Fury of the Phoenix

Fury of the Phoenix by Cindy Pon
Greenwillow Press, 2011
359 pages
YA; Fantasy
4.5/5 stars

Source: Library

My review of the first book: Silver Phoenix

My expectation for this sequel was more romance, more adventure, and more delicious descriptions of food.  I ended up with something else, something unexpected for me as I hadn't read the synopsis at all.

Yes, there are all of those things I mentioned but the focus of the story is actually on Chen Yong's birth father and the back story of the evil Zhong Ye and his love Silver Phoenix.  This was very confusing at first because the chapters switched back and forth and I was not at all prepared for that.  However soon I was drawn into the story and desperate to know more.

First is the present day story with Chen Yong on a ship and Ai Ling stowing away as his sister, which is complicated as she would very much like to be his wife.  Ai Ling's mysterious powers have only grown stronger and she must face Zhong Ye once more in order to save Chen Yong and her own future.  This unravels slowly because it switches between this and a second story.

The other story interwoven is Zhong Ye and his quest for immortality, which eventually overshadows his love for Silver Phoenix and sets the stage for Ai Ling's quest in the first book.  Although I think this could technically be a standalone story, I would definitely recommend reading Silver Phoenix first in order to understand these parts.  I really loved their romance because Silver Phoenix sounds awesome!

I do wish there could have been even more descriptions of food but overall I'm pretty satisfied with the conclusion; I wonder if Pon will write a third Ai Ling book.  If so, I'll definitely want to read it.