📕 Title: The Dragon Wakes with Thunder
✏️ Author: K. X. Song
📖 Genre: Fantasy
⭐ Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
✅ Conclusion to The Dragon Spirit Duology

Since this is a duology, you should start by reading the first book The Night Ends with Fire. The duology is loosely based on the story of Mulan, but while The Night Ends with Fire is heavily influenced by the animated Mulan movie, this sequel takes the story in a much different direction—which is for the best, in my opinion!

The below review may contain spoilers for the first book.

BOOK BLURB

Following the war, Meilin has been imprisoned for her crime of pretending to be a male soldier but outside the palace walls she has become a legend. As a people’s revolution swells, the rebels look to her for help, but Prince Sky means to keep her by his side while he bids for the throne. All the while, the balance of the Three Kingdoms is threatened, and Meilin must decide whether to embrace the dragon inside her.

REVIEW

The Dragon Wakes with Thunder features plenty of political intrigue as Meilin navigates her new life at the palace and allys herself with people who have hidden agendas. The supporting characters are well fleshed out and I especially enjoyed her reluctant alliance with Lei, a character whose morally gray nature kept me guessing. While I’m not a big fan of love triangles, the romance ultimately played out in a way that I could appreciate. I liked that Meilin has friendships with other women.

The story was full of action and adventure with high stakes. There was a ton going on—Sky’s bid for the throne, the rebellion, and the balance of the realm—and all of it kept me heavily invested in this story. I loved the spirit realm and Meilin’s struggle against the dragon had interesting parallels to addiction. Her character arc in this sequel was far more compelling than the previous book.

Whereas The Night Ends with Fire felt too derivative of the animated Mulan movie with only minor subversions of the story, this sequel was far more successful because it found its own path. Ultimately, I enjoyed this book and it was a great conclusion to this duology.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group | Ace for the advance copy.