Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix (Rise of the Empress)

Supremely underrated book. Thoroughly entertaining and the best version of the Snow White tale that I’ve ever read. Forest of a Thousand Lanterns was the supremely well done origin story of the Evil Queen in Julie C. Dao’s fairytale world with the aesthetic of Ancient China and the Far East. It stands for me as the ultimate villain origin tale, and I’ve yet to read or watch any villain-led media surpassing it. Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix is the sequel and serves as the trials of the hero who needs to save the world from the protagonist of the first book. If you don’t like fairytales or folk tales, then you won’t like this book. It’s an elevated fairytale, but it is a fairytale. You know the basic outline of the story, but it’s the author that provides a unique retelling of well-tred ground. I think other reviewers wanted this book to be something it is not. There’s not going to be a lot of unexpected deaths, there’s not going to be a tragic ending, there’s not going to be ennui. Fairytales often are more plot-based with plot as metaphor or lesson, and often tell more than show to cover the plot concisely. None of these elements hurt the story in my opinion. It’s a quick read that I’ve been waiting for the right mood for, and it certainly surpasses old fairytale weavers like Grimm and Perrault as well as newer adaptions in the YA fiction sphere. I give it a solid 4.5/5 stars and will likely reread the two novels in the future.

This is part two to the Forest of a thousand lanterns and wow I love how it’s written and will recommend