Rise of the Empress Duology: Forest of a Thousand Lanterns and Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix

I'm in my second term of online classes, so my reviews have become fewer and farther between but I'm back for now! :)

Do you like fairy tales? East Asian re-tellings of fairy tales? Fairy tale villain origin stories that don't make excuses for said villain but delve a little into the psyche and choices made along their journey into evil?      

If you said yes to any of the above I think you'd love this duology. I love both of these books so much!

The Rise of the Empress duology is an Evil Queen/Snow White re-telling. 

Book one, Forest of a Thousand Lanterns tells the origin of the Empress (Evil Queen), Xifeng. The entire way through the book you're rooting for her to make the right choices but watching her sink lower and lower, as she becomes more willing to do more despicable things to achieve her ends. The world is rich and imaginative, very immersive. Despite the darkness of the plot, I found it fascinating and was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next.

Book two, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix, is about the Empress Xifeng's step-daughter, Jade (Snow White). Jade was raised in a monastery until she turned 18 and brought to the palace. She discovers her step-mother plans to kill her and barely escapes in time. Jade quests to bring an end to Xifeng's evil reign, traveling with two companions who become her close friends. This book has many fantastic encounters with magical creatures, really fun! What I loved most was that when she was faced with hard decisions, Jade chooses kindness and goodness over and over, proving that you always have a choice in the person you are going to be.

 

Interesting, thought provoking stories set in a beautiful magical world. What more do you need? :)

Happy Reading!

Geneva 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hi!

 Welcome to my blog! I hope this can become a cozy place to connect over shared hobbies and interests, as well as a way to discover treasures in the literary world.  I’m primarily a fiction reader, and adore fantasy. My romance preferences are swoony more than steamy or spicy, so most of my recommendations are going to be closed door and or minimal descriptiveness.  I’m planning on writing around 3 book reviews a month, and posting fan art I find every now and then. Thanks for being here!  Gen
Read more

Gallant by V.E. Schwab

Image
  Victoria Schwab is an author whose work I became acquainted with just this year. Gallant is the book that introduced me to her, and I fell in love at first read.  Gallant is a YA horror novel, and has a wonderfully gloomy atmosphere. While melancholy and grim, the book also explores finding where you belong, accepting your uniqueness, and love overcoming darkness. One of my favorite aspects of the story was that the protagonist, Olivia Prior, was mute, and it opened a window into the experience of navigating that communication barrier while attempting to survive deadly peril! This was the perfect blend of creepy and cozy for me. If you’re looking to dip your toes into the horror genre I highly recommend!  Gallant gets 5/5 stars for me.  Do you like horror? Have you read Gallant? Let me know in the comments!  Happy reading!  Gen :)
Read more

The Queen’s Thief Meghan Whalen Turner

Image
Welcome to one of my top favorite series of all time.   My word. How do I begin to describe this spectacular series?  Immersive world building like Brandon Sanderson, deep and beautiful themes like JRR  Tolkien, hilarious dialogue like Diana Wynne Jones, and good pacing like Lloyd Alexander, all while being its own unique story.  The atmosphere feels similar to Ancient Greece and as the series progresses the rich culture becomes more fleshed out through myths, religion, and plays.  While each book is enjoyable in its own right, the entire series plot is stunning and well worth reading through to the end.  The audiobooks read by Steve West are an alternate way to imbibe them and he does an awesome job on the voices.  Prepare to be flummoxed by the protagonist, to be exasperated, amused, impressed, and moved, over and over.  If you haven’t read this series, consider this your sign to start! 10/10 recommend.  Happy reading!  Gen :)
Read more