ARC/ALC Book Review: The Blood Phoenix (Fall of the Dragon #2) by Amber Chen

June 23, 2025June 2, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy + Romance
Length: 464 pages
Author: Amber Chen
Publisher: Viking Books
Release Date: June 17th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The sequel to Of Jade and Dragons, a thrilling and epic silkpunk fantasy inspired by the legendary Qing dynasty. Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Lim and Xiran Jay Zhao.

Two years after Ying leaves the Engineer’s Guild and the ghost of her father’s unjust death behind, life seems to regain a semblance of normalcy. But the winds of unrest continue to stir within the Nine Isles, and the aftermath of a horrific pirate attack by the mysterious Blood Phoenix fleet forces Ying back into the tense political world of the new High Commander, Ye-yang. And soon, Ying, Ye-yang and her former friends from the guild must work together to find a way to outsmart the cunning pirates who terrorise the straits—and the elusive mastermind who’s controlling them.

Meanwhile, Ying’s sister, Nian, now lives in the capital, awaiting the day she will finally marry the High Commander. While her relationship with Ye-yang remains distant, she finds company in her friendship with the fourteenth prince, Ye-kan, and discovers her unexpected affinity for governance and strategy. But the capital is more dangerous than she expects, and when a dark conspiracy arises, Nian and Ye-kan must unravel the mystery in time to prevent the High Command from collapsing from within.

New dangers arise at every moment, threatening to tear the Nine Isles apart. In order to sail through this storm, Ying and her loved ones must make difficult choices amidst terrible betrayals. With the world on the brink of destruction, will they find a way to defeat their enemies and survive? And will it be worth the cost?

Thank you to Penguin Teen and Colored Pages Book Tours for the gifted copy and PRH Audio for the gifted audiobook.

I THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD SEQUEL.

I’m not going to lie, the early reviews for this one had made me nervous because I loved Of Jade and Dragons so I’ve been trying to do everything to get my hands on book two, and for me? It was not a disappointment (do I wish I could give it five stars, sure, but I am not mad that I read it).

ANYWAYS. I loved seeing all of the STEM aspects and the guilds and how everything works together in this world. It’s brutal and full of failings, but the rise of many of these characters, especially the FMC was fantastic.

It had an ending that I can see people being somewhat frustrated with but I have read multiple books like this before and prefer to live in the fantasy of it all so I think it fits where the author was trying to lead us. AND it helped create a better sense for why there was a second POV added that wasn’t the MMC (it’s Ying’s sister, Nian, if you’re curious).

I think these characters had to go through some hard things and make some hard decisions. Was every decision the best choice? Probably not but that’s from the viewpoint of a reader. I liked that it was complicated, the struggle felt real.

The middle of this book side quested hard. A little too hard. I had an issue from the pacing of that, but otherwise, I liked the action and politicking and not quite knowing who was behind it all. I really enjoy Amber Chen’s writing style and story telling so I will absolutely be back for her next book.

Overall audience notes:

YA Fantasy + Romance
Language: mild
Romance: kisses
Violence: moderate

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Book Review: Murtagh (The Inheritance Cycle #5) by Christopher Paolini

May 26, 2025April 8, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 688 pages
Author: Christopher Paolini
Publisher: Penguin Teen
Release Date: November 7th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Master storyteller and internationally bestselling author Christopher Paolini returns to the World of Eragon in this stunning epic fantasy set a year after the events of the Inheritance Cycle. Join Dragon Rider—and fan favorite—Murtagh and his dragon as they confront a perilous new enemy!

The world is no longer safe for the Dragon Rider Murtagh and his dragon, Thorn. An evil king has been toppled, and they are left to face the consequences of the reluctant role they played in his reign of terror. Now they are hated and alone, exiled to the outskirts of society.

Throughout the land, hushed voices whisper of brittle ground and a faint scent of brimstone in the air—and Murtagh senses that something wicked lurks in the shadows of Alagaësia. So begins an epic journey into lands both familiar and untraveled, where Murtagh and Thorn must use every weapon in their arsenal, from brains to brawn, to find and outwit a mysterious witch. A witch who is much more than she seems.

In this gripping novel starring one of the most popular characters from Christopher Paolini’s blockbuster Inheritance Cycle, a Dragon Rider must discover what he stands for in a world that has abandoned him. Murtagh is the perfect book to enter the World of Eragon for the first time . . . or to joyfully return.

Thank you to GetUnderlined for the free copy.

DID ANYTHING HAPPEN?

I was hoping that this spin-off would reignite something in this series for me. Instead I listened to 25 hours of Murtagh not quite doing anything. It felt like an adventure quest video game. He’d mosey from one place to the other and complete a task before moving to the next without the true larger plot showing up until somewhere till the end.

I like Murtagh, I think there’s a lot of potential there for him. He’s that morally gray, misunderstood guy. I kept waiting to really FEEL, and that just never occurred.

For a very long book I feel like I don’t have much of a review to give. I feel super meh about the whole experience.

Overall audience notes:

YA Fantasy
Language: low
Romance: none
Violence: moderate-high
Trigger/Content Warnings: torture

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ARC Book Review: Of Jade and Dragons (Fall of the Dragon #1) by Amber Chen

June 18, 2024May 28, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 480 pages
Author: Amber Chen
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Release Date: June 18th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Eighteen-year-old Aihui Ying dreams of becoming a world-class engineer like her father, but after his sudden murder, her life falls apart. Left with only a journal of her father’s engineering secrets and a jade pendant snatched from the assassin, a heartbroken Ying follows the trail to the capital and the prestigious Engineers Guild—a place that harbors her father’s hidden past—determined to discover why anyone would threaten a man who ultimately chose a quiet life over fame and fortune.

Disguised as her brother, Ying manages to infiltrate the guild’s male-only apprenticeship trial with the help of an unlikely ally—Aogiya Ye-yang, the taciturn eighth prince of the High Command. With her father’s renown placing a target firmly on her back, Ying must stay one step ahead of her fellow competitors, the jealous guild masters, and the killer still hunting for her father’s journal. Complicating everything is her increasingly tangled relationship with the prince, who may have mysterious plans of his own.

The secrets concealed within the guild can be as deadly as the weapons they build—and with her life and the future of her homeland at stake, Ying doesn’t know who to trust. Can she avenge her father even if it means going against everything he stood for, or will she be next in the mastermind’s line of fire?

Thank you to Penguin Teen for the free book.

THE ENDING BROUGHT IT.

I was minding my own business reading this book, enjoying it, thinking this would be a good four star and I’d be happy to pick up the next book. BUT THEN, I just absolutely loved that the last 25% took it to another level for me. This had the classic middle ground young adult vibes (and actually kept it that way with the content) that reminded me of all the things I love about young adult books.

I loved Ying. She was tenacious and full of heart. There were some Mulan nods alongside a fantasy woman in STEM and I loved the combination. The competition and guild trials were interesting and paced well. I loved that the progression of the story kept moving forward and had me glued to my book.

The slow burn romance made me FEEL by the end. And I am HERE FOR THE DRAMA of it all. I can’t wait to see how things shake out and where they go. I love that this ended on a cliffhanger that demanded my attention. I also really loved the friendship Ying had with a few of her fellow apprentices. It showcased a true boy / girl friendship (which I feel like we don’t see enough of???) and I loved how the loyalty was truly forged in fire.

Fantastic book, can’t wait for more!!

Overall audience notes:

YA Fantasy Romance
Language: low
Romance: kisses
Violence: moderate
Content Warnings: war themes, near death experiences, murder, weapons violence

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Book Review: The Ruined (The Beautiful #4) by Renee Ahdieh

December 5, 2023October 21, 2023 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Renee Ahdieh
Publisher: GP Putnam’s
Release Date: December 5th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The stunning conclusion to the instant New York Times bestselling quartet that began with The Beautiful.

The Sylvan Vale and the Sylvan Wyld are at war. Now that the unsteady truce between them has been broken, lines must be drawn. In an effort to protect the weakened Winter Court, Bastien rallies powerful allies and friends in New Orleans to come to their aid.

Meanwhile, under protection alongside her injured mother in the Summer Court, Celine is uncertain of whom to trust. She cannot get word to Bastien, and does not understand why he has not returned. When she realizes war between the fey courts is imminent, she journeys with Ali in an effort to find the time traveling mirror and change their fate.

But when Celine’s rivals realize Bastien has rallied his allies in the mortal world, they decide to take the fight to him.

Thank you Penguin Teen for the eARC.

I AM UPSET.

I have loved reading this series and I have been waiting a long time to get my hands on the final book and now I’m sitting here super cranky and not wanting to even write this because of the last 30%.

The first 70% was great, I love the writing style and the ease of the reading. The world building is intricate and I love the combination of vampires, werewolves, and fae.

BUT HERE WE GO (which is spoiler free, but you can probably read between the lines too).

The ending y’all. We spent four books leading up to this????? To a complete breakdown of a relationship over a dumb miscommunication that spiraled into total destruction. Causing the end of way too many things to ever recover. And the last few pages were this sorry attempt at saying well maybe things do work out, when NO. That foundation has crumbled. To spend so much time on some of these characters to throw it away. I just…I’m upset…to put it mildly. I feel duped.

There was a clear route this could have gone that would have brought true peace and reconciliation (and where I thought the book was headed???). And there were other characters we didn’t even get to see closing story lines for?? THAT WERE MAIN POINTS OF VIEW? The rushed ending was another nail in the coffin.

I’m losing my cool all over again. This one has really bummed me out.

Overall audience notes: