In Another Life

Kingdom of Three #2.5

by Joan He

The not-quite-canon bonus epilogue that can be read after SOUND THE GONG, if one needs a happier ending. To access it, go to joanhewrites [dot] com [forward slash] stgbonus. The password is Crow's last four words to Zephyr, no punctuation, spaces, or capitals.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult, Historical, Historical Fiction, Asian Literature, Short Stories

48 pages, ebook

First published April 30, 2024

About the author

Joan was born and raised in Philadelphia but still will, on occasion, lose her way. At a young age, she received classical instruction in oil painting before discovering that stories were her favorite kind of art. She studied psychology and Chinese history at the University of Pennsylvania and currently writes from a desk overlooking the city
waterfront. Descendant of the Crane is her young adult debut.

For updates, please sign up for her newsletter: http://eepurl.com/c5rvdL. For business related inquiries, please contact her literary agent, John Cusick of Folio Lit.

Reviews

[vee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Light falls onto a sheet of paper, resting atop another. Both are tucked away, yellowed with age, but the words remain as dark and bold as the heart that once wrote them.

May we meet in another life.

this novella alone was far better than both books combined in my opinion because i felt a plethora of emotions in such a short read. i don’t care if it’s “not quite canon” im still considering it a fully canon bonus epilogue and that writing was simply phenomenal. Joan He’s pen was on fire when she wrote this. the fact that

the prose solely being from crow’s POV made it all the more better. his yearning and longing was palpable throughout. i loved reading about zephyr from his perspective and goddamn, mans was so down bad for her from the beginning. it had me deep in my zephyrcrow feels - something i was dying to experience in the duology itself but didn’t really come close to. i also came to like crow’s character a lot more here because his personality and feelings really stood out.

i didn’t expect this novella to affect me as much as it did, wow. it crushed me and then made me whole again. zephyrcrow have finally taken up residence in my mind and i won’t be stop thinking about them for a while.

[rina · Rating 5 out of 5]

⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢୭ৎ⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢

( finished. ) 𓆩🍀𓆪 . . . 1 5 / 0 5 / 2 4 ! PEOPLE DIED AND ROMANCE PEAKED !!! ZEPHCROW MY RELIGION MY SAVIOUR !!! the amount of emotional anguish this caused me is incomprehensible, whether or not i should thank iris for telling me about this bonus will be determined... anyways #iamnotokay. joan he so casually writing a perfect story within 40 pages must be studied ??? JOAN HE U SHOULD HAVE INCLUDED THIS EPILOGUE IN STG, i'm crying over what could have been ( 5★ ).

btw me holding the code to access this book makes me feel very powerful.

⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢୭ৎ⌢⌢⌢⌢⌢

⌗ ◌ 🍶𓂃 𓈒𓏸 pre-read
﹙started﹚ㅤ𓈒ㅤׂ 1 5 / 0 5 / 2 4 ⊹

omg i love authors that make little cute bonus epilogues and share them via google docs. it's so wholesome.

[siu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I AM HEALEDDDDD

04/22/2024: i need this injected in my veins

[yuvi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Light falls onto a sheet of paper, resting atop another. Both are tucked away, yellowed with age, but the words remain as dark and bold as the heart that once wrote them.
May we meet in another life.

I really needed this. Thank you, author. You healed my heart.
"not-quite-canon"- yeah, i don't believe that 😊

[Sydney ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

who needs therapy when you have author-endorsed fanservice 🥹

[Rubi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, if yall like the ending for Sound the Gong....you may want to skip this bonus. I, personally, NEEDED this bonus epilogue 😍
Absolutely loved it! It healed the wounds from the way Joan He DESTROYED me during STG 🥹
A MUST for those of us who want a HEA and just for those of us who just want more Crow and Zephyr 🥰

[sofka · Rating 4 out of 5]

i feel so privileged that i had the chance to read this but at the same time i wish i never opened this ever

[zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

“May we meet in another life”

this healed my heart😭😭

[zara · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love it when the author gave us a fanfic for her own work 😍

[Aditi B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah yes, a little balm for the trauma. Very demure. Very mindful of my mental health.

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

“As strategists, they sparked bright against each other in their attempts to win it all—only to very nearly destroy it all in a firestorm of their creation.”

“He wanted, wants, will always want their matches to last a little longer.”

I love Joan He’s writing, and the fact that she essentially wrote a fanfic about her own duology, through the form of a bonus epilogue, delights me to no end! This “not-quite-canon” story is so sweet, amusing, and it has so many lines that perfectly sum of Zephyr and Crow from Strike the Zither and Sound the Gong.

If you’ve read the books, I definitely recommend devouring this bonus content!

[patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

this saved me from drowning

[larissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing, show stopping, spectacular

[hamna · Rating 5 out of 5]

joan he the absolute legend that you are (i love you!)

[Helen ⊹₊⟡⋆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

“May we meet in another life”
ENDING IT ALL I AM ENDING IT ALL! THE ANGST! THE PARALLELS! THE ANNOTATIONS JOAN HE PUT IN THE DOC! SOBBING! THIS IS REAL TO ME THIS IS CANON TO ME!! ｡°(°.◜ᯅ◝°)°｡

(joan he will not be paying for my therapy because she shattered me and then put me back together in 45 pages)

[Miraclesnow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hi I’m crying again

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yep. I’m officially happy with this ending. Review to come! ❤️

(FINAL THOUGHTS:)

Getting the treat of In Another Life as a reward for finishing Sound the Gong? The sappy romantic in me was definitely pleased with this while still pleasing the “I-don’t-get-romance-in-fantasy” reader. 🥰

[Q-Q · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was EVERYTHING! Reading from Crow's perspective and his feelings during certain scenes in both book 1 and 2 brings a whole new layer to Crow and Zephyr's complicated relationship. I am so happy this exist :).

[nandini · Rating 5 out of 5]

i don't care i am considering this canon fight me

[Iza · Rating 4 out of 5]

IT'S CANON TO ME!

[Andrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joan 😭😭 thank you for writing CrowZephyr fluff!!! It was everything I hoped for!

[chantelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

never mind. not traumatized anymore. if only all authors could write stories like this.

[szst · Rating 4 out of 5]

was it worth it? im so delusional this is a great ending. all the hidden easter eggs exposed in the annotations were amazing

[Bobbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I wanted to read this book immediately after finishing Sound the Gong, but found that I needed some time to recover after THAT ending.

Before reading this there is an author note explaining that this is a bonus and not quite canon and that explanation really makes sense to me. It just depends on what kind of endings you prefer in books.

I loved reading about this alternate possibility. It was light, cute and happy. A vast difference from the original series, so I can see how that might not be for everyone who enjoyed the books as they are. Is it selfish to hope that is the case, so I can secure a copy of this book? Haha

[Estela · Rating 5 out of 5]

“May we meet in another life.”
This is the bonus epilogue to strike the zither and sound the gong and i am accepting it as canon tbh especially since it coincides with what i believe the open ending would have been to my interpretation. I need this basically :)

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

STOPPP, this made me weep 😭😭💗💗

This is canon, I will not accept anything else!!

[Abbi · Rating 5 out of 5]

this epilogue puts me in the frame of mind of the child in the (possibly apocryphal) anecdote who ate a small, original Maurice Sendak drawing out of overwhelming love.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is 100% canon and no one not even the author can convince me otherwise i am delusional

[Jhenisha Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE WAY THIS SHORT BONUS STORY HEALED MY SOUL