I don’t usually write up reviews, but this is one I HAD to do.
Title-Silver Phoenix
Author-Cindy Pon (xiaotien)
Silver Phoenix is the story of a girl named Ai Ling—a girl who seems destined not to marry, thus bringing disgrace to her family. When her father journeys to see the Palace and doesn’t return for months, Ai Ling decides to do the unthinkable—travel alone, as an unescorted young woman, to find him.
Along the way, she meets the mysterious exotic (and hot!) Chen Yong, the roguish Li Rong and a whole host of demons intent upon killing her. In addition to help from her companions, Ai Ling discovers she has otherworldly abilities (including the ability to take over other people’s bodies…how awesome is that??) and a protective force that helps keep her alive along the way.
Ai Ling discovers she and the emperor’s advisor shared a history in her past life. He believes her to be his true love and will stop at nothing to have her once more. This might not sound quite so bad, except for the fact that he is ruthless, power hungry and has upset the balance of life by consuming the souls of other to give himself eternal life…(yark!) It only stands to reason that our protagonist could never be happy with someone like him!
Ai Ling must rise above all and master her newfound abilities to come out of her encounters unscathed and save the lives of those she loves.
I devoured Silver Phoenix. IMO this book is a triple threat (to get all “Hollywood” on everyone). It has beautiful cover art, a gripping plot and amazing writing. Cindy effortlessly combines great characterization (seriously, she made antagonists so despicable they made me cringe), expert pacing and a fast moving plot.
And on top of all of that, the story was refreshingly original. Cindy seamlessly weaves together old traditions, new (to me at least) fascinating monsters and an easy to follow plot.
A testament to Cindy’s skill IMO was when I (surprisingly) felt a pang of sympathy at the end of the story for the main antagonist. The ending rang true and was bitter sweet, yet offered a promise of more to come.
I particularly loved watching Ai Ling grow from a timid young girl into a fearless ass kicking female (one of my favourite types of characters!).
I eagerly await the second book and will definitely recommend that my library colleagues add Silver Phoenix to their collections!
