Song of the Crimson Flower

Julie C. Dao

Nov 2019 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

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 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.

Ratings and reviews

I received a copy of this book via BookishFirst in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! In no way does this affect my rating or review. Song of the Crimson Flower is a beautiful young love story between a boy who had no home and a girl born into high status. The interaction between Bao and Lan's character mimics a slowly progressing dance. Some bumps and awkwardness occur in the beginning. Sometimes, it’s even crude. But, the end result is something beautiful. Bao, an orphan, and understudy to the local physician, has loved Lan for as long as he's known her. But with her being high-born, and already betrothed, he has little chance at ending up with her. When a scandal is uncovered, any ties between Bao and Lan are cut. Heartbroken, Bao seeks the aid of a witch and local legend. Upon finding her, Bao is cursed for reasons unbenounced to him, and he is forced to set off on a quest to find the witch again to remove the curse. Along the way, Bao makes an unlikely ally, friend...and possibly something even more than that. She helps him deal with the curse set upon him, his anxiety, and uncovering more about his history. While the writing throughout held a simplistic quality, it was for this reason that I found this author’s voice so refreshing. This writing style, in comparison to the majority of Young Adult novels out there, offers something unique. It allows the reader to pick up on little details that aren’t so pivotal, but they still do matter. I really enjoyed the perspectives that the characters offered, and understanding some of the simplicities throughout the plot. The culprit of the plot shows up in a few ways. The main, is a substance called “black spice,” a drug derived from an engineered Poppy flower, causing major turmoil throughout the five kingdoms. Highly addictive, it was outlawed by most of the kingdoms, except for the Gray City. For years, the Gray City has undermined the wishes of the other kingdoms, and have continued circulating the spice. Additionally, an incurable illness called “Bloodpox” has swept over the nation. This fatal, and highly contagious disease, has killed many people, and everyone is seeking a cure. The next antagonist is a legendary “river witch” that places a curse on Bao after he seeks out her aid to forget the one he loves but doesn’t return that love. After the curse, he tries to find the witch to have her break the spell, but she is nowhere to be found. There are others as well, but I won’t mention them here for the sake of spoilers. The story is told by alternative point-of-views of Bao and Lan. Bao’s character is quite impactful. As an orphan in this historical setting, he has never known a life of luxury. Passing through several families, he finally ends up being taken in by a physician to become his apprentice. The physician’s wife cares little for Bao, and treats him poorly the entire time he resides with Master Hyunh. He is never able to step away from the reality of his socioeconomic status. This was an easy read, but it also has elements of grit and meatiness. These are eventually seen in the plot twists, and really bring the story full circle. I thought this was a beautiful story, and loved to watch how the characters grew, but also retained the best parts of themselves throughout their transition.

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.

Song of the Crimson Flower is a simple and beautiful story about two characters who start from a place of opposition and grow to love each other, against a background of a land in turmoil over a spreading threat. Bao, an orphan and a physician's apprentice, has been in love in Lan, a highborn girl for a long time; when it is discovered that she has been duped by her fiance with his help, she is infuriated and rejects his love coldly and throws the difference in their status in his face. Despondent, he goes to a river witch to get rid of his memories of her, but instead ends up being cursed because of his mother's deeds, so that his soul will reside in his flute unless he gets someone to proclaim love him. Lan, feeling guilty over how she hurt him, agrees to help him search for his mother in the Gray City so that the curse might be broken. Their journey takes them through their kingdom, crossing paths with some characters we know well from the Rise of the Empress duology (it is not essential to read that series before this, but it is recommended), and a rising epidemic that has Ebola-like symptoms but is claimed to be cured by a banned drug called black anise. Bao's parentage becomes obvious early on, so the question is how he will react to finding his family at last but having a ideology opposed to theirs. The antagonist themselves are created well - they truly believe they can help the world, and are ready to pay any cost for it. The romance is slow-burning, and feels so right. Unrequited love is tricky to pull off so fast, but Dao makes it work so well. They each have much more to learn about the other, and on this journey where they are free from the binds of their societal status, they can truly see each other. And even then, the romance doesn't overwhelm the story: they still have a city to reach and a curse to break, then a war to prevent, but their relationship grows through and alongside these arcs. Overall, it is a different book from the Rise of the Empress duology, sure, but it is impactful in its own quiet way.

About the author

Julie Dao (www.juliedao.com) is a proud Vietnamese American who was born in Upstate New York. She studied medicine in college, but came to realize blood and needles were her kryptonite. By day, she worked in science news and research; by night, she wrote books about heroines unafraid to fight for their dreams, which inspired her to follow her passion of becoming a published author. She is the author of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns and Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix. Julie lives in New England. Follow her on Twitter @jules_writes.