I grabbed an ARC copy of this book because I didn’t want to wait for it to come out before reading it. However, I have to say, that although I own a free ebook, I also purchased a physical copy. I decided about halfway through this story that the two main male leads, Longwei and Jindai, were my new book boyfriends. That meant that I would have to own the book they could be found in and carry it around with me from time to time. Why? So that I could plop it down nonchalantly on a table where other people were sitting. They then would ask, “Is that your book?” (As in, one I wrote) and I could reply, “Why no! But O.M.G! Y’all need to read this!”
That’s the plan anyway. In another payday or two I plan to grab the first of the trilogy in physical form as well. I read it before reading the ARC copy, in order to provide background for the second book. I do think it is possible to enjoy the second book without reading the first, but you are going to be missing story points, and you are going to know you are missing them. Having said that, the minor quibbles I had with the first book Phoenix Rises, Dragon Soars, disappeared in the second one. (You can look back at the previous review if you’d like.)
The second book turns darker, and, as a fellow writer, I feel like this turn may have been a difficult decision by the author to push further into the darkness. This gives the story a stronger voice and makes the suffering of the characters more visceral, but not in a bad way. This story is not for the faint of heart. Like all darkly good stories, I felt that it explores this side of human nature with just enough light. Like a hooded lantern that lets you pick out the shapes of what’s happening, understand it in your heart and mind, and then move on. It never tips over into gratuitous violence, in my opinion.
There is also spice in this book, replacing most of the pining away that’s found in the first book. I’m all business, so I appreciated the replacement. It is a lower level of heat, but not quite “Fade to Black.” I bet you’re thinking, that’s where the book boyfriends come in. You’d be wrong, actually. I fell in love with the two MMCs because of their sense of duty and honor. Their love forces them onward down paths that sane people would never tread, but, because they are honorable heroes, they walk them anyway. I feel like this book focuses most on the two male MCs, although the FMCs are there as well. Although they are more in the background, I never felt that they had lost their agency or importance, despite both of them being imprisoned in different ways.
Most fascinating of all, we get to spend a great deal of time with the villain of the story in this book, the Evil Empress. We learn a bit about her motivation, a little more about her magic, and even more about hers and Jindai’s past in the Palace.
The book ends on a good note with three of the four MCs ready for their next adventure and the fourth MC embroiled in a new affair. Parts of this ending I am suspicious of. It is a good ending, but my storyteller brain is pulling on plot strings and following where they lead. I’m looking forward to seeing if I had the right end of these strings or not, and reading the final book of this trilogy.
In a nutshell then, this is a matured, darker story that leads directly on from the first book of the trilogy. Although it follows all four MCs, the focus is on the drive and motivation of the male MCs as they struggle to walk the hero's path through more violent aspects of human nature, driven by their love for the FMCs. Five stars, Worth a read and even a reread.
