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Book Overview
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.
Format:Hardcover
Language:English
ISBN:1524738352
ISBN13:9781524738358
Release Date:November 2019
Publisher:Philomel Books
Length:288 Pages
Weight:1.12 lbs.
Dimensions:1.1" x 6.2" x 9.1"
Age Range:12 years and up
Grade Range:Grade 7 and higher
Customer Reviews
2 ratings
Magic, Romance, and Adventure!
Published by cerise , 5 years ago
I picked this book up on a whim, and I'm glad I did! I really loved the fairy-tale feeling of this story, it made me nostalgic for the dozens and dozens of fairytales and fables I read in elementary school. Apparently this book is set in the universe of one of the author's series, which I haven't read, but I understood what was going on and don't think you need to have read the others to understand and enjoy this book. I really enjoyed the writing style of this author, The plot is a little slow, but engaging, and I also thought Lan and Bao's romance was adorable. It took me a while to warm up to Lan, but Bao stole my heart from the beginning! Song of the Crimson Flower is a lovely tale of magic, romance, and adventure!
A lovely adventure!
Published by MizzyRed , 5 years ago
I was so lucky to get an ARC of this book from Bookish First!
When I heard that the author was going to be writing another book based in the same world as The Forest of a Thousand Lanterns I couldn't wait for it to be released! I loved that duology and was more than ready to dive back in to that world.
This story takes place several years after the Great War in which Empress Xifeng was defeated by Jade who became empress after and concerns mostly the characters of Lan and Bao with several appearances of the previous books' characters. Lan's heart was broken by a love that did not love her and unfortunately she took it out on Bao, causing him to seek out the river witch who ends up cursing. Lan proves herself to be strong though and she and Bao end up traveling to the Gray City for the cure to the curse. There is lots of excitement along the way and as I mentioned before, appearances by such characters as Commander Wei and Wren, and of course Empress Jade.
I loved this story as it was well written and I could see the world and feel a part of the adventure. I will gladly read many more books by Julie Dao! She is a great author!
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