The Blood Orchid: the high-anticipated sequel to The Scarlet Alchemist!

"If we get out of this alive, I'll buy you a drink," he said. "But if I melt myself to death because of you, I'm haunting you forever." "If we die, I'll buy you a drink in hell." This book felt much more like a companion novel than a second part. A compilation of side quests, but that wasn't a bad thing for me. In fact, I thought breaking the narrative up into different events made everything more fast-paced and exciting, even if it's not as cohesive as a traditional sequel. Between the necromancy, betrayals, and unhinged alchemists I couldn't stop reading. The overall pace is slower than in book one, but there still was nonstop action. Wenshu is the most amazing brother. It was refreshing to read a book where the FMC has the unwavering support of a man who isn’t her love interest. Overall the importance of family really showed in this story. Also I did miss the romance from book one, I loved the dynamic between Zilan and Hong. A certain someone got an unexpected redemption arc. I don't know how I feel about that yet. I really wanted a happy ending. I got a satisfactory okay. I just never knew who would make it out alive and who would stay un-resurrected. Also please give Durian a spin off. I need more demonic little duck content in my life.

I adored book 1 so much with its alt!history approach and the whole aspect of alchemy and royalty. The Blood Orchid now deals with the aftermath of the mess that has culminated in the Scarlet Alchemist finale. Zilan is on a journey to a magical island, to save her loved ones and fight evil. Though what the evil is exactly will slowly unfold - good and evil have to exist in balance after all. The middle part of the story has a slight problem of weird pacing, and the quest of going place to place and getting items gets a bit boring over time. But then there's old friends, malicious foes and weird allies that make things interesting. The best part though is the ending that brings everything to a strong conclusion - and the message that magic might not be the most important thing in life. 4,5/5 stars Thank you @netgalley and @hodderbooks for the eARC! #TheBloodOrchid #Netgalley #Bookstagram