Wednesday 23 October 2019

Song of the Crimson Flower by Julie C Dao

Lan expects to marry Tam, her childhood sweetheart and the best match in the district. When she discovers that Bao, an orhpan apprenticed to the local physician, is in love with her, she rejects him harshly. The rejection sends him into the arms of the river witch and tangles them both in an oncoming war...

What a wonderful read. I really enjoyed revisiting the Great Forest and some of the characters from that series. Cleverly, however, Julie doesn't allow the returning characters to overwhelm the new ones. Lan and Bao are wonderful characters and having the story coming from both of their points of view means that we get great insight into both of them.

The Japanese background is perfectly explained without being overwhelming. I really hope that Bao gets to see some of his old friends again!

It was lovely to see that, even if we don't get to see them, the inhabitants of the Great Forest continue and have more adventures. I really enjoyed this return to it and I hope there's more in the future.






From the acclaimed author of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns comes a fantastical new tale of darkness and love, in which magical bonds are stronger than blood.

Will love break the spell? After cruelly rejecting Bao, the poor physician's apprentice who loves her, Lan, a wealthy nobleman's daughter, regrets her actions. So when she finds Bao's prized flute floating in his boat near her house, she takes it into her care, not knowing that his soul has been trapped inside it by an evil witch, who cursed Bao, telling him that only love will set him free. Though Bao now despises her, Lan vows to make amends and help break the spell.

Together, the two travel across the continent, finding themselves in the presence of greatness in the forms of the Great Forest's Empress Jade and Commander Wei. They journey with Wei, getting tangled in the webs of war, blood magic, and romance along the way. Will Lan and Bao begin to break the spell that's been placed upon them? Or will they be doomed to live out their lives with black magic running through their veins?

In this fantastical tale of darkness and love, some magical bonds are stronger than blood.

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