4.8 stars! i adore this silly goofy heartfelt series so much that i am so grateful that i got an arc of the second book in this series! the first book charmed me, but this one was mesmerizing and explosive in its character-driven headassery and epic, wuxia-style battle scenes. no second book letdown syndrome here!

set after a couple of years after the end of the first book, wen jian is steadily (generously speaking) building his way towards being the master windwhisper, being the disciple of ling taishi, a grandmaster war artist and one of the most powerful women in the enlightened states. wen jian is so pathetic meow meow because mild spoiler: he tried to hug a wild cat. he is so "if not friend, why friend shaped?" coded. i adore this dumbass. no wonder taishi protects him (often from himself). she sees him as an orphaned puppy, and their stern mother-and-idiotic son relationship made me so soft. and seeing his development and growth throughout this book into a semi-competent, somewhat confident teenage boy makes me so proud of him (i'll say it because taishi won't).

this book, in particular, is strongly character-driven, which is excellent storytelling because the characters are the heart of this immersive world. i adored seeing old characters and getting to meet the new ones that i fell in love with. split into 3 story lines of jian and taishi, qisami, and sali, this story was packed back to back with humor, heartfelt growth, stunning realizations, and heroic (and not so heroic) deaths. even though some plot lines are memorable than others, there was still a purpose behind each character's motivations that flowed so well with the overarching plot (the lore building in sali's plot line was jaw-dropping) (and that last chapter? i demand a return on my sadness! that authorial decision was so good). admittedly, i didn't know how the second book could have topped the first one in my mind, but it did, and i am in awe.

the only things that were missing for me in this one was grammar (easy to fix, but it was noticeable at some parts but that's what editing is for) and continuity issues (zofi not being mentioned at all during one scene (so i thought they left her behind) and then suddenly showing up out of nowhere (which threw me for a loop)). other than that, i had a fantastic time reading.

i have so many notes and annotations that i'm shaking with anticipation to share once this book comes out, but all i have left to say is that this book got me out of my months-long reading slump, so not only do i have adoration for this story but also gratitude for making me literate again. please add this series to your tbr - it's just too good. happy reading!

thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me an arc for an honest review!