A young woman who wields the unimaginable power of the dragon spirit must decide who to support—and who to love—in this enthralling fantasy that reimagines the legend of Mulan.
The explosive sequel to The Night Ends with Fire!
The war may be over, but Hai Meilin is still paying a heavy toll. In spite of securing victory for the kingdom of Anlai, she is imprisoned upon her return. Her crime? Wielding a sword as a woman.
In the palace, Meilin is an outcast and a social pariah. But beyond the imperial walls, the legend of the woman warrior has taken on a life of its own. To the east, a new rebel leader needs Meilin to helm his people’s revolution. In the south, a former enemy prince, now a prisoner of war, seeks Meilin’s aid in restoring balance to the Three Kingdoms. And back home in Anlai, Liu Sky, Meilin’s commander and first love, requires Meilin by his side in his bid for the throne.
Pulled in all directions by those who seek to use her for their own ends, Meilin vows that this time, she will not be so quick to trust. Yet there is one she cannot help but listen to—for he dwells within her.
Beyond any human machinations, the sea dragon Qinglong has his own plans for the spirit realm. During the last war, Meilin wielded his power to cheat death and attain victory for Anlai; now the dragon has come to collect his dues. Meilin’s mother warned her long The spirits demand blood. And Qinglong is ravenous.
The explosive sequel to The Night Ends with Fire!
The war may be over, but Hai Meilin is still paying a heavy toll. In spite of securing victory for the kingdom of Anlai, she is imprisoned upon her return. Her crime? Wielding a sword as a woman.
In the palace, Meilin is an outcast and a social pariah. But beyond the imperial walls, the legend of the woman warrior has taken on a life of its own. To the east, a new rebel leader needs Meilin to helm his people’s revolution. In the south, a former enemy prince, now a prisoner of war, seeks Meilin’s aid in restoring balance to the Three Kingdoms. And back home in Anlai, Liu Sky, Meilin’s commander and first love, requires Meilin by his side in his bid for the throne.
Pulled in all directions by those who seek to use her for their own ends, Meilin vows that this time, she will not be so quick to trust. Yet there is one she cannot help but listen to—for he dwells within her.
Beyond any human machinations, the sea dragon Qinglong has his own plans for the spirit realm. During the last war, Meilin wielded his power to cheat death and attain victory for Anlai; now the dragon has come to collect his dues. Meilin’s mother warned her long The spirits demand blood. And Qinglong is ravenous.
Title: The Dragon Wakes With Thunder (The Night Ends With Fire #12)
Author: K.X. Song
Publisher: Ace
Expected Publication Date: August 19, 2025
Review:
Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group/Ace 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 see where the second installment of this book would take me. You definitely must read the first to even understand what is happening with this one. It picks up right where the last book left off with Mei being held as a prisoner for her magical powers.
This one felt even slower than the first book. I truly thought it would pick up a bit with everything that finally happened at the end of book 1, but it really didn't. I felt like the story dragged and Mei kept finding herself right back where she began at the beginning of this book.
Her relationship with Sky doesn't change much. He tells her many times he loves her but I never really felt it, to be honest. And it was hard to gauge how she truly felt about him. Overall I found him insufferable more than anything else and I just wanted him to be gone.
The politics of the many brothers was interesting. This book definitely dove more into that and explained it.
The love triangle was predictable since the first book had alluded to it. But I couldn't really get behind either of the love interests to be honest.
The pacing was super slow. I kept having to put the book down to gear up for reading it again. At times I was falling asleep. I so wanted to love it but I just couldn't force myself to. Where was the emotional pull I felt in the first book? The momentum? It was so stagnant.
I found myself skimming the book after the halfway mark just so I could be finished with that. Unfortunately, this one was just not for me.
Author:
K. X. Song is a diaspora writer with roots in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Raised between cultures and languages, she enjoys telling stories that explore collective memory, translation, and the shifting nature of history. Her debut young adult novel, An Echo in the City, won the Freeman Book Award and was named a Best Book of 2023 by the Financial Times, Kirkus Reviews, and the Chinese American Librarians Association. Her debut fantasy novel, The Night Ends With Fire, was an Indie Next Pick and an instant New York Times, USA Today, and a #1 Sunday Times bestseller. Her writing has been published in The Guardian and The Los Angeles Review of Books, among other places. She currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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