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fayettejill 's review for:
The Blood Phoenix
by Amber Chen
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Blood Phoenix picks up 2 years after Of Jade And Dragon ends. Events force Ying to go back to Fei where she teams up with those from the Engineers Guild to save the empire.
Unfortunately, until the 50% mark I was kind of bored. I understand why the first part of the book was there, but it kind of felt like filler. The second half has a lot more action and political scheming, which is why this is a 3 and not a 2. That being said, even in the second half I felt like we were moving on from things very quickly. Something happens and then readers are immediately moved to the next thing without really giving the time to process it. The ending felt rushed and also left it open for future installments, which is interesting considering this is labeled as a duology.
I really enjoyed Nian's chapters and wish we could have spent more time with her. Watching her and Ye-kan's relationship form was really sweet. I would read an entire book on them! I also wish we could have spent more time with the pirates. They were really cool and instead I felt like they were just kind of there on the side to move the plot forward. Which isn't necessarily bad, but spending more time with them would have really enhanced the reading experience. I also HATED Ying and Ye-Yang's relationship. He is extremely toxic and I was never rooting for the two of them to get together.
Overall, I'm glad I read it to know what happens to the characters in this world, but I think the first installment could stand on its own if people don't mind an open-ended conclusion.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC for exchange for an honest review!
Unfortunately, until the 50% mark I was kind of bored. I understand why the first part of the book was there, but it kind of felt like filler. The second half has a lot more action and political scheming, which is why this is a 3 and not a 2. That being said, even in the second half I felt like we were moving on from things very quickly. Something happens and then readers are immediately moved to the next thing without really giving the time to process it. The ending felt rushed and also left it open for future installments, which is interesting considering this is labeled as a duology.
I really enjoyed Nian's chapters and wish we could have spent more time with her. Watching her and Ye-kan's relationship form was really sweet. I would read an entire book on them! I also wish we could have spent more time with the pirates. They were really cool and instead I felt like they were just kind of there on the side to move the plot forward. Which isn't necessarily bad, but spending more time with them would have really enhanced the reading experience. I also HATED Ying and Ye-Yang's relationship. He is extremely toxic and I was never rooting for the two of them to get together.
Overall, I'm glad I read it to know what happens to the characters in this world, but I think the first installment could stand on its own if people don't mind an open-ended conclusion.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC for exchange for an honest review!