I enjoyed this. There was nothing *wrong* with it. But it didn't have the magic of the first book, and in the end, it just didn't seem necessary. It seemed like things just kept happening out of nowhere, but yet I never felt like there was any real danger since she was so powerful and there's always a convenient solution to the problem just at the right time. I didn't see the reason for the character coming back from the dead plot line. And there was even more focus on the love triangle between Xingyin, Liwei, and Wenzhi in this one, which I didn't care for. That was just a minor part of the first book, but seemed like the main part of this one. I was actually getting really annoyed with Xingyin for her indecisiveness! It was exhausting. At least the first one was terrific and stands well on its own.

This was great. I particularly loved the first part with the story set up, and Xingyin and Liwei meeting and becoming friends. I was sucked in right away. But it was all a fun journey - from the moon to the Celestial Kingdom to the demon realm - and there's even some dragons! Xingyin was a strong but flawed character and I enjoyed her journey. The writing is beautiful - as is the cover of the book! I have no idea what's in store for the second book, but I'll have to check it out!