heartbrekker's Reviews (797)

"Live not for those whose souls rest in eternal slumber in the next world... but for those still struggling to find peace in this one."

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night is my first novel by Amélie Wen Zhao, and I can honestly say that it was well worth the wait. I've always considered reading her Blood Heir trilogy, but this book solidified her as a stunning writer in world building, lore, and characterization. I'm gonna have to do some backtracking via her older works. I expected a few of the plot trajectories within SOSFLN, but overall, I was STUNNED by quite a few revelations. I think this duology has a good chance of becoming a favorite of mine.

"So long as there was war, there was sacrifice. So long as there was power, there was bloodshed. So long as there was life, there was hope."

Now the characters were immensely interesting. Lan reminds me a bit of typical YA girl protagonist with her love of comfort food, snarky sass, and fast proficiency at utilizing her magic—aka her qí—so it took me a bit longer to fall for her because she felt a bit copy and paste at first glance. But once she started to interact with other characters, specifically Zen, Lan really starts to grow and develop into who she was meant to be... Or who she will be within the second book honestly. She goes through eons worth of development, and I can't help but think of her in her final few chapters torn between what one group of people tell her vs. her mother. It's a very raw moment.

"Power was a blade, and the only blame was in that its wielder's hand was too weak."

Then, there's Zen. HAHA. He is the other main character of this book and a downright mess and a half if I'm being honest. He initially comes off as this calm, collected, cool dude, but chaos kicks in soon after and he's about as confused as Lan. But in all seriousness—he's actually a great foil/ contrast to Lan because both are surrounded by ying energies (pain, anger, death, etc.), but they act on those feelings in completely different ways. Lan has an outlet for her pain through her experiences with loved ones and friends, also just her aspirations for answers via her mother; whereas, Zen has always internally coped with his feelings, particularly because nobody ever accepted him due to certain circumstances (aka spoilers haha).

"As we live today, it is either everything or nothing."

Now let's get to my favorite part of this book—the world building and lore. I'll admit that Amélie likes to lean heavily into info-dumping throughout the course of Lan's tutelage and qí discovery. It gets old a bit because a lot of information gets thrown at you in a sort of lecture context, but I'm willing to let that critique slide quite a bit because it allows readers to jump faster into the history and lore AKA THE BEST PART. They're four Demon Gods (Azure Tiger, Silver Dragon, Crimson Phoenix, and Black Tortoise) that plague the Hin kingdom and their respective clans throughout the course of this country's history, and of course, minor demons cause plenty of strife too. We get to meet quite a few throughout the entirety of the book. Although, these demons are not brought to the forefront of the story until about 50% into the book, so our first antagonist is actually the Elantian people who have been decimating the Hin for over a decade. Instead of qí the Elantians use a metal magic, and their goal for years is to completely eradicate the practitioners of qí and possibly find any information on the Demon Gods. Elantians killed Lan's mother in the opening prologue, and they are the shadows hot on her heels for the entire book as she searches for answers. Readers do get the truth of what happened exactly the night Lan's mother dies, and it is without a doubt the most impactful scene within SOSFLN. So colonialism and racism are the central destructive force of this book in my opinion because while these Demon Gods have done their fair share of death on the Hin people (you'll find out how via the history info-dumps), the Elantians are trying to weaponize them to further control the Hin and probably the world at large. It made me sick to read the one Elantian POV at the end of this book because just as Lan says somewhere within the story—it hasn't been the demons she's had to worry about for the last decade... but rather power hungry Elantians.

"If I must see darkness for our people to find light, then I will make that same choice, over and over and over again."

At the end of the day, this first book in the duology is about Lan's journey to finding answers about her mother. I get so tired of authors constantly killing off parents to their protagonists, but SOSFLN is one of those rare examples where I felt the death and parental-child relationship were done right. I saw myself in Lan's shoes because her mind was constantly drawn back to her mother. Lan doesn't even know her mom's name at one point due to her trauma/ memory issues, so her discovery of her mother's truth felt raw. This whole book is about relationships, even ancestry and what that means for descendants, and by the end, you'll lean back into her pillows or wherever you read and just wonder about the implications of everyone's decisions within SOSFLN. Are we doomed to follow the mistakes or journeys of our parents/ great grandparents? Can we break the cycle of previous family members? You'll be reeling with questions like these once you finish, and I can't believe I have to wait over a year for the sequel.

"In a conquered land, the only way to win was to survive."

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“The other day… I was thinking about all the different paths our lives take, how little choices here and there suddenly guide us to places we never expected. How sometimes even the worst of experiences turn us into what we need to be, even though we would rather avoid the pain. But we grow stronger—we grow sharper—and before we truly even know it, we are looking back on it all. We see who we were and we see who we have become, and it is why the spirits watch us and marvel.”

The Elements of Cadence snuck up on me back in January and became my first five star fantasy read of 2022. The whole duology now sits amongst my favorite reads of all time because A Fire Endless did not disappoint in the slightest. It's actually my favorite book of the duology if I HAD TO pick one. I’m not sure if I’ll ever experience a book/ series like this again. It was gentle yet dark, empathetic and resilient; The Elements of Cadence was truly a breath of fresh air for the fantasy genre.

What made A Fire Endless even better than A River Enchanted was Rebecca Ross's decision to place her lead characters in situations they're uncomfortable with. Sidra? Forced to take up the mantle of running the East. Torin? Forced to interact with the creatures and beings on the island before his loved ones. Adaira and Jack's separation from one another being the last big hoop for the leads. Just everything was perfect in my eyes. The prologue of A Fire Endless is now one of my favorite chapters of the duolgoy because of our new introduction to a special character.

The other reason A Fire Endless beats out A River Enchanted as my favorite between the two is the mere fact that A Fire Endless gives us the West. We did our time in the East in book one, and now its time to give the West its due. I remember feeling cozy whenever the East was described in the first book, but all I could feel in the West was tension, suspicion, and pain. It’s a society built off of brute force, and Rebecca did not hold back with showing readers that at all. All the warmth I had felt previously was completely snuffed out like a candle. The significant difference is only exacerbated by Adaira who has only known the East. Her beliefs are stark against the values of her birth parents. Basically, the difference of cultures between the East and West were fascinating to behold. Plus, the whole reason this plot exists for the duology is because of the West, and unraveling that secret was so interesting—I couldn't put my book down!

Lastly, the ending. Damn was it beautifully tearful. I never once expected that result in the climax, but I knew from that moment there was no way that would be the end to these characters' stories. It made everything a full circle moment with the change in power, and from the beginning, I knew the beings of the island would get their authority over their lives back. Every one of these characters holds my bookish heart in some way, and I feel so incredibly honored to have gotten to know them. I can't wait for Rebecca to write more adult fantasy.

Thank you to HarperVoyager and NetGalley for the eARC access. All thoughts and opinions are my own.