Song of Silver, Flame like Night


 Song of Silver , Flame like Night by Amelie Wen Zhao



I know they say you should never judge a book by it’s cover - however, this book has a beautiful cover , illustrated by Caroline Young that would make any reader pick it up and delve inside. Following on from this when I open a book cover and the first thing I see is a map of the kingdom it is set in to peruse, I am already interested and the onus is now on the author to keep me hooked !!!!!!!


     

Song of Silver, Flame like Night by Amelie Wen Zhao is published on 2nd February 2023 by Harper Voyager. My thanks to the author and publisher who sent me a copy and Random Book Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour.


        

In a fallen kingdom, one girl carries the key to its forgotten past- and the demons that sleep at its heart.....


       

        Synopsis


Once, Lan had a different name. Now, she goes by the one the Elantian colonisers 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 spends her days scavenging for remnants of the past. For anything that might help her understand the strange mark burned into her arm by her mother, in her last act before she died.


No one can see the mysterious mark, an untranslatable Hin character, except Lan. Until; the night a boy appears at the tea house and saves her life.


Zen is a practitioner - one of the fabled Magicians of the Last Kingdom, whose abilities were rumoured to be drawn from the demons they communed with. Magic believed to be long lost. Magic to be hidden from the Elantians at all costs.

 

Both Lan and Zen have secrets buried deep within. Fate has connected them, but their destiny remains unwritten. Both hold the power to liberate their land. Both hold the power to destroy the world.


A ferocious tale of romance and fate, SONG OF SILVER, FLAME LIKE NIGHT is a gift to those seeking adventure with a mythological twist.


Perfect for fans of DAUGHTER OF THE MOON GODDESS by Sue Lynn Tan, THE FINAL STRIFE by Saara El- Arifi, and IRON WIDOW by Xiran Jay Zhao


 


My review


So - yes I was hooked from the beginning and, apart from one or two little niggles, I was kept enthralled right until the very end and am already waiting excitedly for the next book in the series.

This is an extremely well written book and it makes a refreshing change to read a Fantasy story that is based on Chinese mythology rather than the Western style of Fantasy novels we are so used to reading .Yes there were times when I was really having to focus on my Yin and Yan and all the different aspects of Chinese mythology,culture and practice. However, for me, this added to the intrigue and my absorption into the world Amelie was weaving and creating within my imagination.

As the characters and the storyline developed, so did my enjoyment and captivity as I was transported into their magical world. The twists, and emotions, within the story find you identifying with the mythology Lan and Zen are part of, along with their love, and pain, as they unleash the powers within, and around, them which link them to the past, present and future. 

The storyline is intriguing and the land they live in becomes alive in your imagination due to the descriptive writing Amelie employs. She achieves that happy medium of giving the reader enough information to create your own images of the world Lan and Zen are trying to save whilst also controlling, and bargaining with, the demons who need to control them.



Though this is a novel that is primarily aimed at young adults it will definitely  appeal to a far wider audience of fantasy fiction.





Author

Amelie has adored putting pen to paper since she was in kindergarten. Born in Paris and raised in a multicultural community in Beijing where she spent her days re-enacting tales of legendary heroes, ancient kingdoms, and lost magic at her Grandmother's courtyard house.

Amelie has a bone-deep love for travelling and immersing herself in new worlds and cultures. She lives in New York City, working as a full- time financial professional by day, and writer by night.

In her spare time, she loves to travel with her family to China, where she's determined to walk the rivers and lakes of old just like the practitioners in her novels

She hoped to empower young readers with message of acceptance, strength, and courage through her works, and to continue to push the boundaries of young adult literature by exploring new, cross-cultural themes.

Amelie is the author of the Blood Heir trilogy and the upcoming Song of Silver, Flame Like Night duology.




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