Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Song of Silver, Flame Like Night

Initially I was intrigued by the beginning of the book, it was relatively fast-paced and the world was interesting. However by 25% in the pacing really slowed down and got very info dumpy. It really lost me in distinguishing itself from other Chinese mythology based books I've read, which is a shame because I think there was a lot of potential for this to be something unique.

Really it was reading so much like a YA version of The Poppy War that it was a bit jarring to me the amount of similarities. That's fine if you're looking for a YA TPW, but personally I am not.

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bellebookcorner's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I’ve seen a lot of positive reviews about this book which had me feeling even more excited to read this one. Sadly, I couldn’t say the same about this book.

The plot idea is really good, the first time I read the blurb I was intrigued and it caught my interest for the first few chapters.

But somewhere in the middle, the pacing took a slow turn and I started to lose interest in following this story.

I finally got interested again in the last 30%, where the puzzle pieces start to come together and the secrets are revealed.

I had difficulties with understanding the magic system and the world building.

I appreciate the history of the world at the beginning of the story but somehow it doesn’t make it easier for me to follow the plot. At times, I would get confused and also feel bored with the repeated information provided throughout the story.

As for the characters, it’s hard for me to connect with them and I can’t even feel the spark of romance between the main characters. When they’re trying to speak out their feelings, they’ll got cut off with something else happening.

Overall, this book has a lot of amazing elements but the slow pacing and the info dumping makes it really hard for me to fully enjoy it.

I was really closed to stop reading it altogether but the last few chapters and the epilogue change my mind. I’m curious to see what’s gonna happen in the next book.

While this one didn't really work for me, you can still give this one a try if you love reading about detailed world building and a fantasy story without much romance.

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yyooh17's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

I am struggling over what to say about this book. My thoughts are conflicting.

The premise of this book is cool, the aspects of colonialism were profound. The magic and wuxia elements I enjoyed.

The main character (Lan) was really frustrating though?She changes her mind constantly. She just seems kinda childish when compared to other characters, especially Zen.
See spoilers for more details.

Major Spoilers??

Tell me why she stabs Zen and then asks for him to be saved moments later. Or why minutes after learning that her mother sacrificed her soul to protect her, she decides to exchange her own soul instead. No thought process was explained at all.

In addition, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the dialogue. The characters revealed so much information through dialogue that it seemed unrealistic. It did however improve as the novel progressed.

On the other hand, I loved the descriptive writing. It was really beautiful. Zens perspective was also really enjoyable, I loved reading his side.

I’m really not sure, I think this series and author has so much potential but I find it difficult to connect with Lan compared to the others. We’ll see how it goes next time it might be a personal issue.

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bloodbrooxv's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really liked this book, I would suggest it to anyone who doesn't feel comfortable enough to read the poppy war. Colonialism, as a theme, is very prominent, and although it's analized in a YA-ish way, it's still very impactful. The romance was very cute, and i'm interested in how it'll develop in the sequel.

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kirstym25's review

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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heather_harrison's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

I was reasonably excited for this book - Chinese mythology, magic, demons, and the promise of a strong female protagonist.

The book felt like a watered down pivot from the popularity of R.F. Kuang's Poppy War. So many people have enjoyed this, but I just found it really meh.

I was not a fan of AWZ's description of a character with a cleft lip (I don't care if it may be representative of the time it's based, this is fantasy first and foremost and it was just unnecessary).

I didn't find Lan to be endearing at all. 30% of the time I found her tolerable, but the majority I found her to be rude and annoying. Zen's character largely served as an info-dump for Lan, and us the readers.

Their relationship was definitely not 'enemies to lovers' and felt super rushed. Not to mention the mirroring of both characters making deals with demons was pretty heavy handed.

All of the other characters within the story line felt paper-thin, and as a result it felt pretty hollow whenever anything 'important happened'.

We see Lan lose her 'best friend' at the tea-house, what was supposed to be her found family in the magic school, and her literal long-lost father. But because there was very little emotional build up, the outcome just kind of feels hollow and immaterial.

2.75 stars (rounded up to 3)

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mayaism_01's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

One of my anticipated releases of 2023, it had an exceptionally strong start, teetered out toward the middle due to some mismanaged pacing (I hate a badly placed flashback), and had a slightly fumbled ending. I overall still enjoyed the story, I found some of the revelations towards the end shocking and the worldbuilding to be fun, but fell into a serious slump during the middle of this book. I felt like some of the emotional beats didn't land as powerfully as they should've because of the lack of time spent with specific characters and locations.

The writing was really flowery (positive!) and poetic, with really lush descriptions of the locations, magic, and grief the characters experience. I was really only engaged by the relationship between Lan, Zen, Shàn’jūn, and Tai, these characters being the most engaging part of the story and the thing pushing me to finish. I'll probably still pick up the sequel because I want to know what happens to them but I hope for a better-paced sequel!

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