Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix

What a terrific ending.

Going into this, I knew what to expect: this was a Vietnamese-inspired take on the faerie tale of Snow White, and so, I knew how it was going to end, the direction in which it was going. But what Ms. Dao did with the tale — honestly, one of the best experiences I've ever read. I've seen complaints in some reviews for a “lack of character development” in the main protagonist's arc. But Jade, to me, did not have to have something astounding or “villainously” captivating like Xifeng in the first novel. She had her own arc, we went through her strong emotions, succumbing to temptation, rising above it. And it was so powerful to me, see her remain pure and not surrendering stories nor initial beliefs ( doing my best to not use spoilers! ) Seeing returning characters from the first novel was also a joy.

What I enjoyed is that you could really read either of the novels in this duology first, and then, read the other for supplement. The very wuxia type ending was wild, and enjoyable to read, and honestly, I liked how Ms. Dao wrapped up all of the plot elements started in Forest. For me, some of the dialogue fell a little flat, and there were places I wish we had lingered more, or had more of an emotional impact written in there to experience — but not everything can be engaging or quote-worthy, there's bound to be some filler and even when it was filler, or seemed a bit flat, it still — fit? So, a minor complaint.

I can't wait to continue diving into Ms. Dao's writing and take on tales!