don't want to discourage people from at least trying it. But I know this book is not for me. Thank you for the opportunity to read an early copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
The Nightblood Prince is the first book in a new series by Molly X. Chang. This book follows Li Fei who all she wants is to be free of her engagement to the crown prince of the realm, Siwang. When she goes out to hung a difficult tiger to bargain for her release from the engagement, she finds herself in the presence of a rival prince from another kingdom.
Thankfully, there is already a review on here that lays out the issues I have with this book. Please check out Jenny's review here. This review goes into great detail and highlights the same issues I had with this book.
I only gave this book three stars because I think there was potential here but it was not met what so ever. A lot of people seem to love this book already from the ARC's they read so I could see this working for other people. However, it did not work for me.
First off, this book needs a copy editor to go over this. Time has literally no meaning in this book. There is one point where the FMC is given seven days to leave and the math she does just does not add up. As Jenny said in their review, one part there is a message sent, via horseback rider, and weapons are made and sent back to the front within three days. The time just makes no sense. There is also a lot of inconsistency not just with time line but with even where characters are standing or who is in what scene.
The characterization in this actually drove me a little crazy. The "yes I love him, no I don't" that Fei went through constantly drove me absolutely mad. She didn't show herself to be a capable fighter or hunter but told us she was all the time. I just didn't see what was being claimed laid out on the page. One of the biggest issues I had is actually a spoiler which I will pt in a spoiler wrap here. The fact that we find out the Yexue is coercing Fei to feel things for him due to his blood being in her body really disturbed me. I felt as if that was non-consensual and I hated that it was used to make it seem like they 'felt" something for each other.
I do recognize that English is not Molly X. Chang's first language and I do have to commend her for writing a book in a language she is not as familiar with. However, I do think the editors need to go through and fix some grammatical problems before the bopok goes to print. I also liked hte use of Chinese characters used in the book but the way they were incoporated felt really disjointed and needs to be blended in better.
There are those who love this book and I love that for them. However, it just wasn't for me and I can't see myself recommending it. But if the premise interest you and you want to give it a shot I say go for it.