Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix (Rise of the Empress, book 2)
By Julie C. Dao
Blurb:
This fairy tale retelling lives in a mystical world inspired by the Far East, where the Dragon Lord and the Serpent God battle for control of the earthly realm; it is here that the flawed heroine of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns finally meets her match. An epic fantasy finale to the Rise of the Empress novels.
Princess Jade has grown up in exile, hidden away in a monastery while her stepmother, the ruthless Xifeng, rules as empress of Feng Lu. But the empire is in distress and its people are sinking into poverty and despair. Even though Jade doesn't want the crown, she knows she is the only one who can dethrone the empress and set the world right. Ready to reclaim her place as rightful heir, Jade embarks on a quest to raise the Dragon Lords and defeat Xifeng and the Serpent God once and for all. But will the same darkness that took Xifeng take Jade, too? Or will she find the strength within to save herself, her friends, and her empire?
Set in an East Asian-inspired fantasy world filled with breathtaking pain and beauty, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix is filled with dazzling magic, powerful prose, and characters readers won't soon forget.
So I thought a Forest of a Thousand Lanterns was a strong 5, but then I met this book! I am so pleased that I rediscovered this trilogy because this book was a whole new level. It just felt so perfect, I honestly wouldn't change a thing.
This is the second book in the trilogy and it follows Jade's perspective. She is the true princess of the kingdom and of the dragon god, daughter of Lihuia. It is just before her 18th birthday when it starts and she gets invited back to the kingdom so she can learn the ways so she can become "Empress" one day. I have Empress in inverted commas for a reason because Xifeng has discovered that Jade is actually her joker and wants her dead.
When Jade arrives at the kingdom, she discovers her father Emperor Jun is unwell, she believes he has been poisoned and asks the asks the medic if he has tried certain methods. Obviously, Kang is listening and Xifeng finds out. Jade then receives her mother's comb from Xifeng that she must wear on her 18th birthday. It is placed in her once given and that night Jade discovers more about her step mother and let's Amah and Wren know her discovery and that's when the plan of running away starts.
So this whole book is about Jade running away, but then she discovers if she collects all the relics from the God's she can overcome her step mother. Then she is following fables and learning their true meanings which allows the relics to be collected.
On her adventures she chooses some old characters and new ones that she creates special friendships with. I loved meeting back with the old characters and seeing them develop. I also loved how we met "Ming" in this book, I thought that was just something special and then what he did at the end of the book was just so heart warming, you could have literally melted.
I loved how we discovered Fu and his background with Ming and then we discover the true person. It's just all so special and it is lovely that we have met these characters again and get to follow on the story through them. It was really well thought out and I think this is what makes the book that extra special that there are meanings behind the characters we meet.
The whole story was quite predictable in a way but I still felt like it was very fitting and I wouldn't actually change anything from it. The ending was the only bit that was not predictable, so I am so pleased with that.
There is one thing that confused me, she ran away on her 18th birthday and then it mentions that she's been travelling for several years but then returns and she is still 18. I don't understand how that can happen. But oh well, I can just forget about that. It still meets my 5 star criteria and it is honestly perfect in my eyes.
Favourite Character: Jade
Read: 05/11/19 - 15/11/19
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