I recently had the privilege of reading Song of the Crimson Flower by Julie C. Dao. I have to thank Bookish First and Philomel Books for the Advanced Reader Copy. If you’d like to get physical ARCs for review, it’s a great place. If you use referal code 56cf541090ca608b4 you can start earning free books and help me at the same time!
Song of the Crimson Flower was a beautiful book. Lan is in love with a boy, Tam, who seems reluctant to marry her (but he’s very romantic). Bao is an orphan boy who works for Tam’s father as a physician’s assistant. He’s been in love with Lan for years, but his lack of social status and shyness have made him reluctant to tell her.
After a brush with death reminds Bao of how short life is, he decides to tell Lan the truth. She harshly rejects him. After he runs away, Lan feels bad for how she treated him, but by that point, he’s been magicked into his flute. He has a body only if someone he loves touches him periodically. The only way for Bao to break the spell is for him to find someone to love him in return within two weeks.
I loved these characters. Bao is such a soft, squishy, cinnamon roll boy and I can’t help but want good things for him. Lan is a sweet girl too, although like everyone, she can sometimes make mistakes. There’s also an evil antagonist who’s the hero of her own story, along with other people that they meet along the way who have their own wants and desires. Ms. Dao does a wonderful job creating complex characters that you can’t help but love.
The setting was unique and complex. Song of the Crimson Flower is a companion to the Rise of the Empress series, which I have not read. My guess is that I would enjoy this book more had I read the other two books in the series, Forest of a Thousand Lanterns and Kingdom of a Blazing Phoenix, first, but I didn’t. You don’t have to read the other two books to enjoy this one though. I suspect that the two other books in this series contributes to the lifelikeness of this setting.
The book has a good message to it. Don’t let society’s expectations cause you to be pushed into a lifetime of unhappiness. While you may think that you can figure out the ending just by reading the synopsis, there is a twist to it that I particularly enjoyed (but won’t give away here).
If you’re looking for a sweet love story in a beautiful fantasy setting, I highly recommend Song of the Crimson Flower. Although it was the first book I read by Julie C. Dao, it certainly won’t be the last. I will probably go read the other books in the series and read other books she writes in the future. The book hasn’t been released yet, but will be available on November 5th.