Feng Lu is dying, rotting from the core. There is no more time for beauty, for music, for closing one's eyes and feeling the clouds drift overhead. The heart and soul is being drained from this world, Jade, and its people feel the pain first.

    — Kingdom of The Blazing Phoenix

Hello everyone, this is my review for the sequel of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns. And as always, if you missed that post, please click the picture below for a bit of introductions about the book before we jump to this second book.

 

 

Synopsis

Jade, a daughter of previous Empress of Feng Lu was sent to a monastery, exiled by the current Empress who marries her father. Along with Amah, as her nanny and her tutor living in monastery for more than 15 years, living a simple life even want to be a monk herself although she know that she is a princess. 

A letter sent by the Empress of Feng Lu, Xifeng (who exiled her) asking her to come back to palace due to the Emperor health. The journey begin, with Jade and Amah also Wren, Amah's grand daughther who came along following the soldier sent by the Empress to escort Jade and Amah back to palace. 

Turns out that the Emperor is really sick, become forgetful and has been stop ruling for years. Jade discover that it's because Xifeng poisoned him for years in small dose. Although becoming an empress is not Jude's desire, but she decided to defeat Empress Xifeng who wants to kill her who got the help from the Serpent God in order to rule the world. Jade runaway from the palace, seeking help with hope to build army that can defeat Serpent God's army by collecting relics of the Dragon Lords.

The woman was a demon in human form, a beast wearing a cloak of beauty, and behind that smile she plotted Jade's death.

My Review

But after reading few chapter of the second book i got it right away why it's snow white retelling. So the first book is based on Xifeng's POV which talking about the young village girl who struggle to reach her goal as an Empress. This second book tho, is based on different POV which is Jade, the daughter of the previous Empress, Empress Lihua.

Growing up in monastery made her respect more of simplicity and not beauty, unlike Xifeng (who turns out the Evil Queen here, if you want to compare it to the Snow White story) who devoted a lot for her beauty, being ruthless, killing a lot of young women in order to keep her beauty. If i must add, this is the snow white and the huntsman retelling indeed. Because Enoch Kang, who is Xifeng's best friend in first book turns out the huntsman here, who hunts Jade who trying to collect the relics to summon the warriors of the gods, The Dragon Guard. 

I've never wanted the throne. To me, it is a symbol of greed, a means by which one controls the lives of a thousands and calls it power. Yet there is such pain and suffering, and it's my duty to reclaim what is ours.

Feng Lu ruled by Xifeng definitely made its people suffer. Poverty everywhere while the palace often hold party or banquet. Xifeng took children as slave if the family can't pay the tax some work in dangerous factory, some become soldiers. Witnessing the cruelty of the empress, strengthen Jade's will to stop Xifeng.

 What I don't Like  

Just like the first book, this second book is definitely a slow pace book. I struggled a lot to finish this book  (more than a week, which i consider as a slow progress in comparison how fast i finish a book lately). Jade is an easy character to like, a good girl with strong will, caring and observant. But if i compare it with Xifeng's character in first book, Xifeng definitely outshine Jade, her character is unique a lot that Jade. But i gotta say it's not that i don't like that much, just don't really like that much. Yes, it's confusing, just say, i don't hate this book but i don't really like it much.

 What I Like

I always love book with quest. This book is full of small quests, with folklore to share in each quest in order to find the relics, which i find fun to read because who doesn't like a fairy tale that turns out real but people just decided it isn't because they haven't find the prove of it? That part is definitely one of my fave part.

Like the first book, this one also a dark fantasy, which killing, heart eating, skeletons here and there are explicitly told several times in this book.  

  My Verdict 

You should read the first book since it's related (and mostly because i like it more), but it's still okay to read it without the first book you just might left out the character introductions tho. I gave it 3.5 stars for this one. I definitely love the first book a lot more.