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The Night Ends with Fire #1
The Night Ends with Fire
Win a free print copy of this book!
14 days and 18:43:11
5 copies available
U.S. only
Infused with magic and romance, this sweeping fantasy adventure inspired by the legend of Mulan follows a young woman determined to choose her own destiny—even if that means going against everyone she loves.
The Three Kingdoms are at war, but Meilin’s father refuses to answer the imperial draft. Trapped by his opium addiction, he plans to sell Meilin for her dowry. But when Meilin discovers her husband-to-be is another violent, ill-tempered man, she realizes that nothing will change for her unless she takes matters into her own hands.
The very next day, she disguises herself as a boy and enlists in her father’s place.
In the army, Meilin's relentless hard work brings her recognition, friendship—and a growing closeness with Sky, a prince turned training partner. But has she simply exchanged one prison for another? As her kingdom barrels toward destruction, Meilin begins to have visions of a sea dragon spirit that offers her true power and freedom, but with a deadly price.
With the future of the Three Kingdoms hanging in the balance, Meilin will need to decide whom to trust—Sky, who inspires her loyalty and love; the sea dragon spirit, who has his own murky agenda; or an infuriating enemy prince who makes her question everything she once knew—about her kingdom and about her own heart.
The Three Kingdoms are at war, but Meilin’s father refuses to answer the imperial draft. Trapped by his opium addiction, he plans to sell Meilin for her dowry. But when Meilin discovers her husband-to-be is another violent, ill-tempered man, she realizes that nothing will change for her unless she takes matters into her own hands.
The very next day, she disguises herself as a boy and enlists in her father’s place.
In the army, Meilin's relentless hard work brings her recognition, friendship—and a growing closeness with Sky, a prince turned training partner. But has she simply exchanged one prison for another? As her kingdom barrels toward destruction, Meilin begins to have visions of a sea dragon spirit that offers her true power and freedom, but with a deadly price.
With the future of the Three Kingdoms hanging in the balance, Meilin will need to decide whom to trust—Sky, who inspires her loyalty and love; the sea dragon spirit, who has his own murky agenda; or an infuriating enemy prince who makes her question everything she once knew—about her kingdom and about her own heart.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published July 2, 2024
About the author
K.X. Song
2 books513 followersK. X. Song is a diaspora writer with roots in Hong Kong and Shanghai. An Echo in the City is her debut novel. Visit her online at kxsong.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,713 reviews
October 3, 2024
I feared both men and spirits now. I had no allies, only enemies on all sides.
A magnificent retelling, The Night Ends with Fire isn't the Mulan legend of your Disney youth, that's for sure.
Meilin has grown up under the thumb of her oppressive father all her life. Soon he plans to sell her for her dowry to another violent man who will treat her the same. When war comes to the Three Kingdoms, Meilin seizes her chance and enlists in the army as a man. But as she gains skills and confidence and the power of a spirit, she begins to wonder if her duplicity will hold and how far she's really willing to go to secure her freedom.
Let me just gush for a second here. I had such an amazing time with this story. It's exactly the sort I adore, with a badass heroine and a high stakes conflict where everything is on the line. There is no easy victory, only hard choices, and every character is some shade of morally gray.
I feel like Disney's Mulan was a bit too goody two-shoes (as is typical of Disney), so I'm really glad this book turned that on its head. Meilin certainly isn't good through and through. Instead, she must balance her desire for freedom and power with her duty to her kingdom and her love for her family. There was a rawness and courage to Meilin that makes it easy to like her and relate to her, even if I didn't always understand or agree with her decisions.
In fact, it's not just Meilin's character that's interesting and complex. It's almost every character in this book. Their moral ambiguity is a large part of why they come across as real and interesting. There is no straightforward path when it comes to war, no high road to take on the way to victory. There is only bloodshed and sacrifice and death, and this tale certainly doesn't shy away from that.
The writing in here is evocative and easy to fall into. I feel like I was sucked in from the very first page. To me, there is no higher compliment and no greater quality in a book than immersiveness, and this story has it in spades. I wanted to gobbled it up but also savor it slowly so that I didn't reach the end too soon.
This is categorized as romantasy, and I would say it's mostly fantasy with just a bit of romance sprinkled in, exactly how I like it. The fantasy world is vivid and easy to grasp without a lot of complex worldbuilding. And the light romance should appeal to readers who aren't big fans of it or don't care for lots of explicit scenes.
One interesting thing to note are the names in here. When you translate names between different languages, you have the choice of going phonetically or contextually. Phonetically is generally considered more authentic, but you lose the meaning behind the names. Here, the author chose to do a mix of both. While at first it was a little odd to have names in pinyin like "Meilin" next to "Sky" and "Sparrow", I did grow to appreciate that it gave context where otherwise there would be none and helped to distinguish the characters for an English-speaking audience.
Same could also be said for including some Chinese phrases mixed in in an English book. When the meaning is unclear, the author often put the pinyin and the English side-by-side, so that really the phrase is duplicated. I can see the purists getting up in arms over it, claiming that it's sufficient just to include the pinyin and leave it at that. So what if the audience it's intended for doesn't understand? But that's just silly. While I'm all for authenticity, I'm happy with the balance the author struck so that no one has to miss out.
What an exhilarating tale this turned out to be. I originally picked it up because the luminous cover and pretty sprayed edges totally captured my attention, and I wasn't about to pass up a Mulan retelling. While judging a book by its cover doesn't always pay off, it certainly did in this case.
My only regret is reaching the end and realizing this isn't a standalone. Now starts the long wait for the sequel.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
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January 5, 2024
I think the last time I hated a book this passionately was when I read Portrait of a Thief.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Have you ever thought to yourself, what if George RR Martin woke up one day with an orientalist fantasy and wanted to write a Mulan (a la Disney 1998) fanfic? Well, K.X. Song has done basically just that with The Night Ends with Fire. This is, quite frankly, one of the worst books I have ever read. It's unoriginal, cringey, poorly written, and I genuinely cannot think of a single good thing to say about it. The characters are flat and poorly developed, and the relationships reflect that as well.
I try not to pass too much judgment on diaspora authors because I am aware that not all diaspora folks engage with their ancestors' culture in the same way, but at times I really had to question whether or not Song has ever actually engaged with Chinese media in any way, shape, or form. This book, rather than feeling like a diaspora author's exploration of Chinese culture and trying to bring pieces of that into their writing, felt like an orientalist fever dream. Again, I do realize this is a very subjective thing, so I won’t dwell on it too much and will let you judge for yourself, but I genuinely felt like this book felt like a bad parody of a c-drama rather than an homage to one.
Onto other, more concrete things that I disliked about this book. Firstly, this book just felt like really bad Disney Mulan fanfic. I can understand the nostalgia and love for Disney's Mulan - I was also of the generation where this was one of the only representations of me and my culture in mainstream children’s media, so I, too, have an unhealthy love for this film despite recognizing now as an adult how flawed it is. However, there are legit play by play scenes from the film that have just been haphazardly transplanted into this book, and it’s honestly just cringey and unoriginal. I can appreciate an easter egg here and there, but it was just too much, too close, and too frequent, for it to be considered tastefully done, in my opinion. I’m not even going to dive into the plague on traditional publishing that is poorly written fanfic being published, but I feel like if you’re going to republish your fanfic as an original work, it needs to be way less obvious that you just strung together scenes from the source material and added some gratuitous violence to make it edgier.
Secondly, if there’s something that I will always criticize in Chinese-inspired fantasies, it is the naming conventions and nonsensical use of Chinese words throughout the text. As a disclaimer, I know that this is a pet peeve of mine, and probably won’t bother other readers as much, but this pissed me off a lot and this is my review, so here we are. The naming conventions in this book are absolute NONSENSE. Like are we doing pinyin names, or are we doing weirdly translated English names? Because for what reason do we have three siblings, two of which have pinyin names, and the third of which is named Plum. Do not get me started on the main love interest being called Liu Sky (and his brother Liu Winter). LIU SKY. This is so fucking unserious I actually screamed out loud the first few times it appeared on page because I could not believe how stupid it sounds. I feel sorry for whichever poor audiobook narrator has to get through reading those names out loud without laughing. The pinyin names are also, for a lack of a better word, cringey? Juvenile? I don’t want to judge this too hard because Chinese names are extremely varied and sometimes nonsensical, but the main character being called Meilin is just a bit of an ick to me. It’s not that this doesn’t sound like an actual name (and I truly mean no offense to anyone named Meilin), but it kind of gives the same energy as naming your main character John Smith, you know what I mean?
Another thing that irks me personally is the random words that the author chose to write out in Chinese pinyin, and then subsequently translate it in text. There’s no consistency, and again, just looks stupid to me. For example, “The aroma of shaokao barbecued meat….” - shaokao just means barbecue. That is like saying “barbecue barbecued meat”. It’s stupid. This isn’t the only example from the book (“baichi idiot” is another one I can remember off the top of my head) but it just irritates me to no end.
Thirdly, I could almost look past all of this nonsense if the plot and/or characters were actually good, but unfortunately, there was really just nothing there. Like I said before, the book relies too heavily on being a Disney Mulan retelling, and as such, doesn’t really do enough to establish its own characters. The characters are all incredibly one dimensional, and none of the relationships are developed in any way that is meaningful. The main character has a couple of love interests, both of whom just randomly declare their interest in her after no significant or compelling interactions that would lead them to feel that way. One of the things that makes Mulan 1998 so fun is Mulan’s friendships with her fellow soldiers, as well as her dynamics with her dragon and cricket, but none of these fun relationships are anywhere to be found in this book. Meilin is a little too edgy and prickly to actually develop any believable friendships with her peers, and honestly, she’s just not a very complex and interesting character, nor are the other characters, so it only makes sense that their relationships are also boring.
All in all, this was just not a good book, in my opinion. I realize I am being super negative here, and if I weren’t on a plane when I read this, I’m sure I would have DNF’d it. I’m sure there's an audience for this book, I just cannot quite see who it would be for.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Have you ever thought to yourself, what if George RR Martin woke up one day with an orientalist fantasy and wanted to write a Mulan (a la Disney 1998) fanfic? Well, K.X. Song has done basically just that with The Night Ends with Fire. This is, quite frankly, one of the worst books I have ever read. It's unoriginal, cringey, poorly written, and I genuinely cannot think of a single good thing to say about it. The characters are flat and poorly developed, and the relationships reflect that as well.
I try not to pass too much judgment on diaspora authors because I am aware that not all diaspora folks engage with their ancestors' culture in the same way, but at times I really had to question whether or not Song has ever actually engaged with Chinese media in any way, shape, or form. This book, rather than feeling like a diaspora author's exploration of Chinese culture and trying to bring pieces of that into their writing, felt like an orientalist fever dream. Again, I do realize this is a very subjective thing, so I won’t dwell on it too much and will let you judge for yourself, but I genuinely felt like this book felt like a bad parody of a c-drama rather than an homage to one.
Onto other, more concrete things that I disliked about this book. Firstly, this book just felt like really bad Disney Mulan fanfic. I can understand the nostalgia and love for Disney's Mulan - I was also of the generation where this was one of the only representations of me and my culture in mainstream children’s media, so I, too, have an unhealthy love for this film despite recognizing now as an adult how flawed it is. However, there are legit play by play scenes from the film that have just been haphazardly transplanted into this book, and it’s honestly just cringey and unoriginal. I can appreciate an easter egg here and there, but it was just too much, too close, and too frequent, for it to be considered tastefully done, in my opinion. I’m not even going to dive into the plague on traditional publishing that is poorly written fanfic being published, but I feel like if you’re going to republish your fanfic as an original work, it needs to be way less obvious that you just strung together scenes from the source material and added some gratuitous violence to make it edgier.
Secondly, if there’s something that I will always criticize in Chinese-inspired fantasies, it is the naming conventions and nonsensical use of Chinese words throughout the text. As a disclaimer, I know that this is a pet peeve of mine, and probably won’t bother other readers as much, but this pissed me off a lot and this is my review, so here we are. The naming conventions in this book are absolute NONSENSE. Like are we doing pinyin names, or are we doing weirdly translated English names? Because for what reason do we have three siblings, two of which have pinyin names, and the third of which is named Plum. Do not get me started on the main love interest being called Liu Sky (and his brother Liu Winter). LIU SKY. This is so fucking unserious I actually screamed out loud the first few times it appeared on page because I could not believe how stupid it sounds. I feel sorry for whichever poor audiobook narrator has to get through reading those names out loud without laughing. The pinyin names are also, for a lack of a better word, cringey? Juvenile? I don’t want to judge this too hard because Chinese names are extremely varied and sometimes nonsensical, but the main character being called Meilin is just a bit of an ick to me. It’s not that this doesn’t sound like an actual name (and I truly mean no offense to anyone named Meilin), but it kind of gives the same energy as naming your main character John Smith, you know what I mean?
Another thing that irks me personally is the random words that the author chose to write out in Chinese pinyin, and then subsequently translate it in text. There’s no consistency, and again, just looks stupid to me. For example, “The aroma of shaokao barbecued meat….” - shaokao just means barbecue. That is like saying “barbecue barbecued meat”. It’s stupid. This isn’t the only example from the book (“baichi idiot” is another one I can remember off the top of my head) but it just irritates me to no end.
Thirdly, I could almost look past all of this nonsense if the plot and/or characters were actually good, but unfortunately, there was really just nothing there. Like I said before, the book relies too heavily on being a Disney Mulan retelling, and as such, doesn’t really do enough to establish its own characters. The characters are all incredibly one dimensional, and none of the relationships are developed in any way that is meaningful. The main character has a couple of love interests, both of whom just randomly declare their interest in her after no significant or compelling interactions that would lead them to feel that way. One of the things that makes Mulan 1998 so fun is Mulan’s friendships with her fellow soldiers, as well as her dynamics with her dragon and cricket, but none of these fun relationships are anywhere to be found in this book. Meilin is a little too edgy and prickly to actually develop any believable friendships with her peers, and honestly, she’s just not a very complex and interesting character, nor are the other characters, so it only makes sense that their relationships are also boring.
All in all, this was just not a good book, in my opinion. I realize I am being super negative here, and if I weren’t on a plane when I read this, I’m sure I would have DNF’d it. I’m sure there's an audience for this book, I just cannot quite see who it would be for.
March 2, 2024
4.5 ⭐️
➣ spoilers are marked!
this book WAS BATSHIT CRAZY. i genuinly didn’t even know what i was going into as i started this - i expected a general mulan-based plot, girlboss energy, comedic relief, cute romcom scenes, and happily ever after.
NOT ONE BIT OF THAT WAS RIGHT.
😭😭😭
this book has dark magic, mythological aspects, political rivarly, comradery, betrayal (to the highest degree), and just 0.0001% fluff. UGH I LOVED IT SM I CAN’T EVEN EXPLAIN AAAAAAAHHHH (i’m still reeling from that last chapter and i hate this sm BC I WANT THE NEXT BOOK IN MY HANDS RN except book 1 hasnt even officially released yet 🪦🪦)
🗡️₊⊹ ꒱ hai meilin
“ma, i don't want to just survive. i want to be the best. i want others to respect me to fear me. to know my name and know it with awe.”
HAI MEILIN, THE WORLD FEARS YOU. I BOW DOWN TO YOU OMFG U QUEEN-
i actually have no words for this lady because SHE. SHE IS THE WOMAN. who needs a man when hai meilin exists??? ugh she’s literally what i want to be (if i wasnt lazy and procrastinating every damn task)
genuinly though, i admire her character so so much. she wants to prove her worth, wants to make people bow to her. I WILL. and the things she goes through…. MEN 🍵🍵👎👎👎 ugh i hated how most of the men depict women… it’s so disgusting and just sad.
🗝₊⊹ ꒱ prince liu sky
SKY THEY COULD NEVER MAKE ME HATE YOU 😔😔😔 && the way we were ROBBED of so much sky/meilin content… he’s literally the only good male organism in this book why did we get sky-deprived 😫💔 i better get a novella or much more of them in book 2 as compensation :(((
♟️₊⊹ ꒱ cao ming lei
WHY DOES HE EXIST!??!? i’m actually so conflicted with this character because i truly do hate him with such passion but why did he kinda glow up a bit towards the end..?? why did we get sm lei/meilin content instead like huh?!?! i DID NOT expect meilin having two guys at her feet 😪
spoilers below 🗯️ ~
++ dear tao and sparrow, i hope you both never find peace. i hope you both never find the good spot in your pillow and always stub your toes into a wall. i suspected them being traitors when they left after finding out she had dark magic BUT DAMN THAT BETRAYL ON LITERALLY THE SECOND-TO-LAST PAGE- i couldn’t even breathe 😭😭
⛓️₊⊹ ꒱ final thoughts
- i LOVED the quotes in the beginning of each chapter, they were each so beautiful ++ meaningful ❤️🩹
“and if i ever write ‘tonight the moonlight is strong," i am trying to say that i miss you.” 🩶🌟
- mwah mwah mwah UGH THIS WAS SO FREAKIN GOODDDDD ugh i wanna re-read this book already
- the writing in this book was incredible. i was hooked from the first page and i could NOT put this book down to save my life!! i was so invested, especially in part 3.
- sky sky sky sky sky :(((((
- lei can you rot pls tyvm
- spoiler point 🗯️ ~ idk if i can even consider this a love triangle...? because what was all that 😭😭 like girl he literally burned and almost killed you in so many events... why are you kissing him voluntarily...???
thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc! 💌
───────────── ♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
🏹🤍 pre-read: I GOT THE ARC ?!?! so excited to read this cuz the reviews have rly made it sound so good~~
(++ hoping this gets me out of my semi reading slump 🤕🤕)
➣ spoilers are marked!
“they would never let a woman get away with something like this. they would never let a woman hold on to power."
this book WAS BATSHIT CRAZY. i genuinly didn’t even know what i was going into as i started this - i expected a general mulan-based plot, girlboss energy, comedic relief, cute romcom scenes, and happily ever after.
NOT ONE BIT OF THAT WAS RIGHT.
😭😭😭
this book has dark magic, mythological aspects, political rivarly, comradery, betrayal (to the highest degree), and just 0.0001% fluff. UGH I LOVED IT SM I CAN’T EVEN EXPLAIN AAAAAAAHHHH (i’m still reeling from that last chapter and i hate this sm BC I WANT THE NEXT BOOK IN MY HANDS RN except book 1 hasnt even officially released yet 🪦🪦)
🗡️₊⊹ ꒱ hai meilin
“ma, i don't want to just survive. i want to be the best. i want others to respect me to fear me. to know my name and know it with awe.”
HAI MEILIN, THE WORLD FEARS YOU. I BOW DOWN TO YOU OMFG U QUEEN-
i actually have no words for this lady because SHE. SHE IS THE WOMAN. who needs a man when hai meilin exists??? ugh she’s literally what i want to be (if i wasnt lazy and procrastinating every damn task)
genuinly though, i admire her character so so much. she wants to prove her worth, wants to make people bow to her. I WILL. and the things she goes through…. MEN 🍵🍵👎👎👎 ugh i hated how most of the men depict women… it’s so disgusting and just sad.
🗝₊⊹ ꒱ prince liu sky
SKY THEY COULD NEVER MAKE ME HATE YOU 😔😔😔 && the way we were ROBBED of so much sky/meilin content… he’s literally the only good male organism in this book why did we get sky-deprived 😫💔 i better get a novella or much more of them in book 2 as compensation :(((
♟️₊⊹ ꒱ cao ming lei
WHY DOES HE EXIST!??!? i’m actually so conflicted with this character because i truly do hate him with such passion but why did he kinda glow up a bit towards the end..?? why did we get sm lei/meilin content instead like huh?!?! i DID NOT expect meilin having two guys at her feet 😪
spoilers below 🗯️ ~
++ dear tao and sparrow, i hope you both never find peace. i hope you both never find the good spot in your pillow and always stub your toes into a wall. i suspected them being traitors when they left after finding out she had dark magic BUT DAMN THAT BETRAYL ON LITERALLY THE SECOND-TO-LAST PAGE- i couldn’t even breathe 😭😭
⛓️₊⊹ ꒱ final thoughts
- i LOVED the quotes in the beginning of each chapter, they were each so beautiful ++ meaningful ❤️🩹
“and if i ever write ‘tonight the moonlight is strong," i am trying to say that i miss you.” 🩶🌟
- mwah mwah mwah UGH THIS WAS SO FREAKIN GOODDDDD ugh i wanna re-read this book already
- the writing in this book was incredible. i was hooked from the first page and i could NOT put this book down to save my life!! i was so invested, especially in part 3.
- sky sky sky sky sky :(((((
- lei can you rot pls tyvm
- spoiler point 🗯️ ~ idk if i can even consider this a love triangle...? because what was all that 😭😭 like girl he literally burned and almost killed you in so many events... why are you kissing him voluntarily...???
thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc! 💌
───────────── ♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
🏹🤍 pre-read: I GOT THE ARC ?!?! so excited to read this cuz the reviews have rly made it sound so good~~
(++ hoping this gets me out of my semi reading slump 🤕🤕)
March 20, 2024
4 stars.
rtc !!
꒰ ₊˚🖇️⊹ ꒱ because bffs rina and shehr adored this book and their reviews convinced me <3
thank you to netgalley for the arc!
rtc !!
꒰ ₊˚🖇️⊹ ꒱ because bffs rina and shehr adored this book and their reviews convinced me <3
thank you to netgalley for the arc!
January 12, 2024
what have i gotten myself into
no thoughts. just numb.
no thoughts. just numb.
March 30, 2024
→4✰
-spoiler free review
when i finished this book all i could think was wow. wowowowow. i adore retellings and mulan is one of my favorite disney princesses so absolutely no surprise that i ended up loving this!
๋࣭ ⭑⚝ hai meilin.
MEILIN THE WOMAN THAT U ARE. i want to be her when i grow up please. she is the strong feminine girlboss mc that we didn't know we needed. i need her bravery puhleez
๋࣭ ⭑⚝ prince liu sky.
i was clawing for those tiny minuscule crumbs we get of him and meilin. i really hope there's more of this man in the next book (if not i may cry)
๋࣭ ⭑⚝ cao ming lei.
well. he was a character! he really wasn't all that bad near the end i guess. at some points he was giving fuchai from a song to drown rivers. that does NOT mean i love him. i just saw some similarities
.𖥔 ݁ ˖"They would never let a woman get away with something like this."
"Something like what?"
"They would never let a woman hold on to power."
# thank you to netgalley for the arc!
⋆｡°✩
pre-read review
i'm soo excited for this aahhhh 🤭
my girl rina inspired me to apply for the arc, and i got it !! thank u rinaa ilu 🥹💐
-spoiler free review
.𖥔 ݁ ˖"I needed to prove that I as a woman could be better than the rest of them. That I too could belong. That I too could be free."
when i finished this book all i could think was wow. wowowowow. i adore retellings and mulan is one of my favorite disney princesses so absolutely no surprise that i ended up loving this!
๋࣭ ⭑⚝ hai meilin.
MEILIN THE WOMAN THAT U ARE. i want to be her when i grow up please. she is the strong feminine girlboss mc that we didn't know we needed. i need her bravery puhleez
๋࣭ ⭑⚝ prince liu sky.
i was clawing for those tiny minuscule crumbs we get of him and meilin. i really hope there's more of this man in the next book (if not i may cry)
๋࣭ ⭑⚝ cao ming lei.
well. he was a character! he really wasn't all that bad near the end i guess. at some points he was giving fuchai from a song to drown rivers. that does NOT mean i love him. i just saw some similarities
.𖥔 ݁ ˖"In the dark, I rephrased the Imperial Commander's words:
A woman who could use a blade endangered the social order.
A woman who could think for herself jeopardized the mortality of the law.
A woman who could take power away from those who held it threatened the welfare of the state."
╰ i could never imagine living in a society where women are forced to live under a leader who believes these things. this book really opened my eyes to how it feels living a life that you don't want to live. women in this time and setting were expected to be at their father or husbands beck and call. meilin didn't want that for herself so she chose to fight in the war under her father's name in the hopes that she would someday be accepted for who she was as a woman.
.𖥔 ݁ ˖"They would never let a woman get away with something like this."
"Something like what?"
"They would never let a woman hold on to power."
# thank you to netgalley for the arc!
⋆｡°✩
pre-read review
i'm soo excited for this aahhhh 🤭
my girl rina inspired me to apply for the arc, and i got it !! thank u rinaa ilu 🥹💐
Currently reading
February 22, 2024THE POPPY WAR MEETS SIX CRIMSON CRANES x MULAN RETELLING ??? GIVE IT TO ME RIGHT NEOWWWW
Want to read
February 10, 2024All I need to know is it’s inspired by Mulan ❤️🐲
The little girl in me is kicking her feet and screaming 🥹🥹
The little girl in me is kicking her feet and screaming 🥹🥹
Shelved as 'dnf'
May 31, 2024DNF @ 39%
yeah i quit!! cant do this anymore im bored to the point of tears and meilin has me losing my mind i cant stand her (where has logic gone for some of these choices she makes??? seriously??) or the other characters. i skimmed the rest of the book to see if there'd be anything to make me want to continue and other than being vaguely curious about that other guy (lei??), i genuinely do not care... sky looks like he'd be immensely frustrating so yeah im not about to deal with that goodbye!🫣
oh also how is this adult? this not only gives off YA vibes (characters, plot, etc) but also the writing does not feel adult from what i read so?? idk why publishers are being weird lately with their marketing. its not really a big deal but im just confused on why this keeps happening?
and how dare this be compared to two of my favourite books Six Crimson Cranes and the The Poppy War because personally those two were leagues away and i didnt see anything that reminded me of those books (although i did stop early so maybe later on it shows idk)
anyways im forever disappointed because genuinely this was one of my most anticipated reads this year and i adore mulan retellings so😭 and that cover + special features?? oh well, there's still hope with Of Jade and Dragons
Many thanks (and sorry T-T) to Berkley Publishing Group for gifting this ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.please dont blacklist me LOL
____________
NETGALLEY ACCEPTED MY ARC REQUEST OMG SO HAPPY🥹
____________
read the excerpt on tor and it sounds AMAZING (i mean inspired by mulan + there are dragons??? SIGN ME UP).
also "The Poppy War meets Six Crimson Cranes" omg like??? PLUS FIRST PRINTING IS GONNA BE SO GORGEOUS OH I NEED THIS BOOK ASAP
yeah i quit!! cant do this anymore im bored to the point of tears and meilin has me losing my mind i cant stand her (where has logic gone for some of these choices she makes??? seriously??) or the other characters. i skimmed the rest of the book to see if there'd be anything to make me want to continue and other than being vaguely curious about that other guy (lei??), i genuinely do not care... sky looks like he'd be immensely frustrating so yeah im not about to deal with that goodbye!🫣
oh also how is this adult? this not only gives off YA vibes (characters, plot, etc) but also the writing does not feel adult from what i read so?? idk why publishers are being weird lately with their marketing. its not really a big deal but im just confused on why this keeps happening?
and how dare this be compared to two of my favourite books Six Crimson Cranes and the The Poppy War because personally those two were leagues away and i didnt see anything that reminded me of those books (although i did stop early so maybe later on it shows idk)
anyways im forever disappointed because genuinely this was one of my most anticipated reads this year and i adore mulan retellings so😭 and that cover + special features?? oh well, there's still hope with Of Jade and Dragons
Many thanks (and sorry T-T) to Berkley Publishing Group for gifting this ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
____________
NETGALLEY ACCEPTED MY ARC REQUEST OMG SO HAPPY🥹
____________
read the excerpt on tor and it sounds AMAZING (i mean inspired by mulan + there are dragons??? SIGN ME UP).
also "The Poppy War meets Six Crimson Cranes" omg like??? PLUS FIRST PRINTING IS GONNA BE SO GORGEOUS OH I NEED THIS BOOK ASAP
Want to read
February 17, 2024𝓓𝓮𝓪𝓻 𝓝𝓮𝓽𝓖𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓮𝔂,
𝓢𝓲𝓷𝓬𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓵𝔂 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓹𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓵𝔂, 🤺
𝓗𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻
𝓢𝓲𝓷𝓬𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓵𝔂 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓹𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓵𝔂, 🤺
𝓗𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻
July 9, 2024
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
“Perhaps she had convinced herself she could breathe underwater. Perhaps she had wanted to see how far she could swim. Or perhaps she had simply yearned to be free.“
➸ I loved that the stepmother was not an enemy! It is refreshing to see a step parent that isn’t portrayed as inherently evil.
➸ As a romance lover, I wish the romance was left out. It feels forced and distracting. I’m not 100% sure who the actual love interest of the series is because I am FAR more interested in Lei. The romance with Sky felt so odd, and kind of sudden.
➸ I didn’t feel connected to ANY character though, it just felt flat. I didn’t care what happened, I didn’t feel anything about the ending, I don’t feel compelled to finish the story. It was an interesting read and it kept my attention the entire time, but I didn’t care what happened next.
“Perhaps she had convinced herself she could breathe underwater. Perhaps she had wanted to see how far she could swim. Or perhaps she had simply yearned to be free.“
➸ I loved that the stepmother was not an enemy! It is refreshing to see a step parent that isn’t portrayed as inherently evil.
➸ As a romance lover, I wish the romance was left out. It feels forced and distracting. I’m not 100% sure who the actual love interest of the series is because I am FAR more interested in Lei. The romance with Sky felt so odd, and kind of sudden.
➸ I didn’t feel connected to ANY character though, it just felt flat. I didn’t care what happened, I didn’t feel anything about the ending, I don’t feel compelled to finish the story. It was an interesting read and it kept my attention the entire time, but I didn’t care what happened next.
July 2, 2024
The Ballad of Mulan and the Romance of the Three Kingdoms meet the likes of The Poppy War and Six Crimson Cranes in this first part of K.X. Song's upcoming duology: “The Night Ends with Fire” is a tale of magic, adventure, war, love, corruption, betrayal, oppression, freedom, feminism, wuxia (martial arts) - and do not forget dragons! This book really ought to spread like wildfire when it comes out because let me tell you: it is deserving of
every
praise it receives!
[ Contains some spoilers. ]
PLOT SUMMARY
In the lands of Tianjia, war between the Three Kingdoms of Anlai, Ximing and Leyuan is brewing. Told through the first-person narrative of 18-year-old Hai Meilin from Anlai (our Mulan in this tale), we find her father does not want to answer his summons to fight as he believes it won’t benefit him. In this version, he is abusive, has made the family destitute through his gambling and addiction to opium and is heavily relying on Meilin's dowry when she weds. Upon discovering her fiancé is also abusive, Meilin decides to enlist in the war in place of her father as a man under the alias Ren.
She is allocated to the Seventh Company where the leader is none other than the dashing Liu Sky (Shang equivalent), Seventh Prince of Anlai, who had saved her previously. As well as this, Meilin has brought with her a mysterious newly-acquired jade necklace that her late mother wore, unbeknownst that this is a spirit seal containing the Dragon, Qinglong (Mushu equivalent), providing her wisdom and the power (lixia) of water. Now, she has to conceal she is a woman and a spirit medium, for risking revealing her true identity would mean death! Women are not permitted to fight in wars, and the practice of black magic and spirit mediums as well as the worship of spirits have been banned.
But soon Meilin discovers she is not the only spirit medium, a man named Sima hellbent on revenge wields the power of a Phoenix through a scarlet seal. A thief steals the seal and breaks it but it comes back in pieces as it cannot be easily destroyed. Sima has found one piece on one shore; Meilin must find the other two pieces to stop him.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
What an incredible story to read! I could not put it down. Like Meilin’s greed being the driving force behind Qinglong’s powers, my own greed to read and know more propelled me quickly through this book. The pacing was ideal with plenty of description. A few times I laughed, a few times I gasped. The world-building was excellent: K.X. Song has a way of transporting you into this world and exploring aspects of both the spirit realm and reality, as well as providing historical information about the history of the Three Kingdoms.
Also, she very kindly provides us with a map which I always love as it helps me imagine things better!
Split into three parts, there were plenty of twists and turns: some I did not see coming others, probably a lot of them, were predictable but enjoyable to see .
Had this been a single book, I would have rated it a 4 for the ending because it felt anticlimactic and also rather sad after everything that Meilin has been through. Knowing that the story is to be continued, that there is a second book in the works made this even better. Otherwise, I would have screamed haha! I do prefer being able to read a book as a standalone rather than wait for its conclusion later but I am excited to see the direction this story goes. She’s best get her revenge because I am rooting for her.
RETELLING OR REINVENTING?
This story is primarily based on the legend of Mulan. As Song mentions in her author’s note, most of the Western culture is familiar with the story of Mulan through Disney’s film Mulan from 1998 (as well as its sequel Mulan 2 in 2004) and the live-action of the same name from 2020. That is certainly how I know of it, being brought up with Disney films all my life.
Now, I cannot say anything about the historical accuracy of this tale, so I understand if those who are from the culture do not find some of the tale appropriate. For me, this was a refreshing take on the story I do know.
You can certainly see that Song has based a lot of this tale on the live-action Mulan. There are plenty of scenes that harken back to this. To name a few: our heroine knows martial arts before she even enlists, she trains at night herself away from the men, the bathing sequence, the presence of a phoenix.
But there are many differences too. While I am aware some people did not finish even reading it because it felt too much like “Mulan fanfiction”, the point of a retelling is to tell a story again but it should have some unique qualities of its own. And unique qualities it did, especially past the halfway point, because even I at one point was beginning to think it was a little too similar.
Song has created a whole new dynamic through the inclusion of forbidden magic and the Cardinal Spirits with their seals. Cardinal Spirits are the four spirits representing and controlling the time of day, seasons, elements and directions. These are:
🠚 Xuanwu - north, tortoise
🠚 Zhuque - south, phoenix - fire - gets power from vengeance
🠚 Qinglong - east, dragon - water - gets power from greed
🠚 Baihu - west, tiger
These are based on the mythological sacred animals of the Vietnamese culture. The two that are covered the most in this tale are Qinglong and Zhuque. Hopefully, we will get to see more of the other two and learn more about their elements and what fuels their power. It could be assumed that Xuanwu’s element is earth and Baihu’s is air.
I personally like dragons and including a sea dragon in this story is everything! Again, the dragon Qinglong, is not like Disney’s Mushu in any way. Consider him less funny and more sinister and cryptic.
OTHER INSPIRATION
There are a few stories/themes or events that are similar to this book.
<< The Poppy War >>
• avoids arranged marriage (Meilin enlists in war / Rei secretly studies for the Keju, national test)
• can harness the powers of a mythical creature (Meilin with the sea Dragon / Rei with the Pheonix)
<< Six Crimson Cranes >>
• avoids arranged marriage (Meilin enlists in war / Shiori accidentally sabotages her betrothal ceremony)
• wields forbidden magic (Meilin with lixia / Shiori with magic)
• expectations of family (Meilin is to marry / Shiori is the only princess and is expected to be dutiful)
• underwater dragon who teaches her how to harness her magic (Meilin’s Quinglong / Shiori’s Seryu)
• must destroy instrument which powers their enemy’s magic to resolve issues (Meilin must destroy Sima’s magic seal / Shiori must destroy Raikama’s dragon pearl)
THEMES
The main themes are:
<< Expectations, position and struggles of a woman in a patriarchal society >>
Meilin has all the societal norms against her as men control everything: if she marries, what she owns belongs to her husband and her father gets a dowery. Throughout most of history, women were forbidden from having their own identity to own or do things, from publishing a book to even the right to vote.
The tale of Mulan is folklore but there have been instances where women have managed to enlist to fight on a family member’s behalf, keep an eye on the man they love, or escape an abusive household (in Meilin’s case, it’s the latter). If she enlists as a man, there are very severe consequences to this, ultimately death.
Women have also been unfairly trialed and burned at the stake for claims of witchcraft. This is something Meilin fears she will face if she is discovered as practise in magic is forbidden.
<< Desire to belong >>
Meilin struggles to belong. Even when she starts to make friends she struggles to belong because she is lacking in skill like the others. Sparrow claims Meilin is like a brother to him, not knowing Meilin is a woman.
She constantly feels alone, with only her thoughts for company.
CHARACTERS
I really like the way Song has made these characters. Pretty much all of them are flawed, as they should be! This adds a great deal of realism, that not everything is straightforward.
<< Meilin >>
↳ I love Meilin. A very well-fleshed-out character, indeed. I can see why some people would find her dull or naïve but I feel that is entirely the point. Meilin is portrayed most realistically:
🠚 She is struggling as a woman in a patriarchal society who desires more than to be subservient
🠚 She has endured a lot of trauma from her childhood and adulthood, the likes of which some of us can unfortunately relate to. For her, it is the loss of her mother (and the madness that took hold of her before that) and abuse from her father.
🠚 More importantly, she is not perfect by any means, even after her training - for example, she loses the duel to be selected as a squad leader and, despite archery practice, still manages to shoot someone in the thigh instead of the neck.
🠚 The dragon is unable to help her when she wants, whether it is because they have mentally shut one another out, or the jade is lost, but especially when she is handcuffed in iron.
🠚 Her magic (lixia) also works against her: if she overdoes it, it drains her emotionally and physically.
Essentially, everything she does, she has to work for it. I would argue it might be too repetitive in that regard. It would have been nice to see her win more victories. I did not like in the live-action Mulan that the heroine, like Song’s Meilin, already knows martial arts and I much prefer the cartoon that she learns along with everyone else and becomes very good at it.
*⁀➷ Favourite quotes
“I needed to prove that I, as a woman, could be better than the rest of them. That I too could belong. That I too could be free.”
"I was an aberration that should not exist. A woman, a warrior, a spirit medium."
“I told you not to underestimate me”
<< Liu Sky >>
↳ Sky is the greenest of green flags! His temper and his prioritising of duty are his main flaws. But ultimately, he is a gentle kind person who cares very much for his people. He is the first to discover Meilin’s secret and the first to accept her for who she is.
I like that when Meilin meets him, he himself is disguised as a young soldier, Master Liu, to survey the city. This shows the double-standard that only men can get away with such things. I am surprised Song does not mention this at all.
Overall, nicely written. I like him very much!
*⁀➷ Favourite quotes
• “Lady, I was looking for you.” – the first thing he says to Meilin. Ahhh, this reminds me of both Rhysand from ACOTAR and Howl from Howl's Moving Castle.
• "If yesterday he had seemed like a free spirit with his boyish, easygoing personality, today he looked the prince he was: unapproachable, out of reach. Dangerous."
• "He was all *duty this, duty that*. He believed you should accept the cards you’d been dealt in life and be satisfied. Well, easy for him to say. He was born a prince of Anlai, and I was born a girl."
• “I want to treat you right, Meilin.” – EXCUSE MEEE!
<< Cao Ming Lei >>
↳ Ooh I knew this man would become my absolute favourite the moment Meilin met him. Out of everyone, I found him the most fascinating. So handsome and charming yet enigmatic and indifferent toward people. He works for everyone yet works for nobody but himself. Sometimes a monster, sometimes misunderstood. Oh yes, I really like the complexity of Lei!
I love a morally grey character with a great backstory to explain how he has become the person he is. His witty banter as well as his duel with Meilin with that funny moment made me just like her: against all odds, despite the monster he can be, very attracted to him.
*⁀➷ Favourite quotes
• "a beautiful face, belying a heart of stone."
• "His eyes crinkled again. He was very handsome when he smiled, I thought; he was very handsome all the time. But that just made it easier for him to deceive."
• “I protect what’s mine.”
• “You have a very twisted sense of enjoyment.”
He shot me an insufferable grin. “But I think you do too.”
• “You’re lovely when you laugh” – this one made me MELT!
<< Other characters >>
🠚 It makes a refreshing change that her stepmother Xiuying is not your stereotypical one: she is very nice and they have “bonded over a common enemy”, Meilin’s father.
🠚 The women in this story all have a significant impact or role and I like this, but I wish there had been more women who broke the societal norm, for example, the inclusion of the witch in the live-action.
══════════ ⋆★⋆ ══════════
I am honoured to have been selected as an ARC reader for this book, and I’d like to thank K.X. Song and NetGalley for the opportunity. This has not affected my opinion in any way.
Women were yin—weak and fickle, governed by their flighty emotions. Men were yang—rational, calm, and unyielding. We were told as children that women could not lead, fight, or govern, for they were too easily swayed, prone to hysteria and fitfulness. But I had proven them wrong.
[ Contains some spoilers. ]
PLOT SUMMARY
In the lands of Tianjia, war between the Three Kingdoms of Anlai, Ximing and Leyuan is brewing. Told through the first-person narrative of 18-year-old Hai Meilin from Anlai (our Mulan in this tale), we find her father does not want to answer his summons to fight as he believes it won’t benefit him. In this version, he is abusive, has made the family destitute through his gambling and addiction to opium and is heavily relying on Meilin's dowry when she weds. Upon discovering her fiancé is also abusive, Meilin decides to enlist in the war in place of her father as a man under the alias Ren.
She is allocated to the Seventh Company where the leader is none other than the dashing Liu Sky (Shang equivalent), Seventh Prince of Anlai, who had saved her previously. As well as this, Meilin has brought with her a mysterious newly-acquired jade necklace that her late mother wore, unbeknownst that this is a spirit seal containing the Dragon, Qinglong (Mushu equivalent), providing her wisdom and the power (lixia) of water. Now, she has to conceal she is a woman and a spirit medium, for risking revealing her true identity would mean death! Women are not permitted to fight in wars, and the practice of black magic and spirit mediums as well as the worship of spirits have been banned.
But soon Meilin discovers she is not the only spirit medium, a man named Sima hellbent on revenge wields the power of a Phoenix through a scarlet seal. A thief steals the seal and breaks it but it comes back in pieces as it cannot be easily destroyed. Sima has found one piece on one shore; Meilin must find the other two pieces to stop him.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
What an incredible story to read! I could not put it down. Like Meilin’s greed being the driving force behind Qinglong’s powers, my own greed to read and know more propelled me quickly through this book. The pacing was ideal with plenty of description. A few times I laughed, a few times I gasped. The world-building was excellent: K.X. Song has a way of transporting you into this world and exploring aspects of both the spirit realm and reality, as well as providing historical information about the history of the Three Kingdoms.
Also, she very kindly provides us with a map which I always love as it helps me imagine things better!
Split into three parts, there were plenty of twists and turns: some I did not see coming others, probably a lot of them, were predictable but enjoyable to see .
Had this been a single book, I would have rated it a 4 for the ending because it felt anticlimactic and also rather sad after everything that Meilin has been through. Knowing that the story is to be continued, that there is a second book in the works made this even better. Otherwise, I would have screamed haha! I do prefer being able to read a book as a standalone rather than wait for its conclusion later but I am excited to see the direction this story goes. She’s best get her revenge because I am rooting for her.
RETELLING OR REINVENTING?
This story is primarily based on the legend of Mulan. As Song mentions in her author’s note, most of the Western culture is familiar with the story of Mulan through Disney’s film Mulan from 1998 (as well as its sequel Mulan 2 in 2004) and the live-action of the same name from 2020. That is certainly how I know of it, being brought up with Disney films all my life.
Now, I cannot say anything about the historical accuracy of this tale, so I understand if those who are from the culture do not find some of the tale appropriate. For me, this was a refreshing take on the story I do know.
You can certainly see that Song has based a lot of this tale on the live-action Mulan. There are plenty of scenes that harken back to this. To name a few: our heroine knows martial arts before she even enlists, she trains at night herself away from the men, the bathing sequence, the presence of a phoenix.
But there are many differences too. While I am aware some people did not finish even reading it because it felt too much like “Mulan fanfiction”, the point of a retelling is to tell a story again but it should have some unique qualities of its own. And unique qualities it did, especially past the halfway point, because even I at one point was beginning to think it was a little too similar.
Song has created a whole new dynamic through the inclusion of forbidden magic and the Cardinal Spirits with their seals. Cardinal Spirits are the four spirits representing and controlling the time of day, seasons, elements and directions. These are:
🠚 Xuanwu - north, tortoise
🠚 Zhuque - south, phoenix - fire - gets power from vengeance
🠚 Qinglong - east, dragon - water - gets power from greed
🠚 Baihu - west, tiger
These are based on the mythological sacred animals of the Vietnamese culture. The two that are covered the most in this tale are Qinglong and Zhuque. Hopefully, we will get to see more of the other two and learn more about their elements and what fuels their power. It could be assumed that Xuanwu’s element is earth and Baihu’s is air.
I personally like dragons and including a sea dragon in this story is everything! Again, the dragon Qinglong, is not like Disney’s Mushu in any way. Consider him less funny and more sinister and cryptic.
OTHER INSPIRATION
There are a few stories/themes or events that are similar to this book.
<< The Poppy War >>
• avoids arranged marriage (Meilin enlists in war / Rei secretly studies for the Keju, national test)
• can harness the powers of a mythical creature (Meilin with the sea Dragon / Rei with the Pheonix)
<< Six Crimson Cranes >>
• avoids arranged marriage (Meilin enlists in war / Shiori accidentally sabotages her betrothal ceremony)
• wields forbidden magic (Meilin with lixia / Shiori with magic)
• expectations of family (Meilin is to marry / Shiori is the only princess and is expected to be dutiful)
• underwater dragon who teaches her how to harness her magic (Meilin’s Quinglong / Shiori’s Seryu)
• must destroy instrument which powers their enemy’s magic to resolve issues (Meilin must destroy Sima’s magic seal / Shiori must destroy Raikama’s dragon pearl)
THEMES
“They would never let a woman get away with something like this.”
“Something like what?”
“They would never let a woman hold on to power.”
The main themes are:
<< Expectations, position and struggles of a woman in a patriarchal society >>
Meilin has all the societal norms against her as men control everything: if she marries, what she owns belongs to her husband and her father gets a dowery. Throughout most of history, women were forbidden from having their own identity to own or do things, from publishing a book to even the right to vote.
The tale of Mulan is folklore but there have been instances where women have managed to enlist to fight on a family member’s behalf, keep an eye on the man they love, or escape an abusive household (in Meilin’s case, it’s the latter). If she enlists as a man, there are very severe consequences to this, ultimately death.
Women have also been unfairly trialed and burned at the stake for claims of witchcraft. This is something Meilin fears she will face if she is discovered as practise in magic is forbidden.
<< Desire to belong >>
Meilin struggles to belong. Even when she starts to make friends she struggles to belong because she is lacking in skill like the others. Sparrow claims Meilin is like a brother to him, not knowing Meilin is a woman.
She constantly feels alone, with only her thoughts for company.
CHARACTERS
I really like the way Song has made these characters. Pretty much all of them are flawed, as they should be! This adds a great deal of realism, that not everything is straightforward.
<< Meilin >>
↳ I love Meilin. A very well-fleshed-out character, indeed. I can see why some people would find her dull or naïve but I feel that is entirely the point. Meilin is portrayed most realistically:
🠚 She is struggling as a woman in a patriarchal society who desires more than to be subservient
🠚 She has endured a lot of trauma from her childhood and adulthood, the likes of which some of us can unfortunately relate to. For her, it is the loss of her mother (and the madness that took hold of her before that) and abuse from her father.
🠚 More importantly, she is not perfect by any means, even after her training - for example, she loses the duel to be selected as a squad leader and, despite archery practice, still manages to shoot someone in the thigh instead of the neck.
🠚 The dragon is unable to help her when she wants, whether it is because they have mentally shut one another out, or the jade is lost, but especially when she is handcuffed in iron.
🠚 Her magic (lixia) also works against her: if she overdoes it, it drains her emotionally and physically.
Essentially, everything she does, she has to work for it. I would argue it might be too repetitive in that regard. It would have been nice to see her win more victories. I did not like in the live-action Mulan that the heroine, like Song’s Meilin, already knows martial arts and I much prefer the cartoon that she learns along with everyone else and becomes very good at it.
*⁀➷ Favourite quotes
“I needed to prove that I, as a woman, could be better than the rest of them. That I too could belong. That I too could be free.”
"I was an aberration that should not exist. A woman, a warrior, a spirit medium."
“I told you not to underestimate me”
<< Liu Sky >>
↳ Sky is the greenest of green flags! His temper and his prioritising of duty are his main flaws. But ultimately, he is a gentle kind person who cares very much for his people. He is the first to discover Meilin’s secret and the first to accept her for who she is.
I like that when Meilin meets him, he himself is disguised as a young soldier, Master Liu, to survey the city. This shows the double-standard that only men can get away with such things. I am surprised Song does not mention this at all.
Overall, nicely written. I like him very much!
*⁀➷ Favourite quotes
• “Lady, I was looking for you.” – the first thing he says to Meilin. Ahhh, this reminds me of both Rhysand from ACOTAR and Howl from Howl's Moving Castle.
• "If yesterday he had seemed like a free spirit with his boyish, easygoing personality, today he looked the prince he was: unapproachable, out of reach. Dangerous."
• "He was all *duty this, duty that*. He believed you should accept the cards you’d been dealt in life and be satisfied. Well, easy for him to say. He was born a prince of Anlai, and I was born a girl."
• “I want to treat you right, Meilin.” – EXCUSE MEEE!
<< Cao Ming Lei >>
↳ Ooh I knew this man would become my absolute favourite the moment Meilin met him. Out of everyone, I found him the most fascinating. So handsome and charming yet enigmatic and indifferent toward people. He works for everyone yet works for nobody but himself. Sometimes a monster, sometimes misunderstood. Oh yes, I really like the complexity of Lei!
I love a morally grey character with a great backstory to explain how he has become the person he is. His witty banter as well as his duel with Meilin with that funny moment made me just like her: against all odds, despite the monster he can be, very attracted to him.
*⁀➷ Favourite quotes
• "a beautiful face, belying a heart of stone."
• "His eyes crinkled again. He was very handsome when he smiled, I thought; he was very handsome all the time. But that just made it easier for him to deceive."
• “I protect what’s mine.”
• “You have a very twisted sense of enjoyment.”
He shot me an insufferable grin. “But I think you do too.”
• “You’re lovely when you laugh” – this one made me MELT!
<< Other characters >>
🠚 It makes a refreshing change that her stepmother Xiuying is not your stereotypical one: she is very nice and they have “bonded over a common enemy”, Meilin’s father.
🠚 The women in this story all have a significant impact or role and I like this, but I wish there had been more women who broke the societal norm, for example, the inclusion of the witch in the live-action.
══════════ ⋆★⋆ ══════════
I am honoured to have been selected as an ARC reader for this book, and I’d like to thank K.X. Song and NetGalley for the opportunity. This has not affected my opinion in any way.
June 1, 2024
A Mulan retelling driven by greed rather than a sense of duty.
Meilin’s father sends her to a matchmaker wanting to use her dowry to pay for his gambling and opium debts. However, Meilin refused to escape her father only to fall under another master.
To escape, she enlists pretending to be her father’s bastard son to fight in the war, gaining the attention of Prince Liu with her kung fu skills and sheer determination.
”You would rather death out there in the wild, than death here, enslaved."
As the author acknowledges, at the core of The Night Ends with Fire is the question: What does our ambition cost us? Instead of Meilin fighting for her family’s honour, she fights to gain a position and place for herself, her ambition dangerous in a world full of men.
Personally, I felt the romance detracted from Meilin’s story. There’s a sort of love triangle although I hesitate to call it that. Not to mention, one of the love interests wants her to leave, not because she’s a woman of course, but because he wants to protect her. This always really annoys me in romantic entanglements. Especially in war when people have proven themselves.
I feel like this could have stood well as a standalone, especially in a market currently vying for them, however the ending felt abrupt and, whilst is more true to the climate of the age and environment, I felt a sense of disappointment that it wasn’t wrapped up.
Thank you to Hodder and Stoughton for providing me with an arc in exchange for a review.
Bookstagram
Meilin’s father sends her to a matchmaker wanting to use her dowry to pay for his gambling and opium debts. However, Meilin refused to escape her father only to fall under another master.
To escape, she enlists pretending to be her father’s bastard son to fight in the war, gaining the attention of Prince Liu with her kung fu skills and sheer determination.
”You would rather death out there in the wild, than death here, enslaved."
As the author acknowledges, at the core of The Night Ends with Fire is the question: What does our ambition cost us? Instead of Meilin fighting for her family’s honour, she fights to gain a position and place for herself, her ambition dangerous in a world full of men.
Personally, I felt the romance detracted from Meilin’s story. There’s a sort of love triangle although I hesitate to call it that. Not to mention, one of the love interests wants her to leave, not because she’s a woman of course, but because he wants to protect her. This always really annoys me in romantic entanglements. Especially in war when people have proven themselves.
I feel like this could have stood well as a standalone, especially in a market currently vying for them, however the ending felt abrupt and, whilst is more true to the climate of the age and environment, I felt a sense of disappointment that it wasn’t wrapped up.
Thank you to Hodder and Stoughton for providing me with an arc in exchange for a review.
Bookstagram
June 21, 2024
When receiving this ARC, I was incredibly excited to read a book that is inspired by Mulan. Mulan is my favorite Disney character so I couldn't be more excited since Mulan is not a common retelling.
But alas, this book is not for me. This book did a lot of telling and not showing. Mulan or Meilin in this story would have many lucid dreams where she talks to two different spirits of her magic and such. It felt a little long winded that it got a little mundane to read. We really don't get to explore her magic but just hear more about it than see it.
This book would also parallel with the storyline of the Disney movie Mulan. Where you see a correlation of the story. Then all of the sudden the dreams with the dragons, the good vs evil aspect and then she leaves the army with Sky and such. Didn't feel consistent and just fell a little flat for me.
For me I think what I struggled with this capturing my attention is the pacing of the story and some the elements of the story such as the long dialogues with the spirits/dragons. It doesn't also help that this is supposed to be Adult fantasy but the tone of the book reads like YA fantasy.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
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But alas, this book is not for me. This book did a lot of telling and not showing. Mulan or Meilin in this story would have many lucid dreams where she talks to two different spirits of her magic and such. It felt a little long winded that it got a little mundane to read. We really don't get to explore her magic but just hear more about it than see it.
This book would also parallel with the storyline of the Disney movie Mulan. Where you see a correlation of the story. Then all of the sudden the dreams with the dragons, the good vs evil aspect and then she leaves the army with Sky and such. Didn't feel consistent and just fell a little flat for me.
For me I think what I struggled with this capturing my attention is the pacing of the story and some the elements of the story such as the long dialogues with the spirits/dragons. It doesn't also help that this is supposed to be Adult fantasy but the tone of the book reads like YA fantasy.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Connect With Me:
BLOG ⟫ INSTAGRAM ⟫ PODCAST ⟫ YOUTUBE ⟫ TIKTOK
https://www.amazon.com/shop/booktrovertreader
September 17, 2024
The Night Ends With Fire, more like the night ends with a lukewarm blaze that struggles to ignite even the most flammable kindling.
If the modern adult fantasy book is contrived, tropey, and, much unlike a stuffed animal, full to bursting with not cotton filling but tropes, then I suppose you could call this an adult fantasy. But let me tell you, this book feels like chewing on cotton, except the cotton is on fire, and you can't spit the cotton out until the book ends, because for all its juvenile plotting you find yourself foolishly invested. That's it. That's the K.X. Song deluxe experience.
Let's make one thing clear: this is YA fantasy masquerading as adult fantasy. I peer into the pages of this book and I am instantly bombarded with any of the following: instant love, some very strange plotting choices, and perhaps my biggest grievance of all, nonsensically translated Chinese. Often times it's way too literal, and you have people running around with names that would get you landed in a Worst Names Parents Have Given Children Buzzfeed article (case in point: random, totally not main character guy named Liu Sky and not, oh, I don't know, something a little more natural and just a little less literal like Liu Tian). Are we using the chinese pinyin, or are we using the actual meaning of the word? We're using some unholy amalgamation of the two, K.X. Song says.
If I was under any illusions that K.X. Song would have changed up her style of writing for something supposedly adult fantasy, those have been thoroughly eviscerated after reading this book. Her previous debut, An Echo In The City, I read partially because I was intrigued by the premise and the setting being my hometown, Hong Kong. Unfortunately for my delicate sensibilities, not only the premise rub me the wrong way, the book itself was also lacking. Perhaps I could've chalked it up to Song not suiting the YA genre, but then this came out, and now I am able to confidently say that maybe she's just not for me. The Night Ends with Fire shows me, yet again, that to craft a good fantasy novel requires knife-sharp balancing of a million different elements at once- and it is so very tricky to do so perfectly.
And I could've excused a lot of these things if the story itself was good. But the thing is- and it pains me to say this about a book I had such high hopes for- it's not. Characters make decisions that feel less like plot twists and more like someone tripped over the proverbial narrative rug. People meet and fall in love in the grand span of 5 minutes. The characters the whole plot twist hinges on have close to no plot relevance. It's like watching a movie, and the main character is betrayed by a minor character who's shown up a grand total of five (5) times, and their only dialogue consists of the most forgettable line in cinema history.
The Night Ends With Fire is described as a Mulan retelling, focusing on the women in history that have been so often left behind and forgotten for the sin of simply being the wrong gender. Except, our protagonist contradicts this message. She's strong because she practices kung fu, a stereotypically male activity, unlike the other women, who simply stay at home. And in contrast to all the other girls her age, who have gotten married and are now viewed as weak and helpless, Meilin is defiant and refuses to bow her head to male authority. Rather than her femininity making her stronger, and her defiance giving her strength, Meilin is strong because she does stereotypically male things.
While you can (and probably will) argue that this is the message K.X. Song attempts to subvert by having Meilin be betrayed at the end for simply being a woman in the wrong era, in spite of her rather male traits, I find her messaging very heavy-handed. At least for me, it's akin to being spoon-fed the core message of the book rather than provoke thought independently from the reader.
In the end, The Night Ends with Fire is a book that promises an inferno and delivers a matchstick. It’s not the worst thing to happen to literature, but it’s certainly not setting anything alight either. The saving point of this book is the friendship between Meilin and her stepmother. Hurray to the death of the wicked stepmother trope, nay to the Not Like Other Girls ™️ deluxe meal. More of this, please!
-
local woman tries new book to stave off book slump, finds out it’s a mulan retelling, slumps to the floor and Dies.
If the modern adult fantasy book is contrived, tropey, and, much unlike a stuffed animal, full to bursting with not cotton filling but tropes, then I suppose you could call this an adult fantasy. But let me tell you, this book feels like chewing on cotton, except the cotton is on fire, and you can't spit the cotton out until the book ends, because for all its juvenile plotting you find yourself foolishly invested. That's it. That's the K.X. Song deluxe experience.
Let's make one thing clear: this is YA fantasy masquerading as adult fantasy. I peer into the pages of this book and I am instantly bombarded with any of the following: instant love, some very strange plotting choices, and perhaps my biggest grievance of all, nonsensically translated Chinese. Often times it's way too literal, and you have people running around with names that would get you landed in a Worst Names Parents Have Given Children Buzzfeed article (case in point: random, totally not main character guy named Liu Sky and not, oh, I don't know, something a little more natural and just a little less literal like Liu Tian). Are we using the chinese pinyin, or are we using the actual meaning of the word? We're using some unholy amalgamation of the two, K.X. Song says.
If I was under any illusions that K.X. Song would have changed up her style of writing for something supposedly adult fantasy, those have been thoroughly eviscerated after reading this book. Her previous debut, An Echo In The City, I read partially because I was intrigued by the premise and the setting being my hometown, Hong Kong. Unfortunately for my delicate sensibilities, not only the premise rub me the wrong way, the book itself was also lacking. Perhaps I could've chalked it up to Song not suiting the YA genre, but then this came out, and now I am able to confidently say that maybe she's just not for me. The Night Ends with Fire shows me, yet again, that to craft a good fantasy novel requires knife-sharp balancing of a million different elements at once- and it is so very tricky to do so perfectly.
And I could've excused a lot of these things if the story itself was good. But the thing is- and it pains me to say this about a book I had such high hopes for- it's not. Characters make decisions that feel less like plot twists and more like someone tripped over the proverbial narrative rug. People meet and fall in love in the grand span of 5 minutes. The characters the whole plot twist hinges on have close to no plot relevance. It's like watching a movie, and the main character is betrayed by a minor character who's shown up a grand total of five (5) times, and their only dialogue consists of the most forgettable line in cinema history.
The Night Ends With Fire is described as a Mulan retelling, focusing on the women in history that have been so often left behind and forgotten for the sin of simply being the wrong gender. Except, our protagonist contradicts this message. She's strong because she practices kung fu, a stereotypically male activity, unlike the other women, who simply stay at home. And in contrast to all the other girls her age, who have gotten married and are now viewed as weak and helpless, Meilin is defiant and refuses to bow her head to male authority. Rather than her femininity making her stronger, and her defiance giving her strength, Meilin is strong because she does stereotypically male things.
While you can (and probably will) argue that this is the message K.X. Song attempts to subvert by having Meilin be betrayed at the end for simply being a woman in the wrong era, in spite of her rather male traits, I find her messaging very heavy-handed. At least for me, it's akin to being spoon-fed the core message of the book rather than provoke thought independently from the reader.
In the end, The Night Ends with Fire is a book that promises an inferno and delivers a matchstick. It’s not the worst thing to happen to literature, but it’s certainly not setting anything alight either. The saving point of this book is the friendship between Meilin and her stepmother. Hurray to the death of the wicked stepmother trope, nay to the Not Like Other Girls ™️ deluxe meal. More of this, please!
-
local woman tries new book to stave off book slump, finds out it’s a mulan retelling, slumps to the floor and Dies.
May 12, 2024
2 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodderscape for providing an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
The Night Ends with Fire starts off strong. It is clear from the beginning that this is a Mulan retelling, but the characters and their family dynamic deviate quite a bit from the original tale. It was refreshing and I was more than ready to experience this story through a new lens.
I loved that K.X. Song chose to subvert the evil/unwanted stepmother trope, and I thought the inclusion of a was a great start to Meilin's character development. I wish this had been more present for the rest of the story, but it was unfortunately brushed aside and forgotten as soon as it no longer served the plot.
Meilin is a such a confusing protagonist for me. I liked her stubbornness and her competitive edge, but ultimately felt she was being used to send very conflicting messages about feminine rage and gender equality. Meilin wants to be powerful, she wants to be feared, she wants to be successful, and she wants to be acknowledged as an equal by the male cast. These are all admirable goals, but what drives her pursuit of them should matter too.
As the story progresses it becomes clear that she believes her strength comes from what makes her different from the other female figures in her life. She does not submit to abusive men because she is more defiant than her stepmother. She does not suffer from bouts of hysteria, because she has a sharper mind than the woman who raised her. She is fearless in combat, because her yang energy (a force of action associated with masculine life forces) is not secondary to her yin energy (a force of passivity associated with feminine life forces).
In other words, Meilin believes herself capable not because women are underestimated, but because she herself is underestimated. She is Not Like Other Girls.
I think for younger audiences this messaging might not be so abrasive, but for me it was heavy-handed and really lacking the nuance that I was hoping for.
I also had issues with the writing. Each chapter features a new challenge or obstacle for our heroine to overcome, but the solution is always found immediately. This is both unsatisfying from a narrative perspective and detrimental to character development. I generally enjoy the use of a first-person POV in fantasy, but when the protagonist is never allowed to sit with their feelings for prolonged periods of time, they never build the kind of emotional depth necessary for readers to become invested in their success.
Meilin never has to feel truly uncomfortable, she never has to contemplate her choices over multiple chapters, she never has to weigh her emotions against her better judgement. She never has to be lost. Sometimes characters need to be a little lost, y'know?
Subsequently everything felt quite trivial and the story just never really hooked me. I was hoping the worldbuilding or magic system might give me something else to be excited about but they were very underdeveloped. The introduction of the villain character was equally underwhelming, but to say why would definitely veer into spoiler territory so I will leave that to other reviewers to discuss!
So who is this for?
On a surface level, this is a fairly faithful Mulan retelling and if you are looking to relive that story this series might hit the right note for you.
I do think this book leans on the younger side, both in tone and in content. The dialogue in particular is very YA. Teen audiences might find this story much more compelling than adult ones, but if you are a younger reader make sure you check the content warnings before reading.
------------------------------------
My rating system:
✧✧✧✧✧ - loved it, no complaints
✧✧✧✧ - loved it, some technical flaws
✧✧✧ - liked it
✧✧ - disappointing
✧ - unenjoyable
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodderscape for providing an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
The Night Ends with Fire starts off strong. It is clear from the beginning that this is a Mulan retelling, but the characters and their family dynamic deviate quite a bit from the original tale. It was refreshing and I was more than ready to experience this story through a new lens.
I loved that K.X. Song chose to subvert the evil/unwanted stepmother trope, and I thought the inclusion of a was a great start to Meilin's character development. I wish this had been more present for the rest of the story, but it was unfortunately brushed aside and forgotten as soon as it no longer served the plot.
Meilin is a such a confusing protagonist for me. I liked her stubbornness and her competitive edge, but ultimately felt she was being used to send very conflicting messages about feminine rage and gender equality. Meilin wants to be powerful, she wants to be feared, she wants to be successful, and she wants to be acknowledged as an equal by the male cast. These are all admirable goals, but what drives her pursuit of them should matter too.
As the story progresses it becomes clear that she believes her strength comes from what makes her different from the other female figures in her life. She does not submit to abusive men because she is more defiant than her stepmother. She does not suffer from bouts of hysteria, because she has a sharper mind than the woman who raised her. She is fearless in combat, because her yang energy (a force of action associated with masculine life forces) is not secondary to her yin energy (a force of passivity associated with feminine life forces).
In other words, Meilin believes herself capable not because women are underestimated, but because she herself is underestimated. She is Not Like Other Girls.
I think for younger audiences this messaging might not be so abrasive, but for me it was heavy-handed and really lacking the nuance that I was hoping for.
I also had issues with the writing. Each chapter features a new challenge or obstacle for our heroine to overcome, but the solution is always found immediately. This is both unsatisfying from a narrative perspective and detrimental to character development. I generally enjoy the use of a first-person POV in fantasy, but when the protagonist is never allowed to sit with their feelings for prolonged periods of time, they never build the kind of emotional depth necessary for readers to become invested in their success.
Meilin never has to feel truly uncomfortable, she never has to contemplate her choices over multiple chapters, she never has to weigh her emotions against her better judgement. She never has to be lost. Sometimes characters need to be a little lost, y'know?
Subsequently everything felt quite trivial and the story just never really hooked me. I was hoping the worldbuilding or magic system might give me something else to be excited about but they were very underdeveloped. The introduction of the villain character was equally underwhelming, but to say why would definitely veer into spoiler territory so I will leave that to other reviewers to discuss!
So who is this for?
On a surface level, this is a fairly faithful Mulan retelling and if you are looking to relive that story this series might hit the right note for you.
I do think this book leans on the younger side, both in tone and in content. The dialogue in particular is very YA. Teen audiences might find this story much more compelling than adult ones, but if you are a younger reader make sure you check the content warnings before reading.
------------------------------------
My rating system:
✧✧✧✧✧ - loved it, no complaints
✧✧✧✧ - loved it, some technical flaws
✧✧✧ - liked it
✧✧ - disappointing
✧ - unenjoyable
June 23, 2024
4.0 Stars
Asian inspired fantasy is one of my favourite subgenres so I knew this book would be right up my alley. If you love She Who Became the Sun then I highly recommend this one. It is certainly not the same story but has a similar setup with a young woman finding herself in a male driven world. The book is compared to Mulan and I would agree with that.
If you enjoy character driven novels with rich worldbuilding, set in a historical China, then you will likely love this one too.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
Asian inspired fantasy is one of my favourite subgenres so I knew this book would be right up my alley. If you love She Who Became the Sun then I highly recommend this one. It is certainly not the same story but has a similar setup with a young woman finding herself in a male driven world. The book is compared to Mulan and I would agree with that.
If you enjoy character driven novels with rich worldbuilding, set in a historical China, then you will likely love this one too.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
July 20, 2024
2 ⭐️ It really just wasn’t for me
WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ adult fantasy series
✨ mulan retelling
✨ badass FMC
✨ feminine rage
✨ hidden identity
✨ wartime
✨ magic
✨ love triangle (to be expanded on)
✨ classist and patriarchal society
✨ cliffhanger
✨ TW: domestic abuse, attempted r@pe, violence
My Thoughts:
I’m sitting here trying to formulate my thought, the only thing I can come up with is this: I just didn’t give a f*ck about this story.
It’s too heavily inspired by Disney’s Mulan that for the first 40% all I could imagine was Mulan. The characters are not fully fleshed out. The MC isn’t really even likable. The love triangle romance (which will definitely play a larger role in book 2) came out of nowhere and it’s pretty obvious which one she’s going to choose. There’s too much telling vs showing and so much non-dialogue. The story feels more YA than Adult (which this is marketed as). And the actual writing was pretty basic.
I do actually think the premise is interesting, but the execution of the story made it a challenge to get through. If I hadn’t gotten this as an ARC, I would have DNFed at 15%. But thanks to my determination and skimming abilities, I was able to finish.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ace Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review! As always, all opinions are my own.
WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ adult fantasy series
✨ mulan retelling
✨ badass FMC
✨ feminine rage
✨ hidden identity
✨ wartime
✨ magic
✨ love triangle (to be expanded on)
✨ classist and patriarchal society
✨ cliffhanger
✨ TW: domestic abuse, attempted r@pe, violence
My Thoughts:
I’m sitting here trying to formulate my thought, the only thing I can come up with is this: I just didn’t give a f*ck about this story.
It’s too heavily inspired by Disney’s Mulan that for the first 40% all I could imagine was Mulan. The characters are not fully fleshed out. The MC isn’t really even likable. The love triangle romance (which will definitely play a larger role in book 2) came out of nowhere and it’s pretty obvious which one she’s going to choose. There’s too much telling vs showing and so much non-dialogue. The story feels more YA than Adult (which this is marketed as). And the actual writing was pretty basic.
I do actually think the premise is interesting, but the execution of the story made it a challenge to get through. If I hadn’t gotten this as an ARC, I would have DNFed at 15%. But thanks to my determination and skimming abilities, I was able to finish.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ace Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review! As always, all opinions are my own.
Want to read
November 12, 2023Mulan inspired… AND Sea Dragons?!?!? 🥹
July 20, 2024
every day i wake up and see a beautiful, beautiful book cover that lures me in like a siren and i fall for it every time.
i desperately need this book to pick a translating convention and stick with it. it completely takes me out when half the names are written out in pinyin (meilin, xiuying, rouha, cao ming lei, etc) and the other half are translated directly into english (plum, sky, winter, sparrow, autumn, etc). what exactly are we gaining from this? not to mention some chinese words got the chinese-followed-by-the-same-word-in-english treatment with such delights as "baichi fool/idiot", "haixiao wave", and "shaokao barbecue" while other words got no translation at all. i get it, you want to seamlessly incorporate chinese terms into your english story, we all do, but can we be consistent please? it's not even as if there were any honourifics to handle beyond ge/di/jie/mei. let's bring back footnotes and glossaries.
nitpicking aside, this is a rather unremarkable mulan retelling that asks the riveting question: what if mulan was Not Like Other Girls? the writing is not great, the characters go through very miniscule amounts of development, and the "romance" is bundled up in an uninspiring love triangle. the concept of a mulan who is driven by greed and ambition rather than filial piety is certainly an enticing one but the execution is rather juvenile and boring and reads a lot more like YA than adult. not for me sadly.
i desperately need this book to pick a translating convention and stick with it. it completely takes me out when half the names are written out in pinyin (meilin, xiuying, rouha, cao ming lei, etc) and the other half are translated directly into english (plum, sky, winter, sparrow, autumn, etc). what exactly are we gaining from this? not to mention some chinese words got the chinese-followed-by-the-same-word-in-english treatment with such delights as "baichi fool/idiot", "haixiao wave", and "shaokao barbecue" while other words got no translation at all. i get it, you want to seamlessly incorporate chinese terms into your english story, we all do, but can we be consistent please? it's not even as if there were any honourifics to handle beyond ge/di/jie/mei. let's bring back footnotes and glossaries.
nitpicking aside, this is a rather unremarkable mulan retelling that asks the riveting question: what if mulan was Not Like Other Girls? the writing is not great, the characters go through very miniscule amounts of development, and the "romance" is bundled up in an uninspiring love triangle. the concept of a mulan who is driven by greed and ambition rather than filial piety is certainly an enticing one but the execution is rather juvenile and boring and reads a lot more like YA than adult. not for me sadly.
Want to read
January 29, 2024Mulan + the most gorgeous painted edge.....sign me up!
Want to read
March 9, 2024A Mulan retelling? the child in me was squealing when I got approved for this arc 🤩
Read
June 5, 2024Sadly I had to DNF this book @51% due to the issues I was having with it.
The first thing that bothered me was how some scenes that happen in the movie happen pretty much the same in the book, especially at the start of the novel. Maybe the author was going for a sense of nostalgia, but for me it translated as uninspired and unoriginal.
Onto the characters, at first I thought we were going for a subversion of expectations on the original story and kept waiting for the characters, in particular Meilin, to sit with her actions and develop some depth/personality. This didn't happen at all in the first half, quite the contrary. She really is just copy and past Mulan and lacks any depth of her own. Same thing for the side characters; they're just... there.
The reveal of Meilin's true identity, the moment I looked forward to most, was so infuriatingly anticlimactic and lacking build up that it made me want to throw my e-reader across the room. Not only does it come completely out of the blue but the conflict deriving from such revelation gets resolved way too quickly to have any impact whatsoever.
Which leads me to my next point, and arguably what I hated most about this book: there is NO tension. None. Zero.
After the first 15% the story is fast paced, but absolutely nothing that happens has any real consequences. Meilin finds the solution to her problems almost immediately. There isn't any sense of stakes, and therefore I didn't care about a single thing either character- or plot-wise.
Another thing that rubbed me the wrong way is how Meilin sees herself as being as capable as men, not women as a whole. It comes out very "not like other girls". I thought we'd left that in bad fanfic and 2000's YA but apparently not.
In terms of prose... it does the job I guess, but I disliked how the short sentences led to repetition. It's first person POV and due to this most sentences start with "I". Not a fan. More editing probably would have fixed some of this.
And lastly, for a book that is supposedly Adult, this reads unbelievably juvenile. I've for real read YA that feels more Adult. Maybe it'll resonate more with younger audiences. Alas, it was not the book for me.
Thank you NetGally and Berkley for the ARC.
The first thing that bothered me was how some scenes that happen in the movie happen pretty much the same in the book, especially at the start of the novel. Maybe the author was going for a sense of nostalgia, but for me it translated as uninspired and unoriginal.
Onto the characters, at first I thought we were going for a subversion of expectations on the original story and kept waiting for the characters, in particular Meilin, to sit with her actions and develop some depth/personality. This didn't happen at all in the first half, quite the contrary. She really is just copy and past Mulan and lacks any depth of her own. Same thing for the side characters; they're just... there.
The reveal of Meilin's true identity, the moment I looked forward to most, was so infuriatingly anticlimactic and lacking build up that it made me want to throw my e-reader across the room. Not only does it come completely out of the blue but the conflict deriving from such revelation gets resolved way too quickly to have any impact whatsoever.
Which leads me to my next point, and arguably what I hated most about this book: there is NO tension. None. Zero.
After the first 15% the story is fast paced, but absolutely nothing that happens has any real consequences. Meilin finds the solution to her problems almost immediately. There isn't any sense of stakes, and therefore I didn't care about a single thing either character- or plot-wise.
Another thing that rubbed me the wrong way is how Meilin sees herself as being as capable as men, not women as a whole. It comes out very "not like other girls". I thought we'd left that in bad fanfic and 2000's YA but apparently not.
In terms of prose... it does the job I guess, but I disliked how the short sentences led to repetition. It's first person POV and due to this most sentences start with "I". Not a fan. More editing probably would have fixed some of this.
And lastly, for a book that is supposedly Adult, this reads unbelievably juvenile. I've for real read YA that feels more Adult. Maybe it'll resonate more with younger audiences. Alas, it was not the book for me.
Thank you NetGally and Berkley for the ARC.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 5, 2024
how do i say this without sounding mean... the fmc of this book is a try-hard fang runin wannabe but way more pathetic and edgy. like no, i really don't need to be told every chapter that you're selfish and your desire for power is unnatural. please. just show me your corruption arc without the stupid inned monologue. and also the "romance" is lackluster and shit... on both sides. and also the plot was all over the place, and all the different aspects could've been combined way better
August 17, 2024
DNF @60%
I really tried with this one and it started off so well but I never grew to like the characters or even know them to be honest
This FMC Meilin is meant to be a selfish version of Mulan but aside from her telling me shes selfish I don’t understand why.
She wants power but to what end, to do what with?
The romance is non existent and the important training moments were skipped over with sentences like “3 weeks passed, we trained every night, ” !! This was crucial time to build this romance and make it believable
250 pages in and I honestly couldn’t care less what happens to these characters so I have to move on
I really tried with this one and it started off so well but I never grew to like the characters or even know them to be honest
This FMC Meilin is meant to be a selfish version of Mulan but aside from her telling me shes selfish I don’t understand why.
She wants power but to what end, to do what with?
The romance is non existent and the important training moments were skipped over with sentences like “3 weeks passed, we trained every night, ” !! This was crucial time to build this romance and make it believable
250 pages in and I honestly couldn’t care less what happens to these characters so I have to move on
July 12, 2024
🌟🌟🌟🌟.25 stars.
"I needed to prove that I, as a woman, could be better than the rest of them. That I too could belong. That I too could be free."
Oh my gosh, *The Night Ends With Fire* was an absolute ride! 🎢✨ I expected a fun Mulan-inspired romp, but what I got was so much deeper and more intense. This book completely blew my expectations out of the water! 🌊🔥
This book is for all the fierce souls who crave breaking free from the norm, especially those who’ve felt boxed in by society’s rules! If you’re an Asian girl who’s ready to channel your inner Mulan and dive into a world of strong female leads, mythical creatures, and epic battles for freedom, then this is *your* book! 🏹✨ For those who thrive on dark magic, secret identities, and political drama, this read will totally hit the spot. Get ready for some intense betrayals and a whole lot of empowerment! 💪🖤🐉💥
**Tropes:**
- Disguised Identity 🕵️♀️
- Mythical Creatures 🐉
- Battle for Freedom ⚔️
- Dark Magic 🖤
- Strong FMC 💪
- Betrayal 💔
- Love Triangle
Meilin is the hero we all needed! Her journey from being trapped by her father to taking her destiny into her own hands was so empowering. 🙌 She doesn't just want to survive; she wants to be the best. The way she challenges gender roles and proves her worth is truly inspiring. I loved how she navigated the army life, gained respect, and dealt with her complicated feelings for Sky and Lei.
Prince Liu Sky was such a swoon-worthy character! 😍 He recognized Meilin's strength and was one of the few men who genuinely respected her. I wish there was more Sky/Meilin content because their dynamic was everything. Cao Ming Lei was a surprise. He’s the kind of enemy you can't help but admire a little, even if he’s on the other side.
This book was dark and full of twists. 🖤 It had mythological elements, intense political rivalries, camaraderie, and betrayals that left me gasping. The dark magic and visions of the sea dragon spirit added a layer of suspense that kept me hooked until the very end. The betrayal towards the end; I’m still not over it! 😭
"They would never let a woman get away with something like this."
"Something like what?"
"They would never let a woman hold on to power."
I was genuinely blown away by the author's note. It was fascinating to see how K.X. Song reimagined the Mulan legend, focusing on Meilin's selfish desire for freedom rather than filial piety. This perspective made Meilin's character even more relatable and her journey more compelling.
I NEED the second book NOW. This book left me reeling, and the wait for the next one is going to be torture. K.X. Song, you've got me hooked, and I can't wait to see where Meilin's story goes next! 💖✨
"I needed to prove that I, as a woman, could be better than the rest of them. That I too could belong. That I too could be free."
Oh my gosh, *The Night Ends With Fire* was an absolute ride! 🎢✨ I expected a fun Mulan-inspired romp, but what I got was so much deeper and more intense. This book completely blew my expectations out of the water! 🌊🔥
This book is for all the fierce souls who crave breaking free from the norm, especially those who’ve felt boxed in by society’s rules! If you’re an Asian girl who’s ready to channel your inner Mulan and dive into a world of strong female leads, mythical creatures, and epic battles for freedom, then this is *your* book! 🏹✨ For those who thrive on dark magic, secret identities, and political drama, this read will totally hit the spot. Get ready for some intense betrayals and a whole lot of empowerment! 💪🖤🐉💥
**Tropes:**
- Disguised Identity 🕵️♀️
- Mythical Creatures 🐉
- Battle for Freedom ⚔️
- Dark Magic 🖤
- Strong FMC 💪
- Betrayal 💔
- Love Triangle
Meilin is the hero we all needed! Her journey from being trapped by her father to taking her destiny into her own hands was so empowering. 🙌 She doesn't just want to survive; she wants to be the best. The way she challenges gender roles and proves her worth is truly inspiring. I loved how she navigated the army life, gained respect, and dealt with her complicated feelings for Sky and Lei.
Prince Liu Sky was such a swoon-worthy character! 😍 He recognized Meilin's strength and was one of the few men who genuinely respected her. I wish there was more Sky/Meilin content because their dynamic was everything. Cao Ming Lei was a surprise. He’s the kind of enemy you can't help but admire a little, even if he’s on the other side.
This book was dark and full of twists. 🖤 It had mythological elements, intense political rivalries, camaraderie, and betrayals that left me gasping. The dark magic and visions of the sea dragon spirit added a layer of suspense that kept me hooked until the very end. The betrayal towards the end; I’m still not over it! 😭
"They would never let a woman get away with something like this."
"Something like what?"
"They would never let a woman hold on to power."
I was genuinely blown away by the author's note. It was fascinating to see how K.X. Song reimagined the Mulan legend, focusing on Meilin's selfish desire for freedom rather than filial piety. This perspective made Meilin's character even more relatable and her journey more compelling.
I NEED the second book NOW. This book left me reeling, and the wait for the next one is going to be torture. K.X. Song, you've got me hooked, and I can't wait to see where Meilin's story goes next! 💖✨
June 18, 2024
Edit: I’m taking this down a star bc the more I think abt it the more it feels like a 2 star. that is all
_________________
OG review :
The Night Ends with Fire is an immersive and fast paced Mulan retelling. We follow Hai Meilin, an 18 year old girl who, of course, deserts all she knows to join the military and escape her arranged marriage. As a man, naturally.
Howeverrrr this story significantly changes what Disney handed us. Here we explore what would have happened if Mulan didn’t leave out of loyalty to her family but because of her own ambition and desire for autonomy. What would have happened if Mulan wasn’t satisfied with her storybook ending? What would have happened if she simply wanted more more more?
K. X. Song said it herself, but it’s clear that she has written this story not only to make sense of the world, but to make sense of the strained relationship she has with ambition. She does just that and adds a whole lot of magic though, which I appreciated. :) It was giving major Poppy War vibes.
Now it’s time to be honest. I struggled with this book despite its breakneck pacing. Here’s why:
The beginning gave me whiplash, I wanted things to actually slow down so I could get to know Meilin, instead we just watch her ping pong around and do things. I think others will really appreciate that though as it really grips you by the hair. We also do eventually get to know what drives her.
The dialogue is a little simplistic and maybe a bit juvenile? There’s some cheesy lines. But sometimes that’s the vibe of YA. Then again the subject material gets pretty dark at the end so idk (what is YA anymore I have not a clue).
The training / fight sequences didn’t stand a chance… I was reading The Rage of Dragons in tandem and that blew these action sequences out of the park.
The romance was forgettable and I didn’t really like Sky all that much…unless a certain spoiler happens. In THAT case.
There were some betrayals and plot points that felt a little cheap. They moved things forward but I would have liked some more nuance there. I’m picky tho :/
Let me admit something now, I put this book down at the 40% mark, waited a month to restart, then almost dnfed it for another 20%, and THEN got back in and invested for the last 40%. I think this could have significantly skewed my reading experience towards the negative. I should have read it in one go. I’ll also say a large part of my renewed commitment to finishing was due to a character that shuffles in at that last 40%. Hello you.
Overall I appreciate what The Night Ends in Fire was seeking to do. I’m less convinced on the execution of it though. I was never fully in this story’s clutches until maybe the very end.
Anyway this comes out in July! Thank you NetGalley for the earc and thank you Berkeley for sending me an advanced copy! All thoughts are my own, obviously.
_________________
OG review :
The Night Ends with Fire is an immersive and fast paced Mulan retelling. We follow Hai Meilin, an 18 year old girl who, of course, deserts all she knows to join the military and escape her arranged marriage. As a man, naturally.
Howeverrrr this story significantly changes what Disney handed us. Here we explore what would have happened if Mulan didn’t leave out of loyalty to her family but because of her own ambition and desire for autonomy. What would have happened if Mulan wasn’t satisfied with her storybook ending? What would have happened if she simply wanted more more more?
K. X. Song said it herself, but it’s clear that she has written this story not only to make sense of the world, but to make sense of the strained relationship she has with ambition. She does just that and adds a whole lot of magic though, which I appreciated. :) It was giving major Poppy War vibes.
Now it’s time to be honest. I struggled with this book despite its breakneck pacing. Here’s why:
The beginning gave me whiplash, I wanted things to actually slow down so I could get to know Meilin, instead we just watch her ping pong around and do things. I think others will really appreciate that though as it really grips you by the hair. We also do eventually get to know what drives her.
The dialogue is a little simplistic and maybe a bit juvenile? There’s some cheesy lines. But sometimes that’s the vibe of YA. Then again the subject material gets pretty dark at the end so idk (what is YA anymore I have not a clue).
The training / fight sequences didn’t stand a chance… I was reading The Rage of Dragons in tandem and that blew these action sequences out of the park.
The romance was forgettable and I didn’t really like Sky all that much…unless a certain spoiler happens. In THAT case.
There were some betrayals and plot points that felt a little cheap. They moved things forward but I would have liked some more nuance there. I’m picky tho :/
Let me admit something now, I put this book down at the 40% mark, waited a month to restart, then almost dnfed it for another 20%, and THEN got back in and invested for the last 40%. I think this could have significantly skewed my reading experience towards the negative. I should have read it in one go. I’ll also say a large part of my renewed commitment to finishing was due to a character that shuffles in at that last 40%. Hello you.
Overall I appreciate what The Night Ends in Fire was seeking to do. I’m less convinced on the execution of it though. I was never fully in this story’s clutches until maybe the very end.
Anyway this comes out in July! Thank you NetGalley for the earc and thank you Berkeley for sending me an advanced copy! All thoughts are my own, obviously.
August 27, 2024
Haha no.
From the use of incorrect vocabulary ('uneasily' instead of 'not easily,' 'noxious' instead of 'nauseous,' 'enfolding' instead of unfolding,' ps. you can't rappel UP something), to an incredibly unlikeable main character, a war that has seemingly gone on for months but that we never really see, a magic system that makes zero sense to the protagonist or the reader, and a villain that essentially defeats HIMSELF in two pages with little fanfare, this was an absolute wreck.
I'm also deeply offended that she actually name-dropped Mulan. Girl, get your words off our Disney princess.
We have several instances of Meilin either a) not drawing conclusions that my 5-year-old niece could have figured out or b) jumping to conclusions that have little basis in the information given. But are somehow correct because we gots to move the plot forward somehow, don't we? Her "torture" and the manipulation she suffered at the hands of Lei? Uh, he gave her pretty dresses but kept manacles on her. And would fuck off for a week at a time and then barely talk to her when he got back. Such wow, so manipulate, much sneaky.
The denouement? The grand battle between lixia wielders? Three-ish pages. The villain just sort of...took care of himself there. What was the third realm they were fighting in? Who knows, not important.
She also has a rather...interesting understanding of betrayal and loyalty. She's mad that Lei shot her even though he is quite literally her enemy and she's mad that Autumn revealed her secret...while she acknowledged that she kind of had to and definitely would. But is shocked and offended when it happens. And she's absolutely blown away by Tao and Sparrow despite their VERY CLEARLY TELEGRAPHED feelings about the situation. Also, fuck Sparrow. First time he was on page, I was like "this guy's definitely a bitch." But she was baffled every time. Also also, you can't just TELL me you guys are such great friends when he's barely on page and is only being trash every time he is. You have to show relationships, my dear. Because guess what? I don't believe a single relationship in this book. Maybe Meilin and Xiuying.
All in all - this was some hot garbage. I don't even care what happens to her. Mostly I want the Warlord, Tao, and Sparrow to get their asses handed to them, but outside of that she can stay in prison for all I care. She was supremely unlikeable. She wants to belong and be part of the group, but also be better than all of them and command them, she wants to be free but that's DEPRAVED and SELFISH, she wants the security of following orders and other people telling her what to do, but she wants to lead THE ENTIRE ARMY. Some would argue this was the dragon's influence, but if so, she did it very poorly. I hated every moment of being in this girl's head.
Would have DNF'd, but book club.
From the use of incorrect vocabulary ('uneasily' instead of 'not easily,' 'noxious' instead of 'nauseous,' 'enfolding' instead of unfolding,' ps. you can't rappel UP something), to an incredibly unlikeable main character, a war that has seemingly gone on for months but that we never really see, a magic system that makes zero sense to the protagonist or the reader, and a villain that essentially defeats HIMSELF in two pages with little fanfare, this was an absolute wreck.
I'm also deeply offended that she actually name-dropped Mulan. Girl, get your words off our Disney princess.
We have several instances of Meilin either a) not drawing conclusions that my 5-year-old niece could have figured out or b) jumping to conclusions that have little basis in the information given. But are somehow correct because we gots to move the plot forward somehow, don't we? Her "torture" and the manipulation she suffered at the hands of Lei? Uh, he gave her pretty dresses but kept manacles on her. And would fuck off for a week at a time and then barely talk to her when he got back. Such wow, so manipulate, much sneaky.
The denouement? The grand battle between lixia wielders? Three-ish pages. The villain just sort of...took care of himself there. What was the third realm they were fighting in? Who knows, not important.
She also has a rather...interesting understanding of betrayal and loyalty. She's mad that Lei shot her even though he is quite literally her enemy and she's mad that Autumn revealed her secret...while she acknowledged that she kind of had to and definitely would. But is shocked and offended when it happens. And she's absolutely blown away by Tao and Sparrow despite their VERY CLEARLY TELEGRAPHED feelings about the situation. Also, fuck Sparrow. First time he was on page, I was like "this guy's definitely a bitch." But she was baffled every time. Also also, you can't just TELL me you guys are such great friends when he's barely on page and is only being trash every time he is. You have to show relationships, my dear. Because guess what? I don't believe a single relationship in this book. Maybe Meilin and Xiuying.
All in all - this was some hot garbage. I don't even care what happens to her. Mostly I want the Warlord, Tao, and Sparrow to get their asses handed to them, but outside of that she can stay in prison for all I care. She was supremely unlikeable. She wants to belong and be part of the group, but also be better than all of them and command them, she wants to be free but that's DEPRAVED and SELFISH, she wants the security of following orders and other people telling her what to do, but she wants to lead THE ENTIRE ARMY. Some would argue this was the dragon's influence, but if so, she did it very poorly. I hated every moment of being in this girl's head.
Would have DNF'd, but book club.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 14, 2024
No words can adequately convey how incredible this book is.
August 1, 2024
I love Mulan, but I don’t always love Mulan retellings.
For me, so much of Mulan’s character relies on her initial motivations for conscripting. Meilin’s reason in The Night Ends with Fire is to escape an arranged marriage. For me personally, I didn’t find this as compelling or conducive to character development as the original story’s motivations. In this book, outside of herself, she doesn’t have anyone she needs to protect or whose wellbeing her actions could reflect poorly on. It doesn’t make this story nearly as compelling.
I was interested in the love triangle. Mostly because I didn’t like the first love interest and found the second one much more interesting.
It’s a fine book. It has some interesting characters and dragons are definitely cool. It’s not as good as I’d hoped it’d be, but it’s not bad.
For me, so much of Mulan’s character relies on her initial motivations for conscripting. Meilin’s reason in The Night Ends with Fire is to escape an arranged marriage. For me personally, I didn’t find this as compelling or conducive to character development as the original story’s motivations. In this book, outside of herself, she doesn’t have anyone she needs to protect or whose wellbeing her actions could reflect poorly on. It doesn’t make this story nearly as compelling.
I was interested in the love triangle. Mostly because I didn’t like the first love interest and found the second one much more interesting.
It’s a fine book. It has some interesting characters and dragons are definitely cool. It’s not as good as I’d hoped it’d be, but it’s not bad.
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