Premise:

Set in the world of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns, a new adventure full of magic, romance, and adventure awaits. Lam, the daughter of a noble house, longs to begin her life as the wife of her betrothed, Tam. While a life of comfort and love is what she longs for, she is pulled by the stories and influence of her adventurous grandmother. On the other side of town, Bao, a physician’s apprentice of no importance, is embroiled in the drama of the noble house that has adopted and given him opportunities he would not have otherwise. His longing for someone he can never have inevitably leads him to the river witch and a curse that will either change his life, or doom him.

Review:

The first time I read Forest of a Thousand Lanterns, it was so much fun seeing Xifeng seesaw between doing what is right and doing what is selfish, but also knowing that this was a villain origin story. Downright delicious. The sequel, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix, didn’t have that, shall I say, spice that Lanterns hooked me with. Now, with Song of the Crimson Flower, I love this story, but I didn’t right away. It starts out a bit slow and honestly, I was not the biggest fan of any of the main characters. They were just so shallow, but as the conflict rose and characters were pushed passed their shallowness and into full-fleshed characters, I got it. I loved it. I also really enjoyed seeing characters from the first two books continue their adventures and not just having cameo appearances. There was some real closure for one of the minor characters from Phoenix that I felt really needed some. I definitely recommend this entire series for those who love fairytale retellings and Asian-inspired settings.

4/5

Romance: Yes, very sweet

Violence: Moderate, depictions of battle

Tropes: friends to lovers, cruel mothers, rags to riches

Trigger Warnings: Drugs, addiction