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palmkd 's review for:
The Scorpion and the Night Blossom
by Amélie Wen Zhao
The start of a new trilogy, the Scorpion and the Night Blossom introduces us to a world rife with conflict. The immortal realm stands apart from the mortal realm, but both have a common enemy, the demonic mó who are determined to elevate the Kingdom of Night to rule over as much as they can.
In the mortal lands, Àn’yīng and her family live in the Kingdom of Rivers. 9 years ago their realm was devasted by the war between the Kingdom of Rivers and the Kingdom of Night. Determined to do whatever she can to help her family, Àn’yīng plans to face the immortality trials. Her aim is the prize of an immortal tear for her mother, but ultimately to gain more skills to help her family and follow in her father's footsteps.
I really enjoyed this one. There's fun dialogue and solid relationships as I've come to expect from this author. The romantic characters always have great banter and there are some lovely friendships in the story. I really enjoy that Àn’yīng is feisty and loves her crescent blades so much. The creatures, mythology, and general world building in this story is really intriguing and I look forward to seeing what comes next as we spend more time in this world. There was a little more focus on the romance that I was expecting, but it definitely fits with the story.
The Trials/competition aspect was well done and created some interesting conflicts. I enjoyed seeing the Immortal world and how the mortals and immortals treat each other. Some of the other things I really loved about this book I can't really mention without spoiling a lot of things, but let's just say I really enjoyed how things played out. I was able to guess at many truths along the way but I still enjoyed the reveals and am ready for whatever comes next.
This is the third series and 6th book I've read by this author. There's some similar vibes to her previous book weaving in her Chinese culture, stories and mythology, but definitely a darker tone to some of the things which I enjoyed.
Strongly recommend!
I received an earc of this book on Netgalley from Random House Children's / Delacorte Press, but thoughts are my own.
In the mortal lands, Àn’yīng and her family live in the Kingdom of Rivers. 9 years ago their realm was devasted by the war between the Kingdom of Rivers and the Kingdom of Night. Determined to do whatever she can to help her family, Àn’yīng plans to face the immortality trials. Her aim is the prize of an immortal tear for her mother, but ultimately to gain more skills to help her family and follow in her father's footsteps.
I really enjoyed this one. There's fun dialogue and solid relationships as I've come to expect from this author. The romantic characters always have great banter and there are some lovely friendships in the story. I really enjoy that Àn’yīng is feisty and loves her crescent blades so much. The creatures, mythology, and general world building in this story is really intriguing and I look forward to seeing what comes next as we spend more time in this world. There was a little more focus on the romance that I was expecting, but it definitely fits with the story.
The Trials/competition aspect was well done and created some interesting conflicts. I enjoyed seeing the Immortal world and how the mortals and immortals treat each other. Some of the other things I really loved about this book I can't really mention without spoiling a lot of things, but let's just say I really enjoyed how things played out. I was able to guess at many truths along the way but I still enjoyed the reveals and am ready for whatever comes next.
This is the third series and 6th book I've read by this author. There's some similar vibes to her previous book weaving in her Chinese culture, stories and mythology, but definitely a darker tone to some of the things which I enjoyed.
Strongly recommend!
I received an earc of this book on Netgalley from Random House Children's / Delacorte Press, but thoughts are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, War
Minor: Sexual content