I've read Kylie Chan's Dark Heavens series and so this world I knew and it was like catching up with old friends with the cast of characters being familiar.

The author is a fantastic writer and and the asian mythology and culture she draws on adds to the richness of this narrative. I'm sure the fact this novel is being released around the Lunar New Year (The Year of the Snake) is not just a coincidence...

I did wonder how a new reader would find 'The Serpent Princess' as an entry point. Simone is a likeable and endearing character and the challenges of finding a 'normal life' would definitely be a challenge for her, especially with her history and family. I was able to ease into this read easily after knowledge of the prior series. I'm not sure if a new reader could.

I really appreciated the Netgalley ARC and I know this beautiful novel (the cover and end papers are stunning!) will sit well next to Kylie Chen's other novels in our library.

I read I think 50% of the book yesterday before DNFing because while I don't mind reading on Kindle, I hate reading on my phone and the option to download on Kindle seemingly wasn't available for this book. Overall it was fine, I liked the story well enough but the format was killing my eyes and made reading this more like a chore than anything else.

Kylie Chan can write anything and I will read it – but amongst all her other series, I’ve been so looking forward to a return to the Dark Heavens universe 😭😭😭😭
Simone’s such a fave since the original series and it’s just absolutely delightful watching her grow up and continue to kick serious ass and also have her outsider’s take on the Emma-John relationship (LMAO because why was I HOWLING when she called out john and emma for their macabre wedding gifts to each other PLEASE-)
AND ALSO HER RELATIONSHIP WITH MICHAEL. I HAVE BEEN CHOMPING AT THE BIT FOR THEM TO FINALLY GET TOGETHER and I can’t give anything away in this review but *insert high-pitched screaming noises and copious amounts of dramatic handwaving as I the reader lie on the ground crying and weeping* the childhood friends to lovers pipeline with a sprinkling of red string of fate/ destined to be soulmates has NEVER hurt this good
Oh and I guess the action plot’s there too 😂 don’t get me wrong, the intrigue and action about the western heavens is executed well, but perhaps simone is just so damn powerful, every fight doesn’t feel very high stakes and I just knew she would win anyway (except the last one at the end, that one did have me a little worried for a minute). And although this is billed as a fresh entry point for new readers, I feel like you would be doing yourself a massive disservice if you didn't do the original series before this one - too much has happened and there are too many nods and callbacks to past events that I suspect will leave a brand new reader feeling a bit lost

Anyways, I am already ready for the next book so please *grabby hands*