If you don’t know by now, let me tell you - I am an absolute SUCKER for a pretty cover. Go look up the cover for Amélie Wen Zhao’s Song of Silver, Flame Like Night and you’ll understand why I absolutely jumped at the opportunity to receive an ARC of this book. The Chloe Gong blurb on the cover helped, but that breathtaking cover art is really what sold me.
A conquered kingdom. A songgirl with a secret mark upon her wrist. A practitioner of old and forbidden magic. Fate brings the two together in an adventure to find the truth of who they both are as the battle for their kingdom begins anew.
Breathtaking. That was the first word out of my mouth as soon as I finished reading this book. This was the first book I read from Amélie and I’ve already added her debut series to my TBR because I cannot get enough of her writing.
When we are first introduced to Lan, she comes off as strong and sure of herself, but you start to see her vulnerable side soon after she returns to the Teahouse. With the introduction of Zen, she is portrayed as a bit clueless and weak, which allows for beautiful character development as the story progresses.
Amélie uses Lan’s lack of knowledge about the magic system she thought was long dead to build the world for the readers in a way that doesn’t feel like strict exposition, which can cause the story to drag on. In addition to the world building, we are able to also watch the relationship blossom between Lan and Zen in a way that sneaks up on the characters (and the reader as well to a certain extent).
The stakes are high throughout the whole story which left me on the edge of my seat and continually saying “just one more chapter.” A third act twist had me clutching at my chest and audibly gasping while sitting alone in my bedroom with only my Kindle for company. The story ends on a cliffhanger that has me itching for book two in a way that hurts my feelings. I have a strong suspicion I will not want to leave this world even after the conclusion of the series.
Song of Silver, Flame Like Night has a Barnes & Noble exclusive edition available for preorder here or you can preorder a regular edition here. It hits shelves January 3, 2023.
Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher for free and have voluntarily written this review. If you purchase a copy using my Amazon affiliate link above, I will receive a small commission which will fuel my coffee and tea addiction and help to keep me up all night reading more books to recommend to you.
