Tag Archives: Dark Heavens

Red Phoenix by Kylie Chan

January 8, 2020Book ReviewAustralian Authors, Chinese Mythology, Dark Heavens, Dark Heavens Trilogy, Demons, Gods, Kylie Chanskyebjenner

Title: Red Phoenix
Author: Kylie Chan
Series: Dark Heavens Trilogy #2, Dark Heavens #2
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Australian authors, Chinese mythology, Demons, Gods
Dates read: 3rd – 9th December 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Voyager
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: We moved the Wudang Academy from the Mountain to here in Hong Kong.

IMMORTALS, MARTIAL ARTS, GODS AND DEMONS

The intrigue deepens as the demon threat closes around mortals and gods alike…

When Emma Donahoe took the position of nanny to John Chen’s daughter Simone, she never expected to be caring for the child of a Chinese god, and she didn’t expect that demons would want him dead. Nor has moving from nanny to partner in his heavenly realm made Emma’s life any easier.

Now a powerful race of demons has been created to hunt her and her family from Hong Kong to Europe. And she and Simone have become targets – pawns to be used in a deadly celestial power play.

It’s been a long time since I read this. And now I’m remembering why Dark Heavens is one of my all time favourite series. I think that come the new year (since my TBR starts again at the turn of the year) this will be the first series I sink my teeth into. There is just an amazing style, writing and storyline to this story. It is intense, fast-paced and filled with a great sense of humour. Which, since Chan is an Australian author, it’s the kind of humour that I love and recognise.

I picked this up in the week that I was not only feeling a little sad, but I was also feeling really, really sick. Normally I read a booka day, plus get all of my work and housework sorted. Yet, I’ve barely been able to pick up a book. So sinking myself into the world of Emma, John, Simone and their incredibly off-centre family was the perfect anecdote for my horrible week. There’s nothing like a well-loved story to help pick you up.

I knew it from White Tiger, but Red Phoenix highlights how truly insane Emma is. I’m all for doing anything in the name of love… but what she does and gives up in the name of her love… I actually can’t fathom that. Which of course, makes this a brilliant book because it takes me to places that I would never willingly go myself (even though it’s actually not possible… but you get my drift). I also love that she is so loyal. Everything she does is in honour of the people she treasures. That part I can actually completely understand.

This is the book in which Michael first joins the family. He’s such a great addition to the storyline, and, if memory serves me (it’s been a long time since I’ve read the books), he becomes a really powerful character within the storyline. The web of family, relations and loyalties is getting more and more complex, and this is exactly why I love this series so much. The connections between the modern world and the mythical. And the relationships between father and son, father and daughter, so on and so forth.

<- White Tiger Review

Blue Dragon Review ->

Image source: HarperCollins Australia

Black Scales, White Fur by Kylie Chan

July 19, 2018Book ReviewAustralian Authors, Dark Heavens, Demons, Kylie Chan, Mythologyskyebjenner

Title: Black Scales, White Fur
Author: Kylie Chan
Series: Dark Heavens #9.5
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Australian authors, Demons, Mythology
Pace: Medium
Format: Novella
Publisher: Kylie Chan
Year: 2013
5th sentence, 74th page: She broke off the kiss and smiled up at him through stinging tears of joy.

The Demon King’s harem is a dangerous place, with the Snake Mothers constantly battling for prizes and promotion. But the smallest Snake Mother doesn’t want to play the cruel games; she just wants to create beautiful works of art. After a chance meeting with the Celestial Emperor of the West, the White Tiger, she quietly plots to escape Hell and find freedom – and perhaps even love.

I didn’t realise that this novella fits towards the end of the Dark Heavens series, I actually thought it sat in beforehand, a bit like Small Shen. But, there is a small mention of Simone as a woman, so I figure it is much later in the overall series. That’s not to say that it really gave anything away, there is a small mention of Emma and John going out for Yum Cha with Simone, but that is the only hint of the future. And to be completely honest, you know that eventually they will get their happily ever after… Chan has just put them through too much to not give them that. Or me. I need that. I haven’t even finished the series. And I know that I need that happily ever after…

Bai Hu’s harem of wives and women is something that is both interesting, and a little concerning to me throughout the rest of the Dark Heavens books. So it was interesting to read a story about a woman (of a sort) that falls for him and is willing to become one of many. Honestly, I understand Emma’s one and only feelings a lot more, even if it means she can’t touch her one and only… But the sweetness of the main character in this, and the way in which Bai Hu is able to completely change her life makes the fact that this does happen make a little more sense to me. The fact that she hangs on to her free will, no matter what the risks also made me love her a little more. After all, falling in love and being swept away by your emotions doesn’t mean that you have to lose your will power and independence.

I really liked this look into Chan’s demonic world. It gave a completely different perspective into a reality that I am already in love with. The fitting of a mythological world on top of our own works beautifully. Actually, this is one of the best ways in which I’ve seen an author do this, and switching from the Celestial, and our world to the Underworld in this novella was a great change of pace. And it still worked fantastically. It made a lot of sense, and the brief appearances of known Celestial characters against he horror of this small Snake Mothers’ real world help to give even more layers which has made me pick up White Tiger again and just devour it.

<- Black Jade Review

Small Shen Review ->

Image source: Smashwords

White Tiger by Kylie Chan

July 18, 2018Book ReviewAustralian Authors, Dark Heavens, Dark Heavens Trilogy, Demons, Kylie Chan, Mythologyskyebjenner

Title: White Tiger
Author: Kylie Chan
Series: Dark Heavens #1, Dark Heavens Trilogy #1
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Australian authors, Demons, Mythology
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Voyager
Year: 2006
5th sentence, 74th page: ‘Understood, sir,’ Leo said.

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide

ACTION, INTRIGUE, DEMONS AND DRAGONS.

Kylie Chan creates a fast and furious story balanced between the celestial and the mortal, the powerful and the innocent…

Emma Donahoe has just started her new job as nanny to Simone, the daughter of John Chen, a very rich Hong Kong businessman. She understands that Simone may be a target for kidnappers but she does not expect to be drawn into a world of martial arts, magic and extreme danger, where both gods and demons can exist in the mortal domain.

When John and his American bodyguard, Leo, teach Emma their particular style of martial arts, they begin to realise that Emma herself is more than she seems…

This was one of the books Mum bought me years ago, back when she still bought me books because I didn’t have the serious bibiliophilic problem that I have today. And I remember giving it to my sister to read when she was younger. It’s the reason that she too has started to create her own library – there’s just something about this fast-paced, fun and intriguing book that has drawn both of us in from the very first page.

Admittedly, I went to reread this book a year ago, and at the time it just really didn’t fit my current mood. I just didn’t want to read a book that featured a woman who is willing to do anything and give up anything for love. However, now I’m in the right mood again. And it was just as amazing as I remember. And just as difficult to put down. And just, really, in general, lots of fun and fantastic. Now that I’m older, I do find Emma’s commitment a little bit more difficult to understand, because I’m not blinded by the idea of true love and the romance of sacrificing everything for somebody else. I still believe in it, I still believe in Emma’s brand of love to be honest, but I don’t think it is as amazing and sweet a choice as I used to. Now I understand just what sacrifice she is making. And this is just the first book!

I’ve already mentioned a bit about how Emma sacrifices a lot to be with the Chen household, but she is also an incredibly strong and great heroine. The story is all completely written from her point of view, and I love the tone and insight that this lends to the tale. You discover the secrets as she does. And the fact that she is Australian lends an extra level of familiarity to me… there are moments of colloquial and cultural understanding that already belong to me, and it makes me feel like I too could travel to Hong Kong, find a rich businessman and fall into a world that is not my own… or not. I could just stay on my comfortable, Australian couch…

<- Small Shen Review

Red Phoenix Review ->

Image source: Booktopia

Small Shen by Kylie Chan & Queenie Chan

July 17, 2018Book ReviewAustralian Authors, Dark Heavens, Demons, Graphic Novels, Kylie Chan, Mythology, Queenie Chanskyebjenner

Title: Small Shen
Author: Kylie Chan & Queenie Chan
Series: Dark Heavens #0.5
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Australian authors, Demons, Graphic novels, Mythology
Pace: Medium
Format: Graphic novel, Novel
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Year: 2012
5th sentence, 74th page: How long before the spirit could be restored and you would become more than an animal again?

In the tradition of the bestselling White Tiger series, Small Shen follows the adventures of cheeky troublemaker Gold who seduces a dragon princess, fights demons and causes headaches for the gods of Chinese mythology. When Gold is ordered to join the household of John Chen, the Dark Lord of the Northern Heavens, he discovers he will do anything to save John and his family from danger…

Small Shen is a stunning combination of Kylie Chan’s action-packed storytelling and Queenie Chan’s illustrations and manga comics.

I love the combination of mediums in this novel. Flicking between prose and images makes this journey really fun and different. Especially when you place it within the context of the Dark Heavens series. Following Gold through the years and his ability to get into all kinds of trouble is entertaining to say the least. The fact that his numerous mistakes are accompanied by actual facial expressions, well, it’s priceless.

As well as the mixed medium, the storyline jumps between time periods. When it is telling the more modern-day story of Michelle and John, there is only prose. The characters that I have grown to love throughout the series are still only witnessed in my mind’s eye. Which I like, nothing destroys a series I have long loved more than being shown another’s image of what the character looks like… only to find out that someone else’s idea is completely different to my own. Yet, when the past is visited and the Gods are seen, there is some vivid and thoroughly enjoyable pictures which can accompany this. Not only do I like the fact that Leo, Emma and Simone aren’t really witnessed throughout this tale, but using pictures to tell a lot of one storyline and not another help to further distinguish between the two timelines and reduce the confusion.

I can remember reading White Tiger years and years ago. And I did kind of wonder just what Gold and Jade had done to be forced into servitude. I also wondered at what kind of woman Michelle was and how the relationship with her was so different to that of Emma’s relationship. This small prequel helps to answer a lot of the questions that I had when I started this series. It’s enjoyable to read this before or after reading the Dark Heavens trilogy. Or really at any point within the great Dark Heavens series.

<- Black Scales, White Fur Review

White Tiger Review ->

Earth and Skye

The ramblings of a bibliophile.