Hi Bibliofriends,

The weekend is finally close to starting. I hope you’ve got lots of wonderful things planned. Rugby Season finally kicks off again and I’m looking forward to cracking on with my current read ‘Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix’ which is my Friday 56 choice for this week.

Hosted by Freda’s Voice, the Friday 56 is a weekly bookish prompt. It’s quite easy to do and could cover no end of different books and genres so seems great if you’re looking for a quick snippet to discover something new!

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader (If you have to improvise, that’s ok.)
*Find any sentence, (or few, just don’t spoil it)
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post here in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url.
*It’s that simple.

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‘Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix’ is the sequel to ‘Forest of a Thousand Lanterns’ by Julie C. Dao. The story sees Jade, daughter of the late Empress Lihua head back to the court of Evil Queen-esque Xi-Feng.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

This fairy tale retelling lives in a mystical world inspired by the Far East, where the Dragon Lord and the Serpent God battle for control of the earthly realm; it is here that the flawed heroine of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns finally meets her match. An epic fantasy finale to the Rise of the Empress novels.

Princess Jade has grown up in exile, hidden away in a monastery while her stepmother, the ruthless Xifeng, rules as empress of Feng Lu. But the empire is in distress and its people are sinking into poverty and despair. Even though Jade doesn’t want the crown, she knows she is the only one who can dethrone the empress and set the world right. Ready to reclaim her place as rightful heir, Jade embarks on a quest to raise the Dragon Lords and defeat Xifeng and the Serpent God once and for all. But will the same darkness that took Xifeng take Jade, too? Or will she find the strength within to save herself, her friends, and her empire?

Set in an East Asian-inspired fantasy world filled with breathtaking pain and beauty, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix is filled with dazzling magic, powerful prose, and characters readers won’t soon forget.

Fans of Stealing Snow, Red Queen, and The Wrath and the Dawn will hungrily devour this page-turning read.

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The moment had come. Jade had envisaged meeting her father many times during the journey. but now that it was about to happen, she felt a sudden powerful urge to run. What would he be like? Would he be kind and indulgent? Would he apologise for throwing her away?

I’m so excited to be returning to this world in the Rise of the Empress series. I can’t wait to find out what happens to all of the wonderful and wicked characters and to see how it all ends!

Have you read this series or is it sitting somewhere on your TBR? What are your rating plans for the weekend? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

Enjoy your weekend!
T xx