The Scorpion and the Night Blossom by Amélie Wen Zhao
Series: The Three Realms #1
Published by Penguin Random House on 4th March 2025
Genres: Young Adult / Fantasy / Romantasy
Pages: 400
Format: eBook
Source: Netgalley
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Nine years ago, the war between the Kingdom of Night and the Kingdom of Rivers tore Àn’yīng’s family apart, leaving her mother barely alive and a baby sister to fend for. Now the mortal realm is falling into eternal night, and mó—beautiful, ravenous demons—roam the land, feasting on the flesh of humans and drinking their souls.

Àn’yīng is no longer a helpless child, though. Armed with her crescent blades and trained in the ancient art of practitioning, she has decided to enter the Immortality Trials, which are open to any mortal who can survive the journey to the immortal realm. Those who complete the Trials are granted a pill of eternal life—the one thing Àn’yīng knows can heal her dying mother. But to attain the prize, she must survive the competition.

Death is common in the Trials. Yet oddly, Àn’yīng finds that someone is helping her stay alive. A rival contestant. Powerful and handsome, Yù’chén is as secretive about his past as he is about his motives for protecting Àn’yīng.

The longer she survives the Trials, the clearer it becomes that all is not right in the immortal realm. To save her mother and herself, Àn’yīng will need to figure out whether she can truly trust the stranger she’s falling for or if he’s the most dangerous player of all . . . for herself and for all the realms.

I’ve been so in the mood for action packed YA fantasy lately and The Scorpion and the Night Blossom scratched that itch. I’ve read one book by Amelie Wen Zhao in the past (Blood Heir, her debut!) and I absolutely loved it. Because I am me, and I am Bad At Series, I haven’t yet finished the trilogy but I do own all the books and they often stare at me from my tbr shelf and ask why I haven’t picked them up yet. The truth is, I don’t know, I guess I’m scared of potential five star reads. I can’t help it! 

Anyway, The Scorpion and the Night Blossom is about a girl whose family are torn apart by warring kingdoms, and she has to enter the Trials to try to save her dying mother. Unfortunately, the demons that roam the land are making that very difficult. If you love the trial trope then this book is for you!

I think Amelie Wen Zhao is such a talented writer and seems to find it easy to draw the reader in immediately and tug on the heart strings. I love the way she handles familial relationships, and I love the way she includes rich folklore in her work. She really excels at worldbuilding, in my opinion.

I think a lot of readers are going to love this one, especially if you appreciate intricate worldbuilding and characters who would do anything for family.

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