The Blood Orchid

Series Info/Source: This is 2nd book in The Scarlet Alchemistr duology. I borrowed this on ebook from the library.

Thoughts: This book does a good job of wrapping up The Scarlet Alchemist series. However, it feels more like a playing out of events than anything brand-new and exciting. I absolutely loved The Scarlet Alchemist with all the creative alchemy and Zilan's insane drive to get what she wanted. The Blood Orchid feels more watered down. Zilan is running around trying to save everyone, and the details of alchemy are assumed rather than discussed.

Zilan is determined to set things right. She wants to bring back her family and her beloved prince but understands the cost. To do this, she decides to try and find the mythical Penglai show more Island, the source of eternal life. However, when Zilan killed the Empress, she didn't accomplish exactly what she thought she accomplished, and that is coming back to haunt her in a big way.

This was good, but not great. It felt like Zilan spent a lot of time running back and forth trying to find things. The focus in the story is heavily on Zilan and her brother, and I missed spending time with all the fantastic side characters from the first book. I find Zilan's brother to mostly just be whiny and unhelpful, and this book didn't change my opinion of him. I wish Zilan's sister had been in the story more. I also feel like Zilan had lost a lot of her vicious edge. This story just didn't have the same bite as the first one in the duology and fell into a lot of typical YA fantasy patterns.

I did enjoy the demon duck and a lot of the complications around resurrections and souls being in different bodies. I love this world as well. I really engaged with Zilan and enjoyed her as a character; she just seemed tired in this book.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this but not as much as the first book. This book just didn't have the edge of the first book and felt more like the events from the first book just playing out to completion. I missed spending time with a lot of the awesome side characters from the first book, and Zilan felt a bit tired in this book to me. However, I still really enjoyed this world, the alchemy, and the afterward on history. I thought this wrapped up the series decently and look forward to reading future books by Baker. show less

“If saving him is madness, then I lost my mind long ago.”

I was super excited to see how the second half of this series played out. I think in this one we see a bit more action with Zilan on the hunt for Penglai. She is forced with having to face the reality of what her actions caused to happen. I think this really impacts her on a deep level because she begins to see herself associated with nothing but blood. Zilan really begins to question her skill and abilities when her goal keeps taking longer and longer to accomplish. Especially when she encounters other alchemists along the way who are much stronger than she is. I did like the way the story about Penglai unfolded and even how old threats were handled. The author really left show more you guessing about what was going to happen until the moment it unfolded. I think that the beginning of the book is a bit slow and the middle had some moments that drug on but the ending is addictive in how it plays out. I think though that the story was beautiful and had a great resolution. show less

I absolutely loved book one, The Scarlet Alchemist. After being captivated by the world-building and political intrigue of it, The Blood Orchid felt like a bit of a let down. I still liked it but never had the same level of excitement and investment. The Blood Orchid was less tense, whereas The Scarlet Alchemist was driven by tension, twists, and compelling characters.

This is a great sequel. The characters are continued to be developed; the plot is well thought out and executed.

I particularly was thrilled to read the historical note at the end. Kylie Lee Baker did a great job with this book!