Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix (Rise of the Empress, #2)

by Julie C. Dao

This fairy tale retelling lives in a mystical world inspired by the Far East, where the Dragon Lord and the Serpent God battle for control of the earthly realm; it is here that the flawed heroine of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns finally meets her match. An epic fantasy finale to that breathtaking and dazzling story.

Princess Jade has grown up in exile, hidden away in a monastery while her stepmother, the ruthless Xifeng, rules as Empress of Feng Lu. But the empire is in distress and its people are sinking into poverty and despair. Even though Jade doesn't want the crown, she knows she is the only one who can dethrone the Empress and set the world right. Ready to reclaim her place as rightful heir, Jade embarks on a quest to raise the Dragon Lords and defeat Xifeng and the Serpent God once and for all. But will the same darkness that took Xifeng take Jade, too? Or will she find the strength within to save herself, her friends, and her empire?

Set in an East Asian-inspired fantasy world filled with breathtaking pain and beauty, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix is filled with dazzling magic, powerful prose, and characters readers won't soon forget.

Fans of Stealing Snow, Red Queen, and The Wrath and the Dawn will hungrily devour this page-turning read.

Praise for Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix:

“There aren’t many authors who could so precisely undo their first book with their second, but it is this clever unweaving that shows Dao’s brilliance and skill. With heart-stopping action and wonderful new characters, this is not a sequel to be missed.” —EK Johnston, #1 New York Times bestselling author
 
“A lush, enchanting tale of magic, myth, and absolute courage. At once gorgeously woven and deliciously gruesome, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix is a thrilling end to a series that feels like a classic in its own right.” —Natalie Mae, author of The Kinder Poison
 
“Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix is the stunning counterpoint to Forest of a Thousand Lanterns. A refreshing take on the classic heroine, and an adventure of stories nestled within stories, this is a book fairytale lovers will tuck among their most beloved treasures.” —Emily X.R. Pan, New York Times bestselling author of The Astonishing Color of After
 
“Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix broke my heart and filled it, all at once. In the process, Julie C. Dao has turned a well-worn tale into something thrilling and new. Ornate, tender, and magical. I could not put this book down.” —Tochi Onyebuchi, author of Beasts Made of Night and Crown of Thunder
 
“Beautifully written and masterfully told, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix feels at once timeless and entirely new . . . I loved it with my whole heart.” —Margaret Rogerson, New York Times bestselling author of An Enchantment of Ravens
 
“Utterly brilliant in every way, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix is the perfect follow-up to Julie C. Dao’s debut. This is the dark fantasy I've been waiting for, and I can't get enough!” —Beth Revis, New York Times bestselling author of Give the Dark My Love

"A grand adventure for fans of fairy tales, fables, and legends coupled with the vibrant history of Chinese dynasties."—Kirkus Reviews

* "A top purchase for most fantasy collections." --School Library Journal, starred review

• ISBN10: 1524738344
• ISBN13: 9781524738341
• Publish Date: 17 September 2019 (first published 6 November 2018)
• Publish Status: Inactive
• Out of Print: 27 March 2024
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Penguin USA
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 384
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781524738341

Reviews

[Kat @ Novels & Waffles]

"The lion knows not to doubt the mouse, for size does not betray strength."

Although I thought I would adore Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix (it’s an Asian-Inspired Snow White retelling, for goodness sake!!!), the strange pacing of the story and the flat characters just didn't work for me.

Things I Liked:

✑ AN ASIAN-INSPIRED SNOW WHITE RETELLING =

[ccbookwitch]

I have a lot of Thoughts about this book. I was really excited for it when I finished FOREST OF A THOUSAND LANTERNS because I absolutely LOVED that book, and KINGDOM had just come out a couple months prior so I could immediately go and buy it for quick devouring. Or, I thought it would be a quick devouring. This book actually took me about 2 weeks to read?? For me, that is a bit slow, especially since I was so highly anticipating it. So, let us examine some of my Thoughts about this book and see what happened:

I loved the legends. I thought the use of Feng Lu’s legends and fairy tales were really effective and well done in this book. Stories are super important to Jade’s mission of dethroning Xifeng in this sequel, and all the ones that were told were done so beautifully, and in a way that never felt like info-dumping even though it could have easily gone that route since they happened outside of the plot. The legends of Feng Lu only helped bolster Jade’s story and make the world of Feng Lu richer and even more vivid than it was in the first book.

Jade was…meh. My BIGGEST problem with KINGDOM OF THE BLAZING PHOENIX was, unfortunately, Jade, the protagonist. I was looking forward to getting to know Empress Lihua’s daughter in this book, but unfortunately, she read like watered down milk to me. The fact that she was so nice wasn’t even the real issue to me; it was that she was BORING AF. It’s kind of explained why she struggled to be brave, but it wasn’t shown through her memories or actions, so she read as a really nice and overly righteous character with no real personality.

I shipped the romance so much. I admittedly predicted the romance that happens in the book from the end of book 1, but I still shipped it because I loved Shiro in FOREST so much and I just wanted his story to have a happy ending. I wish it was a little more fleshed out in general, but at the same time, the romance wasn’t exactly the POINT of the story, so it was okay.

Everything happened too easily. Obviously we know Jade is going to succeed in her goals because that’s what happens in books, but I felt that compared to Xifeng, Jade didn’t struggle as much. It seemed like everything was easy for her even though the author did sort of try to make her struggle. I just never doubted that Jade would succeed because she was always just “the good guy” and therefore would prevail. Also, none of the tasks seemed particularly insurmountable to me as they appeared, so I didn’t really doubt Jade would succeed and I was never on the edge of my seat.
I liked the continuation of characters from book 1. I will say I was satisfied with how each character from the first book was woven into the story. I especially liked how Empress Lihua lived on, no spoilers, and came to be a part of Jade’s tale. I also loved seeing more of Shiro since he was my favorite of Xifeng’s companions in the first book. There was also more character development of another character that I won’t mention because spoilers that I was happy with because they became more interesting to me than they were in book one.

All in all, there were parts of this book that I did like, but in general, Jade being boring really colored how I felt about the entire story. Since Xifeng had so fascinated me and been such a complicated, layered character, Jade just didn’t stand out to me at all and I didn’t care about her as much as Xifeng even though Jade was the goody guy and Xifeng was the villain. Maybe I’m just more into villains? Who knows. Either way, unfortunately, this book was ultimately not as good as the first one and as I was hoping it would be.

[emruth13]

I really enjoyed this book for the most part. I do feel the ending seemed a bit rushed. But overall, I liked the story.