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the_tartan_pumpkin_reader 's review for:
The Night Ends With Fire
by K.X. Song
Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton/ Hodderscape for granting me a Netgalley digital copy of The Night Ends With Fire to review for K. X. Song's debut fantasy novel.
The Night Ends With Fire is a gritty, fly-by-seat of your pant and seize the moment retelling of the legends of Mulan with a bad-ass female protagonist compared to the more Disney-depicted dutiful daughter version of Mulan. I loved this recast of Meilin as a gritty, ambitious character who wants to go to war to make a better life for herself, not prompted to do as a sacrifice to save another.
Sometimes, leaving your family for your self-preservation is an act of self-love, not a selfish act. I loved her because she wasn't another self-sacrificing, people-pleaser battling to belong in a society where women are property and second-class citizens to menfolk. Meilin's not on character journey to discover herself like Mulan – she takes up her warrior mantle with self-assured agency and full of a zesty boldness fuelling; she got gumption by the bucket-full and is not afraid to jump out of a window, damn the consequences.
Song has excellent potential as a storyteller. Her worldbuilding craft is exquisite, allowing her to create an expansive, complex fantasy world with a turbulent history, political intrigues, and clashes inspired by the Chinese dynasties and beautiful Asian mythology elements. Danger, treachery, and deceit dog Meilin throughout the plot, leaving the reader with no idea who she can trust.
I've mixed feelings about The Night Ends With Fire regarding the plot and storytelling. I'm hovering on a 3.5-star rating, primarily due to a couple of plot inconsistencies and the story being stretched to a breaking point to give it a darker, ferocious, and angrier vibe. I felt it jarred and slowed down the storytelling.
The romance and love triangle distract the plot from Meilin's journey as attractions flare between her and two rival princes, Sky Liu and Cao Ming Lei. I wanted Meilin to run from these potential love interests as they all treat her horribly and have their agendas for her abilities and power. There is so much misogyny, sexism, and exploitation of women in parts of this story made my stomach roll and roil.
I'll pick up the sequel out of intrigue to see where Meilin's journey takes her because I'm invested in her journey. Will ambition for power win, or her attraction to one of the love triangle princes? If I were in her shoes, I'd say let the world burn for events at the book's close. Is it wrong to have my fingers crossed to see her embrace her power and recognise her ambition isn't greed but seizing her moment to shine?
The Night Ends With Fire is a gritty, fly-by-seat of your pant and seize the moment retelling of the legends of Mulan with a bad-ass female protagonist compared to the more Disney-depicted dutiful daughter version of Mulan. I loved this recast of Meilin as a gritty, ambitious character who wants to go to war to make a better life for herself, not prompted to do as a sacrifice to save another.
Sometimes, leaving your family for your self-preservation is an act of self-love, not a selfish act. I loved her because she wasn't another self-sacrificing, people-pleaser battling to belong in a society where women are property and second-class citizens to menfolk. Meilin's not on character journey to discover herself like Mulan – she takes up her warrior mantle with self-assured agency and full of a zesty boldness fuelling; she got gumption by the bucket-full and is not afraid to jump out of a window, damn the consequences.
Song has excellent potential as a storyteller. Her worldbuilding craft is exquisite, allowing her to create an expansive, complex fantasy world with a turbulent history, political intrigues, and clashes inspired by the Chinese dynasties and beautiful Asian mythology elements. Danger, treachery, and deceit dog Meilin throughout the plot, leaving the reader with no idea who she can trust.
I've mixed feelings about The Night Ends With Fire regarding the plot and storytelling. I'm hovering on a 3.5-star rating, primarily due to a couple of plot inconsistencies and the story being stretched to a breaking point to give it a darker, ferocious, and angrier vibe. I felt it jarred and slowed down the storytelling.
The romance and love triangle distract the plot from Meilin's journey as attractions flare between her and two rival princes, Sky Liu and Cao Ming Lei. I wanted Meilin to run from these potential love interests as they all treat her horribly and have their agendas for her abilities and power. There is so much misogyny, sexism, and exploitation of women in parts of this story made my stomach roll and roil.
I'll pick up the sequel out of intrigue to see where Meilin's journey takes her because I'm invested in her journey. Will ambition for power win, or her attraction to one of the love triangle princes? If I were in her shoes, I'd say let the world burn for events at the book's close. Is it wrong to have my fingers crossed to see her embrace her power and recognise her ambition isn't greed but seizing her moment to shine?