The sequel to Of Jade and Dragons, a thrilling and epic silkpunk fantasy inspired by the legendary Qing dynasty. Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Lim and Xiran Jay Zhao.
Two years after Ying leaves the Engineer’s Guild and the ghost of her father’s unjust death behind, life seems to regain a semblance of normalcy. But the winds of unrest continue to stir within the Nine Isles, and the aftermath of a horrific pirate attack by the mysterious Blood Phoenix fleet forces Ying back into the tense political world of the new High Commander, Ye-yang. And soon, Ying, Ye-yang and her former friends from the guild must work together to find a way to outsmart the cunning pirates who terrorise the straits—and the elusive mastermind who’s controlling them.
Meanwhile, Ying’s sister, Nian, now lives in the capital, awaiting the day she will finally marry the High Commander. While her relationship with Ye-yang remains distant, she finds company in her friendship with the fourteenth prince, Ye-kan, and discovers her unexpected affinity for governance and strategy. But the capital is more dangerous than she expects, and when a dark conspiracy arises, Nian and Ye-kan must unravel the mystery in time to prevent the High Command from collapsing from within.
New dangers arise at every moment, threatening to tear the Nine Isles apart. In order to sail through this storm, Ying and her loved ones must make difficult choices amidst terrible betrayals. With the world on the brink of destruction, will they find a way to defeat their enemies and survive? And will it be worth the cost?
Title: The Blood Phoenix (Fall of the Dragon #2)
Author: Amber Chen
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Expected Publication Date: June 17, 2025
Review:
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!
Author:
Amber Chen is a Singaporean-Chinese author who writes in the genres of SFF and contemporary. Her debut YA novel OF JADE AND DRAGONS is forthcoming from Penguin Teen in Summer 2024.
She spends much of her free time living within Chinese fantasy novels and dramas, and also drinks one too many cups of bubble tea. One of her webnovels, The Cutting Edge, has been adapted for television.
