YA Buddy Readers' Corner ♥ discussion

In a fallen kingdom, one girl carries the key to discovering the secrets of her nation’s past—and unleashing the demons that sleep at its heart. An epic fantasy series inspired by the mythology and folklore of ancient China.

Once, Lan had a different name. Now she goes by the one the Elantian colonizers gave her when they invaded her kingdom, killed her mother, and outlawed her people’s magic. She spends her nights as a songgirl in Haak’gong, a city transformed by the conquerors, and her days scavenging for what she can find of the past. Anything to understand the strange mark burned into her arm by her mother in her last act before she died.

The mark is mysterious—an untranslatable Hin character—and no one but Lan can see it. Until the night a boy appears at her teahouse and saves her life.

Zen is a practitioner—one of the fabled magicians of the Last Kingdom. Their magic was rumored to have been drawn from the demons they communed with. Magic believed to be long lost. Now it must be hidden from the Elantians at all costs.

When Zen comes across Lan, he recognizes what she is: a practitioner with a powerful ability hidden in the mark on her arm. He’s never seen anything like it—but he knows that if there are answers, they lie deep in the pine forests and misty mountains of the Last Kingdom, with an order of practitioning masters planning to overthrow the Elantian regime.

Both Lan and Zen have secrets buried deep within—secrets they must hide from others, and secrets that they themselves have yet to discover. Fate has connected them, but their destiny remains unwritten. Both hold the power to liberate their land. And both hold the power to destroy the world.

Now the battle for the Last Kingdom begins.

Started this one and so far I like it

Up to chapter 6 (view spoiler)[So far I'm really enjoying this book. The magic system is pretty impressive. I don't know much about Chinese culture and mythology. But the storyline is really easy to follow.
I'm loving both Lan and Zen. I wonder what that strange character seared in her arm means. What power, which secret had her mother left her with? (hide spoiler)]

I'm at like ~50% and it is really good, even if at some parts she had some repetitiveness in it

Chapter 6
(view spoiler)[ I wonder which of the four demon gods Lan can summon? (hide spoiler)]

chapter 19
(view spoiler)[Not the Elantians again-_-
But I'm glad they found what Lan's mother hid for her (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 29
(view spoiler)[ And they get captured -again. It's somehow boring. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter25
(view spoiler)[ Well, the real question is: Why did the emperors want the clans and their magic gone? Why these reductions? These laws? Why forbid a certain kind of magic? (sorry, I read the book in German, so.. I have to "translate" everything back into english) (hide spoiler)]

Chapter26
(view spoiler)[ Zen agrees to a deal with the Black Turtle. This can only end badly. But I get where he is coming from. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter31
(view spoiler)[ "Luke, I'm your father" XD
Sorry, I know this is supposed to be a very intense and tragic moment, but all I can think of is the over-the-top-acting in a telenovela, where it gets revealed that the poor, orphaned girl is the long, lost daughter of the rich guy. XD (hide spoiler)]

Finished
(view spoiler)[ I actually liked it, even if I don't really care for Lan and Zen. I just want to know if they can save Zen and if Tai and Shàn'jun get their happy end and what happens with Dilaya. Even if I didn't like her at the beginning. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 25 (view spoiler)[ "They remained like that, lying side by side, gazing at each other and marveling at the small miracle of two lives having crossed, two souls having found each other in this vast world"
I'm swooning. The romance is soo perfect! 😭 (hide spoiler)]

Kay-Mika wrote: "chapter 19
Not the Elantians again-_-
But I'm glad they found what Lan's mother hid for her"

(view spoiler)[ I was scared for them. But at least Lan is figuring out her song magic (hide spoiler)]

Kay-Mika wrote: "Chapter31
"Luke, I'm your father" XD
Sorry, I know this is supposed to be a very intense and tragic moment, but all I can think of is the over-the-top-acting in a telenovela, where it gets reveale..."

(view spoiler)[ I agree with you on this. It felt cliche. I mean they could share a special bond as mentor-mentee..Luke didn't need to be her father to emphasize her grief -.- (hide spoiler)]

Kay-Mika wrote: "Finished
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I loved the characters. They weren't anything special, just your typical YA fantasy characters. But I had read a Ya fantasy after ages. So honestly really enjoyed it despite its cliches xD (hide spoiler)]

Maisha wrote: "Kay-Mika wrote: "Finished
[spoilers removed]"

[spoilers removed]"

it was enjoyable, but then again, I have a hard time falling for the main characters in general....

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Date changed. Restarting August 25th 2025. Happy Reading ☺

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@Anshika?

5%
(view spoiler)[all of my recent reads have almost the same beginning. I'm so confused 🙃 (hide spoiler)]

WOOOOOOO SHE FINALLY STARTED ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

💅and i propose the buddy read to officially start on september 11💅

Anshika wrote: "5%
[spoilers removed]"

5% too..

(view spoiler)[female main character enters a random istablishment for some strange unknown reason the readers are not disclosed of????? Yeah.... Repetitiveness checks out 😑😑😑😑 (hide spoiler)]

Gohnar23 wrote: "WOOOOOOO SHE FINALLY STARTED ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨"

:)
once again srry for the delay

Gohnar23 wrote: "💅and i propose the buddy read to officially start on september 11💅"

thankkkk yyouuuu

Gohnar23 wrote: "Anshika wrote: "5%
[spoilers removed]"

5% too..

[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[plus, she has some unknown event in the past related to her parents (hide spoiler)]

19%

(view spoiler)[ohhhhhhhhh..ma god, they finally met, I HOPE THIS DOESN'T BECOME INSTA LOVEEE 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰😡😡😡😡 (hide spoiler)]

41%

(view spoiler)[they are connecting to each other with a single dagger 😭😭😭😭 so cuteeeee (hide spoiler)]

64%

(view spoiler)[i am LOVING Dé’zǐ & Ulara's character but everything does seem to be too boring and no further progress with the plot is happening. (hide spoiler)]

83%

(view spoiler)["The chance to defeat the Elantians."

I mean yes they do have a chance to defeat the Elantians but are they doing anything to progress and improve to help increase their chances of victory? I think not (hide spoiler)]

100%

(view spoiler)[i will not be reading the next book to just figure out what happens next because this is clearly a cliffhanger ending 😭😭😭😭😭. What do you mean by youre just "planning" to get the tiger to possibly defeat the enemies????? What have you been doing the entire book???????? It really sets up the second or possibly even the next books in the series to be 'the ones that have the most action' but from observing what happens in the first installment, i doubt the next ones would be good 🙅‍♂️ (hide spoiler)]

You finished it… WHAT?! I was reading this book but got distracted by another one I was close to finishing (I'm a moody reader). I’ll pause this until I finish my 1-star review draft.

Anshika wrote: "You finished it… WHAT?! I was reading this book but got distracted by another one I was close to finishing (I'm a moody reader). I’ll pause this until I finish my 1-star review draft."

At least you only need to write a review for 1 book 😭😭😭😭😭. I missed my daily book review schedule (my last review on my account was dated September 8) so my 13 books read from september 9 to september 13 (now) still need to be writtennnnnnnnnnnnn

Gohnar23 wrote: "Anshika wrote: "You finished it… WHAT?! I was reading this book but got distracted by another one I was close to finishing (I'm a moody reader). I’ll pause this until I finish my 1-star review draf..."

I noticed how much you read, and I know that writing a review takes a lot of effort, time, and energy. Perhaps you should designate a day to finish all of them.

Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh which happens mostly now on saturdays & sundayss but i do try and is my goal to write reviews daily. ⁠(⁠⇀⁠‸⁠↼⁠‶⁠)

But i hope you enjoy it doeeeeeeeee 🥰🥰🥰🥰, i really think that you need to read the entire seriesto fully like the entire thing because THAT ending is certianly not giving 😭

Gohnar23 wrote: "Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh which happens mostly now on saturdays & sundayss but i do try and is my goal to write reviews daily. ⁠(⁠⇀⁠‸⁠↼⁠‶⁠)"

Hmmmm. Good luck! I'll be waiting for them 😀

started again
10%
(view spoiler)[He's in search of...HER??!! YAYAYYYYY!!!
I just hope they meet soon, because so far, I haven't found anything other than Chinese culture that motivates me to read. (hide spoiler)]