A review by bookishspicy
The Night Ends with Fire by K.X. Song

adventurous challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“I wanted others to respect me – to fear me. To know my name and know it with awe.” 

⚜     

When I found out about this Mulan retelling, I was so excited to read it. This book surpassed all my expectations, and I loved all the twists and changes compared to the Disney movie.  

In this book, Meilin, leaves for war pretending to be a man however unlike Mulan who left to take her father's place, she leaves to escape being sold by her father to an abusive man. Her mother had died from suicide and her father, who had never quite recovered from her death, was an abusive man addicted to opium.  

The magic in this book is unique and powerful. Qinglong and Zhurque (also known as the azure dragon and Vermilion bird in Chinese mythology) were used as the sources of magic for Meilin and Sima. “Just as the phoenix feeds off vengeance, the sea dragon feeds off greed.”. I loved how Qinglong had his own wants, trying to achieve them through Meilin. I really liked the aspect of the spirit realm where she would see and speak to Qinglong, as well as see others who were also connected to the spirit realm.  

I love that it was never easy for Meilin to wield her magic, there were always struggles she faced. Using too much and she would lose her sight for a period of time and iron could be used against her to suppress her magic entirely. Not only did Meilin have to hide her identity of being a woman but she also had to hide her magic from everyone as it was viewed by most as black magic.  

Unlike Mulan who only had one prince love interest, Meilin had two. Sky (aka the Shang of the story) who is kind, confident, whose duty is to his people. Lei, the enemy prince of Ximing, is darker, more secretive, and his ambitions were not always clear. As much as I liked Sky, I am definitely team Lei.  

That ending!! I need the second book now, and the first one has not even been released yet. I have a lot of waiting to do.  

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an ARC of this amazing book.