Review: An explosive conclusion that won’t let you come up for air. 

Picking up where “Strike the Zither” leaves off, “Sound the Gong” follows Zephyr, now a god in a warrior’s body, as she pays the ultimate price to see her lordess Xin Ren succeed in ruling over the three kingdoms. 

This book takes a darker turn with more betrayal, more scheming, more politics, and more death. My heart was racing as Zephyr slowly unravels Crow’s master plan and discovers where his loyalty truly lies. With a deeper understanding of his motivations, I found myself looking back on every move he made in the previous book with fresh eyes and marveled over Joan He’s craft. 

Zepyr is ruthless in her pursuit of taking fate into her own hands. She stays true to her character in not deviating from her mission of putting Ren on the throne, but her act of cutting down whoever is in her way toes the line of villainy and makes readers question whether the harm she inflicts is justified by her noble cause. As the author puts it, Zephyr isn’t a “shining hero” and I loved her all the more for that. I was rooting for her to the very last page.

As a ZephyrCrow fan, the ending of “Sound the Gong” shattered my heart, but it fits the story well. The bonus epilogue is what put me back together again (available on the author’s website - you won’t want to miss it) and left me feeling hopeful. Both endings are satisfying in their own ways and wrap-up the duology nicely.