Don't mind me spending the first 50% of the book rooting for An-xi and Chang-en to end up together...

The Blood Phoenix is the sequel to Of Jade and Dragons, and I just want to start by saying that if you're here for the romance, I would recommend not reading the sequel and just pretending book one ended however you wanted it to. You won't be happy with this book. If you enjoyed the fantasy/political intrigue aspects...maybe continue? Look, I'm gonna be honest right away and say the ending isn't super satisfying. If the author doesn't end up doing some sort of spin-off series, I'm going to be disappointed because she said this is a duology, and the story ends here...which I'm not happy about.
Two years have passed since the events of book one. Ying has been hiding from Ye-yang after he took on the role of High Commander, but when attacks by the pirates called the Blood Phoenixes force her back to the capital, she must face Ye-yang once more. Meanwhile, Nian is navigating life as the betrothed of the High Commander...despite her growing feelings for Ye-kan. The book alternates between Ying and Nian's POVs, and while I saw a lot of reviews hating Nian's POVs, I didn't mind them too much. While Ying's POVs tend to have more action, Nian's are a nice break from the tension (for the most part) and provide some much-needed answers. The pacing is a bit slow at times, and there are some time jumps that I felt were a bit awkward, but overall, I enjoyed the first 80% of the book or so. The ending is where I'm tempted to drop my rating, but I'm holding out hope for closure in some other form (and also, the shock factor of some plot twists was pretty intense).
This book had my opinions about certain characters completely flipped around. I was really invested in An-xi and Chang-en's friendship for some reason...I just found it really compelling. I did miss the dynamics between Ying and Ye-kan, but I liked Ye-kan and Nian even more in some respects. While their connection did feel a bit forced at the beginning, I liked seeing how Nian's strengths lie in Ying's weaknesses, and I enjoyed seeing Ye-kan grow into his leadership roles...and their chemistry was well-done. I also apologize, but I'm not a fan of Ye-yang. I found him a bit manipulative and was really hoping for a corruption arc based on the events of book one. He just felt a bit flat in this book, too. Ying was fine, but I felt like she was constantly worried about Ye-yang, and it made her POV a little less fun for me.
The Blood Phoenix is the sequel to Of Jade and Dragons that takes place in a fantasy "silkpunk" world and mixes political intrigue with a splash of romance and action.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!

3.5/5