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The Dragon Spirit #1
The Night Ends With Fire
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Fantasy (2024)This sweeping fantasy adventure inspired by the legend of Mulan follows a young woman determined to choose her own destiny – even if it means going against everyone she loves.
RAISED TO OBEY. DESTINED TO REBEL.
The Three Kingdoms are at war, but Meilin’s father refuses to answer the imperial draft. Trapped by his opium addiction, he plans to sell Meilin for her dowry instead – but when she discovers that her husband-to-be is violent and ill-tempered, she decides to take matters into her own hands.
The very next day, she disguises herself as a boy and enlists in her father’s place.
In the army, Meilin’s hard work brings her recognition, friendship – and a growing closeness with Sky, a prince turned training partner.
But as her kingdom barrels towards destruction, Meilin must decide who to trust: Sky, who inspires her loyalty and love; a sea dragon spirit with the power to grant her impossible magic; or an infuriating enemy prince who makes her question everything she once knew – about her kingdom, her loyalty and her own heart.
RAISED TO OBEY. DESTINED TO REBEL.
The Three Kingdoms are at war, but Meilin’s father refuses to answer the imperial draft. Trapped by his opium addiction, he plans to sell Meilin for her dowry instead – but when she discovers that her husband-to-be is violent and ill-tempered, she decides to take matters into her own hands.
The very next day, she disguises herself as a boy and enlists in her father’s place.
In the army, Meilin’s hard work brings her recognition, friendship – and a growing closeness with Sky, a prince turned training partner.
But as her kingdom barrels towards destruction, Meilin must decide who to trust: Sky, who inspires her loyalty and love; a sea dragon spirit with the power to grant her impossible magic; or an infuriating enemy prince who makes her question everything she once knew – about her kingdom, her loyalty and her own heart.
448 pages, Paperback
First published July 2, 2024
1539 people are currently reading
113679 people want to read
About the author
K.X. Song
5 books907 followersK. X. Song is a diaspora writer with roots in Hong Kong and Shanghai. An Echo in the City is her debut novel. Visit her online at kxsong.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,831 reviews
June 20, 2025
I feared both men and spirits now. I had no allies, only enemies on all sides.
A magnificent retelling, The Night Ends with Fire isn't the Mulan legend of your Disney youth, that's for sure.
Meilin has grown up under the thumb of her oppressive father all her life. Soon he plans to sell her for her dowry to another violent man who will treat her the same. When war comes to the Three Kingdoms, Meilin seizes her chance and enlists in the army as a man. But as she gains skills and confidence and the power of a spirit, she begins to wonder if her duplicity will hold and how far she's really willing to go to secure her freedom.
Let me just gush for a second here. I had such an amazing time with this story. It's exactly the sort I adore, with a badass heroine and a high stakes conflict where everything is on the line. There is no easy victory, only hard choices, and every character is some shade of morally gray.
I feel like Disney's Mulan was a bit too goody two-shoes (as is typical of Disney), so I'm really glad this book turned that on its head. Meilin certainly isn't good through and through. Instead, she must balance her desire for freedom and power with her duty to her kingdom and her love for her family. There was a rawness and courage to Meilin that makes it easy to like her and relate to her, even if I didn't always understand or agree with her decisions.
In fact, it's not just Meilin's character that's interesting and complex. It's almost every character in this book. Their moral ambiguity is a large part of why they come across as real and interesting. There is no straightforward path when it comes to war, no high road to take on the way to victory. There is only bloodshed and sacrifice and death, and this tale certainly doesn't shy away from that.
The writing in here is evocative and easy to fall into. I feel like I was sucked in from the very first page. To me, there is no higher compliment and no greater quality in a book than immersiveness, and this story has it in spades. I wanted to gobbled it up but also savor it slowly so that I didn't reach the end too soon.
This is categorized as romantasy, and I would say it's mostly fantasy with just a bit of romance sprinkled in, exactly how I like it. The fantasy world is vivid and easy to grasp without a lot of complex worldbuilding. And the light romance should appeal to readers who aren't big fans of it or don't care for lots of explicit scenes.
One interesting thing to note are the names in here. When you translate names between different languages, you have the choice of going phonetically or contextually. Phonetically is generally considered more authentic, but you lose the meaning behind the names. Here, the author chose to do a mix of both. While at first it was a little odd to have names in pinyin like "Meilin" next to "Sky" and "Sparrow", I did grow to appreciate that it gave context where otherwise there would be none and helped to distinguish the characters for an English-speaking audience.
Same could also be said for including some Chinese phrases mixed in in an English book. When the meaning is unclear, the author often put the pinyin and the English side-by-side, so that really the phrase is duplicated. I can see the purists getting up in arms over it, claiming that it's sufficient just to include the pinyin and leave it at that. So what if the audience it's intended for doesn't understand? But that's just silly. While I'm all for authenticity, I'm happy with the balance the author struck so that no one has to miss out.
What an exhilarating tale this turned out to be. I originally picked it up because the luminous cover and pretty sprayed edges totally captured my attention, and I wasn't about to pass up a Mulan retelling. While judging a book by its cover doesn't always pay off, it certainly did in this case.
My only regret is reaching the end and realizing this isn't a standalone. Now starts the long wait for the sequel.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
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January 5, 2024
I think the last time I hated a book this passionately was when I read Portrait of a Thief.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Have you ever thought to yourself, what if George RR Martin woke up one day with an orientalist fantasy and wanted to write a Mulan (a la Disney 1998) fanfic? Well, K.X. Song has done basically just that with The Night Ends with Fire. This is, quite frankly, one of the worst books I have ever read. It's unoriginal, cringey, poorly written, and I genuinely cannot think of a single good thing to say about it. The characters are flat and poorly developed, and the relationships reflect that as well.
I try not to pass too much judgment on diaspora authors because I am aware that not all diaspora folks engage with their ancestors' culture in the same way, but at times I really had to question whether or not Song has ever actually engaged with Chinese media in any way, shape, or form. This book, rather than feeling like a diaspora author's exploration of Chinese culture and trying to bring pieces of that into their writing, felt like an orientalist fever dream. Again, I do realize this is a very subjective thing, so I won’t dwell on it too much and will let you judge for yourself, but I genuinely felt like this book felt like a bad parody of a c-drama rather than an homage to one.
Onto other, more concrete things that I disliked about this book. Firstly, this book just felt like really bad Disney Mulan fanfic. I can understand the nostalgia and love for Disney's Mulan - I was also of the generation where this was one of the only representations of me and my culture in mainstream children’s media, so I, too, have an unhealthy love for this film despite recognizing now as an adult how flawed it is. However, there are legit play by play scenes from the film that have just been haphazardly transplanted into this book, and it’s honestly just cringey and unoriginal. I can appreciate an easter egg here and there, but it was just too much, too close, and too frequent, for it to be considered tastefully done, in my opinion. I’m not even going to dive into the plague on traditional publishing that is poorly written fanfic being published, but I feel like if you’re going to republish your fanfic as an original work, it needs to be way less obvious that you just strung together scenes from the source material and added some gratuitous violence to make it edgier.
Secondly, if there’s something that I will always criticize in Chinese-inspired fantasies, it is the naming conventions and nonsensical use of Chinese words throughout the text. As a disclaimer, I know that this is a pet peeve of mine, and probably won’t bother other readers as much, but this pissed me off a lot and this is my review, so here we are. The naming conventions in this book are absolute NONSENSE. Like are we doing pinyin names, or are we doing weirdly translated English names? Because for what reason do we have three siblings, two of which have pinyin names, and the third of which is named Plum. Do not get me started on the main love interest being called Liu Sky (and his brother Liu Winter). LIU SKY. This is so fucking unserious I actually screamed out loud the first few times it appeared on page because I could not believe how stupid it sounds. I feel sorry for whichever poor audiobook narrator has to get through reading those names out loud without laughing. The pinyin names are also, for a lack of a better word, cringey? Juvenile? I don’t want to judge this too hard because Chinese names are extremely varied and sometimes nonsensical, but the main character being called Meilin is just a bit of an ick to me. It’s not that this doesn’t sound like an actual name (and I truly mean no offense to anyone named Meilin), but it kind of gives the same energy as naming your main character John Smith, you know what I mean?
Another thing that irks me personally is the random words that the author chose to write out in Chinese pinyin, and then subsequently translate it in text. There’s no consistency, and again, just looks stupid to me. For example, “The aroma of shaokao barbecued meat….” - shaokao just means barbecue. That is like saying “barbecue barbecued meat”. It’s stupid. This isn’t the only example from the book (“baichi idiot” is another one I can remember off the top of my head) but it just irritates me to no end.
Thirdly, I could almost look past all of this nonsense if the plot and/or characters were actually good, but unfortunately, there was really just nothing there. Like I said before, the book relies too heavily on being a Disney Mulan retelling, and as such, doesn’t really do enough to establish its own characters. The characters are all incredibly one dimensional, and none of the relationships are developed in any way that is meaningful. The main character has a couple of love interests, both of whom just randomly declare their interest in her after no significant or compelling interactions that would lead them to feel that way. One of the things that makes Mulan 1998 so fun is Mulan’s friendships with her fellow soldiers, as well as her dynamics with her dragon and cricket, but none of these fun relationships are anywhere to be found in this book. Meilin is a little too edgy and prickly to actually develop any believable friendships with her peers, and honestly, she’s just not a very complex and interesting character, nor are the other characters, so it only makes sense that their relationships are also boring.
All in all, this was just not a good book, in my opinion. I realize I am being super negative here, and if I weren’t on a plane when I read this, I’m sure I would have DNF’d it. I’m sure there's an audience for this book, I just cannot quite see who it would be for.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Have you ever thought to yourself, what if George RR Martin woke up one day with an orientalist fantasy and wanted to write a Mulan (a la Disney 1998) fanfic? Well, K.X. Song has done basically just that with The Night Ends with Fire. This is, quite frankly, one of the worst books I have ever read. It's unoriginal, cringey, poorly written, and I genuinely cannot think of a single good thing to say about it. The characters are flat and poorly developed, and the relationships reflect that as well.
I try not to pass too much judgment on diaspora authors because I am aware that not all diaspora folks engage with their ancestors' culture in the same way, but at times I really had to question whether or not Song has ever actually engaged with Chinese media in any way, shape, or form. This book, rather than feeling like a diaspora author's exploration of Chinese culture and trying to bring pieces of that into their writing, felt like an orientalist fever dream. Again, I do realize this is a very subjective thing, so I won’t dwell on it too much and will let you judge for yourself, but I genuinely felt like this book felt like a bad parody of a c-drama rather than an homage to one.
Onto other, more concrete things that I disliked about this book. Firstly, this book just felt like really bad Disney Mulan fanfic. I can understand the nostalgia and love for Disney's Mulan - I was also of the generation where this was one of the only representations of me and my culture in mainstream children’s media, so I, too, have an unhealthy love for this film despite recognizing now as an adult how flawed it is. However, there are legit play by play scenes from the film that have just been haphazardly transplanted into this book, and it’s honestly just cringey and unoriginal. I can appreciate an easter egg here and there, but it was just too much, too close, and too frequent, for it to be considered tastefully done, in my opinion. I’m not even going to dive into the plague on traditional publishing that is poorly written fanfic being published, but I feel like if you’re going to republish your fanfic as an original work, it needs to be way less obvious that you just strung together scenes from the source material and added some gratuitous violence to make it edgier.
Secondly, if there’s something that I will always criticize in Chinese-inspired fantasies, it is the naming conventions and nonsensical use of Chinese words throughout the text. As a disclaimer, I know that this is a pet peeve of mine, and probably won’t bother other readers as much, but this pissed me off a lot and this is my review, so here we are. The naming conventions in this book are absolute NONSENSE. Like are we doing pinyin names, or are we doing weirdly translated English names? Because for what reason do we have three siblings, two of which have pinyin names, and the third of which is named Plum. Do not get me started on the main love interest being called Liu Sky (and his brother Liu Winter). LIU SKY. This is so fucking unserious I actually screamed out loud the first few times it appeared on page because I could not believe how stupid it sounds. I feel sorry for whichever poor audiobook narrator has to get through reading those names out loud without laughing. The pinyin names are also, for a lack of a better word, cringey? Juvenile? I don’t want to judge this too hard because Chinese names are extremely varied and sometimes nonsensical, but the main character being called Meilin is just a bit of an ick to me. It’s not that this doesn’t sound like an actual name (and I truly mean no offense to anyone named Meilin), but it kind of gives the same energy as naming your main character John Smith, you know what I mean?
Another thing that irks me personally is the random words that the author chose to write out in Chinese pinyin, and then subsequently translate it in text. There’s no consistency, and again, just looks stupid to me. For example, “The aroma of shaokao barbecued meat….” - shaokao just means barbecue. That is like saying “barbecue barbecued meat”. It’s stupid. This isn’t the only example from the book (“baichi idiot” is another one I can remember off the top of my head) but it just irritates me to no end.
Thirdly, I could almost look past all of this nonsense if the plot and/or characters were actually good, but unfortunately, there was really just nothing there. Like I said before, the book relies too heavily on being a Disney Mulan retelling, and as such, doesn’t really do enough to establish its own characters. The characters are all incredibly one dimensional, and none of the relationships are developed in any way that is meaningful. The main character has a couple of love interests, both of whom just randomly declare their interest in her after no significant or compelling interactions that would lead them to feel that way. One of the things that makes Mulan 1998 so fun is Mulan’s friendships with her fellow soldiers, as well as her dynamics with her dragon and cricket, but none of these fun relationships are anywhere to be found in this book. Meilin is a little too edgy and prickly to actually develop any believable friendships with her peers, and honestly, she’s just not a very complex and interesting character, nor are the other characters, so it only makes sense that their relationships are also boring.
All in all, this was just not a good book, in my opinion. I realize I am being super negative here, and if I weren’t on a plane when I read this, I’m sure I would have DNF’d it. I’m sure there's an audience for this book, I just cannot quite see who it would be for.
March 2, 2024
4.5 ⭐️
➣ spoilers are marked!
this book WAS BATSHIT CRAZY. i genuinly didn’t even know what i was going into as i started this - i expected a general mulan-based plot, girlboss energy, comedic relief, cute romcom scenes, and happily ever after.
NOT ONE BIT OF THAT WAS RIGHT.
😭😭😭
this book has dark magic, mythological aspects, political rivarly, comradery, betrayal (to the highest degree), and just 0.0001% fluff. UGH I LOVED IT SM I CAN’T EVEN EXPLAIN AAAAAAAHHHH (i’m still reeling from that last chapter and i hate this sm BC I WANT THE NEXT BOOK IN MY HANDS RN except book 1 hasnt even officially released yet 🪦🪦)
🗡️₊⊹ ꒱ hai meilin
“ma, i don't want to just survive. i want to be the best. i want others to respect me to fear me. to know my name and know it with awe.”
HAI MEILIN, THE WORLD FEARS YOU. I BOW DOWN TO YOU OMFG U QUEEN-
i actually have no words for this lady because SHE. SHE IS THE WOMAN. who needs a man when hai meilin exists??? ugh she’s literally what i want to be (if i wasnt lazy and procrastinating every damn task)
genuinly though, i admire her character so so much. she wants to prove her worth, wants to make people bow to her. I WILL. and the things she goes through…. MEN 🍵🍵👎👎👎 ugh i hated how most of the men depict women… it’s so disgusting and just sad.
🗝₊⊹ ꒱ prince liu sky
SKY THEY COULD NEVER MAKE ME HATE YOU 😔😔😔 && the way we were ROBBED of so much sky/meilin content… he’s literally the only good male organism in this book why did we get sky-deprived 😫💔 i better get a novella or much more of them in book 2 as compensation :(((
♟️₊⊹ ꒱ cao ming lei
WHY DOES HE EXIST!??!? i’m actually so conflicted with this character because i truly do hate him with such passion but why did he kinda glow up a bit towards the end..?? why did we get sm lei/meilin content instead like huh?!?! i DID NOT expect meilin having two guys at her feet 😪
spoilers below 🗯️ ~
++ dear tao and sparrow, i hope you both never find peace. i hope you both never find the good spot in your pillow and always stub your toes into a wall. i suspected them being traitors when they left after finding out she had dark magic BUT DAMN THAT BETRAYL ON LITERALLY THE SECOND-TO-LAST PAGE- i couldn’t even breathe 😭😭
⛓️₊⊹ ꒱ final thoughts
- i LOVED the quotes in the beginning of each chapter, they were each so beautiful ++ meaningful ❤️🩹
“and if i ever write ‘tonight the moonlight is strong," i am trying to say that i miss you.” 🩶🌟
- mwah mwah mwah UGH THIS WAS SO FREAKIN GOODDDDD ugh i wanna re-read this book already
- the writing in this book was incredible. i was hooked from the first page and i could NOT put this book down to save my life!! i was so invested, especially in part 3.
- sky sky sky sky sky :(((((
- lei can you rot pls tyvm
- spoiler point 🗯️ ~ idk if i can even consider this a love triangle...? because what was all that 😭😭 like girl he literally burned and almost killed you in so many events... why are you kissing him voluntarily...???
thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc! 💌
───────────── ♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
🏹🤍 pre-read: I GOT THE ARC ?!?! so excited to read this cuz the reviews have rly made it sound so good~~
(++ hoping this gets me out of my semi reading slump 🤕🤕)
➣ spoilers are marked!
“they would never let a woman get away with something like this. they would never let a woman hold on to power."
this book WAS BATSHIT CRAZY. i genuinly didn’t even know what i was going into as i started this - i expected a general mulan-based plot, girlboss energy, comedic relief, cute romcom scenes, and happily ever after.
NOT ONE BIT OF THAT WAS RIGHT.
😭😭😭
this book has dark magic, mythological aspects, political rivarly, comradery, betrayal (to the highest degree), and just 0.0001% fluff. UGH I LOVED IT SM I CAN’T EVEN EXPLAIN AAAAAAAHHHH (i’m still reeling from that last chapter and i hate this sm BC I WANT THE NEXT BOOK IN MY HANDS RN except book 1 hasnt even officially released yet 🪦🪦)
🗡️₊⊹ ꒱ hai meilin
“ma, i don't want to just survive. i want to be the best. i want others to respect me to fear me. to know my name and know it with awe.”
HAI MEILIN, THE WORLD FEARS YOU. I BOW DOWN TO YOU OMFG U QUEEN-
i actually have no words for this lady because SHE. SHE IS THE WOMAN. who needs a man when hai meilin exists??? ugh she’s literally what i want to be (if i wasnt lazy and procrastinating every damn task)
genuinly though, i admire her character so so much. she wants to prove her worth, wants to make people bow to her. I WILL. and the things she goes through…. MEN 🍵🍵👎👎👎 ugh i hated how most of the men depict women… it’s so disgusting and just sad.
🗝₊⊹ ꒱ prince liu sky
SKY THEY COULD NEVER MAKE ME HATE YOU 😔😔😔 && the way we were ROBBED of so much sky/meilin content… he’s literally the only good male organism in this book why did we get sky-deprived 😫💔 i better get a novella or much more of them in book 2 as compensation :(((
♟️₊⊹ ꒱ cao ming lei
WHY DOES HE EXIST!??!? i’m actually so conflicted with this character because i truly do hate him with such passion but why did he kinda glow up a bit towards the end..?? why did we get sm lei/meilin content instead like huh?!?! i DID NOT expect meilin having two guys at her feet 😪
spoilers below 🗯️ ~
++ dear tao and sparrow, i hope you both never find peace. i hope you both never find the good spot in your pillow and always stub your toes into a wall. i suspected them being traitors when they left after finding out she had dark magic BUT DAMN THAT BETRAYL ON LITERALLY THE SECOND-TO-LAST PAGE- i couldn’t even breathe 😭😭
⛓️₊⊹ ꒱ final thoughts
- i LOVED the quotes in the beginning of each chapter, they were each so beautiful ++ meaningful ❤️🩹
“and if i ever write ‘tonight the moonlight is strong," i am trying to say that i miss you.” 🩶🌟
- mwah mwah mwah UGH THIS WAS SO FREAKIN GOODDDDD ugh i wanna re-read this book already
- the writing in this book was incredible. i was hooked from the first page and i could NOT put this book down to save my life!! i was so invested, especially in part 3.
- sky sky sky sky sky :(((((
- lei can you rot pls tyvm
- spoiler point 🗯️ ~ idk if i can even consider this a love triangle...? because what was all that 😭😭 like girl he literally burned and almost killed you in so many events... why are you kissing him voluntarily...???
thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc! 💌
───────────── ♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
🏹🤍 pre-read: I GOT THE ARC ?!?! so excited to read this cuz the reviews have rly made it sound so good~~
(++ hoping this gets me out of my semi reading slump 🤕🤕)
February 2, 2025
4.5 stars! ⭐️ Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group | Ace and NetGalley for the complimentary e-copy! 💌
"I needed to prove that I, as a woman, could be better than the rest of them. That I too could belong. That I too could be free."
HOLY. HELL. THIS BOOK. WHAT DID I JUST READ?!? I went in expecting a classic Mulan-inspired retelling, maybe some girlboss moments, a little romance, and a happily ever after. But what I got instead??? DARK MAGIC. BETRAYAL. POLITICAL MANIPULATION. WAR. This book chewed me up, spit me out, and left me BEGGING for book 2. 🫠🔥
Tropes & Themes:
🏹 Disguised Identity
🐉 Mythical Creatures
⚔️ Battle for Power
💔 Betrayal (that HURTS)
🖤 Dark Magic
🎭 Enemies to ???
🏛️ Political Intrigue
Let’s talk about the QUEEN HERSELF—HAI MEILIN. 👑 The way this girl clawed her way out of her circumstances to take control of her own life??? ICONIC. She refuses to let society dictate her worth, and honestly, I would kneel for her. She’s ambitious, relentless, and makes the men around her LOOK LIKE FOOLS. The way they constantly underestimate her only for her to OUTSMART THEM?!?? chef’s kiss 🍵
Speaking of men—Prince Liu Sky?? SKY, I SEE YOU. 👀 He was literally the only male character who didn’t make my blood boil. But WHY did we get so little of him?? I needed at least 200 more pages of Sky/Meilin moments. I will not be taking questions at this time. 😭💔
Now, Cao Ming Lei… OH, WE HAVE WORDS. He started off as the villain I wanted to throw into the sun, but why did he start getting interesting toward the end?? The tension, the power struggle, the way he and Meilin were constantly at each other’s throats... I DID NOT EXPECT TO CARE, AND YET. 😵💫
Okay, spoilers below!! 🗯️~
And then there’s Tao and Sparrow—MAY YOU NEVER HAVE A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP AGAIN. I suspected them from the start, but that last-minute BETRAYAL??? I WAS SCREAMING. 🗡️🔪
The writing?? STUNNING. K.X. Song crafted such a rich, immersive world, and the way she wove in themes of power, gender, and survival was just perfection. Every chapter had a quote that made me want to tattoo it on my soul. 🩶
"They would never let a woman get away with something like this."
"Something like what?"
"They would never let a woman hold on to power."
GOOSEBUMPS. CHILLS. TEARS.
Final thoughts?? I LOVED IT. I NEED BOOK 2. SOMEONE SEND HELP. 😭🔥!
"I needed to prove that I, as a woman, could be better than the rest of them. That I too could belong. That I too could be free."
HOLY. HELL. THIS BOOK. WHAT DID I JUST READ?!? I went in expecting a classic Mulan-inspired retelling, maybe some girlboss moments, a little romance, and a happily ever after. But what I got instead??? DARK MAGIC. BETRAYAL. POLITICAL MANIPULATION. WAR. This book chewed me up, spit me out, and left me BEGGING for book 2. 🫠🔥
Tropes & Themes:
🏹 Disguised Identity
🐉 Mythical Creatures
⚔️ Battle for Power
💔 Betrayal (that HURTS)
🖤 Dark Magic
🎭 Enemies to ???
🏛️ Political Intrigue
Let’s talk about the QUEEN HERSELF—HAI MEILIN. 👑 The way this girl clawed her way out of her circumstances to take control of her own life??? ICONIC. She refuses to let society dictate her worth, and honestly, I would kneel for her. She’s ambitious, relentless, and makes the men around her LOOK LIKE FOOLS. The way they constantly underestimate her only for her to OUTSMART THEM?!?? chef’s kiss 🍵
Speaking of men—Prince Liu Sky?? SKY, I SEE YOU. 👀 He was literally the only male character who didn’t make my blood boil. But WHY did we get so little of him?? I needed at least 200 more pages of Sky/Meilin moments. I will not be taking questions at this time. 😭💔
Now, Cao Ming Lei… OH, WE HAVE WORDS. He started off as the villain I wanted to throw into the sun, but why did he start getting interesting toward the end?? The tension, the power struggle, the way he and Meilin were constantly at each other’s throats... I DID NOT EXPECT TO CARE, AND YET. 😵💫
Okay, spoilers below!! 🗯️~
And then there’s Tao and Sparrow—MAY YOU NEVER HAVE A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP AGAIN. I suspected them from the start, but that last-minute BETRAYAL??? I WAS SCREAMING. 🗡️🔪
The writing?? STUNNING. K.X. Song crafted such a rich, immersive world, and the way she wove in themes of power, gender, and survival was just perfection. Every chapter had a quote that made me want to tattoo it on my soul. 🩶
"They would never let a woman get away with something like this."
"Something like what?"
"They would never let a woman hold on to power."
GOOSEBUMPS. CHILLS. TEARS.
Final thoughts?? I LOVED IT. I NEED BOOK 2. SOMEONE SEND HELP. 😭🔥!
January 12, 2024
what have i gotten myself into
no thoughts. just numb.
no thoughts. just numb.
March 6, 2025
⟢ 1.5 stars
initially, i was slightly salty since my arc request got denied, but maybe that was a blessing in disguise. now this review is not retaliation in any way—i'm not that petty. i was extremely excited for this book—ecstatic, even. i was so excited that i actually started reading this at a bus stop whilst in sub-zero canadian winter because (1) this got glowing reviews by so many of my close friends (so, sorry in advance), (2) this got nominated for best 2024 fantasy, and (3) it's a mulan retelling that focuses on de-disneyfying it and showing the brutalities of the actual legend. so needless to say, i was on board.
the idea behind the night ends with fire is great—fantastic, actually! like previously mentioned, it's a mulan retelling that highlights the actual legend for what it is and not the disney version of it. however, the execution...let's unpack;
i. this is a ya novel trying to cosplay as an adult fantasy. the writing is juvenile. at this day and age, it's criminal to still use "member" to describe a man's genitalia. dick. cock. penis! just use those words, please! pacing was way too fast. scenes, even pivotal scenes, last no more than 5 pages. everything happens so quickly, which leaves no room for any development. also there are way too many plot conveniences. yes, meilin just happens to be great at kung fu. yes, meilin just happens to have weird mind-control powers. also there are just way too many characters that i don't care about. most of them served no purpose.if this was marketed as ya, i feel like it would be received better. but let's not advertise this as an "adult fantasy" when it clearly isn't.
ii. the characters, especially meilin, sucked. she embodies two things that i absolutely loathe in fantasy: (1) "i'm-not-like-other-girls" disguised as feminism and (2) idiotic, inexperienced, and overly-confident main-character that has plot armour. i don't mind an act of selfishness here and there but this was a constant occurrence. like constant. like every 20-ish pages or so, constant. it gets repetitive and highly (!!) annoying. again, there were too many plot conveniences, especially when it came to her. just such a poorly written character.
iii. this is as generic as generic can be. the only difference this has compared to other "adult" romantasies is the fact that it's chinese.
end scene.
but the weird thing is most of the romance is actually back door. we don't really get to see how they fell head over heels for each other. we're just supposed to assume it was when they trained every night. but they only showed maybe 2, max 3, of those scenes. so, yes, they're in love and there's nothing we can do about it.
iv. now, i'm not an intellectual. usually, i'd look past all of this if it were enjoyable—but alas, it was not. like previously mentioned, this was way too fast-paced. meaning pivotal scenes were skimmed over and there are a lot of weird time jumps. not to mention repetitive scenes, repetitive plot points, and repetitive boredom.
this review is purely subjective. like i said, many of my friends loved this, so maybe, dear reader, you will too! but if you have similar tastes to mine, then i'd recommend steering far away. however, if this seems like something right up your alley, then go for it!
𖥻 “ i needed to prove that i, as a woman, could be better than the rest of them. that I too could belong. that I too could be free. ”
initially, i was slightly salty since my arc request got denied, but maybe that was a blessing in disguise. now this review is not retaliation in any way—i'm not that petty. i was extremely excited for this book—ecstatic, even. i was so excited that i actually started reading this at a bus stop whilst in sub-zero canadian winter because (1) this got glowing reviews by so many of my close friends (so, sorry in advance), (2) this got nominated for best 2024 fantasy, and (3) it's a mulan retelling that focuses on de-disneyfying it and showing the brutalities of the actual legend. so needless to say, i was on board.
the idea behind the night ends with fire is great—fantastic, actually! like previously mentioned, it's a mulan retelling that highlights the actual legend for what it is and not the disney version of it. however, the execution...let's unpack;
i. this is a ya novel trying to cosplay as an adult fantasy. the writing is juvenile. at this day and age, it's criminal to still use "member" to describe a man's genitalia. dick. cock. penis! just use those words, please! pacing was way too fast. scenes, even pivotal scenes, last no more than 5 pages. everything happens so quickly, which leaves no room for any development. also there are way too many plot conveniences. yes, meilin just happens to be great at kung fu. yes, meilin just happens to have weird mind-control powers. also there are just way too many characters that i don't care about. most of them served no purpose.if this was marketed as ya, i feel like it would be received better. but let's not advertise this as an "adult fantasy" when it clearly isn't.
ii. the characters, especially meilin, sucked. she embodies two things that i absolutely loathe in fantasy: (1) "i'm-not-like-other-girls" disguised as feminism and (2) idiotic, inexperienced, and overly-confident main-character that has plot armour. i don't mind an act of selfishness here and there but this was a constant occurrence. like constant. like every 20-ish pages or so, constant. it gets repetitive and highly (!!) annoying. again, there were too many plot conveniences, especially when it came to her. just such a poorly written character.
iii. this is as generic as generic can be. the only difference this has compared to other "adult" romantasies is the fact that it's chinese.
- insta love (like instantly) (like first meeting instantly)
- cringe love triangle
- one of them is from the side that she's fighting for and probably the obvious choice
- other guy is the enemy but "omg! he's attractive and i can't stop staring at his abs. whatever shall i do."
- guy #2 is actually a softie but just has a dark past
- but oh her heart will always long for guy #1
end scene.
but the weird thing is most of the romance is actually back door. we don't really get to see how they fell head over heels for each other. we're just supposed to assume it was when they trained every night. but they only showed maybe 2, max 3, of those scenes. so, yes, they're in love and there's nothing we can do about it.
iv. now, i'm not an intellectual. usually, i'd look past all of this if it were enjoyable—but alas, it was not. like previously mentioned, this was way too fast-paced. meaning pivotal scenes were skimmed over and there are a lot of weird time jumps. not to mention repetitive scenes, repetitive plot points, and repetitive boredom.
this review is purely subjective. like i said, many of my friends loved this, so maybe, dear reader, you will too! but if you have similar tastes to mine, then i'd recommend steering far away. however, if this seems like something right up your alley, then go for it!
March 30, 2024
→4✰
-spoiler free review
when i finished this book all i could think was wow. wowowowow. i adore retellings and mulan is one of my favorite disney princesses so absolutely no surprise that i ended up loving this!
๋࣭ ⭑⚝ hai meilin.
MEILIN THE WOMAN THAT U ARE. i want to be her when i grow up please. she is the strong feminine girlboss mc that we didn't know we needed. i need her bravery puhleez
๋࣭ ⭑⚝ prince liu sky.
i was clawing for those tiny minuscule crumbs we get of him and meilin. i really hope there's more of this man in the next book (if not i may cry)
๋࣭ ⭑⚝ cao ming lei.
well. he was a character! he really wasn't all that bad near the end i guess. at some points he was giving fuchai from a song to drown rivers. that does NOT mean i love him. i just saw some similarities
.𖥔 ݁ ˖"They would never let a woman get away with something like this."
"Something like what?"
"They would never let a woman hold on to power."
# thank you to netgalley for the arc!
⋆｡°✩
pre-read review
i'm soo excited for this aahhhh 🤭
my girl rina inspired me to apply for the arc, and i got it !! thank u rinaa ilu 🥹💐
-spoiler free review
.𖥔 ݁ ˖"I needed to prove that I as a woman could be better than the rest of them. That I too could belong. That I too could be free."
when i finished this book all i could think was wow. wowowowow. i adore retellings and mulan is one of my favorite disney princesses so absolutely no surprise that i ended up loving this!
๋࣭ ⭑⚝ hai meilin.
MEILIN THE WOMAN THAT U ARE. i want to be her when i grow up please. she is the strong feminine girlboss mc that we didn't know we needed. i need her bravery puhleez
๋࣭ ⭑⚝ prince liu sky.
i was clawing for those tiny minuscule crumbs we get of him and meilin. i really hope there's more of this man in the next book (if not i may cry)
๋࣭ ⭑⚝ cao ming lei.
well. he was a character! he really wasn't all that bad near the end i guess. at some points he was giving fuchai from a song to drown rivers. that does NOT mean i love him. i just saw some similarities
.𖥔 ݁ ˖"In the dark, I rephrased the Imperial Commander's words:
A woman who could use a blade endangered the social order.
A woman who could think for herself jeopardized the mortality of the law.
A woman who could take power away from those who held it threatened the welfare of the state."
╰ i could never imagine living in a society where women are forced to live under a leader who believes these things. this book really opened my eyes to how it feels living a life that you don't want to live. women in this time and setting were expected to be at their father or husbands beck and call. meilin didn't want that for herself so she chose to fight in the war under her father's name in the hopes that she would someday be accepted for who she was as a woman.
.𖥔 ݁ ˖"They would never let a woman get away with something like this."
"Something like what?"
"They would never let a woman hold on to power."
# thank you to netgalley for the arc!
⋆｡°✩
pre-read review
i'm soo excited for this aahhhh 🤭
my girl rina inspired me to apply for the arc, and i got it !! thank u rinaa ilu 🥹💐
Currently reading
February 22, 2024THE POPPY WAR MEETS SIX CRIMSON CRANES x MULAN RETELLING ??? GIVE IT TO ME RIGHT NEOWWWW
May 19, 2025
OH. MY. GOODNESS!!!! I LOVED it even more the second time!!! ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥 Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.
What an enchanting, exquisitely written, and intellectually stimulating historical fantasy, weaving mythology, magic and romance into a captivating retelling of the timeless Mulan narrative!! The exceptional world building, rich character development, morally complex figures, inclusion of mythical creatures and a spirit realm, pulsating tension, thrilling action sequences, poignant romance, mesmerizing magic, empowered female protagonist, harrowing wartime scenarios, gripping betrayals, unexpected plot twists, all set within an atmospheric backdrop, collectively render this narrative a truly spectacular and immersive reading experience. From the breathtakingly stunning cover to the irresistibly intriguing story, I was instantly captivated and found myself devouring the book with unbridled enthusiasm. I can confidently declare that this book has secured its place among my top favorites for the year 2024!!! ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
The Night Ends with Fire follows the journey of Meilin, a young woman determined to forge her own path, even if it means defying everyone she loves. Amidst the chaos of war in the Three Kingdoms, Meilin father, trapped by addiction, plans to sell her for her dowry. Faced with an arranged marriage to a violent man, Meilin disguises herself as a boy and enlists in the army in her father's place. As she rises through the ranks, forming bonds with comrades and navigating complex relationships, Meilin must confront visions of a sea dragon spirit offering power and freedom, but at a perilous cost. With the fate of the Three Kingdoms at stake, Meilin grapples with trust, torn between loyalty to Prince Sky, the enigmatic sea dragon spirit, and an enemy prince who challenges everything she thought she knew about herself and her kingdom.
When I reached the last page of this book, I couldn't contain my frustration and yelled "NO!"at my husband, as the ending left me in disbelief. However, after delving into some research, I discovered that it's just the first part of a duology. While I am relieved that the story isn't over, the anticipation for the next installment is almost unbearable. Now, I find myself eagerly counting down the days until I can continue the adventure. Consider this your warning-once you're hooked, the wait for the next book becomes an agonizing test of patience!
In conclusion, this book had me completely captivated from the first page to the last. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone seeking a fantasy read Its enthralling storyline and richly developed characters deserve infinite stars of praise!! ♾️💫💫💫💫💫
What an enchanting, exquisitely written, and intellectually stimulating historical fantasy, weaving mythology, magic and romance into a captivating retelling of the timeless Mulan narrative!! The exceptional world building, rich character development, morally complex figures, inclusion of mythical creatures and a spirit realm, pulsating tension, thrilling action sequences, poignant romance, mesmerizing magic, empowered female protagonist, harrowing wartime scenarios, gripping betrayals, unexpected plot twists, all set within an atmospheric backdrop, collectively render this narrative a truly spectacular and immersive reading experience. From the breathtakingly stunning cover to the irresistibly intriguing story, I was instantly captivated and found myself devouring the book with unbridled enthusiasm. I can confidently declare that this book has secured its place among my top favorites for the year 2024!!! ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
The Night Ends with Fire follows the journey of Meilin, a young woman determined to forge her own path, even if it means defying everyone she loves. Amidst the chaos of war in the Three Kingdoms, Meilin father, trapped by addiction, plans to sell her for her dowry. Faced with an arranged marriage to a violent man, Meilin disguises herself as a boy and enlists in the army in her father's place. As she rises through the ranks, forming bonds with comrades and navigating complex relationships, Meilin must confront visions of a sea dragon spirit offering power and freedom, but at a perilous cost. With the fate of the Three Kingdoms at stake, Meilin grapples with trust, torn between loyalty to Prince Sky, the enigmatic sea dragon spirit, and an enemy prince who challenges everything she thought she knew about herself and her kingdom.
When I reached the last page of this book, I couldn't contain my frustration and yelled "NO!"at my husband, as the ending left me in disbelief. However, after delving into some research, I discovered that it's just the first part of a duology. While I am relieved that the story isn't over, the anticipation for the next installment is almost unbearable. Now, I find myself eagerly counting down the days until I can continue the adventure. Consider this your warning-once you're hooked, the wait for the next book becomes an agonizing test of patience!
In conclusion, this book had me completely captivated from the first page to the last. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone seeking a fantasy read Its enthralling storyline and richly developed characters deserve infinite stars of praise!! ♾️💫💫💫💫💫
Want to read
February 10, 2024All I need to know is it’s inspired by Mulan ❤️🐲
The little girl in me is kicking her feet and screaming 🥹🥹
The little girl in me is kicking her feet and screaming 🥹🥹
dnf
May 31, 2024DNF @ 39%
yeah i quit!! cant do this anymore im bored to the point of tears and meilin has me losing my mind i cant stand her (where has logic gone for some of these choices she makes??? seriously??) or the other characters. i skimmed the rest of the book to see if there'd be anything to make me want to continue and other than being vaguely curious about that other guy (lei??), i genuinely do not care... sky looks like he'd be immensely frustrating so yeah im not about to deal with that goodbye!🫣
oh also how is this adult? this not only gives off YA vibes (characters, plot, etc) but also the writing does not feel adult from what i read so?? idk why publishers are being weird lately with their marketing. its not really a big deal but im just confused on why this keeps happening?
and how dare this be compared to two of my favourite books Six Crimson Cranes and the The Poppy War because personally those two were leagues away and i didnt see anything that reminded me of those books (although i did stop early so maybe later on it shows idk)
anyways im forever disappointed because genuinely this was one of my most anticipated reads this year and i adore mulan retellings so😭 and that cover + special features?? oh well, there's still hope with Of Jade and Dragons
Many thanks (and sorry T-T) to Berkley Publishing Group for gifting this ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.please dont blacklist me LOL
____________
NETGALLEY ACCEPTED MY ARC REQUEST OMG SO HAPPY🥹
____________
read the excerpt on tor and it sounds AMAZING (i mean inspired by mulan + there are dragons??? SIGN ME UP).
also "The Poppy War meets Six Crimson Cranes" omg like??? PLUS FIRST PRINTING IS GONNA BE SO GORGEOUS OH I NEED THIS BOOK ASAP
yeah i quit!! cant do this anymore im bored to the point of tears and meilin has me losing my mind i cant stand her (where has logic gone for some of these choices she makes??? seriously??) or the other characters. i skimmed the rest of the book to see if there'd be anything to make me want to continue and other than being vaguely curious about that other guy (lei??), i genuinely do not care... sky looks like he'd be immensely frustrating so yeah im not about to deal with that goodbye!🫣
oh also how is this adult? this not only gives off YA vibes (characters, plot, etc) but also the writing does not feel adult from what i read so?? idk why publishers are being weird lately with their marketing. its not really a big deal but im just confused on why this keeps happening?
and how dare this be compared to two of my favourite books Six Crimson Cranes and the The Poppy War because personally those two were leagues away and i didnt see anything that reminded me of those books (although i did stop early so maybe later on it shows idk)
anyways im forever disappointed because genuinely this was one of my most anticipated reads this year and i adore mulan retellings so😭 and that cover + special features?? oh well, there's still hope with Of Jade and Dragons
Many thanks (and sorry T-T) to Berkley Publishing Group for gifting this ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
____________
NETGALLEY ACCEPTED MY ARC REQUEST OMG SO HAPPY🥹
____________
read the excerpt on tor and it sounds AMAZING (i mean inspired by mulan + there are dragons??? SIGN ME UP).
also "The Poppy War meets Six Crimson Cranes" omg like??? PLUS FIRST PRINTING IS GONNA BE SO GORGEOUS OH I NEED THIS BOOK ASAP
Want to read
February 17, 2024𝓓𝓮𝓪𝓻 𝓝𝓮𝓽𝓖𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓮𝔂,
𝓢𝓲𝓷𝓬𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓵𝔂 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓹𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓵𝔂, 🤺
𝓗𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻
𝓢𝓲𝓷𝓬𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓵𝔂 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓹𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓵𝔂, 🤺
𝓗𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻
June 1, 2024
A Mulan retelling driven by greed rather than a sense of duty.
Meilin’s father sends her to a matchmaker wanting to use her dowry to pay for his gambling and opium debts. However, Meilin refused to escape her father only to fall under another master.
To escape, she enlists pretending to be her father’s bastard son to fight in the war, gaining the attention of Prince Liu with her kung fu skills and sheer determination.
”You would rather death out there in the wild, than death here, enslaved."
As the author acknowledges, at the core of The Night Ends with Fire is the question: What does our ambition cost us? Instead of Meilin fighting for her family’s honour, she fights to gain a position and place for herself, her ambition dangerous in a world full of men.
Personally, I felt the romance detracted from Meilin’s story. There’s a sort of love triangle although I hesitate to call it that. Not to mention, one of the love interests wants her to leave, not because she’s a woman of course, but because he wants to protect her. This always really annoys me in romantic entanglements. Especially in war when people have proven themselves.
I feel like this could have stood well as a standalone, especially in a market currently vying for them, however the ending felt abrupt and, whilst is more true to the climate of the age and environment, I felt a sense of disappointment that it wasn’t wrapped up.
Thank you to Hodder and Stoughton for providing me with an arc in exchange for a review.
Bookstagram
Meilin’s father sends her to a matchmaker wanting to use her dowry to pay for his gambling and opium debts. However, Meilin refused to escape her father only to fall under another master.
To escape, she enlists pretending to be her father’s bastard son to fight in the war, gaining the attention of Prince Liu with her kung fu skills and sheer determination.
”You would rather death out there in the wild, than death here, enslaved."
As the author acknowledges, at the core of The Night Ends with Fire is the question: What does our ambition cost us? Instead of Meilin fighting for her family’s honour, she fights to gain a position and place for herself, her ambition dangerous in a world full of men.
Personally, I felt the romance detracted from Meilin’s story. There’s a sort of love triangle although I hesitate to call it that. Not to mention, one of the love interests wants her to leave, not because she’s a woman of course, but because he wants to protect her. This always really annoys me in romantic entanglements. Especially in war when people have proven themselves.
I feel like this could have stood well as a standalone, especially in a market currently vying for them, however the ending felt abrupt and, whilst is more true to the climate of the age and environment, I felt a sense of disappointment that it wasn’t wrapped up.
Thank you to Hodder and Stoughton for providing me with an arc in exchange for a review.
Bookstagram
July 2, 2024
The Ballad of Mulan and the Romance of the Three Kingdoms meet the likes of The Poppy War and Six Crimson Cranes in this first part of K.X. Song's upcoming duology: “The Night Ends with Fire” is a tale of magic, adventure, war, love, corruption, betrayal, oppression, freedom, feminism, wuxia (martial arts) - and do not forget dragons! This book really ought to spread like wildfire when it comes out because let me tell you: it is deserving of
every
praise it receives!
[ Contains some spoilers. ]
PLOT SUMMARY
In the lands of Tianjia, war between the Three Kingdoms of Anlai, Ximing and Leyuan is brewing. Told through the first-person narrative of 18-year-old Hai Meilin from Anlai (our Mulan in this tale), we find her father does not want to answer his summons to fight as he believes it won’t benefit him. In this version, he is abusive, has made the family destitute through his gambling and addiction to opium and is heavily relying on Meilin's dowry when she weds. Upon discovering her fiancé is also abusive, Meilin decides to enlist in the war in place of her father as a man under the alias Ren.
She is allocated to the Seventh Company where the leader is none other than the dashing Liu Sky (Shang equivalent), Seventh Prince of Anlai, who had saved her previously. As well as this, Meilin has brought with her a mysterious newly-acquired jade necklace that her late mother wore, unbeknownst that this is a spirit seal containing the Dragon, Qinglong (Mushu equivalent), providing her wisdom and the power (lixia) of water. Now, she has to conceal she is a woman and a spirit medium, for risking revealing her true identity would mean death! Women are not permitted to fight in wars, and the practice of black magic and spirit mediums as well as the worship of spirits have been banned.
But soon Meilin discovers she is not the only spirit medium, a man named Sima hellbent on revenge wields the power of a Phoenix through a scarlet seal. A thief steals the seal and breaks it but it comes back in pieces as it cannot be easily destroyed. Sima has found one piece on one shore; Meilin must find the other two pieces to stop him.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
What an incredible story to read! I could not put it down. Like Meilin’s greed being the driving force behind Qinglong’s powers, my own greed to read and know more propelled me quickly through this book. The pacing was ideal with plenty of description. A few times I laughed, a few times I gasped. The world-building was excellent: K.X. Song has a way of transporting you into this world and exploring aspects of both the spirit realm and reality, as well as providing historical information about the history of the Three Kingdoms.
Also, she very kindly provides us with a map which I always love as it helps me imagine things better!
Split into three parts, there were plenty of twists and turns: some I did not see coming others, probably a lot of them, were predictable but enjoyable to see .
Had this been a single book, I would have rated it a 4 for the ending because it felt anticlimactic and also rather sad after everything that Meilin has been through. Knowing that the story is to be continued, that there is a second book in the works made this even better. Otherwise, I would have screamed haha! I do prefer being able to read a book as a standalone rather than wait for its conclusion later but I am excited to see the direction this story goes. She’s best get her revenge because I am rooting for her.
RETELLING OR REINVENTING?
This story is primarily based on the legend of Mulan. As Song mentions in her author’s note, most of the Western culture is familiar with the story of Mulan through Disney’s film Mulan from 1998 (as well as its sequel Mulan 2 in 2004) and the live-action of the same name from 2020. That is certainly how I know of it, being brought up with Disney films all my life.
Now, I cannot say anything about the historical accuracy of this tale, so I understand if those who are from the culture do not find some of the tale appropriate. For me, this was a refreshing take on the story I do know.
You can certainly see that Song has based a lot of this tale on the live-action Mulan. There are plenty of scenes that harken back to this. To name a few: our heroine knows martial arts before she even enlists, she trains at night herself away from the men, the bathing sequence, the presence of a phoenix.
But there are many differences too. While I am aware some people did not finish even reading it because it felt too much like “Mulan fanfiction”, the point of a retelling is to tell a story again but it should have some unique qualities of its own. And unique qualities it did, especially past the halfway point, because even I at one point was beginning to think it was a little too similar.
Song has created a whole new dynamic through the inclusion of forbidden magic and the Cardinal Spirits with their seals. Cardinal Spirits are the four spirits representing and controlling the time of day, seasons, elements and directions. These are:
🠚 Xuanwu - north, tortoise
🠚 Zhuque - south, phoenix - fire - gets power from vengeance
🠚 Qinglong - east, dragon - water - gets power from greed
🠚 Baihu - west, tiger
These are based on the mythological sacred animals of the Vietnamese culture. The two that are covered the most in this tale are Qinglong and Zhuque. Hopefully, we will get to see more of the other two and learn more about their elements and what fuels their power. It could be assumed that Xuanwu’s element is earth and Baihu’s is air.
I personally like dragons and including a sea dragon in this story is everything! Again, the dragon Qinglong, is not like Disney’s Mushu in any way. Consider him less funny and more sinister and cryptic.
OTHER INSPIRATION
There are a few stories/themes or events that are similar to this book.
<< The Poppy War >>
• avoids arranged marriage (Meilin enlists in war / Rei secretly studies for the Keju, national test)
• can harness the powers of a mythical creature (Meilin with the sea Dragon / Rei with the Pheonix)
<< Six Crimson Cranes >>
• avoids arranged marriage (Meilin enlists in war / Shiori accidentally sabotages her betrothal ceremony)
• wields forbidden magic (Meilin with lixia / Shiori with magic)
• expectations of family (Meilin is to marry / Shiori is the only princess and is expected to be dutiful)
• underwater dragon who teaches her how to harness her magic (Meilin’s Quinglong / Shiori’s Seryu)
• must destroy instrument which powers their enemy’s magic to resolve issues (Meilin must destroy Sima’s magic seal / Shiori must destroy Raikama’s dragon pearl)
THEMES
The main themes are:
<< Expectations, position and struggles of a woman in a patriarchal society >>
Meilin has all the societal norms against her as men control everything: if she marries, what she owns belongs to her husband and her father gets a dowery. Throughout most of history, women were forbidden from having their own identity to own or do things, from publishing a book to even the right to vote.
The tale of Mulan is folklore but there have been instances where women have managed to enlist to fight on a family member’s behalf, keep an eye on the man they love, or escape an abusive household (in Meilin’s case, it’s the latter). If she enlists as a man, there are very severe consequences to this, ultimately death.
Women have also been unfairly trialed and burned at the stake for claims of witchcraft. This is something Meilin fears she will face if she is discovered as practise in magic is forbidden.
<< Desire to belong >>
Meilin struggles to belong. Even when she starts to make friends she struggles to belong because she is lacking in skill like the others. Sparrow claims Meilin is like a brother to him, not knowing Meilin is a woman.
She constantly feels alone, with only her thoughts for company.
CHARACTERS
I really like the way Song has made these characters. Pretty much all of them are flawed, as they should be! This adds a great deal of realism, that not everything is straightforward.
<< Meilin >>
↳ I love Meilin. A very well-fleshed-out character, indeed. I can see why some people would find her dull or naïve but I feel that is entirely the point. Meilin is portrayed most realistically:
🠚 She is struggling as a woman in a patriarchal society who desires more than to be subservient
🠚 She has endured a lot of trauma from her childhood and adulthood, the likes of which some of us can unfortunately relate to. For her, it is the loss of her mother (and the madness that took hold of her before that) and abuse from her father.
🠚 More importantly, she is not perfect by any means, even after her training - for example, she loses the duel to be selected as a squad leader and, despite archery practice, still manages to shoot someone in the thigh instead of the neck.
🠚 The dragon is unable to help her when she wants, whether it is because they have mentally shut one another out, or the jade is lost, but especially when she is handcuffed in iron.
🠚 Her magic (lixia) also works against her: if she overdoes it, it drains her emotionally and physically.
Essentially, everything she does, she has to work for it. I would argue it might be too repetitive in that regard. It would have been nice to see her win more victories. I did not like in the live-action Mulan that the heroine, like Song’s Meilin, already knows martial arts and I much prefer the cartoon that she learns along with everyone else and becomes very good at it.
*⁀➷ Favourite quotes
“I needed to prove that I, as a woman, could be better than the rest of them. That I too could belong. That I too could be free.”
"I was an aberration that should not exist. A woman, a warrior, a spirit medium."
“I told you not to underestimate me”
<< Liu Sky >>
↳ Sky is the greenest of green flags! His temper and his prioritising of duty are his main flaws. But ultimately, he is a gentle kind person who cares very much for his people. He is the first to discover Meilin’s secret and the first to accept her for who she is.
I like that when Meilin meets him, he himself is disguised as a young soldier, Master Liu, to survey the city. This shows the double-standard that only men can get away with such things. I am surprised Song does not mention this at all.
Overall, nicely written. I like him very much!
*⁀➷ Favourite quotes
• “Lady, I was looking for you.” – the first thing he says to Meilin. Ahhh, this reminds me of both Rhysand from ACOTAR and Howl from Howl's Moving Castle.
• "If yesterday he had seemed like a free spirit with his boyish, easygoing personality, today he looked the prince he was: unapproachable, out of reach. Dangerous."
• "He was all *duty this, duty that*. He believed you should accept the cards you’d been dealt in life and be satisfied. Well, easy for him to say. He was born a prince of Anlai, and I was born a girl."
• “I want to treat you right, Meilin.” – EXCUSE MEEE!
<< Cao Ming Lei >>
↳ Ooh I knew this man would become my absolute favourite the moment Meilin met him. Out of everyone, I found him the most fascinating. So handsome and charming yet enigmatic and indifferent toward people. He works for everyone yet works for nobody but himself. Sometimes a monster, sometimes misunderstood. Oh yes, I really like the complexity of Lei!
I love a morally grey character with a great backstory to explain how he has become the person he is. His witty banter as well as his duel with Meilin with that funny moment made me just like her: against all odds, despite the monster he can be, very attracted to him.
*⁀➷ Favourite quotes
• "a beautiful face, belying a heart of stone."
• "His eyes crinkled again. He was very handsome when he smiled, I thought; he was very handsome all the time. But that just made it easier for him to deceive."
• “I protect what’s mine.”
• “You have a very twisted sense of enjoyment.”
He shot me an insufferable grin. “But I think you do too.”
• “You’re lovely when you laugh” – this one made me MELT!
<< Other characters >>
🠚 It makes a refreshing change that her stepmother Xiuying is not your stereotypical one: she is very nice and they have “bonded over a common enemy”, Meilin’s father.
🠚 The women in this story all have a significant impact or role and I like this, but I wish there had been more women who broke the societal norm, for example, the inclusion of the witch in the live-action.
══════════ ⋆★⋆ ══════════
I am honoured to have been selected as an ARC reader for this book, and I’d like to thank K.X. Song and NetGalley for the opportunity. This has not affected my opinion in any way.
Women were yin—weak and fickle, governed by their flighty emotions. Men were yang—rational, calm, and unyielding. We were told as children that women could not lead, fight, or govern, for they were too easily swayed, prone to hysteria and fitfulness. But I had proven them wrong.
[ Contains some spoilers. ]
PLOT SUMMARY
In the lands of Tianjia, war between the Three Kingdoms of Anlai, Ximing and Leyuan is brewing. Told through the first-person narrative of 18-year-old Hai Meilin from Anlai (our Mulan in this tale), we find her father does not want to answer his summons to fight as he believes it won’t benefit him. In this version, he is abusive, has made the family destitute through his gambling and addiction to opium and is heavily relying on Meilin's dowry when she weds. Upon discovering her fiancé is also abusive, Meilin decides to enlist in the war in place of her father as a man under the alias Ren.
She is allocated to the Seventh Company where the leader is none other than the dashing Liu Sky (Shang equivalent), Seventh Prince of Anlai, who had saved her previously. As well as this, Meilin has brought with her a mysterious newly-acquired jade necklace that her late mother wore, unbeknownst that this is a spirit seal containing the Dragon, Qinglong (Mushu equivalent), providing her wisdom and the power (lixia) of water. Now, she has to conceal she is a woman and a spirit medium, for risking revealing her true identity would mean death! Women are not permitted to fight in wars, and the practice of black magic and spirit mediums as well as the worship of spirits have been banned.
But soon Meilin discovers she is not the only spirit medium, a man named Sima hellbent on revenge wields the power of a Phoenix through a scarlet seal. A thief steals the seal and breaks it but it comes back in pieces as it cannot be easily destroyed. Sima has found one piece on one shore; Meilin must find the other two pieces to stop him.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
What an incredible story to read! I could not put it down. Like Meilin’s greed being the driving force behind Qinglong’s powers, my own greed to read and know more propelled me quickly through this book. The pacing was ideal with plenty of description. A few times I laughed, a few times I gasped. The world-building was excellent: K.X. Song has a way of transporting you into this world and exploring aspects of both the spirit realm and reality, as well as providing historical information about the history of the Three Kingdoms.
Also, she very kindly provides us with a map which I always love as it helps me imagine things better!
Split into three parts, there were plenty of twists and turns: some I did not see coming others, probably a lot of them, were predictable but enjoyable to see .
Had this been a single book, I would have rated it a 4 for the ending because it felt anticlimactic and also rather sad after everything that Meilin has been through. Knowing that the story is to be continued, that there is a second book in the works made this even better. Otherwise, I would have screamed haha! I do prefer being able to read a book as a standalone rather than wait for its conclusion later but I am excited to see the direction this story goes. She’s best get her revenge because I am rooting for her.
RETELLING OR REINVENTING?
This story is primarily based on the legend of Mulan. As Song mentions in her author’s note, most of the Western culture is familiar with the story of Mulan through Disney’s film Mulan from 1998 (as well as its sequel Mulan 2 in 2004) and the live-action of the same name from 2020. That is certainly how I know of it, being brought up with Disney films all my life.
Now, I cannot say anything about the historical accuracy of this tale, so I understand if those who are from the culture do not find some of the tale appropriate. For me, this was a refreshing take on the story I do know.
You can certainly see that Song has based a lot of this tale on the live-action Mulan. There are plenty of scenes that harken back to this. To name a few: our heroine knows martial arts before she even enlists, she trains at night herself away from the men, the bathing sequence, the presence of a phoenix.
But there are many differences too. While I am aware some people did not finish even reading it because it felt too much like “Mulan fanfiction”, the point of a retelling is to tell a story again but it should have some unique qualities of its own. And unique qualities it did, especially past the halfway point, because even I at one point was beginning to think it was a little too similar.
Song has created a whole new dynamic through the inclusion of forbidden magic and the Cardinal Spirits with their seals. Cardinal Spirits are the four spirits representing and controlling the time of day, seasons, elements and directions. These are:
🠚 Xuanwu - north, tortoise
🠚 Zhuque - south, phoenix - fire - gets power from vengeance
🠚 Qinglong - east, dragon - water - gets power from greed
🠚 Baihu - west, tiger
These are based on the mythological sacred animals of the Vietnamese culture. The two that are covered the most in this tale are Qinglong and Zhuque. Hopefully, we will get to see more of the other two and learn more about their elements and what fuels their power. It could be assumed that Xuanwu’s element is earth and Baihu’s is air.
I personally like dragons and including a sea dragon in this story is everything! Again, the dragon Qinglong, is not like Disney’s Mushu in any way. Consider him less funny and more sinister and cryptic.
OTHER INSPIRATION
There are a few stories/themes or events that are similar to this book.
<< The Poppy War >>
• avoids arranged marriage (Meilin enlists in war / Rei secretly studies for the Keju, national test)
• can harness the powers of a mythical creature (Meilin with the sea Dragon / Rei with the Pheonix)
<< Six Crimson Cranes >>
• avoids arranged marriage (Meilin enlists in war / Shiori accidentally sabotages her betrothal ceremony)
• wields forbidden magic (Meilin with lixia / Shiori with magic)
• expectations of family (Meilin is to marry / Shiori is the only princess and is expected to be dutiful)
• underwater dragon who teaches her how to harness her magic (Meilin’s Quinglong / Shiori’s Seryu)
• must destroy instrument which powers their enemy’s magic to resolve issues (Meilin must destroy Sima’s magic seal / Shiori must destroy Raikama’s dragon pearl)
THEMES
“They would never let a woman get away with something like this.”
“Something like what?”
“They would never let a woman hold on to power.”
The main themes are:
<< Expectations, position and struggles of a woman in a patriarchal society >>
Meilin has all the societal norms against her as men control everything: if she marries, what she owns belongs to her husband and her father gets a dowery. Throughout most of history, women were forbidden from having their own identity to own or do things, from publishing a book to even the right to vote.
The tale of Mulan is folklore but there have been instances where women have managed to enlist to fight on a family member’s behalf, keep an eye on the man they love, or escape an abusive household (in Meilin’s case, it’s the latter). If she enlists as a man, there are very severe consequences to this, ultimately death.
Women have also been unfairly trialed and burned at the stake for claims of witchcraft. This is something Meilin fears she will face if she is discovered as practise in magic is forbidden.
<< Desire to belong >>
Meilin struggles to belong. Even when she starts to make friends she struggles to belong because she is lacking in skill like the others. Sparrow claims Meilin is like a brother to him, not knowing Meilin is a woman.
She constantly feels alone, with only her thoughts for company.
CHARACTERS
I really like the way Song has made these characters. Pretty much all of them are flawed, as they should be! This adds a great deal of realism, that not everything is straightforward.
<< Meilin >>
↳ I love Meilin. A very well-fleshed-out character, indeed. I can see why some people would find her dull or naïve but I feel that is entirely the point. Meilin is portrayed most realistically:
🠚 She is struggling as a woman in a patriarchal society who desires more than to be subservient
🠚 She has endured a lot of trauma from her childhood and adulthood, the likes of which some of us can unfortunately relate to. For her, it is the loss of her mother (and the madness that took hold of her before that) and abuse from her father.
🠚 More importantly, she is not perfect by any means, even after her training - for example, she loses the duel to be selected as a squad leader and, despite archery practice, still manages to shoot someone in the thigh instead of the neck.
🠚 The dragon is unable to help her when she wants, whether it is because they have mentally shut one another out, or the jade is lost, but especially when she is handcuffed in iron.
🠚 Her magic (lixia) also works against her: if she overdoes it, it drains her emotionally and physically.
Essentially, everything she does, she has to work for it. I would argue it might be too repetitive in that regard. It would have been nice to see her win more victories. I did not like in the live-action Mulan that the heroine, like Song’s Meilin, already knows martial arts and I much prefer the cartoon that she learns along with everyone else and becomes very good at it.
*⁀➷ Favourite quotes
“I needed to prove that I, as a woman, could be better than the rest of them. That I too could belong. That I too could be free.”
"I was an aberration that should not exist. A woman, a warrior, a spirit medium."
“I told you not to underestimate me”
<< Liu Sky >>
↳ Sky is the greenest of green flags! His temper and his prioritising of duty are his main flaws. But ultimately, he is a gentle kind person who cares very much for his people. He is the first to discover Meilin’s secret and the first to accept her for who she is.
I like that when Meilin meets him, he himself is disguised as a young soldier, Master Liu, to survey the city. This shows the double-standard that only men can get away with such things. I am surprised Song does not mention this at all.
Overall, nicely written. I like him very much!
*⁀➷ Favourite quotes
• “Lady, I was looking for you.” – the first thing he says to Meilin. Ahhh, this reminds me of both Rhysand from ACOTAR and Howl from Howl's Moving Castle.
• "If yesterday he had seemed like a free spirit with his boyish, easygoing personality, today he looked the prince he was: unapproachable, out of reach. Dangerous."
• "He was all *duty this, duty that*. He believed you should accept the cards you’d been dealt in life and be satisfied. Well, easy for him to say. He was born a prince of Anlai, and I was born a girl."
• “I want to treat you right, Meilin.” – EXCUSE MEEE!
<< Cao Ming Lei >>
↳ Ooh I knew this man would become my absolute favourite the moment Meilin met him. Out of everyone, I found him the most fascinating. So handsome and charming yet enigmatic and indifferent toward people. He works for everyone yet works for nobody but himself. Sometimes a monster, sometimes misunderstood. Oh yes, I really like the complexity of Lei!
I love a morally grey character with a great backstory to explain how he has become the person he is. His witty banter as well as his duel with Meilin with that funny moment made me just like her: against all odds, despite the monster he can be, very attracted to him.
*⁀➷ Favourite quotes
• "a beautiful face, belying a heart of stone."
• "His eyes crinkled again. He was very handsome when he smiled, I thought; he was very handsome all the time. But that just made it easier for him to deceive."
• “I protect what’s mine.”
• “You have a very twisted sense of enjoyment.”
He shot me an insufferable grin. “But I think you do too.”
• “You’re lovely when you laugh” – this one made me MELT!
<< Other characters >>
🠚 It makes a refreshing change that her stepmother Xiuying is not your stereotypical one: she is very nice and they have “bonded over a common enemy”, Meilin’s father.
🠚 The women in this story all have a significant impact or role and I like this, but I wish there had been more women who broke the societal norm, for example, the inclusion of the witch in the live-action.
══════════ ⋆★⋆ ══════════
I am honoured to have been selected as an ARC reader for this book, and I’d like to thank K.X. Song and NetGalley for the opportunity. This has not affected my opinion in any way.
September 17, 2024
The Night Ends With Fire, more like the night ends with a lukewarm blaze that struggles to ignite even the most flammable kindling.
If the modern adult fantasy book is contrived, tropey, and, much unlike a stuffed animal, full to bursting with not cotton filling but tropes, then I suppose you could call this an adult fantasy. But let me tell you, this book feels like chewing on cotton, except the cotton is on fire, and you can't spit the cotton out until the book ends, because for all its juvenile plotting you find yourself foolishly invested. That's it. That's the K.X. Song deluxe experience.
Let's make one thing clear: this is YA fantasy masquerading as adult fantasy. I peer into the pages of this book and I am instantly bombarded with any of the following: instant love, some very strange plotting choices, and perhaps my biggest grievance of all, nonsensically translated Chinese. Often times it's way too literal, and you have people running around with names that would get you landed in a Worst Names Parents Have Given Children Buzzfeed article (case in point: random, totally not main character guy named Liu Sky and not, oh, I don't know, something a little more natural and just a little less literal like Liu Tian). Are we using the chinese pinyin, or are we using the actual meaning of the word? We're using some unholy amalgamation of the two, K.X. Song says.
If I was under any illusions that K.X. Song would have changed up her style of writing for something supposedly adult fantasy, those have been thoroughly eviscerated after reading this book. Her previous debut, An Echo In The City, I read partially because I was intrigued by the premise and the setting being my hometown, Hong Kong. Unfortunately for my delicate sensibilities, not only the premise rub me the wrong way, the book itself was also lacking. Perhaps I could've chalked it up to Song not suiting the YA genre, but then this came out, and now I am able to confidently say that maybe she's just not for me. The Night Ends with Fire shows me, yet again, that to craft a good fantasy novel requires knife-sharp balancing of a million different elements at once- and it is so very tricky to do so perfectly.
And I could've excused a lot of these things if the story itself was good. But the thing is- and it pains me to say this about a book I had such high hopes for- it's not. Characters make decisions that feel less like plot twists and more like someone tripped over the proverbial narrative rug. People meet and fall in love in the grand span of 5 minutes. The characters the whole plot twist hinges on have close to no plot relevance. It's like watching a movie, and the main character is betrayed by a minor character who's shown up a grand total of five (5) times, and their only dialogue consists of the most forgettable line in cinema history.
The Night Ends With Fire is described as a Mulan retelling, focusing on the women in history that have been so often left behind and forgotten for the sin of simply being the wrong gender. Except, our protagonist contradicts this message. She's strong because she practices kung fu, a stereotypically male activity, unlike the other women, who simply stay at home. And in contrast to all the other girls her age, who have gotten married and are now viewed as weak and helpless, Meilin is defiant and refuses to bow her head to male authority. Rather than her femininity making her stronger, and her defiance giving her strength, Meilin is strong because she does stereotypically male things.
While you can (and probably will) argue that this is the message K.X. Song attempts to subvert by having Meilin be betrayed at the end for simply being a woman in the wrong era, in spite of her rather male traits, I find her messaging very heavy-handed. At least for me, it's akin to being spoon-fed the core message of the book rather than provoke thought independently from the reader.
In the end, The Night Ends with Fire is a book that promises an inferno and delivers a matchstick. It’s not the worst thing to happen to literature, but it’s certainly not setting anything alight either. The saving point of this book is the friendship between Meilin and her stepmother. Hurray to the death of the wicked stepmother trope, nay to the Not Like Other Girls ™️ deluxe meal. More of this, please!
-
local woman tries new book to stave off book slump, finds out it’s a mulan retelling, slumps to the floor and Dies.
If the modern adult fantasy book is contrived, tropey, and, much unlike a stuffed animal, full to bursting with not cotton filling but tropes, then I suppose you could call this an adult fantasy. But let me tell you, this book feels like chewing on cotton, except the cotton is on fire, and you can't spit the cotton out until the book ends, because for all its juvenile plotting you find yourself foolishly invested. That's it. That's the K.X. Song deluxe experience.
Let's make one thing clear: this is YA fantasy masquerading as adult fantasy. I peer into the pages of this book and I am instantly bombarded with any of the following: instant love, some very strange plotting choices, and perhaps my biggest grievance of all, nonsensically translated Chinese. Often times it's way too literal, and you have people running around with names that would get you landed in a Worst Names Parents Have Given Children Buzzfeed article (case in point: random, totally not main character guy named Liu Sky and not, oh, I don't know, something a little more natural and just a little less literal like Liu Tian). Are we using the chinese pinyin, or are we using the actual meaning of the word? We're using some unholy amalgamation of the two, K.X. Song says.
If I was under any illusions that K.X. Song would have changed up her style of writing for something supposedly adult fantasy, those have been thoroughly eviscerated after reading this book. Her previous debut, An Echo In The City, I read partially because I was intrigued by the premise and the setting being my hometown, Hong Kong. Unfortunately for my delicate sensibilities, not only the premise rub me the wrong way, the book itself was also lacking. Perhaps I could've chalked it up to Song not suiting the YA genre, but then this came out, and now I am able to confidently say that maybe she's just not for me. The Night Ends with Fire shows me, yet again, that to craft a good fantasy novel requires knife-sharp balancing of a million different elements at once- and it is so very tricky to do so perfectly.
And I could've excused a lot of these things if the story itself was good. But the thing is- and it pains me to say this about a book I had such high hopes for- it's not. Characters make decisions that feel less like plot twists and more like someone tripped over the proverbial narrative rug. People meet and fall in love in the grand span of 5 minutes. The characters the whole plot twist hinges on have close to no plot relevance. It's like watching a movie, and the main character is betrayed by a minor character who's shown up a grand total of five (5) times, and their only dialogue consists of the most forgettable line in cinema history.
The Night Ends With Fire is described as a Mulan retelling, focusing on the women in history that have been so often left behind and forgotten for the sin of simply being the wrong gender. Except, our protagonist contradicts this message. She's strong because she practices kung fu, a stereotypically male activity, unlike the other women, who simply stay at home. And in contrast to all the other girls her age, who have gotten married and are now viewed as weak and helpless, Meilin is defiant and refuses to bow her head to male authority. Rather than her femininity making her stronger, and her defiance giving her strength, Meilin is strong because she does stereotypically male things.
While you can (and probably will) argue that this is the message K.X. Song attempts to subvert by having Meilin be betrayed at the end for simply being a woman in the wrong era, in spite of her rather male traits, I find her messaging very heavy-handed. At least for me, it's akin to being spoon-fed the core message of the book rather than provoke thought independently from the reader.
In the end, The Night Ends with Fire is a book that promises an inferno and delivers a matchstick. It’s not the worst thing to happen to literature, but it’s certainly not setting anything alight either. The saving point of this book is the friendship between Meilin and her stepmother. Hurray to the death of the wicked stepmother trope, nay to the Not Like Other Girls ™️ deluxe meal. More of this, please!
-
local woman tries new book to stave off book slump, finds out it’s a mulan retelling, slumps to the floor and Dies.
July 9, 2024
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
“Perhaps she had convinced herself she could breathe underwater. Perhaps she had wanted to see how far she could swim. Or perhaps she had simply yearned to be free.“
➸ I loved that the stepmother was not an enemy! It is refreshing to see a step parent that isn’t portrayed as inherently evil.
➸ As a romance lover, I wish the romance was left out. It feels forced and distracting. I’m not 100% sure who the actual love interest of the series is because I am FAR more interested in Lei. The romance with Sky felt so odd, and kind of sudden.
➸ I didn’t feel connected to ANY character though, it just felt flat. I didn’t care what happened, I didn’t feel anything about the ending, I don’t feel compelled to finish the story. It was an interesting read and it kept my attention the entire time, but I didn’t care what happened next.
“Perhaps she had convinced herself she could breathe underwater. Perhaps she had wanted to see how far she could swim. Or perhaps she had simply yearned to be free.“
➸ I loved that the stepmother was not an enemy! It is refreshing to see a step parent that isn’t portrayed as inherently evil.
➸ As a romance lover, I wish the romance was left out. It feels forced and distracting. I’m not 100% sure who the actual love interest of the series is because I am FAR more interested in Lei. The romance with Sky felt so odd, and kind of sudden.
➸ I didn’t feel connected to ANY character though, it just felt flat. I didn’t care what happened, I didn’t feel anything about the ending, I don’t feel compelled to finish the story. It was an interesting read and it kept my attention the entire time, but I didn’t care what happened next.
December 10, 2025
When receiving this ARC, I was incredibly excited to read a book that is inspired by Mulan. Mulan is my favorite Disney character so I couldn't be more excited since Mulan is not a common retelling.
But alas, this book is not for me. This book did a lot of telling and not showing. Mulan or Meilin in this story would have many lucid dreams where she talks to two different spirits of her magic and such. It felt a little long winded that it got a little mundane to read. We really don't get to explore her magic but just hear more about it than see it.
This book would also parallel with the storyline of the Disney movie Mulan. Where you see a correlation of the story. Then all of the sudden the dreams with the dragons, the good vs evil aspect and then she leaves the army with Sky and such. Didn't feel consistent and just fell a little flat for me.
For me I think what I struggled with this capturing my attention is the pacing of the story and some the elements of the story such as the long dialogues with the spirits/dragons. It doesn't also help that this is supposed to be Adult fantasy but the tone of the book reads like YA fantasy.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
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But alas, this book is not for me. This book did a lot of telling and not showing. Mulan or Meilin in this story would have many lucid dreams where she talks to two different spirits of her magic and such. It felt a little long winded that it got a little mundane to read. We really don't get to explore her magic but just hear more about it than see it.
This book would also parallel with the storyline of the Disney movie Mulan. Where you see a correlation of the story. Then all of the sudden the dreams with the dragons, the good vs evil aspect and then she leaves the army with Sky and such. Didn't feel consistent and just fell a little flat for me.
For me I think what I struggled with this capturing my attention is the pacing of the story and some the elements of the story such as the long dialogues with the spirits/dragons. It doesn't also help that this is supposed to be Adult fantasy but the tone of the book reads like YA fantasy.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Connect With Me:
BLOG ⟫ INSTAGRAM ⟫ NEWSLETTER ⟫
July 20, 2024
every day i wake up and see a beautiful, beautiful book cover that lures me in like a siren and i fall for it every time.
i desperately need this book to pick a translating convention and stick with it. it completely takes me out when half the names are written out in pinyin (meilin, xiuying, rouha, cao ming lei, etc) and the other half are translated directly into english (plum, sky, winter, sparrow, autumn, etc). what exactly are we gaining from this? not to mention some chinese words got the chinese-followed-by-the-same-word-in-english treatment with such delights as "baichi fool/idiot", "haixiao wave", and "shaokao barbecue" while other words got no translation at all. i get it, you want to seamlessly incorporate chinese terms into your english story, we all do, but can we be consistent please? it's not even as if there were any honourifics to handle beyond ge/di/jie/mei. let's bring back footnotes and glossaries.
nitpicking aside, this is a rather unremarkable mulan retelling that asks the riveting question: what if mulan was Not Like Other Girls? the writing is not great, the characters go through very miniscule amounts of development, and the "romance" is bundled up in an uninspiring love triangle. the concept of a mulan who is driven by greed and ambition rather than filial piety is certainly an enticing one but the execution is rather juvenile and boring and reads a lot more like YA than adult. not for me sadly.
i desperately need this book to pick a translating convention and stick with it. it completely takes me out when half the names are written out in pinyin (meilin, xiuying, rouha, cao ming lei, etc) and the other half are translated directly into english (plum, sky, winter, sparrow, autumn, etc). what exactly are we gaining from this? not to mention some chinese words got the chinese-followed-by-the-same-word-in-english treatment with such delights as "baichi fool/idiot", "haixiao wave", and "shaokao barbecue" while other words got no translation at all. i get it, you want to seamlessly incorporate chinese terms into your english story, we all do, but can we be consistent please? it's not even as if there were any honourifics to handle beyond ge/di/jie/mei. let's bring back footnotes and glossaries.
nitpicking aside, this is a rather unremarkable mulan retelling that asks the riveting question: what if mulan was Not Like Other Girls? the writing is not great, the characters go through very miniscule amounts of development, and the "romance" is bundled up in an uninspiring love triangle. the concept of a mulan who is driven by greed and ambition rather than filial piety is certainly an enticing one but the execution is rather juvenile and boring and reads a lot more like YA than adult. not for me sadly.
August 14, 2025
⚔️... 2 stars
⤷ dnf @50% (might contain some spoilers but you shouldn't waste your time on this anyway)
──★ ˙⚔️ ̟ # thoughts
mulan retelling or mulan shit show? this just made me more confident in my ability to get published because what the fuck was this???
i was immediately sold when i heard that this was a dark high fantasy mulan retelling. now don't get me wrong, this had A LOT of potential. the story follows a young girl named meilin who goes to war disguised as a man. just like mulan right? just like the story right? no it's nothing like the story.
let's get into the reasons i hated this book
i've never been this passionate about hating a book since powerless
1. this book is simply "i'm not like other girls" disguised as feminism. this book is set in ancient china. a time period in chinese history where women didn't have any rights. and somehow, meilin, our special snowflake, was not only smart, but she also did kung fu as well! and who taught her kung fu? her uncle. why did her uncle teach her kung fu exactly? she has no need for it. she's the daughter of a noble man, she's safe and protected? why would she need it?? i don't mind her knowing kung fu for a reason like lets say she was abused and her uncle taught her kung fu as self defense, but no. she had no reason to learn it all. her kung fu ability was only there to add some "badassness" to her characters.she was not badass at all
2. in the original tale, mulan went to war because she wanted to save her father. but in this tale, meilin went to war simply because she didn't want to get married. i do understand that husbands in ancient china were abusive towards their wives, but melin, could've just simply ran away from home to another country. that would've made things easier for her instead of going to war when she has no reason to.
3. in order to write a good mulan retelling, the main character must be as ambitious as mulan. we can see in the original tale and the disney movie, that mulan was an ambitious woman. mulan's ambition through out the tale was to bring honor to her father, to her family, to her country. she wanted to end the war and she wanted to prove that women deserve rights, that women deserve freedom. but meilin? meilin wasn't ambitious at all. literally, she wasn't ambitious about ending the war. she didn't care about womens rights at all, in a country such as ancient china. in fact, through out the book, meilin keeps saying that she's selfish. i love the self awareness. the only thing meilin was ambitious about was marrying the prince. she wanted to marry him so badly. literally, there was this one scene, where her dragon or spirit or whatever told her if you find these jewels, i'll make sure you'll marry the prince, and he even showed her a vision from the future to prove it. and this girl was fucking sold immediately. she didn't care about ending the war or proving that women deserve rights, she only cared about marrying the prince. literally, most of her pov was just her thinking about prince liu, here's proof:
"Use your head and put out the fire before it spreads. And stop thinking about Prince Liu's shirtless physique." I'm sorry? there's a fire and that's what you're focusing on? its the fact that her spirit dragon thing had to tell her that.
more proof that maelin isn't ambitious at all and only cares about the prince:
"I cared little for the anlai warlord... I cared even less for my kingdom. And at the thought of my prince, I knew that had never been true.
"The yearning was so fierce it hurt, physically. I wanted to reveal every secret I'd hidden from him, to give up every lie that kept us apart. I wanted sky to know me, to see who I truly was." page 192, after they've just had a an argument.
4. the chemistry between Liu and Meilin. they had a love at first sight moment, and fell in love at page 34. you heard me at page 34. during training, meilin and liu start training alone at night, he doesn't know she's a woman. and basically we only get one to three pages of them training each other and then we fast forward to weeks and their in love? i'm sorry?
they also fell in love WAY too fast. this was them during their first meeting:
"Anlai is the most beautiful place in the world. With the most beautiful women." Was he flirting with me? I had no idea how to banter like this.
"I've made you uncomfortable. I apologize."
"I'm not used to meeting princes."
this happened during their training sessions: "Sky had gotten increasingly comfortable with me, to the point that sometimes he felt no need to wear a shirt. Not that I didn't enjoy this
"That's alright. That means I have less competition."
5. the pacing was so off. as much as i love fast paced books this was TOO fast. the training and fights ended with two pages MAX. this book was literally telling and not showing. today we did this and that and we almost died while training. BROTHER WHAT?? why didn't i see all of that. how am i supposed to believe that you were busy doing labor these past three weeks when i didn't see nothing??
6. meilin constantly embarrassing herself. there was this scene before they officially started training, the lieutenant who was training them asked the members of the platoon, if they know how to use a sword. and so our little badass girl boss meilin here decided to raise her hand even though she doesn't know how to use a sword!! and so when she got into a duel with this guy who knew how to use a sword. and when she lost she almost cried and felt embarrassed and humiliated. girl you cannot be fr now. YOU DID THAT TO YOURSELF??
7. when sky discovered that meilin was a woman, he suddenly became misogynistic? like i'm sorry, when you first met her you told her that you wish to take her to the war with you because she's so strong and talented?? and now when you find out you're suddenly a misogynistic fuck?? this guy is literally getting second lead syndrome. she ruined his character with this scene just to make the first lead whom we haven't met yet look good. speaking of the second male lead, how is she and the second male lead supposed to have their enemies to lovers moment when we're half way through the book and we haven't even met this motherfucker?? and based on the reviews i've seen the first male lead is horrible i mean
and then after the argument they had when he found out she was a woman, he asked her a question and "you believe me?" she asked. and this man literally replied with "Why wouldn't i?" BE SO FR.
8. her not being caught in the first place. sky met meilin before she went to war, and how did he not recognize her? homegirl didn't even get a haircut before she went to war.
9. this is supposed to be a high fantasy, when literally nothing was explained during the first 50% and it was supposed to be an adult fantasy, when it literally reads like ya. i don't have any problems with ya i love ya it's my favorite genre, i was expecting something more intense. but at the same time this her adult debut novel, so i can't expect much.
⤷ dnf @50% (might contain some spoilers but you shouldn't waste your time on this anyway)
──★ ˙⚔️ ̟ # thoughts
mulan retelling or mulan shit show? this just made me more confident in my ability to get published because what the fuck was this???
i was immediately sold when i heard that this was a dark high fantasy mulan retelling. now don't get me wrong, this had A LOT of potential. the story follows a young girl named meilin who goes to war disguised as a man. just like mulan right? just like the story right? no it's nothing like the story.
let's get into the reasons i hated this book
1. this book is simply "i'm not like other girls" disguised as feminism. this book is set in ancient china. a time period in chinese history where women didn't have any rights. and somehow, meilin, our special snowflake, was not only smart, but she also did kung fu as well! and who taught her kung fu? her uncle. why did her uncle teach her kung fu exactly? she has no need for it. she's the daughter of a noble man, she's safe and protected? why would she need it?? i don't mind her knowing kung fu for a reason like lets say she was abused and her uncle taught her kung fu as self defense, but no. she had no reason to learn it all. her kung fu ability was only there to add some "badassness" to her characters.
2. in the original tale, mulan went to war because she wanted to save her father. but in this tale, meilin went to war simply because she didn't want to get married. i do understand that husbands in ancient china were abusive towards their wives, but melin, could've just simply ran away from home to another country. that would've made things easier for her instead of going to war when she has no reason to.
3. in order to write a good mulan retelling, the main character must be as ambitious as mulan. we can see in the original tale and the disney movie, that mulan was an ambitious woman. mulan's ambition through out the tale was to bring honor to her father, to her family, to her country. she wanted to end the war and she wanted to prove that women deserve rights, that women deserve freedom. but meilin? meilin wasn't ambitious at all. literally, she wasn't ambitious about ending the war. she didn't care about womens rights at all, in a country such as ancient china. in fact, through out the book, meilin keeps saying that she's selfish. i love the self awareness. the only thing meilin was ambitious about was marrying the prince. she wanted to marry him so badly. literally, there was this one scene, where her dragon or spirit or whatever told her if you find these jewels, i'll make sure you'll marry the prince, and he even showed her a vision from the future to prove it. and this girl was fucking sold immediately. she didn't care about ending the war or proving that women deserve rights, she only cared about marrying the prince. literally, most of her pov was just her thinking about prince liu, here's proof:
"Use your head and put out the fire before it spreads. And stop thinking about Prince Liu's shirtless physique." I'm sorry? there's a fire and that's what you're focusing on? its the fact that her spirit dragon thing had to tell her that.
more proof that maelin isn't ambitious at all and only cares about the prince:
"I cared little for the anlai warlord... I cared even less for my kingdom. And at the thought of my prince, I knew that had never been true.
"The yearning was so fierce it hurt, physically. I wanted to reveal every secret I'd hidden from him, to give up every lie that kept us apart. I wanted sky to know me, to see who I truly was." page 192, after they've just had a an argument.
4. the chemistry between Liu and Meilin. they had a love at first sight moment, and fell in love at page 34. you heard me at page 34. during training, meilin and liu start training alone at night, he doesn't know she's a woman. and basically we only get one to three pages of them training each other and then we fast forward to weeks and their in love? i'm sorry?
they also fell in love WAY too fast. this was them during their first meeting:
"Anlai is the most beautiful place in the world. With the most beautiful women." Was he flirting with me? I had no idea how to banter like this.
"I've made you uncomfortable. I apologize."
"I'm not used to meeting princes."
this happened during their training sessions: "Sky had gotten increasingly comfortable with me, to the point that sometimes he felt no need to wear a shirt. Not that I didn't enjoy this
"That's alright. That means I have less competition."
5. the pacing was so off. as much as i love fast paced books this was TOO fast. the training and fights ended with two pages MAX. this book was literally telling and not showing. today we did this and that and we almost died while training. BROTHER WHAT?? why didn't i see all of that. how am i supposed to believe that you were busy doing labor these past three weeks when i didn't see nothing??
6. meilin constantly embarrassing herself. there was this scene before they officially started training, the lieutenant who was training them asked the members of the platoon, if they know how to use a sword. and so our little badass girl boss meilin here decided to raise her hand even though she doesn't know how to use a sword!! and so when she got into a duel with this guy who knew how to use a sword. and when she lost she almost cried and felt embarrassed and humiliated. girl you cannot be fr now. YOU DID THAT TO YOURSELF??
7. when sky discovered that meilin was a woman, he suddenly became misogynistic? like i'm sorry, when you first met her you told her that you wish to take her to the war with you because she's so strong and talented?? and now when you find out you're suddenly a misogynistic fuck?? this guy is literally getting second lead syndrome. she ruined his character with this scene just to make the first lead whom we haven't met yet look good. speaking of the second male lead, how is she and the second male lead supposed to have their enemies to lovers moment when we're half way through the book and we haven't even met this motherfucker?? and based on the reviews i've seen the first male lead is horrible i mean
and then after the argument they had when he found out she was a woman, he asked her a question and "you believe me?" she asked. and this man literally replied with "Why wouldn't i?" BE SO FR.
8. her not being caught in the first place. sky met meilin before she went to war, and how did he not recognize her? homegirl didn't even get a haircut before she went to war.
9. this is supposed to be a high fantasy, when literally nothing was explained during the first 50% and it was supposed to be an adult fantasy, when it literally reads like ya. i don't have any problems with ya i love ya it's my favorite genre, i was expecting something more intense. but at the same time this her adult debut novel, so i can't expect much.
May 12, 2024
2 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodderscape for providing an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
The Night Ends with Fire starts off strong. It is clear from the beginning that this is a Mulan retelling, but the characters and their family dynamic deviate quite a bit from the original tale. It was refreshing and I was more than ready to experience this story through a new lens.
I loved that K.X. Song chose to subvert the evil/unwanted stepmother trope, and I thought the inclusion of a was a great start to Meilin's character development. I wish this had been more present for the rest of the story, but it was unfortunately brushed aside and forgotten as soon as it no longer served the plot.
Meilin is a such a confusing protagonist for me. I liked her stubbornness and her competitive edge, but ultimately felt she was being used to send very conflicting messages about feminine rage and gender equality. Meilin wants to be powerful, she wants to be feared, she wants to be successful, and she wants to be acknowledged as an equal by the male cast. These are all admirable goals, but what drives her pursuit of them should matter too.
As the story progresses it becomes clear that she believes her strength comes from what makes her different from the other female figures in her life. She does not submit to abusive men because she is more defiant than her stepmother. She does not suffer from bouts of hysteria, because she has a sharper mind than the woman who raised her. She is fearless in combat, because her yang energy (a force of action associated with masculine life forces) is not secondary to her yin energy (a force of passivity associated with feminine life forces).
In other words, Meilin believes herself capable not because women are underestimated, but because she herself is underestimated. She is Not Like Other Girls.
I think for younger audiences this messaging might not be so abrasive, but for me it was heavy-handed and really lacking the nuance that I was hoping for.
I also had issues with the writing. Each chapter features a new challenge or obstacle for our heroine to overcome, but the solution is always found immediately. This is both unsatisfying from a narrative perspective and detrimental to character development. I generally enjoy the use of a first-person POV in fantasy, but when the protagonist is never allowed to sit with their feelings for prolonged periods of time, they never build the kind of emotional depth necessary for readers to become invested in their success.
Meilin never has to feel truly uncomfortable, she never has to contemplate her choices over multiple chapters, she never has to weigh her emotions against her better judgement. She never has to be lost. Sometimes characters need to be a little lost, y'know?
Subsequently everything felt quite trivial and the story just never really hooked me. I was hoping the worldbuilding or magic system might give me something else to be excited about but they were very underdeveloped. The introduction of the villain character was equally underwhelming, but to say why would definitely veer into spoiler territory so I will leave that to other reviewers to discuss!
So who is this for?
On a surface level, this is a fairly faithful Mulan retelling and if you are looking to relive that story this series might hit the right note for you.
I do think this book leans on the younger side, both in tone and in content. The dialogue in particular is very YA. Teen audiences might find this story much more compelling than adult ones, but if you are a younger reader make sure you check the content warnings before reading.
------------------------------------
My rating system:
✧✧✧✧✧ - loved it, no complaints
✧✧✧✧ - loved it, some technical flaws
✧✧✧ - liked it
✧✧ - disappointing
✧ - unenjoyable
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodderscape for providing an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
The Night Ends with Fire starts off strong. It is clear from the beginning that this is a Mulan retelling, but the characters and their family dynamic deviate quite a bit from the original tale. It was refreshing and I was more than ready to experience this story through a new lens.
I loved that K.X. Song chose to subvert the evil/unwanted stepmother trope, and I thought the inclusion of a was a great start to Meilin's character development. I wish this had been more present for the rest of the story, but it was unfortunately brushed aside and forgotten as soon as it no longer served the plot.
Meilin is a such a confusing protagonist for me. I liked her stubbornness and her competitive edge, but ultimately felt she was being used to send very conflicting messages about feminine rage and gender equality. Meilin wants to be powerful, she wants to be feared, she wants to be successful, and she wants to be acknowledged as an equal by the male cast. These are all admirable goals, but what drives her pursuit of them should matter too.
As the story progresses it becomes clear that she believes her strength comes from what makes her different from the other female figures in her life. She does not submit to abusive men because she is more defiant than her stepmother. She does not suffer from bouts of hysteria, because she has a sharper mind than the woman who raised her. She is fearless in combat, because her yang energy (a force of action associated with masculine life forces) is not secondary to her yin energy (a force of passivity associated with feminine life forces).
In other words, Meilin believes herself capable not because women are underestimated, but because she herself is underestimated. She is Not Like Other Girls.
I think for younger audiences this messaging might not be so abrasive, but for me it was heavy-handed and really lacking the nuance that I was hoping for.
I also had issues with the writing. Each chapter features a new challenge or obstacle for our heroine to overcome, but the solution is always found immediately. This is both unsatisfying from a narrative perspective and detrimental to character development. I generally enjoy the use of a first-person POV in fantasy, but when the protagonist is never allowed to sit with their feelings for prolonged periods of time, they never build the kind of emotional depth necessary for readers to become invested in their success.
Meilin never has to feel truly uncomfortable, she never has to contemplate her choices over multiple chapters, she never has to weigh her emotions against her better judgement. She never has to be lost. Sometimes characters need to be a little lost, y'know?
Subsequently everything felt quite trivial and the story just never really hooked me. I was hoping the worldbuilding or magic system might give me something else to be excited about but they were very underdeveloped. The introduction of the villain character was equally underwhelming, but to say why would definitely veer into spoiler territory so I will leave that to other reviewers to discuss!
So who is this for?
On a surface level, this is a fairly faithful Mulan retelling and if you are looking to relive that story this series might hit the right note for you.
I do think this book leans on the younger side, both in tone and in content. The dialogue in particular is very YA. Teen audiences might find this story much more compelling than adult ones, but if you are a younger reader make sure you check the content warnings before reading.
------------------------------------
My rating system:
✧✧✧✧✧ - loved it, no complaints
✧✧✧✧ - loved it, some technical flaws
✧✧✧ - liked it
✧✧ - disappointing
✧ - unenjoyable
June 23, 2024
4.0 Stars
Asian inspired fantasy is one of my favourite subgenres so I knew this book would be right up my alley. If you love She Who Became the Sun then I highly recommend this one. It is certainly not the same story but has a similar setup with a young woman finding herself in a male driven world. The book is compared to Mulan and I would agree with that.
If you enjoy character driven novels with rich worldbuilding, set in a historical China, then you will likely love this one too.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
Asian inspired fantasy is one of my favourite subgenres so I knew this book would be right up my alley. If you love She Who Became the Sun then I highly recommend this one. It is certainly not the same story but has a similar setup with a young woman finding herself in a male driven world. The book is compared to Mulan and I would agree with that.
If you enjoy character driven novels with rich worldbuilding, set in a historical China, then you will likely love this one too.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
April 3, 2025
Official Rating: 1.25/5
DNF @ 93%
EDIT: I finished this story out of spite.... I should've just stuck to dnfing
I'm too pissed off at the story and for my time being wasted so I'll write this review later....
Poppy war x mulan my ass.
----------------------------------------
Okay let's get this show on the road. Night Ends with Fire had A LOT of potential. We started out strong following the main plot of Mulan where Meilin is being forced to get married but instead runs away to take her father's place in war. There she engages with her commander and seventh prince, Liu Sky. I was rocking with the book until about 45% of the way in we got to the reveal... It was questionable but I figured this is where the author wanted to deviate from the Mulan plot given to her and we start to see her plot skills..... she should've stuck to the original blue prints.... The story became so ASS I was literally torturing myself. Meilin's torture couldn't compare to my mental torture while reading this book.
One of the main things that made me hate this book was Meilin and everything she "stood" for. She gave off "nOt LiKe OtHeR gIrLs" vibes which was whatever as you unfortunately get it in FMC characters from time to time but the main thing that irked me was how naive and stupid she was... AND THAT STUPIDITY DIDNT CHANGE THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE BOOK. I'll mark spoilers. Not to mention her entire character arc stems from her wanting freedom and being selfish but the author imo completely botches both things.... she never shows us how Meilin is selfish and just types it on paper...
I hate Meilin with a passion and nobody can convince me otherwise.
Now let's get to the love interest cuz the author had the fucking outline for that too and botched it. Both love interest, Sky and Lei, were trash. However, only one of them was redeemable imo. Sky is the seventh price who is supposed to be a Shang stand in and we see how he pretty much becomes a mentor to Meilin. I liked seeing their relationship grow in the beginning but they didn't really have many scenes together so I assumed they would later on... then pretty quickly he learns of her true identity and turns into a Grade-A misogynist.... His likeability went down hill from there but as the book continued he was actually stating to change and he only wanted to keep her safe because he loved her and not because Meilin was a woman... i like him the most but he's a very much reactive character and doesn't do much to help the FMC overall... Sky shows the most potential and even while he's bound by duty he's still very honorable and is open to change (even if its slow) against women's traditional status and to those with magic (because its outlawed in his kingdom). If I'm rooting for anyone in the love triangle it's him.
As for Lei. Fuck him, his kingdom, and his family. I hope he dies and I won't be sad about it either. When I read about his sad, pathetic backstory I LAUGHED. That's how much I fucking loath his character. He's the typical moody, broody, mysterious fucking second lead and manipulates Meilin for the second half of the book after he kidnaps her (Stockholm syndrome anyone?). He contributes almost nothing to Meilin's character and makes her look so friggen stupid it's pathetic. He's like the opposite of Sky and is actually selfish in his desires and I suppose speaks to Meilin's "bad desires" instead of trying to teach her how to be a better warrior and manipulator. IDFK how Meilin desires him cuz he's a piece of poo poo garbage and the long forgotten dust bunnies behind my heavy and hard to reach dresser are the better than him. GIRLY HUHHHHHHHH??????? Make it make fucking sense. Get his character away from me I never wanna see him again in my lifetime.
Moving on. This book was marketed as being an equivalent to Poppy War. Now I went into this thinking the writing wasn't on par with RF Kuang's because it's:
1. rare for a new author to have really good writing (as long as the plot and characters are kool I'll read it)
2. it's the authors second book
and 3. the author's first book is a YA novel
And I was correct. The writing was YA adjacent and honestly this could've easily been marketed as a YA. But when I read Poppy War in the marketing I was assuming a more detailed description of war violence and gore. I didn't expect SA and rape but uhh.... ig she got that somewhat down... However, I was also expecting this book to be very politic heavy like the Poppy War... but no... Meilin wasn't even interested in politics so.... WHAT IS THE COMPARISON??? HOW IS THIS LIKE THE POPPY WAR??? TELL ME I'M WAITING?!?!? If you're going to use a big name author/book at least have some of the fucking elements to back it up. Meilin is just a Rin wannabe.
Last thing I'll hate on is the pacing. Now I think the author did an ok job in the beginning when they were all training but some things went by way too fast. The author did more telling then showing and it's like you really gotta question whether Meilin was actually learn Kung Fu or not (spoiler alert: doesn't matter since she became a damsel in fucking distress) Idk where the fucking plot went the second half of the book. We lost the plot in favor for the stockholm syndrome, bull shit of a second love interest in the love triangle. The pacing was just all over the place and I felt like if an editor really sat down with Song and got to the nitty gritty to add more detailed action scenes or added more scenes to enhance character development/dynamics it probably would've been a lot better.
The only saving grace of this book were the gods. The water dragon and phoenix were the only things that I was actively interested in. They were truly selfish and only cared about their own agendas and high key I was living for it. Had the author focused more on the god/human relationship between the water dragon and Meilin this book would've been three stars but alas... it wasn't... so it gets a one.
I have a copy that I will be unhauling and while the cliffhanger does make me a little interested, I won't even pick up the second book from the library. I'm just gonna have someone spoil it for me so I never have to see this book again. Hopefully, my next read is better and if the author drops a new series.... maybe I'll give it shot but I'll give it a shot through the library and not through my wallet.
DNF @ 93%
EDIT: I finished this story out of spite.... I should've just stuck to dnfing
I'm too pissed off at the story and for my time being wasted so I'll write this review later....
Poppy war x mulan my ass.
----------------------------------------
Okay let's get this show on the road. Night Ends with Fire had A LOT of potential. We started out strong following the main plot of Mulan where Meilin is being forced to get married but instead runs away to take her father's place in war. There she engages with her commander and seventh prince, Liu Sky. I was rocking with the book until about 45% of the way in we got to the reveal... It was questionable but I figured this is where the author wanted to deviate from the Mulan plot given to her and we start to see her plot skills..... she should've stuck to the original blue prints.... The story became so ASS I was literally torturing myself. Meilin's torture couldn't compare to my mental torture while reading this book.
One of the main things that made me hate this book was Meilin and everything she "stood" for. She gave off "nOt LiKe OtHeR gIrLs" vibes which was whatever as you unfortunately get it in FMC characters from time to time but the main thing that irked me was how naive and stupid she was... AND THAT STUPIDITY DIDNT CHANGE THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE BOOK. I'll mark spoilers. Not to mention her entire character arc stems from her wanting freedom and being selfish but the author imo completely botches both things.... she never shows us how Meilin is selfish and just types it on paper...
I hate Meilin with a passion and nobody can convince me otherwise.
Now let's get to the love interest cuz the author had the fucking outline for that too and botched it. Both love interest, Sky and Lei, were trash. However, only one of them was redeemable imo. Sky is the seventh price who is supposed to be a Shang stand in and we see how he pretty much becomes a mentor to Meilin. I liked seeing their relationship grow in the beginning but they didn't really have many scenes together so I assumed they would later on... then pretty quickly he learns of her true identity and turns into a Grade-A misogynist.... His likeability went down hill from there but as the book continued he was actually stating to change and he only wanted to keep her safe because he loved her and not because Meilin was a woman... i like him the most but he's a very much reactive character and doesn't do much to help the FMC overall... Sky shows the most potential and even while he's bound by duty he's still very honorable and is open to change (even if its slow) against women's traditional status and to those with magic (because its outlawed in his kingdom). If I'm rooting for anyone in the love triangle it's him.
As for Lei. Fuck him, his kingdom, and his family. I hope he dies and I won't be sad about it either. When I read about his sad, pathetic backstory I LAUGHED. That's how much I fucking loath his character. He's the typical moody, broody, mysterious fucking second lead and manipulates Meilin for the second half of the book after he kidnaps her (Stockholm syndrome anyone?). He contributes almost nothing to Meilin's character and makes her look so friggen stupid it's pathetic. He's like the opposite of Sky and is actually selfish in his desires and I suppose speaks to Meilin's "bad desires" instead of trying to teach her how to be a better warrior and manipulator. IDFK how Meilin desires him cuz he's a piece of poo poo garbage and the long forgotten dust bunnies behind my heavy and hard to reach dresser are the better than him. GIRLY HUHHHHHHHH??????? Make it make fucking sense. Get his character away from me I never wanna see him again in my lifetime.
Moving on. This book was marketed as being an equivalent to Poppy War. Now I went into this thinking the writing wasn't on par with RF Kuang's because it's:
1. rare for a new author to have really good writing (as long as the plot and characters are kool I'll read it)
2. it's the authors second book
and 3. the author's first book is a YA novel
And I was correct. The writing was YA adjacent and honestly this could've easily been marketed as a YA. But when I read Poppy War in the marketing I was assuming a more detailed description of war violence and gore. I didn't expect SA and rape but uhh.... ig she got that somewhat down... However, I was also expecting this book to be very politic heavy like the Poppy War... but no... Meilin wasn't even interested in politics so.... WHAT IS THE COMPARISON??? HOW IS THIS LIKE THE POPPY WAR??? TELL ME I'M WAITING?!?!? If you're going to use a big name author/book at least have some of the fucking elements to back it up. Meilin is just a Rin wannabe.
Last thing I'll hate on is the pacing. Now I think the author did an ok job in the beginning when they were all training but some things went by way too fast. The author did more telling then showing and it's like you really gotta question whether Meilin was actually learn Kung Fu or not (spoiler alert: doesn't matter since she became a damsel in fucking distress) Idk where the fucking plot went the second half of the book. We lost the plot in favor for the stockholm syndrome, bull shit of a second love interest in the love triangle. The pacing was just all over the place and I felt like if an editor really sat down with Song and got to the nitty gritty to add more detailed action scenes or added more scenes to enhance character development/dynamics it probably would've been a lot better.
The only saving grace of this book were the gods. The water dragon and phoenix were the only things that I was actively interested in. They were truly selfish and only cared about their own agendas and high key I was living for it. Had the author focused more on the god/human relationship between the water dragon and Meilin this book would've been three stars but alas... it wasn't... so it gets a one.
I have a copy that I will be unhauling and while the cliffhanger does make me a little interested, I won't even pick up the second book from the library. I'm just gonna have someone spoil it for me so I never have to see this book again. Hopefully, my next read is better and if the author drops a new series.... maybe I'll give it shot but I'll give it a shot through the library and not through my wallet.
July 20, 2024
2 ⭐️ It really just wasn’t for me
WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ adult fantasy series
✨ mulan retelling
✨ badass FMC
✨ feminine rage
✨ hidden identity
✨ wartime
✨ magic
✨ love triangle (to be expanded on)
✨ classist and patriarchal society
✨ cliffhanger
✨ TW: domestic abuse, attempted r@pe, violence
My Thoughts:
I’m sitting here trying to formulate my thought, the only thing I can come up with is this: I just didn’t give a f*ck about this story.
It’s too heavily inspired by Disney’s Mulan that for the first 40% all I could imagine was Mulan. The characters are not fully fleshed out. The MC isn’t really even likable. The love triangle romance (which will definitely play a larger role in book 2) came out of nowhere and it’s pretty obvious which one she’s going to choose. There’s too much telling vs showing and so much non-dialogue. The story feels more YA than Adult (which this is marketed as). And the actual writing was pretty basic.
I do actually think the premise is interesting, but the execution of the story made it a challenge to get through. If I hadn’t gotten this as an ARC, I would have DNFed at 15%. But thanks to my determination and skimming abilities, I was able to finish.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ace Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review! As always, all opinions are my own.
WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ adult fantasy series
✨ mulan retelling
✨ badass FMC
✨ feminine rage
✨ hidden identity
✨ wartime
✨ magic
✨ love triangle (to be expanded on)
✨ classist and patriarchal society
✨ cliffhanger
✨ TW: domestic abuse, attempted r@pe, violence
My Thoughts:
I’m sitting here trying to formulate my thought, the only thing I can come up with is this: I just didn’t give a f*ck about this story.
It’s too heavily inspired by Disney’s Mulan that for the first 40% all I could imagine was Mulan. The characters are not fully fleshed out. The MC isn’t really even likable. The love triangle romance (which will definitely play a larger role in book 2) came out of nowhere and it’s pretty obvious which one she’s going to choose. There’s too much telling vs showing and so much non-dialogue. The story feels more YA than Adult (which this is marketed as). And the actual writing was pretty basic.
I do actually think the premise is interesting, but the execution of the story made it a challenge to get through. If I hadn’t gotten this as an ARC, I would have DNFed at 15%. But thanks to my determination and skimming abilities, I was able to finish.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ace Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review! As always, all opinions are my own.
August 17, 2024
DNF @60%
I really tried with this one and it started off so well but I never grew to like the characters or even know them to be honest
This FMC Meilin is meant to be a selfish version of Mulan but aside from her telling me shes selfish I don’t understand why.
She wants power but to what end, to do what with?
The romance is non existent and the important training moments were skipped over with sentences like “3 weeks passed, we trained every night, ” !! This was crucial time to build this romance and make it believable
250 pages in and I honestly couldn’t care less what happens to these characters so I have to move on
I really tried with this one and it started off so well but I never grew to like the characters or even know them to be honest
This FMC Meilin is meant to be a selfish version of Mulan but aside from her telling me shes selfish I don’t understand why.
She wants power but to what end, to do what with?
The romance is non existent and the important training moments were skipped over with sentences like “3 weeks passed, we trained every night, ” !! This was crucial time to build this romance and make it believable
250 pages in and I honestly couldn’t care less what happens to these characters so I have to move on
Want to read
November 12, 2023Mulan inspired… AND Sea Dragons?!?!? 🥹
June 16, 2025
Number 16 out of 40 trying to read a lot of my old tbr picks and some of my highly anticipated reads!!
I seriously am so excited for this one... I saw it when it came out last year and couldn't wait to get to it, But I just read a few reviews and now I think I won't like it as much as I thought... here we go! 🤞🏻💃🏻🕺🏻
I am very pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this! This Mulan retelling was a REAL retelling of the real person that Mulan was based off of! As well as some mythical folklore thrown in there from that time period! I am really impressed with this author! I loved the magical aspects and the culture she stood strong too.
Although I loved the cultural references there were times that I didn't know what they were talking about so I was left confused. There are holes in the story from what I didn't understand. Not a lot, only a few. But I am still looking forward to book 2!! I can't wait to see where this story goes!
I am very pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this! This Mulan retelling was a REAL retelling of the real person that Mulan was based off of! As well as some mythical folklore thrown in there from that time period! I am really impressed with this author! I loved the magical aspects and the culture she stood strong too.
Although I loved the cultural references there were times that I didn't know what they were talking about so I was left confused. There are holes in the story from what I didn't understand. Not a lot, only a few. But I am still looking forward to book 2!! I can't wait to see where this story goes!
August 5, 2024
how do i say this without sounding mean... the fmc of this book is a try-hard fang runin wannabe but way more pathetic and edgy. like no, i really don't need to be told every chapter that you're selfish and your desire for power is unnatural. please. just show me your corruption arc without the stupid inned monologue. and also the "romance" is lackluster and shit... on both sides. and also the plot was all over the place, and all the different aspects could've been combined way better
Want to read
January 29, 2024Mulan + the most gorgeous painted edge.....sign me up!
Want to read
August 9, 2025heard a lot of mixed reviews on this one but i'm just adding it to my tbr cause i got sent a physical copy of the sequel
July 29, 2025
🍦 🍓 The Ripped Bodice's 9th Annual Summer Romance Bingo 🕶️ 🏄🏼
/ Fairy Tale Retelling
I didn't hate an East Asian fantasy. I didn't hate a Mulan retelling. Growth? Decent writing?
I was into Sky/Meilin, but then we met Lei. I also usually hate enemies to lovers, but I wanted that. But back to Sky, I was interested in him before we met his brother, Winter.
None of you asked for this tidbit, but there was a guy I went to undergrad with that repeatedly called me Mulan and asked if I saved China. I'm Vietnamese. He's Chinese. Make it make sense.
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Ace
/ Fairy Tale Retelling
I didn't hate an East Asian fantasy. I didn't hate a Mulan retelling. Growth? Decent writing?
I was into Sky/Meilin, but then we met Lei. I also usually hate enemies to lovers, but I wanted that. But back to Sky, I was interested in him before we met his brother, Winter.
None of you asked for this tidbit, but there was a guy I went to undergrad with that repeatedly called me Mulan and asked if I saved China. I'm Vietnamese. He's Chinese. Make it make sense.
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Ace
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