Feather And Flame Blog Tour + Review

I’m a sucker for Mulan retellings, so I knew I had to read this one once it came out. This is definitely on my Top 5 list for Mulan stories. 

The story picks up a few years after the war is over. Mulan has created her own female militia in her home village, training warriors that had previously not been allowed to fight. She still has a close relationship with Shang, a friendship that she hopes may someday grow into something more. When she is invited to meet the Emperor, she doesn’t know what to expect. Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought that he would ask her to be his successor. 

Mulan is a strong female main character who also has her own anxieties when it comes to potentially leading an entire country. She has confidence in her skills of training soldiers and fighting on the battlefield, but she doesn’t feel knowledgable enough to rule an entire country. You can’t say no to the Emporer though, so she is completely thrown into the world of politics. My favorite part about her character has to be her strong ties to and respect for her ancestors. Her interactions with them were so unique and only added more to the overall story. 

There was only one thing that disappointed me in this book, and it was that Mulan seemed to occasionally jump to conclusions without fully investigating the situation. I feel like this makes sense as she was very overwhelmed by everything. Nevertheless, I feel that someone who had experience being a leader might not jump to conclusions so quickly. It led to the conflict feeling a little rushed but did not significantly affect my reading experience. I was sucked back into the drama of the storyline in no time. 

I feel like I actually like this version of Shang and Mulan’s relationship best. It seems very tailored to the characters. Shang may be good at guiding his men but he has no idea what to do when he has romantic feelings for another person. Both are very bound to their duties as soldiers and would do anything if it meant that their people would be safe. Mulan has feelings since the start but she too would not go against her duties for personal desires. I absolutely loved watching their relationship change throughout the story. 

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a new YA fantasy novel or fairy-tale retelling to enjoy. 

I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review. 

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 books. 

About Livia Blackburne:

Livia Blackburne is a New York Times bestselling author who wrote her first novel while researching the neuroscience of reading at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Since then, she’s switched to full time writing, which also involves getting into people’s heads but without the help of a three tesla MRI scanner. She is the author of the Midnight Thief, and Rosemarked series, as well as the picture book I Dream of Popo.

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Giveaway Details:

1 winner will win a finished copy of FEATHER AND FLAME, US Only.