Hello, friends. ✨ Today I’m excited to kick off the blog tour for the concluding book of an exciting Chinese mythology-inspired duology: Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White by Amélie Wen Zhao! Special thanks to the TBR & Beyond Tours team for organising the tour and including me in it.

Thanks to Delacorte Press for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Click here or on the banner above to check out the rest of the fantastic bloggers on tour!

TL;DR: Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White was a satisfying conclusion to this duology. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to think at the start because it took a direction that I wasn’t expecting. I thought there would be more action but this is a slower-paced fantasy that includes more intricate world-building and in-depth exploration of historical and thematic concepts. That said, the culminating battles and the way the threads tie together in the end are bittersweet but no less rewarding. Lan and Zen were great leading characters who were easy to root for and made me love the story of the Last Kingdom.

Side note: I couldn’t be more satisfied knowing this is the last book I read in 2023. My eyes are puffy, my heart is full, and I feel happy/sad at the same time. As this is the second and last book in this duology, mild spoilers are ahead for those who haven’t read book one~!

“Kindgom before life, honor into death.”

As the second book in a duology, I can’t go into too much detail because I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone. However, the second book delves deeper into the history of the Last Kingdom and we learn more about the heritage that was lost over the years under imperial rule followed by colonisation. Despite this progressing at a much more sedate pace than I expected, I would say being patient pays off in the end when the full story is revealed and the threads all tie together.

“So long as we live on, we carry inside us all that they have destroyed. And that is our triumph; that is our rebellion. Do not let them win today.”

This is a story about strength, bravery, perseverance, and overcoming adversity. I continued to love the way the author explored the themes of cultural loss due to forced assimilation and total eradication of indigenous peoples, alongside the insidiousness of existing under colonial rule. It explores the power-hungry greed of humans and how most of the time, we are ultimately responsible for our downfall. None of this is explored in a heavy-handed way but it’s still sharp and poignant and gets the message across well. There’s still a lot to learn about this world and the author gives us a lot of information but again, despite the slower pace, it never felt overwhelming. Wen Zhao knows how to weave a beautiful tapestry and she did a fantastic job in bringing this world full of demons, magic, and resilient people to life. With her well-balanced descriptive prose, I was able to picture scene after scene playing out in my head like a movie and I think fans of the Xianxia genre and even those who are new to it would highly appreciate it!

“The greatest strategist is one who learns to love their enemy.”

Following the events of book one, we see Lan and Zen power forward on their paths. There’s a lot of anger, fear and sadness that follows them but they are resolute in their goal and the role they think they must play. One of my favourite aspects of their arc is that it always comes back to the red thread of fate that ties souls together—it’s always been one of my favourite proverbs and the way it’s used here to weave their story fit so perfectly. Throughout the book, they undergo a lot of personal and mental growth as they discover a new enemy, uncover unsettling truths behind the kingdom’s history, and come to understand their balancing role in setting their world right. It’s heart-achingly bittersweet and I’m not ashamed to admit that I shed some tears as the story came to an end. Ultimately though, my heart felt full by the time I got to the last page and I closed the book feeling satisfied.

“Destiney is an unfinished story of two souls linked by a red thread of fate. It spins across lives, times, and worlds, searching for an ending into eternity.”

💜 ROMANCE CONTENT SPOILER

Lan and Zen become more intimiate and have sex in this book. It’s milder than adult closed-door romances and there is no descriptiveness in the scene. However, it is done tastefully and respectfully and there are clear indications that they have sex.

“Change in people arises not as suddenly as storms or floods but slowly, over time, like the shift of a mountain or the drift of a river.”

As much as I enjoyed this sequel and conclusion, there were elements that I wished had been done better. Similar to what I felt in the first book, the side characters solely exist to push the story along and that even goes for some of their enemies. After a certain point, the Elantians disappeared from the story only to suddenly appear and ‘return’ to their pivotal role at the end. It would’ve been great to see what happens with them in the time our MCs are also figuring things out. I was also slightly disappointed that certain characters didn’t get a bigger role here and even feel like it might’ve been a missed opportunity (especially with Shan Jun) and I was so sad when he was omitted from a good portion of the book. Surprisingly, there was one character who I didn’t expect to empathise with or understand but grew to appreciate a lot by the end (I’m sure if you’ve read book one you’ll know who I mean, lol).

“”Please don’t cry,” Zen whispered. “If I have only this one night with you, Sòng Lián, it would still be better than a lifetime without you.””

Overall, despite the slower pace and the lack of secondary character development, I thoroughly enjoyed the conclusion to the Song of the Last Kingdom duology. There’s a gradual build-up and intense climax which all leads to a satisfying end where the loose ends are tied up, and hope as well as joy shine through in new beginnings.

Do you plan to read Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White or is it already on your TBR?

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