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 … 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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I enjoyed this book and it was entertaining. I loved the cultural elements, but I would have liked more character development. I also wasn’t crazy about the end. It felt like a Lifetime movie ending.
I really enjoyed this story of love and magic. There was a lot I didn’t necessarily see coming from the beginning. Of course it is always a story-line that the orphan who isn’t good enough for the princess ends up actually being royalty in some way, but it’s nice that the “princess” in this story was really a nice person, and her one time of lashing out and acting above someone had to do with some really heartbreaking news she’d received at that time, from him. The story also showed how a girl had to deal with the prejudices of the males, not only our main character, but even other warriors and young women trying to do what they wanted. While I haven’t read any of the other books by this author that are part of this series, it wasn’t needed in order to understand and enjoy this story. I am definitely interested in reading other books in the series now, and will be sure to recommend it to my students at my library, as well as customers at the bookstore where I work.
This book is set in the world of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns, although it can be read as a standalone. This was the first book I have read by Julie Dao and I really enjoyed it. It is a love story and adventure twined together. There are star crossed lovers, a curse, a villain, a quest, a long lost prince, a plague and an evil drug. The world building is excellent and the reader comes to care about the characters and what happens to them. Lan a wealthy nobleman’s daughter, rejects Bao, a poor physician’s assistant. He is then cursed, his soul trapped inside a flute. Both Lan and Bao, with the help of a Queen, a witch and some warriors, must learn to let go of prejudices and forgive each other so the curse can be lifted.
Welcome to Saturday’s Child my Fellow Book Dragons! Today’s Gem is a red Jade flute carved in the shape of a dragonfly. How lovely and sweetly it plays, how delicately it balances on the claw. The Gem Carver is Julie C. Dao and she has created a Tale of Beauty.
This is a beautiful fairy tale. Once upon a time there was an orphan named Bao, who was apprenticed to a great physician. He was allowed to live with the family, which included his wife and son, a young man named Tam, and eat scraps, wear cast off clothes and learn all he could to heal others. His heart was full of mercy and compassion for the sick and also full of love for a girl of nobility and great beauty.
Lan was this girl of great beauty and kindness. She loved her betrothed, the young man named Tam. She had symbolically given him her heart and waited at her window each night for a year, listening to him come to the river near her window, playing love songs on his flute. He would never set a date for their wedding and this she attributed to his shyness and his hard work to make them a good life.
But one day, as happens in fairy tales, Lan found out that is was not her betrothed who played for her but Bao. In a fury, she denounced both Tam and Bao. She disgraced Bao and he left in shame and anger. In his deep anger, he decided to call on a witch to take Lan’s memory away and start over, but, as witch’s often do, this one decided to be rather a hindrance instead of a help and placed a curse upon the already miserable Bao. A curse that only true love can break. And it must be done in a fortnight. Can Bao break the curse and return to human form? Can Lan make amends for the hateful things she has done? You must read this book to find out.
I really liked this book. It reminded me of those I knew long ago, who became the fodder for Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and so many others. I miss those days. The imagery in this tale is beautiful. The story line and concept are very good. I wish I could have read the precursor before having read this one. I am definitely going to look into Ms. Dao’s others books! I truly loved Bao, Lan and the people in the village. I wish I could have read more of the battle scene that was discussed but not described. There was blood magic and it would have been nice to see that expanded on as well.
This was a fantastic lot of fun and I do hope you will look into getting it for your nestlings. It is for ages 12 and up. It was perfectly appropriate for that age category, but I am long past that and enjoyed it immensely!
Until tomorrow, I remain, your humble Book Dragon, Drakon T. Longwitten
I received a copy of this book from a Philomel Books via Bookish First in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this book! It takes place after Forest of a Thousand lanterns. I loved it so much for a few reasons. Reason one, was the love between Bao and Lan was really palpable. And so sweet, it put tears in my eyes a couple times. Second, I enjoyed how it had characters from FOATL. Wei, omg, Wei. That’s all that needs said really. The world building was fantastic and the writing beautiful.
I had a fantastic time with this book! It has been a long time since I was able to read an entire book in a single day but it was so easy to get lost in this book. This wasn’t a long book with less than 300 pages but I thought it told a big story. The story grabbed me from the start and the story progress at a perfect pace to keep the pages turning. I am so glad that I took a chance and decided to give this book a try.
This book is listed as a companion book to the author’s Rise of the Empress series. When I started reading this book, I had no idea that it had any connection to another book and I still wouldn’t if I didn’t happen to see it on Goodreads. This book reads wonderfully as a stand-alone story. I am thinking I may need to read the other books in the series though just because I enjoyed this one so much.
This was a wonderfully imaginative fantasy. Bao has grown up as an orphan and knows that he is not worthy of those in the upper class. He has lived with a local physician and his family and is training as an apprentice. Lan is the daughter of an important man and has lived a rather charmed life. She is looking forward to setting a date for her wedding. Things fall apart for both Bao and Lan and their lives are forever changed. They must work together to beat a witch’s curse and will have quite the adventure working towards that task.
I really liked both Bao and Lan and wanted to see them together. They have both made mistakes in their lives but they were really a victim of circumstances more than anything. When Bao needed help, Lan didn’t hesitate and I loved seeing them work together towards a common goal. They didn’t ask more of each other than they thought they would be willing to give. It was really nice getting to see them get to know each other away from the opinions of society.
I loved the way some magic was worked into the story. I thought that the curse was very well done and I liked how it evolved over the course of the story. I liked that the magic wasn’t an overpowering part of the story but there was enough to add a really nice element to the story. This book had a very nice balance of action, romance, and magic.
I would recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a really well-done story that was a lot of fun to read. This was the first book by Julie C. Dao that I have had the chance to read but I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up more of her work in the future.
I received an advanced review copy of this book from Philomel Books via Bookish First.
I won an ARC from bookish first
I’m giving it 3.5-4 stars
A love story filled with fait, tradition, a little magic
This is an easy read, however there were times where it seemed like the story ran on. I liked reading about traditions, family lineage.
Boa who grew up away from his own family, under a well known proper family. Learns that he isn’t who he thought he actually was. A step down from society, learning to be a doctor and thinking he will never get the girl he loves.
Lan who is ready to marry, gets her heart broken and takes it out on the messenger and the one person who truly loves her.
Two lives, learn what it takes to love and to break all magic.
Like I said it’s a good easy read, there was some drama and fights. I personally could have used just a bit more.
This fairytale tells the story Lan. She is an aristocrat. The daughter of a wealthy nobleman. Lan is beautiful, generous, and good-hearted. She is visited every night by her lover Tam who plays his flute and reads his poetry under her bedroom window. Lan and Tam are engaged to be married but haven’t set a date yet. Lan, frustrated and sad wonders why Tam and his family are procrastinating. If Tam loved her so much why doesn’t he set a date?
Lan, is then told the bitter truth one afternoon by Bao. Bao is an orphan and works as an physicians apprentice for Tam’s father . Bao is in love with Lan. However, he knows that it can never be b/c of thier striking class difference. Lan is heartbroken and takes it out on Bao using his being an orphan as a weapon. Bao runs away and accidently wonders into the lair of an evil witch who curses his soul into his flute. The spell only to be broken by true love.
This magnificent story should be read as a lyrical poem. It is dreamlike and beautiful. The characters come to life on page one. You feel as if you’ve really got to know them at the end of the book. It reminded me of THE PRINCESS BRIDE with its a storybook romance, humor, and storytelling. Lol. I haven’t read the other books by this author but I will buy them now. Lol. I received a complimentary copy of this book from BOOKISHFIRST in exchange for an honest review.